Special Event: SLY LIVES! Screening & Panel

On Feb. 28, our founder Dr. Olajide Williams will moderate a panel on Black genius and mental health following a special screening of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s new documentary, presented by Hulu, SLY LIVES! (aka the Burden of Black Genius), about the life of Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone. Joining him will be Hip Hop Public Health Advisory Council artist Darryl “DMC” McDaniels!

Make sure to follow us on BlueSky or Instagram where we’ll share moments from the event. In the meantime, check out this interview with Questlove on NPR to learn more about the film.

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/10/nx-s1-5290223/questlove-sly-stone-black-genius

Q&A Interview with RE Classics
2/6/2025

Since our inception in 1988, RE Classics and RETV has always paid homage to the very best from the world of Hip Hop and Entertainment. That’s always been our mission.

The work and achievements of Terrence Thomas and his Breeze Management is just another example of the rich talent pool that Historic Jersey City, New Jersey has to offer. Check out and share part one of our profile on Breeze Management.


Terrence Thomas


What’s up? My brother.
RE Classics
What’s going on, man, how you.
Terrence Thomas
What’s up with you, man.


RE Classics


Hey Man, hanging tough man.


Terrence Thomas


Oh, man, you! You know I if I had your hand, I’ll trade mine in Bro.


RE Classics


LOL..Yo! I’m calling you breeze man, is that cool?
Thanks for doing this, it’s it’s definitely dope that you are doing this show in our hometown – Jersey City. You know, we we gotta definitely stick together and pool our resources and do lot of lot of positive things, you know?


Terrence Thomas


that’s cool. Bro. That’s what everybody calls me, anyway.
..Absolutely I just had this conversation 2 weeks ago. There’s a project coming up, but I don’t want to spill it yet. 
But Cheryl! I had a conversation with Cheryl Underwood. And she was like, T… You know what I’m I’m so glad you doing this because black comedy we really got to stick together and really keep it out there. Because and I have nothing against the Internet dudes at all. think all the Internet dudes that came up. They really doing their thing. The thing about comedy, though back in the day Peppermint Lounge Club 88. You know every those things you used to you. You gotta go up there and grind Bro.




RE Classics


Yes, sir.


Terrence Thomas


You got to go up there and you got to you know…Peppermint will tell you if you good tonight. If you’re not good tonight they are going to tell you are not good tonight. And that’s the type of love that you wanted to get, whether it’s good or not. If that’s the stinger, it is what it is. So my, vision as I get into it… And you ask me questions.. I will tell you my vision and and how it came about. All of this man. You know it’s just you’ve been in Jersey City long enough to know. And and my mantra about Jersey City is Jersey City made me Jersey City raised me, and you know, with my other career I’ve relocated 9 times around this country I lived up in Perrysburg, Ohio. I had all the Michigan I had all the way up to Ypsilanti. I had all that territory. So I know, moving around
 in different states. I’ve been blessed enough to feel that culture.
and it is giving me always giving me a great appreciation from Jersey City.
 Because if you can make it in Jersey, New York, tri-state area, you can make it anywhere. It’s proven. You can make it anywhere in this country.



RE Classics


No doubt, I agree. Let’s let’s jump right into it!


Terrence Thomas

Let’s roll, Bro. Let’s roll.


RE Classics

Let the people to know how’d you get started, you know, and with with the management company, What do you specializing in, you know, currently.


Terrence Thomas

Right. So how I got started and named it. Breeze management is my nickname – Breeze. One of my good friends back in grammar school. We called chill, chill gave me the name. Cool Breeze, because I was always the fast on the basketball court, track. He’s like we’ll name you cool breeze, so the breeze always stuck, but as I got older I was like I dropped that cool. I just need to have the breeze name.


