 The film has an amazing cast. Can you tell me what was your funniest or most memorable moment from filming? Probably my most memorable moment is just Regina Hall, period, just as a person. Just always lying on set, but that was like her gag. Like she would convince people that she wrote the script. She would convince people that she actually created the album Damn by Kendrick Lamar. She would convince us that she built the Eiffel Tower and also Big Ben. That was probably the highlight of it. I actually felt that it was one point. Tee Jagged Place Sakane really believed that she was capable of all of these things and we had to break it to him like Tee Jagged. Like no, Regina Hall did not build the Eiffel Tower. Were people trying to catch her out by getting her to sing it then? Yeah, yeah, we'd be like, Regina, so you should wrap some of the album. She'd be like, man, you know, see I just write it and then I let it go as a part of my artistic process. Like, you know, I don't let the word stay in me like that. Oh, you know, the best moment is, you know, we got all these emotional scenes and these, you know, these scenes that you just put all your heart into it. But we were a family like Regina Hall, always telling jokes, you know, always really being the clown and always making things really happy or Anthony Mackie and everybody was, you know, we just get really close. And I think that was the fun thing, how the whole cast became a family. Regina always come on the set and be like, go, George, I moved the camera. Camera's gonna be over here. I moved the lights over here. I was thinking about doing a two shot instead of one shot and everybody be like, get out of here. So that was pretty much what she always do every take we start. Anthony is always, always trying to speak to, you know, every crew member and always trying to tell each crew member, I can do their job. I can do your job better than you can, you know. So that was always the funny thing with Mackie and everything. So he's a smack talker? Yes, he is. Did he smack talk you then? Oh, no, no, we worked together three times. So he knows not to bother me, so. Regina Hall had this running joke on set that she wrote the book. She just let me put my name on it. She was really directing the movie. She was just letting George look like he was doing something important. She was really actually helping Mandela and coaching Mandela through the entire acting process. So she took credit for everything. I mean, she was like, I really wrote Tupac songs, you know. So that was just a running joke and she still makes those comments. So it's still funny though. When we first got to Atlanta to start rehearsals, actually the studio and the director set up a little outing for all of the Cargher family. So we went to this place where we went gold carding and we played arcade games and bold and stuff like that. There was a big party that we had and there was like gold cards and laser tag and all these different things. And it was just, we became one big happy family. So it was honestly every single day with everyone. It was just like, it was like a family reunion over and over again. It was that great. We love watching you with KJ Appa in the movie. You had amazing chemistry. How did you guys bond on set? Oh man, well he's just such a sweetheart. We became friends really quickly. We had dinner together once and then after that we were just homies and we were just like talk and like watch cast away together and just like hang out. And yeah, we just became bros. It was really nice. Do you have a favorite memory from filming with him? Probably, we filmed the scene that happens at Aisha and King's house. KJ wanted to prove to me that he could, how did I describe it? While I was on his back, well he was giving a piggyback ride, go down on one leg and bring it all the way to the ground and then push back up and he could do it. I was very impressed. So he's got you on his back and he's using just one leg to balance. Just one leg to squat all the way down and then stand up again. Did anyone else try and get on as well? Like pile up so you can see. I tried to do it but without anyone on my back and I couldn't even do that. Why does he have such strong legs? He's worked out a lot. He's a very strong, strong boy. You had a kiss in the movie. Is it awkward in real life with lots of retakes or what sound she liked to shoot? It was pretty like a, like familial kind of. I mean, I'm gay so KJ knew that and so when we were kissing it was kind of like brother's kissing. And he stars in Riverdale and we have a huge fan base in Riverdale. Would you ever be up for being in a cameo in the series? Yeah, well 100% yeah. Do you know who you'd like to play or a new character? Oh man, I don't know. I mean hopefully a new character. That would be cool. I'm not trying to take anyone else's shine. Are you a fan of the show as well? I have only seen a couple episodes but I definitely rocked with it when I watched it. There must be some stuff that didn't make the final cut. Is there a big scene we can look out for on the DVD? Ah man, there's a couple of scenes with Chris that got cut. One of them happens in his kitchen. There's actually a big make out scene that they cut which I'm actually glad because I think it would have been a little distracting from the narrative. What happened to it? So we're in the kitchen, it became kind of a bizarre scene so it's in the book also. But Chris is like, KJ is like making some steak for me like cooking it up and I'm watching the TV and footage from the shooting pops up on the screen and it kind of triggers Star and makes her feel scared but she turns it off because she doesn't want to like accept this has happened and share it with her boyfriend and then he kind of asks her what's wrong and she says like nothing and they start making out. I think maybe it just didn't feel right within the context. There's a scene in the book where Star and Seven go to play basketball and Maverick shows up, he's mad at them for leaving without telling him and their mom and he's like, he's got on flip flops with socks and his legs are ashy and he's embarrassing the heck out of them in front of half the neighborhood. That didn't make it into the movie but I wish it did. The riots, the uprising in the end, there's, and the movie is about maybe nine, eight minutes you know, in the DVD you don't find about 15 minutes or 14 minutes, we shot a lot of it. Couldn't use all of it, it was just so much good stuff that represent what I see and I saw, you know on YouTube and talking to people who've been there so I'm excited for people to see the whole longer version of that. The riot scene was just, it was huge and epic. What's the reality like of that? I mean, how much is extras and