It’s beginning to look a like lot Christmas! Summer is off on vacation as Fall has unapologetically made it’s entrance, ushering in colorful leaves, dropping temperatures and of course, the holiday season.
David E. Talbert, producer, director and writer extraordinaire, new movie, Almost Christmas, in conjunction with Will Packer Productions, features an all-star cast of some of Hollywood’s elite, effortlessly puts movie-goers in the holiday spirit complete with laughter and a good time.
Starring Danny Glover as Walter, the beloved patriarch of a dysfunctional family who congregates for five days over Christmas, trying their very best not to wreck havoc, getting along and coming together as a family after the passing of their mother. Oscar winning comedian Mo’Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, Gabrielle Union, Kimberly Elise, Keri Hilson, and Romany Malco round out the superstar cast.
Hollywood veteran Omar Epps plays the friendly, boy-next-door Malachi, who wants to rekindle a former flame with Rachel (Union.)
The Source caught up with Epps and DC Young Fly as the two hilariously tag-teamed our interview during their Chicago press stop discussing their roles, what fans can expect from the film and more. – Angela Wilson
Were there any similarities between you and your characters?
DC Young Fly: Mine was a little rough around the edges; he was giving his homeboy drugs, and that’s right around my neck of the woods! *laughs* I kind of felt him a little bit, I felt a true relationship with my character.
Omar Epps: Yeah there’s some similarities [between me and my character], wanting the girl and getting the girl.
DC: And getting played by the girl! *laughs*
What do you say to the skeptics out there, assuming Almost Christmas is just another run-of-the-mill black Christmas movie?
Epps: Can’t nobody be hesitant to see this film…
DC: … because it’s too many people in it!
Epps: And it’s a film about love, a film about family, a film about trial and tribulation. Like everyone will be able to relate to this film because we all come from family, we all have our own interpersonal relationships; you don’t get along with this one, this one said such and such. And, it’s Christmas dinner! And we all know how that goes with the family, making Big Mama’s pie, who can’t cook the greens and the potato salad.
DC: And you can kind of relate to all the characters – like there’s somebody in your family you can say, Auntie Cheryl is our Auntie or so-and-so is our cousin, and this fool bringing the drugs over, that’s Lil Tim Tim! Like ya’ll can relate.
Omar, you got over 25 years invested in the game! How does that feel?
Epps: It feels like a blessing.
I’m just thankful everyday- but when you’re in it, whatever it is you do, and you’re trying to master that, and when you get it, you’re not even aware of all of that. I just been fortunate enough to have done that and can reflect back so I’m even more thankful knowing how rare that can be.
Do you have any favorite role you played?
Epps: Nah, they’re all pieces of one big puzzle. For me you can’t take one piece out, but there’s nothing like the first doing Juice. I was only 17 years old. So I never experienced anything like that before entering the business but it’s nothing like the first.
When was the last time either of you cried and why?
DC: I was at a funeral! But I don’t cry, unless I’m laughing at something dead funny! But other than that I don’t cry, I don’t like crying.
Epps: The last time I cried was at my grandfather’s funeral.
Any hidden talents?
DC: Ain’t nothing hidden I’ll show you everything! But I strip on the low. *laughs* And that’s my stripper name too, ‘On the Low!’
But nowadays, it’s OK to be unique. It’s OK to be different, different is winning right now. Nowadays if you have a talent, show it, cause there’s no telling who’s watching.
Epps: I can cook! Don’t really have a best specific dish, but I can cook pretty good- on the low! *laughs*
If Donald Trump wins this election, y’all leaving the country or nah?
DC: *screams* That’ll probably be the first time I cry, like we go die!
Epps: Everybody talking like we moving but we ain’t going no where. We built this mothaf*cka, we ain’t go no where!
DC: I ain’t going no where I’m just go get a whole bunch of guns! Cause we go need ’em!
Epps: But I don’t think he go win though.
DC: But if he wins that means a lot of people didn’t vote, so that’s why it’s important for people to vote so we can at least get 4 years to spare!
What you guys got coming up next?
DC: Stand up specials, my own movie my own projects. Omar got movies he just wrote, so we trying to make a lot of stuff come together.
Epps: I got a new show coming out called “Shooter” with Ryan Philipe on the USA Network. Just did a movie with Paula Patton called Stranded– that’s going to be crazy, it’s a suspense thriller about human trafficking.
And we trying to get DC on this project- just wrote this film for TIP, that we putting together, so we trying to make this happen soon.
Almost Christmas brings Christmas cheers to theaters nationwide on November 11.