So I used to always go see Bill Bellamy at the peppermint, and this is when I was still working my regular career job. But I was working nights. So if I had a night off, I was going Thursday nights to the peppermint to check out Bill. So fast forward to I was dating a young lady down 
in Atlanta. And she is a film, right? So she told me about this project. I said, what project you working on? She was like, I’m working with Bill Bellamy on this Who’s got jokes?
 So one day, I asked her about one of our boys that works with Bill and I asked, I said, Yo is my boy here? You seen him? So she said yeah, he’s here. I said, I’m gonna pull up on y’all.. pulled up on them hung out that night, and God bless
 Tommy Ford (R.I.P)! from Martin…So Tommy was on that show. So we all hung out one night. 
So we was meeting up, here and there, and Bill was just like, Hey, why don’t you come aboard? I was like Bro. I control a billion dollar corporation every day. I don’t have time to do this. I can’t do it. He was like, it’s really not that difficult. So we had conversation, I got into it a little bit dibbling, dabbling, and being his event manager. So I would..every city we would go to. I would schedule…I would
 contact promoters. I would meet promoters. So that kept going. So this was back in 2,000 – 2,001
 and at that point, I realized, if I’m gonna do this, I need to eliminate my personal name. I need to establish a company a LLC, so I ended up…You know the young lady I said I was dating, I was like what should I name it. she said. Well, you are always good at management. You’ve been doing management all your life, she said. Why don’t you just call it breeze management? 
I said, there it is. Let’s call it Breeze Management.


RE Classics


So now, what’s your current ventures and projects?

Terrence Thomas

You know the comedy show, believe it or not. This is my 1st produced comedy show that I’m producing, and I said that if I was gonna produce a show I wanted to produce it in my hometown. Nothing against, you know, Essex County, The Oranges. I love them all I do.
 However, I wanted something, a staple to say… I’m from Jersey City. and I want to do it in my city. So that’s the project I came up with, which you know, we’ll be doing that show next week.


My next venture is I got a Mother’s Day project. That actually, I’m gonna do down here in Jacksonville. And I just I came up with that concept a couple of weeks ago… I don’t want to say too much, because There’s some potent people in this lineup..I’m gonna do for mother’s day down here.

And then quiet as kept. I just talked to the theater in Jersey City, I said, hey! And I know we don’t celebrate Sweetest Day like that in October, up north…it’s more of a Southern thing but I said, listen, I still want to bring it – a Sweetest Day. I want to do it. October 18th Back here. They already gave me the nod to say, Yes, and I know exactly the lineup I want and who I want. It’s still gonna be Jersey based, not Jersey City based. It’s gonna be Jersey based until until I get to a point where I exhaust the talent in Jersey.

RE Classics

Let’s talk more about how JERSEY LOVE got in motion

Terrence Thomas

I want to represent the talent we got in Jersey. I want to represent some more talent out of Jersey City. I want to represent that because it that’s all about me giving back to the community. I feel right coming back and saying, because I will always come home, and my mom, daughters all, all still live there. The thing about it is that I have a humbleness about me. I have where I know where I came from in Jersey City. So my thing is coming back and giving to my community. And if I’m gonna give it, no one’s done a show like this in Jersey city because we never had a venue. We tried to like get into the Lowes, and I know they re-doing the Lowes. But it it’s just that, you know the times we live in.

The last 6 months Jersey City has been going through some traumatic stuff man like they’ve lost people. And these people connected to other people. And the the city just needs a lifting. It needs something to really laugh about. So I said, It’s the perfect time. And that’s why I said It’s Jersey love? It’s like everybody on that ticket, the majority is from Jersey City, including DJ Whiz! So I added, Bill Bellamy in there because he’s my guy. So I said, I want you to headline. I want you to do this. So he had no problem with it. We sat down with the team, worked out the numbers, the numbers worked. I got right on the call on the phone.
 I got on the phone with TK. Kirkland, Jersey City born. I want you TK. Got on the phone with my boy Artie Fuqua. Artie Fuqua went to Saint Peters Prep with me. Knew him, knew his sister, knew his parents, cause his parents have a daycare. Oh, shit! and they used to watch my daughter. My daughter used to go there. So it’s that whole small circle right then turned around Monique Latisse. We had Monique on another show in New York, and I always told Monique – Day one I said, You you are really gonna excel. And I said, I will keep my eye on you, and if I do something in Jersey, I’m coming to get you. Sure enough, I came. I circled back to get her, so she’s on it. I didn’t know who Gl Douglas was. But My daughter’s mother was just like, Hey, do you know who Gl is? I was like no, so that’s how I got Gl. And reached out and got her, and then low cash! Whiz told me about low cash, and I didn’t know low cash, and I said, That’s what I want. I want Monique, even though she’s from Patterson.
 They embrace her in Jersey City like she lives in Jersey City.
 So I didn’t want nobody else. That’s why I was called it – Jersey Love.
 because I just want Jersey love – people like TK, and I’ll tell you this, 
He’s been doing comedy for 40 years, and has never done a show in Jersey City.


RE Classics


Wow!


