Sharon Waxman

Tuesday, September 5, 2000
2 p.m. EDT

Washington Post Style correspondent Sharon Waxman brings Hollywood & Vine Live Online for a discussion on the inner workings of the movie industry. There is a whole political universe behind how the movies happen, the tug and pull of egos, financial imperatives, a pecking order of privileges as well as genuine creative impulses.

Robert Adetuyi

Today Sharon welcomes writer/director Robert Adetuyi to talk about his movie, "Turn It Up." It's a hip-hop film starring Fugees' singer-actor Pras and hyper hip-hop star Ja Rule.

Here is a transcript of today's discussion.

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Welcome everyone to our discussion today with Rob Adetuyi, the writer-director of "Turn It Up," which opens across the country tomorrow. It will be in 23 theaters in Washington.

The movie, to give you a few details, tells the story of Diamond, an aspiring rapper in the inner city, who has resorted to dealing drugs to finance his music. The story is basically about what happens when he gets caught up in that lifestyle -- the content is dark, gritty and fairly violent. Rob will be happy to discuss the themes of the film, some of the debates that he had with his star, Pras, over the use of violence in the film, and about what he was trying to convey in the movie.

This is Rob's first time directing, not his first screenplay, though.

We're a little late getting started, so we'll go over a few minutes. Here we go:

Arlington, VA: What did you (Adetuyi) do before making this film?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert: I've been active writing screenplays for the studios. I recently wrote a comedy with writing partner Linda Eskeland called "XYZ" for 20th Century Fox. I've written period drama for Sony, "The Price of Freedom," which is the movie I'm going to try and make next.

This is my first produced feature.

Washington, DC: Do you as a director have to concern yourself about whether the movie you're making will have crossover appeal? Even though hip-hop does cross over, the ghetto part of it doesn't so much. You agree?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert: No, I don't have to concern myself with that. Fortunately the African-American audience is large enough to support a film of this size --

(Sharon: I believe it cost $10 million? Is that right?)

Robert: It's $11 million -- and New Line considers the African-American audience a strong enough audience to make movies for. With regard to second part, the ghetto appeal -- I think Boyz In The Hood was an example of a movie that crossed over, and was set entirely in the 'hood.

Severna Park, MD: Hi Sharon and welcome Robert-
My questions have got to do with the numerous real-life rappers that appear in your movie. Did producers force you to use them in this movie against your wishes and does it seem like they buy into their own hype and try to act like hard thugs on set?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert: I wasn't forced to use real-life rappers. In fact, I developed the project with Pras. I will admit that intially the idea of two rappers in the leading roles concerned me. But after meeting Ja Rule, I was convinced that he was perfect for the role of Gage, (Diamond's best friend).
As to their onset demeanor, Ja Rule was one of the easiest people I've worked with. Pras who has a lot at stake, worked very hard at preparing for the role.

Arlington, VA: I'm sure this movie will have a soundtrack release. How important is that? Which thing carries the other?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert:At present a soundtrack is not scheduled for release. With all the labels that are involved because of the rappers in the movie, I'm not certain whether a deal has been struck.

Sharon: Were you disappointed about that? Was that not the crux of the film to you, the music?

Robert: No I wasn't disappointed. The music in the film is great. We have a lot of new songs from Pras, Ja Rule, Faith Evans and others. Diane Warren wrote a wonderful song for Faith Evans. The music is one of the films strongest elements. The fact that we didn't have a soundtrack out before the release of the film, is a marketing issue. It doesn't concern the overall movie.

McPherson Square: Good luck with your movie.

How did the writing/directing process differ from what you expected?

In general, to what extent do you think outside forces (producers, actors, screenings) affect the final product? I think this is one problem with movies today--they often seem very watered down and mainstream, because executives fear that they won't draw large crowds if they are too edgy or unusual.

Thanks.