how many people did you get? Yeah, more extras, more incidents and more things that represent what actually goes on in those events. So I'm excited and a lot of that couldn't be used because when I use it, I would get away from my main star and we couldn't get away from star because she's the star. How long did it actually take to film all the riot scene? It took four days to do it. You just have to wait until a particular time of day or night and then just be like back on. Yeah, we had to shoot at night because we had the streets closed and then in the summertime in Atlanta is only maybe seven hours of darkness or something so we got to go quick. So it was always this adrenaline going on. One person got hurt at one point, they were okay but it was hectic. You know, we had things blowing up on set, we were running all over the place and I think it's kind of hard when you're in that environment to not start to conceptualize it as real so I think some of the extras kind of got really into it and stuff. Before it got to that really hectic point there was like this moment of like camaraderie when everyone's standing there together protesting and that was really beautiful to film because it kind of felt like we actually were protesting. We had these like mini explosives going off. We were running and we didn't know exactly where they were or when they were gonna pop off. I think one time I was running towards one and then it blew up and I skirted out of the way to make sure that it didn't get hurt and I moved so quickly that I tripped and fell. So the film covers some very relevant topics to today's society. What was most important to you about working on the movie? I think there's a power for when you take events like this that are so politicized and kind of only viewed through the lens of the news. When you place it in a person on the heritage it can create a lot of empathy in people so that was our number one intention and also just to reflect the black experience in a way that was actually inclusive of what it feels like and actually explores a myriad of emotions and dynamics and feelings. It was very important because I just felt like it really had a great story in terms of healing, in terms of relationships, how we speak to one another, how we respect one another and also getting to the root of what is police brutality. Why is this really happening? How is this a systematic effect to our society, especially inside the inner city communities or inside any community of people of color? I thought that was very important, a story that can be told and unique because we see it through the eyes of a 16 year old. It was important because I think that storytelling is one of the best ways to help us process things. I think it's the best way, one of the best ways to create empathy and I think we need a lot of that nowadays. I hope that this film helps more people understand why we say Black Lives Matter and I hope that it gives some humanity to something that's so often seen as political because for so many of us it's not political, it's personal. What was it like reading the script in the book for the first time? How did it make you feel? Yeah, it was very emotional. I read the book. The script wasn't there. That was done after I got involved and we got a writer and we started working on it. You just don't see the voice, 16 year old in these relationships and how honest and truthful they are. Sometimes in the movie you can sense that it feels false or it feels like it's contrived for a movie. Here it feels like real characters and you feel like you've seen it before with people around you, with real people. How involved were you with the auditioning of Amanda and of KJ Appa together? Oh, they were great. We did some great chemistry auditions between those two and it was very interesting. Amanda was awesome. I knew she was star from the beginning. KJ, I think he came in one time. I just felt like he was the guy and when I saw him after we had to replace him, we had to replace another actor and KJ was our second Chris and he was so much more chemistry, so much stronger and he was a great guy just coming in. We did a great job. What was it about Amanda, for example, that made her perfect? Her dedication also, she felt like star. She lived in an inner city community and she went to a white private school. She actually co-switched, became two different characters. All this was, I learned when we first met and I just felt like she was the one and you just, sometimes you go with your instinct and I just felt like this is something that really worked out well. When I was writing the book, Amanda LaHead came out with this video called Don't Cash Crop My Cornrows and when I saw it, immediately for me, she was star and so when I was told that she wanted to attach herself to the project, it felt perfect, you know? And later on when KJ, when George was considering KJ, he was like, yeah, I got this guy from Riverdale, I think that I'm gonna go with and I immediately, I knew who that was, you know? I was like, you mean KJ? So he felt perfect for the role of Chris so I think every single cast member was perfectly chosen and I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. They all did a wonderful job. I was consulted a lot from the screenwriting process and even while George was casting, he'd be like, so what you think of this? You think this person's good? All right, I'm gonna do it anyway. So he really wanted me involved and even while they were filming and I was on set, I gave my opinions on things so I definitely felt like it was a collaborative process. I don't have plans to do a sequel because I'd have to put her through something and I feel like I've put Star through enough. I think at this point, she's like, Angie, leave me alone but I think 10 years from now, Star will be in law school and she will be dedicated to being a good force of good and a force of good in her community and in Garden Heights so I see her doing a lot of great work. We also loved everything, everything. Would you be up for a sequel? Oh man, I don't know what would happen in the sequel. Yeah, that'd be dumb. What do you think could happen? Well, I mean, it would be Maddie post only living within the confines of her house but she would probably want to explore the world a little bit. So as well as directing this film, you directed an episode of Luke Cage. Would you be up for directing a full-on Marvel movie? You know what, Luke Cage was great. I had a great time. He's an amazing character. I like to do different things so whatever the future holds, you know, I like to keep moving. My film before this was completely different. I feel like as a filmmaker, you know, you just gravitate what you love and change your style to the material.