Last night was the New York Premiere of Jamal Hill’s directorial and screenwriting debut “Brotherly Love.”
Produced by Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit, Brotherly Love stars Keke Palmer, Cory Hardict, Romeo Miller, Eric D. Hill Jr., and Julito McCullum. The film is set in West Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School as we follow the lives of the Taylor family. Star high-school basketball player Sergio Taylor (Hill) has a promising future ahead of him as he deals with the fame of his athleticism. Jackie Taylor (Palmer) dreams of having a music career, but unforeseen obstacles lead to a change of plans. The oldest Taylor sibling, June (Hardict) is the patriarch of the family, whose street involvement creates problems for the family with the arrival of antagonist Kram (McCullum). The film beautifully depicts how nothing can break family bonds with the contrasting struggle of trying to keep a family together.
We were able to speak to the cast on the red carpet, check out what they had to say:
Cory Hardict
Can you talk about what drew you to this film?
The script, it was on the page, it was a good script and when I read it I was like I gotta do this movie. It was relatable to how I grew up in the South Side of Chicago, Hyde Park, but it was really relatable to how I grew up and I felt like all these sub-plots and storylines are how I saw friends and family lives and portrayed and I said I gotta be a part of it. Shoutout to Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit for doing this beautiful movie for us and letting us do it. Shoutout to director Jamal Hill who wrote it and directed it, great director, up-and-comer as well and we put our heart and soul into it.
Speaking of Queen Latifah how involved was she in the film, did you get to interact with her at all?
Of course, she gave us the money to do the film. She gave us the budget so she was very integral in putting this thing to the forefront. She believed in it, she got the script and she pushed it first to do it so that means a lot. She’s a living legend and she’s still doing great.
What was it like working with the cast? Did you guys grow close on set?
Yeah, everyone was a professional, everyone worked hard and stuck together and hopefully we made a good product.
What was your favorite part about filming?
Everything about it, from day one to day 21. Just being in it, having fun and doing what I love. Working with new people and just doing great work, that’s what it’s about so hopefully the world will enjoy it.
Eric D. Hill Jr.
What drew you to the film?
What’s wild is that initially reading the script I was drawn to the film. The script is incredible and on top of that when I auditioned, I had to audition for Sergio and June so I was able to see the script from two different perspectives and that’s when I realized the power of the film.
Julito McCullum
Can you tell us about your character and how you prepared to play the role?
My character, he’s the antagonist of the film. When you meet this family, the Taylor family, you’re going to meet Keke Palmer, Cory Hardrict and Eric Hill and Corey Hardict’s character June, he’s the monarch of the family, he’s the one still in the hood, still in the streets making a way for his family. In terms of him being in the streets he’s now run into my character and we have that conflict so you see the consequences of me and him having beef, but it’s real and realistic and you guys are gonna love it.
We also spoke to guest Jadakiss about musical aspects of the storyline:
A part of this film involves Keke Palmer’s character trying to make it in the music industry, can you speak about that and how difficult it can be?
Definitely a dog eat dog business, you gotta learn the ins and outs. There’s a lot of ways to get trapped off, theres a lot of things they don’t tell you, so the music business is definitely a hard thing to get into.
Special guests in attendance included, Ne-Yo, Jadakiss, Lil Mama, Mac Wilds, Angela Yee, Dana Chanel , A Town, and Charlie Mack (Executive Producer).
-Nishat Baig