Terrence Thomas


So when I called him and told him what I wanted to do, he was like yo Bill hosting it we doing in Jersey City. I’m in. I’m I’m doing it. So that’s how we bought it all together. And then, my boy, wiz is is pretty much. My my brother, my big brother. We grew up together. I’ve been, I carried records, crates of records for him. Different parties. So it was a no brainer. Everybody knows that wiz is gonna do my music. So it it’s really a Jersey city thing, you know. Even my staff, when you meet them, is my family, either my daughters, my niece, my sister. I put them all on my staff to bring it in, so it’s a family thing. But the biggest thing of the family is a Jersey City family thing
– END OF PART ONE.

Keep checking back for the full video including part two of
Terrence – Breeze – Thomas’ incredible journey – on this platform and our You Tube
channel.

Limited tickets are still available for the JERSEY LOVE COMEDY SHOW –
Saturday February 15 – NJCU CENTER FOR THE ARTS –
MARGARET WILLIAMS THEATRE – 2039 John F Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City NJ, 07305

For more Hip Hop and Entertainment log on to rapentertainment.com

[Atlanta, GA, February 7, 2025] – Throughout the month of February, Bounce, the popular broadcast and multi-platform entertainment network for black audiences, will honor the rich history, culture, and achievements of African Americans with a carefully curated selection of movies, documentaries, and special programming.

Bounce is committed to showcasing the diverse stories and experiences of Black people year round. During Black History Month, the network is offering a compelling programming lineup that not only highlights key historical moments but also celebrates the contemporary achievements of African Americans.

Highlights of Black History Month on Bounce:

Friday 2/7: Pioneers in Sports
Bounce XL Simulcast

TITLE: From The Rough
CAST: Taraji P. Henson, Tom Felton, Michael Clarke Duncan, Henry Simmons
PREMISE: Dr. Catana Starks becomes the first woman and the first African American woman to coach a men’s college golf team.

TITLE: From The Rough

CAST: Taraji P. Henson, Tom Felton, Michael Clarke Duncan, Henry Simmons

PREMISE: Dr. Catana Starks becomes the first woman and the first African American woman to coach a men’s college golf team.

TITLE: Glory Road

CAST: Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks, Josh Lucas, Jon Voight

PREMISE: In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black college basketball team to the NCAA national championship to beat an undefeated all-white Kentucky team.

Friday 2/14: Music Legends

TITLE: Cadillac Records

CAST: Beyonce Knowles, Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Gabrielle Union, Mos Def, Cedric The Entertainer

PREMISE: The compelling true-life story of the Chicago record label that helped the world discover such legendary artists as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and Chuck Berry.

TITLE: Purple Rain

CAST: Prince, Kotero Apollonia, Morris Day

PREMISE: A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.

SIMULCAST

Friday 2/21: Race Relations & The Law

Bounce XL Simulcast

TITLE: A Time To Kill

CAST: Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock

PREMISE: In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a blackman accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, inciting a revolt by local racist groups.

TITLE: In The Heat Of The Night

CAST: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant

PREMISE: A black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.

Friday 2/28 : Trailblazers for Equality in Education

TITLE: Best Of Enemies

CAST: Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, Babou Ceesay

PREMISE: Civil rights activist Ann Atwater faces off against C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, North Carolina over the issue of school integration.

TITLE: Miss Virginia

CAST: Uzo Aduba, Niles Fitch, Vanessa Williams, Adina Porter

PREMISE: A struggling single mother sacrifices everything to give her son a good education. Unwilling to allow him to stay in a dangerous school, she launches a movement that could save his future, and that of thousands like him.

Simulcast

About Bounce TV:

Bounce (@bouncetv) features a programming mix of original series and movies,

theatrical motion pictures, off network series, specials and events designed for African

American audiences. Bounce is available to 98% of U.S. television homes free and over

the air with a digital antenna, on cable, on DISH channel 359, DIRECTV channel 82,

over the top on Roku, Pluto TV and Apple TV; on mobile devices via the Bounce app;

and on the web via BounceTV.com. Bounce XL is a free ad-supported television (FAST)

channel available on Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV and Xumo. Bounce is part of The

E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rap Plug Partners with Milk + Cookies and Sports, Arts, and Culture in South Africa
Cape Town & Johannesburg, South Africa – March 1, 2025 – Rap Plug is thrilled to announce its partnership with Milk + Cookies, enhancing our efforts to promote hip-hop culture across South Africa.

