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- Neil Middlemiss
I recently had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Rae Dawn Chong (Commando, The Color Purple) about her latest film, Jeff, Who Lives at Home. Rae has enjoyed a long career spanning several decades and talked about her feelings on fate, the state of roles for women (and women of color) in Hollywood, working with Susan Sarandon, and an upcoming project which she is writing and hopes to pitch to studios in the near future.
HTF: Good afternoon, Rae – how are you?
Rae Dawn Chong: I'm excellent, thank you.
HTF: Thank you for speaking with Home Theater Forum today. I wanted to ask you about working with the Duplass brothers. They have a few films under their belt and they're bold, quirky, fun and funny, so what drew you to the character of Carol? Had you seen the previous films by the Duplass brothers and is that what drew you to this film?
Rae Dawn Chong: Well, when I was in auditions when the call came through and honestly I wasn't going to go do it because I have to fly from New Hampshire to LA to audition for some things and it has to be pretty good for me to get on a plane and go and risk not getting something. And I almost didn't go. But, I hadn't seen any of their films but my agent and my sister both said that I had to go. My agent said they were really hot and I'd be lucky to be in the film. And then when I finally arrived for the audition it was really magical and there was something special about that day. It was super delightful to get the call that I was cast. I didn't know anything about the Duplass brothers before and I didn’t know they were so clever. Since then I've seen all their films and I think they're great guys.
HTF: And you had appeared in a film in 2010 called Cyrus, but it's completely not the film of the same name by the Duplass brothers–
Rae Dawn Chong: No.
HTF: And I wondered if that coincidence, that strange piece of fate played into your decision to to appear in their film [since that is a major theme in the film].
Rae Dawn Chong: Well, you know that I'm only in seven minutes of that other film. I shot a seven-minute victim interview for that film as a favor to the producers (laughs), so the answer to your question is no. It was just a coincidence.
HTF: Okay.
Rae Dawn Chong: But you never know… like how weird is that?
HTF: Yes, very peculiar.
Rae Dawn Chong: So, did you like the movie (Jeff, Who Lives at Home)?
HTF: I did, I thought it was terrific. And I'm a fan of their films, I think they have a very unique and humorous bent and I appreciate that kind of comedy, it reminds me in some ways of the other things that I find humorous like Arrested Development or Portlandia, very off beat comedies that have a really sweet soul to it but kept everything slightly off center which I find enticing.
Rae Dawn Chong: I know. I think it's highly intelligent.
HTF: Yes.
Rae Dawn Chong: Or at least certainly emotionally intelligent, you know?
HTF: Yes. I read an article this morning about Christopher Nolan and The Dark Knight Rises and another director had commented that he appreciates how Christopher Nolan speaks up to the audience rather than speaking down to the audience. And when I think about that, comedies like Jeff do exactly that and it's really appreciated.
Rae Dawn Chong: See, that's just is so heartening, you just make me smile. Thank you for saying that.
HTF: Of course.
Rae Dawn Chong: And I'm a big fan of Chris Nolan. I mean, talk about a brain.
HTF: Yes. Well, I think it's because he's English, quite frankly.
Rae Dawn Chong: (laughs) There you go.
HTF: So [Jeff] is a very whimsical film and fun in that it tries to find meaning in the world, trying to find purpose and coincidence in fate. Are you anything at all like Jason Segal's character in that way, looking to fate and coincidence as guide?
Rae Dawn Chong: Yes, I am. I'm almost exactly like that. My entire life has been one of whimsy and wonderment, tragedy and fun, great pain and great successes. So yes, sir, this is a distillation of my life.
HTF: And you got to work closely with Susan Sarandon. How did you find that?
Rae Dawn Chong: She's a pro. She's sort of the top and she's exactly like I thought she would be. We have met many times over the years but working with her she absolutely lived up to my expectations. She's beautiful, she's generous, she's extremely good at what she does and I was delighted to be next to her. It was great.
HTF: And in watching the film, the character she plays, she has a very good comedic sense about her but she also has a fantastic dramatic sense and has appeared in films that are very dark and very sweet. And your career has similar changes in genre, with very dramatic roles in films like The Color Purple, action films like Commando, you appeared on Melrose Place and the ensemble film Constellation and now this comedy - are you drawn to different genres or as an artist or do you just go where the great parts are?
Rae Dawn Chong: I just try my best to go where the fun, good parts are. I mean, to tell you honestly, and not to sound cranky about it, but if you can imagine being a woman, and a woman of color in Hollywood and then now I'm a woman of color and a certain age in Hollywood. I mean it is a rough. You were probably better off if you were female in Hollywood in the '40s than you are today. And then if you're a woman of color in Hollywood! I did, I don't know how or why the '80s I worked out but I fought hard and I had a lot of stamina. But then even today, when you look at Susan Sarandon's career, if you compare what she did and has done with her Oscars and everything compared to a man, she still was probably paid a lot less and you just don't get the same kind of attention. So what I want to say to you is the fact that I'm still making films after almost 40 years in the business, or even get a part, it's just a miracle. I do wish Hollywood would just lighten up and it was better for women, better for people of color and better for people of age but, we can dream right? The Brits have it. You guys are much kinder to us.
HTF: Well I think your comments are spot on. My wife, who is black, and I talk at length about the poor amount of roles that are provided to women actors and then to women of color actors. It can be so limiting
Rae Dawn Chong: Oh yes, that's true. Something we can learn as American filmmakers that the Europeans have which is they're not afraid of age. When I go to a movie and the story's excellent, the directing is superb and the acting's good, I'm almost relieved when I don't recognize the actors in the main role because it lets me go into the story more, so I think that the fact that the Duplass brothers are getting so much success and they're doing so well is very refreshing. Yes they have hired some known actors but I really think that Mark and Jay are on a mission to make good movies regardless, irrespective of having the "top" stars of the moment. I really pray that we see more filmmakers come up and do well that don't have to rely on the same three people to star in their films.
Rae Dawn Chong: (laughs) Do I sound bitter? I don't want to sound bitter because that's the worst.
HTF: I will make sure your laughter makes it into the write up – perhaps with some smiley faces!
Rae Dawn Chong: (laughs) Thank you! (laughs some more)
HTF: So have you ever thought about bringing some of that to the table yourself? Either producing or writing –
Rae Dawn Chong: Well, I do have a show that I created called The Celebrant, it's a good script that I am making better and I hope to pitch it soon. It would star me, and I'm not young and I'm not beautiful but I'm beautiful in my own way but I just think that it's important to have good content. And there is a ton of material out there, written by women, written by women of color, written by women of color of age that is absolutely worthy of being produced but it's not being picked up and it's not being produced. And it's not because of the quality, it's because those in charge whose tastes are not diversified. It is different in Europe. I think more of it is a subsidized business so they can take the risk and have like an Idris Elba star in a series or a Helen Marin at 60 star in a series. So I want to say that it's not a question of a lack of material, it's a question of lack of guts. There's just no bravery. I don't blame them but that's what I see.
HTF: Well I want to thank you and wish you the very best of luck with your future projects
Rae Dawn Chong: Thank you so much.
