Based on the best-selling novel by Zane, “Addicted” is a sexy and provocative thriller about desire and the dangers of indiscretion.
Successful businesswoman Zoe Reynard (Sharon Leal) appears to have attained it all – the dream husband she loves, two wonderful children and a flourishing career. As perfect as everything appears from the outside, Zoe is still drawn to temptations she cannot escape or resist. As she pursues a secretive life, Zoe finds herself risking it all when she heads down a perilous path she may not survive.
Sharon Leal, Boris Kodjoe, Tasha Smith, Tyson Beckford, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Kat Graham, and William Levy all star in the Bille Woodruff directed project. We spoke with Bille exclusively on the red carpet for the film’s New York Special Screening at Regal Union Square.
Q: How did you get involved with directing it?
Paul Hall who’s a producer on the movie, I’ve known him for quite some time and I’ve been a fan of his work, we wanted to do something and he reached out to me with this script. It was just perfect, it was like kismat because I’ve been wanting to do something different to show a different side of myself and I love erotic thrillers so yeah Paul Hall got me involved with the script and I was like “I have to do it!”
Q: How did you tackle the subject matter (sex addiction)?
The actual subject of sex addiction, a lot of people don’t believe that it’s really an addiction. There’s all kinds of opinions about it and also people don’t talk about this kind of thing. So tackling the subject matter, I took it very seriously and I went to some sex addict group sessions, talked to sex therapists. Tasha Smith who plays the therapist in the film actually did the same thing, and just did a whole lot of research to make sure that I was going to be able to tell the story properly, and that the things that were happening in it would ring true. And if there are people that have problems with sex addiction or any kind of addiction that hopefully they can get something out of this movie and that there is a way that you can get help. And for people who do not have an addiction but are dealing with people they care about, for them to think about how they can support someone or what they could do if something like this really happened to them.
Q: Tell me about how you put that character together.
Well you know I love putting a great cast together and I must say I’m very happy with the cast of “Addicted.” Sharon Leal came on board and was willing to be fearless in portraying the character because it’s not an easy role to play. She embraced it and I’ve been such a fan of hers already from her previous work. So this is great because it’s her first major starring role in a theatrical role and hopefully viewers can lose themselves in the character she’s created. And we’ve got Boris Kodjoe, who better to play the husband if you want someone to really believe, as I do, this movie. I want people to think that there’s no way you would cheat on this man. You know, Boris is the kind of guy where if he’s not being a jerk, in this movie he’s really a wonderful husband but just I wanted someone where if you took one look at them and be like “she’s crazy! (laughs)”And he’s a great actor and we’ve known each other so it’s a chance for us to work together. And then we brought Tyson Beckford on board who I’ve also worked with for many years and we needed William Levy to round out the cast. It was like “look at who you have,” and it was like “who actually would you at least believe that she did cheat with on Boris?” We ended up with William Levi which I think made a lot of sense and because of his charisma and star quality. But also he’s just an amazing actor, can’t wait once again for people to see his performance, it’s just incredible.
Q: You also have “Drumline 2” coming up. What can we expect?
“Drumline 2,” it’s called “Drumline: A New Beat” airs on VH1 on October 27th and I did this with Nick Cannon producing, he’s in the film. It’s a wonderful, amazing new cast and people are going to fall in love with them, I mean it’s just a great cast. And also Letoya Luckett is in it and she’s great and Leonard Roberts from the first one is in it and DeRay Davis who’s just wonderful and Mario Van Peebles, it’s a great cast. But we’ve got some excellent drum scenes and people that loved the first one will really love this one.
After the screening guests headed to Grape & Vine at the Jade Hotel where they sipped on SVEDKA specialty cocktails. The Codblack Films and Lionsgate release is now playing.