In January we hosted successful industry panels and concerts featuring Kaytranada, which united artists and fans to study and celebrate hip-hop, amapiano and world music. The positive feedback highlighted the growing enthusiasm for these genres.

In addition to Milk + Cookies, we’re excited to partner with Cape Town’s Sports, Arts, and Culture sector to host various events showcasing local talent and fostering community engagement in the arts.
Looking ahead to 2025, we plan to expand our international partnerships to reach a wider audience and bolster support for diverse artistic expressions within the hip-hop community.
Get Involved!

For collaboration opportunities, contact:
– Rapplug.dawnascott@gmail.com
– craigtheking@gmail.com

About Rap Plug:

Rap Plug is a global platform focused on promoting hip-hop culture through partnerships, events, and initiatives, connecting artists, fans, and industry leaders worldwide.

A documentary about the comedic icon is coming in 2025.

By Tudum Staff
> Jan. 30, 2025

Finally, for the first time, Eddie Murphy is looking back on the extraordinary journey of his career — and looking ahead at what’s still to come.

EDDIE, a forthcoming documentary, chronicles his meteoric rise from teen comic phenom to Saturday Night Live breakout and stand-up supernova to box-office titan. It illuminates the evolution of Eddie Murphy — the trails he blazed and the records he broke on his way from Brooklyn upstart to Hollywood icon. In this intimate portrait, the Oscar-nominated actor opens up his home and dives deep into his eclectic career of nearly 50 years.

Murphy discusses entertaining three generations of fans with a filmography that spans comedy, action, drama, animation, musicals, and family fare. Friends, co-stars, directors, and fellow comics offer insight into Murphy’s singular life and career, and the influence that it has had on breakthrough stand-up films like Raw, ’80s mega hits Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, and Trading Places through ’90s classics like The Nutty Professor, the Shrek franchise in the 2000s to his Oscar-nominated performance in Dream girls.

Director and two-time Oscar winner Angus Wall takes fans on an emotional ride, offering laughter and tears and an EDDIE they’ve never seen before.

The film is produced by John Davis, John Fox, Charisse Hewitt, Terry Leonard, and Kent Kubena.

Check back for more news about EDDIE, coming to Netflix in 2025.

American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton which Deadline Hollywood called “history-making,” will have its television broadcast premiere on PBS starting in February in honor of Black History Month.

After a successful festival run where it racked up six “best documentary” awards, plus getting a coveted spot on the Academy Awards shortlist, the film is finally going to be seen on national television.

Telling the the ground-breaking, nail-biting, untold story behind the murder trial of Black Panther leader Huey Newton, AMERICAN JUSTICE ON TRIAL is scheduled to have over 700 airdates on 200+ PBS stations covering over 80% of the country, including top markets New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, Boston and San Francisco.

Click here or the link below to find out when the film is playing in your area. You can also buy the DVD or get a digital copy to stream or download.

For 50 seasons, “Saturday Night Live” has served as the premier venue for televised live music performances while continuously pushing boundaries to reimagine the relationship between music and comedy.

“Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music” will feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking and news-making musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.

The three-hour special broadcast event will showcase interviews with musical artists, cast, writers, producers and more who have been part of “SNL’s” legacy.

Directed by Grammy and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy Award-winner Oz Rodriguez.

About the Legendary Quest Love

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is an Academy Award‒winning filmmaker, drummer, DJ, producer, director, culinary entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, who is the unmistakable heartbeat and co-founder of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group, The Roots.

The artist is a modern-day renaissance man and award-winning creative force that made his directorial debut with the Academy Award‒winning feature documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). He is next set to direct the definitive documentary on the iconic group Earth Wind And Fire.

The film will mark Questlove’s latest foray into filmmaking following his directorial debut and will be produced by Two One Five Entertainment (the production company founded by The Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought).

Thompson is also currently directing a documentary about Sly and the Family Stone, set to co-direct the upcoming SNL50 music documentary and has additionally executive produced documentaries The League, from Academy Award nominee Sam Pollard, and Sundance award winner Descendant, from Emmy nominee Margaret Brown.

Questlove has written multiple books, including the New York Times bestsellers Mo’ Meta Blues, Creative Quest, Music Is History, The Rhythm of Time, the first book in his middle grade series of the same name, and his picture book, The Idea In You. He is the publisher of AUWA, an imprint of MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux on the Macmillan platform.

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson currently serves as the musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where The Roots serves as the house band.