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert:The process didn't differ from my expectations. Although this was my first produced feature, I had worked on short films as well as TV. Being that this was a studio picture put a lot of added pressure. Most director's first feature is an independent. The budget on studio pics are higher which is good and bad. I had the luxury of going for production value that would otherwise not be afforded to me. But I was also being watched more carefully. In all I think any director is just happy to get a film made.

The second part of your question is an interesting one. Yes the outside forces are definitely felt. Luckily New Line puts alot of faith in first time directors, so I was giving a lot more control than if I was making this for another studio.

S: So you didn't want the film to be 'edgier'?

R:NO I don't think I wanted it to be edgier. If anything I was more interested in examining more of the emotional relationships.

NYC: Seems to me that the gangsta rap movie has been done (no offense). What do you think you've done to take the film genre in a new direction or give it a new voice?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert:I can name more than ten titles in any given genre that deal with similar themes or issues. In fact directors like Scorsese, have made a number of films dealing with very similar material. Woody Allen has made Annie Hall several times over.

S: But never as well as he did Annie Hall. But don't mind me...

R:That's debatable. Manhattan was brilliant, Hanna and Her Sisters is also right up there. The point I'm making is that there are many stories to be told in this genre. Turn It Up takes a serious look at the lives of the people caught up in the world of rap and the streets. I don't categorize it as a Gangsta Rap movie. Gangsta rap is a genre of rap music. That is not what this movie features. It takes a look at one artist trying to find his voice and we see how life influences what he has to say.

Tempe, Arizona: What was Pras like as an actor in the film?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert:As I mentioned, Pras prepared for the role for months before shooting began. At first I was concerned that Pras would not be able to put his music persona aside and be the character of Diamond. And I think Pras would agree with me that it took the two of us a little while in rehearsal to find a clear understanding of how he should play Diamond. Because Pras comes from the world of music, he had a lot of insight into that world. On the other hand I wanted to tell the story of a very specific person whom I had created on paper. After a time we mutually agreed on who that person was. But not with out creative debate. It was an exciting process for me and I think for Pras as well.

Washington DC: I don't know much about the plot of this movie except for what Sharon said and a few tidbits here or there, but I find it remarkably similar to movies starring rapper/actors like Jay-Z (Streets is Watching) Master P (The Last Don), DMX, Snoop, etc.

What separates/elevates (if anything) this movie from myriad others over the past 2 years?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Sharon: I'll say one thing about some of the movies you're referring to, at least Master P's first "movie," I can't even recall the name. In that instance, the "movie" was obviously about capitalizing on an album he was releasing at the time, in other words, it was more or less as marketing tool to sell his music. It had no story, no dialogue, no character development to speak of. Turn It UP is nothing like that, it's an actual movie.

I can't comment on the other films, haven't seen them, maybe Rob can.

R: I haven't actually seen any of Master P's movies, so I can't comment on them. I think if you check out Turn It Up, you'll see that it's a serious film that stands on it's own.

Arlington, VA: The creative process ... Do you do it as you shoot, constantly changing or adjusting? Or do you know beforehand how you'll do a scene?

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert: I'm coming to the set with several months of preparation behind me but as we begin shooting, I have to adjust daily for unseen changes in production ,Ie, locations change, casting changes, even weather. As well you discover things about the characters as you go so you make adjustments.

Washington: Now that you've done this movie, are you
getting offers for a lot of others

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Robert:At first the offers were to do something very much like what I've already done. I've stayed away from those. Now that the film is about to come out and more people have seen it they realize that I have more range in the kind of material I can handle. I'm hoping to do a serious period piece next. I've already written the script, The Price Of Freedom. The story is set in the 1850's and without giving away too much it has African American hero who saves the day. Now I just have to convince a studio to let me tell the story.

Sharon Waxman and Robert Adetuyi: Sharon: We've gotta go. Thanks for Rob for coming, thanks for the interesting questions, good comments, as always -- I can count on you guys.

Good luck, Rob, with Turn It Up, we hope it does really well, and best of luck on your search for an enlightened studio to make Price of Freedom. Oh - is it the 21st century already???

See you all next week.

R:Thanks for having me on Sharon and thanks too your readers for being here.