National Action Network to Identify First Two Companies in the Next 90 Days that Have Dropped Their Pledges

WASHINGTON, DC (January 22, 2025) – Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), today announced the organization and its partners will identify two companies in the next 90 days that will be boycotted for abandoning their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) pledges. NAN’s formation of a council to identify these companies comes as President Trump has begun his promised assault on DEI programs in the federal government.

“Donald Trump can cut federal DEI programs to the bone, he can claw back federal money to expand diversity, but he cannot tell us what grocery store we shop at,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of National Action Network (NAN). “Companies that think they can renege on their promises to do better, bring in new voices, or abandon us will see the impact of Black buying power. That’s why in the next 90 days we will begin to send a message that we will not go back, and we will bring this issue to the topline by going after their bottom line.”

Rev. Sharpton formally announced the council on Monday during NAN’s MLK Day Rally at Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C. His remarks on the need to safeguard DEI were delivered as Trump was sworn in as president for the second time, promising to target federal DEI programs in his inaugural address. To view Rev. Sharpton’s keynote King Day address, click here.

On Tuesday, Trump followed through on this vow by ordering all federal DEI staff on paid leave. Agencies have until the end of the month to submit a plan to the Office of Personnel Management on how they will shrink the number of employees who work on their respective DEI programs. Equally alarming is an order Trump gave to the Justice Department to deliver recommendations to private companies and educational programs that receive federal funds to downsize their initiatives.

Trump’s actions this week culminate an assault on DEI that Rev. Sharpton has fought since the Supreme Court gutted affirmative action in higher education in June 2023. Since then, NAN has sought to hold companies accountable for the billions of dollars they collectively pledged toward DEI initiatives after the protests over the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

NAN’s new initiative will send the largest message yet to the private sector on the importance of DEI. While hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman has led the push to end these crucial initiatives, global business leaders such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon have stressed the economic benefits of DEI. Now, those companies who have felt pressure to drop DEI and ignore the fact it is good for business will begin to feel the economic impact from Black Americans, whose buying power is expected to reach $1.7 trillion in the next five years.

About National Action Network (NAN)
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality or gender.

For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net.

###

This is America, 1857. Up is down, pain is everywhere, and innocence and tranquility are losing the battle to hatred and fear. Peace is the shrinking minority, and very few possess grace — even fewer know compassion.

There’s no safe haven in these wild lands, and only one goal matters: survival. American Primeval is a fictionalized dramatization and examination of the violent collision of culture, religion, and community as men and women fight and die for control of this world. The ensemble tells a story of the sacrifice all must pay when they choose to enter the lawless and brutal frontier.

“We are very appreciative that Netflix is trusting us to take a big swing withAmerican Primeval,” director and executive producer Pete Berg (Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor) told Netflix. “I’m looking forward to taking viewers into the most dynamic, intense, and heart-pounding survival tale humanly possible. We are going into the belly of the beast.”

American Primeval is Berg’s first project under his first-look deal with Netflix and is written by Mark L. Smith (The Midnight Sky, The Revenant, Overlord), with Eric Newman (Griselda, Narcos, The Watcher) serving as showrunner and executive producer. This also marks the second collaboration between Berg, Newman, and Kitsch, who worked together on the limited series Painkiller, which premiered on service in 2023.

Where was American Primeval filmed?

Out of 130 shooting days on American Primeval, only two(!) were filmed indoors. The rest were all shot on location in New Mexico, at places including Pueblo de Cochiti, Santa Clara Pueblo, Bonanza Creek Ranch, Parajito Mountain Ski Area, and Charles R Ranch.

In building out the scope of American Primeval, Berg was inspired by his love for the Robert Redford film Jeremiah Johnson. “When I saw it as a kid, I felt like I was in it,” the director says. “I was in the elements … just surviving, and I always wanted to do something like that.”

American Primeval was Berg, Newman, and Smith’s chance to go into the New Mexico mountains and create that kind of immersive experience for viewers. “If ever there was anything easier said than done, it’s this,” says Newman. “I believe all of us will forever be haunted in scripts by the words ‘it snows’ or ‘night, exterior night.’ ”

While filming, the actors were braving the kind of weather their characters would have faced in 1857, trudging through the snow, rain, thunder, and lightning, with rattlesnake cameos a daily occurrence on set. Kitsch wouldn’t have had it any other way. “When you’re on hour 15 of shooting, and you’re freezing, and you’re beyond exhausted, it all comes into play,” the actor said. “There’s nothing better than shooting on location. I loved it.”

Because the crew was up in the remote mountains, they all really learned how to survive together as a team. “We didn’t have Wi-Fi anywhere we were, we had no cell service,” says Berg. “So we were actually interacting with each other and bonding.”

A CONVERSATION
WITH SETH GORDON
(Writer / Director / Producer)

NF: What was the inspiration behind Back in Action?

The idea came to me a few years ago when I was at a Dodgers game with Beau Bauman, who would eventually produce the film, and it hit me almost fully formed: What would happen if a spy had a kid? Wouldn’t they have to leave their job, become anonymous, and go off the grid in order to have that family?

I thought about Jason Bourne, about Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or a hypothetical Mr. and Mrs. Bond. What would it mean if you had this treasure trove of spy skills at your disposal when the challenges of parenthood come up? Wouldn’t you, at some point, feel obligated to put those skills to use if, let’s say, your daughter was lying to you or wouldn’t tell you who her boyfriend is?

I thought that would be a pretty fun way to force them out of retirement. The very people they were trying to protect — their kids, who know nothing about their real spy parents — accidentally push them out of hiding, and then the truth
comes out as they’re all on the run together. It was something we haven’t really seen before.

The other contributing factor was that I wanted my son, who was around 11-years- old at the time, to be able to see a movie I made. One of the characters, Leo, is based on him. He’s a teenager now, so the action is really fun and exciting for him. And he loves Nigel, who was a late addition to the last few acts of the script.

NF: This is your first time directing a film that you co-wrote, correct?

It is! Beau has been so supportive of me wearing different hats over the years. He knew writing something original was something I wanted to do, and I asked him if he knew of anybody I could write it with, just because I’d never been through that full process. So he introduced me to Brendan O’Brien, and he and I wrote the spec draft together. Then I took it over from there during the long process before we actually began shooting.
“
Our intention from the start was to make a big, exciting,
family-friendly action-comedy that I could watch with my wife
and my kids, that the whole family could enjoy. There’s not
enough of that out there these days. I’m very proud of Back
in Action because we think it accomplishes everything we set
out to do — which was to make a movie with fresh action, hard
laughs, and a whole lot of heart. —

NF: Did any other aspects of your personal family life or the rigors of parenting in this day and age make its way into the film?

For sure. The central conflict of the movie is essentially between the parents and the daughter. And while I think that’s a relationship that many parents immediately understand, for me personally, it was borne out of me witnessing the relationship between my sister and my parents. She’s 10 years older than I am, but I was old enough to understand these arguments that were happening when she was in high school, and it seemed like they fought about everything at that time.

NF: How did Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz end up getting involved in the project? How were you able to pull off the impossible coup of getting Cameron out of retirement and the two of them back together?

I had worked with Jamie before on Horrible Bosses and I loved the idea of him playing Matt. I was so excited when he said yes. Then, when it came to casting Emily, the idea came from Jamie and his camp: What do you think about Cameron Diaz? And I said, “That would be amazing. Are you kidding?! But…isn’t she retired?” She was just perfect for the part, though. There was no real debate.

It was a lucky combination of this being the right story and role and her relationship with Jamie that got her to come out of retirement, and she’s amazing as Emily. She did all the hard work around prepping the stunts and the many hours of training that requires. All the action, almost all of it is her except for when she’s jumping off a boat on the Thames or anything that could’ve been truly dangerous. It’s all her otherwise!

NF: This is Jamie and Cameron’s third collaboration with each other since Annie in 2014 and Any Given Sunday in 1999. What was it like directing this incredible duo? Was there a shorthand and camaraderie between the two of them that allowed you to take advantage of their natural chemistry?

Absolutely. Above all, for me, it was about creating as many moments as I could, to get out of the way as much as I possibly could, and to let them play because they have all that amazing chemistry together. It really just came down to identifying where in the movie would be good for that. Where could we set up a situation where they could play a little more and not necessarily have it be interspersed with punches?

A perfect example was the scene where Matt, Emily, and the kids are in the car driving to the petrol station and they start jamming to “Push It!” I didn’t warn them that I was going to play that song. I had a little microphone that I could use to talk to them when they’re in the car and I had Spotify on my phone, so I just started putting songs on without telling them. Songs I knew the kids wouldn’t know, but had a good chance of Jamie and Cameron knowing them. They knew the entirety of “Push It!” and the rest is history.