Page 8 The Skanner January 25, 2017
News
Regina Hall: The ‘Girls Trip’ Interview
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
R
egina Hall launched
her career in the
late 1990s while
still earning a mas-
ter’s degree from New
York University. The ac-
complished actress will
soon appear in “Naked,” a
remake of the 2000 Swed-
ish fi lm “Naken.” The ro-
mantic comedy co-star-
ring Marlon Wayans
is set to be released on
Aug. 11.
In 2016, Regina ap-
peared opposite Mor-
ris Chestnut in the sus-
pense thriller “When the
Bough Breaks.” Earlier
that year, she was seen
on the big screen in “Bar-
bershop: The Next Cut”
an ensemble comedy
also featuring Ice Cube,
Cedric the Entertainer,
Common, Eve and Nicki
Minaj.
Regina’s other outings
include “The Best Man,”
“The Best Man Holi-
day,” “Think Like a Man”
and “Think Like a Man
Too.” She also starred in
“About Last Night,” a re-
make of the 1986 fi lm of
the same name. Among
her additional fi lm cred-
its are “Scary Movie” and
its three sequels, “Paid
in Full,” “Malibu’s Most
Wanted” and “First Sun-
day.” And she was seen
in “Law Abiding Citizen,”
“Death at a Funeral,”
“Love & Basketball” and
“Disappearing Acts,” too.
On television, Regina
recently made guest ap-
pearances on “Grandfa-
thered” and “Black-ish.”
In January 2015, she
starred in the Lifetime
fi lm “With This Ring.”
Her other TV credits
range from “Married”
to “Law & Order: LA” to
“Ally McBeal.”
Here, Regina talks
about her new movie,
“Girls Trip,” an over-the-
top comedy co-starring
Queen Latifah, Jada Pin-
kett Smith and Tiff any
Haddish.
Kam Williams: What
interested you in playing
Ryan Pierce?
Regina Hall: I think
“
orative process. It’s fun
being directed by Mal-
colm because he knows
me, and I know how he
likes to work. There’s a
lot of trust. I feel comfort-
able asking questions,
and We can sit down and
talk through things
KW: And how was it
working with Jada, Tiff a-
ny and Queen Latifah?
RH: It was great. It’s
so special to get to work
with women you’ve re-
spected for so long, and
to get to know them as
I was drawn to her journey
as a woman who seems to
have it all, who has this public
persona as a celebrity, yet can
get together with her girl-
friends and be wild
it was just the way her
character develops. I was
drawn to her journey as
a woman who seems to
have it all, who has this
public persona as a celeb-
rity, yet can get together
with her girlfriends and
be wild.
KW: Was there anyone
you based her on?
RH: Not on any one
person, but on a mix-up
of people.
KW: What was it like
being directed by Mal-
colm [Lee] for the fourth
time?
RH: It’s always great
working with him and
Will [producer Will
Packer]. It’s such a collab-
people. It was like we
were on a real girls trip.
KW: Had you done any-
thing with Larenz Tate
before?
RH: No, but he’s great. I
loved working with him. I
hadn’t worked with Mike
[Colter] or Kofi [Siriboe]
before either. They were
all fabulous.
KW: Editor/Legist Pa-
tricia Turnier asks: How
do you feel about the Es-
sence Music Festival?
RH: It’s a great resource
and a great place to have
fun. It’s the epicenter for
black women that time of
year. You can meet peo-
ple from all over. It has
great concerts and New
Orleans has amazing
food. Yeah, I love the Es-
sence Festival!
KW: Patricia was won-
dering whether there
is an African American
icon you would like to
portray?
RH: Hmm... that’s a
great question, Patricia.
Yes, there are one or two
I don’t want to reveal. I
don’t think anybody has
heard of them.
KW: Patricia also asks:
What message do you
want people to take away
from “Girls Trip”?
RH: I think it’s about
sisterhood, and being
true to yourself and to
who you are. The movie’s
also about friendship.
You come to care about
these characters because
we have a real bond and a
real love for each other.
Hopefully, people take
away that message.
KW: She like to know
how did you like New Or-
leans?
RH: I love the city. I’ve
shot there several times
before. The people are so
warm. The food is a little
bit too tasty. I try to ar-
rive about 5 pounds un-
derweight, so I can gain
a few while I’m there.
That way, I won’t look
too heavy on camera. I
always gain weight when
I’m there. But I love New
Orleans because it has a
lot of heart and a lot of
soul, and very beautiful
people who are always so
kind.
KW: Patricia concludes
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Regina Hall
by saying: You went to
college before your act-
ing career. You obtained
a master’s degree in jour-
nalism. Many kids think
they do not need an ed-
ucation to make it in the
entertainment industry.
How has your education
benefi ted you profes-
sionally?
RH: It served several
purposes. It helped me
to break down and un-
derstand scripts. And
the discipline of getting
my master’s gave me a
certain amount of confi -
dence. I don’t think col-
lege is the only path, but
I enjoyed it and it worked
out very well for me. I
had some good friends
with whom I could get a
little crazy, but still be
responsible. It was the
perfect bridge from liv-
ing at home to indepen-
dence. I also love learn-
ing. I might have been a
professional student and
earned a couple of doc-
torates, if I didn’t have to
pay bills.
KW: It’s unfortunate
how expensive college
has become, putting
higher education out of
the reach of most chil-
dren.
RH: That is sad. Educa-
tion ought to be aff ord-
able for everybody. That
only advances a society.
KW: What was your
very fi rst job?
RH: I can’t remember if
I worked in a movie the-
ater or at Constitution
Hall in DC fi rst?
KW: The Uduak Oduok
question: Who is your fa-
vorite clothes designer?
RH: I honestly don’t
know if I could pick just
one. There are so many.
That list is long.
KW: Larry Greenberg
asks: Do you have a fa-
vorite movie monster?
See INTERVIEW on page 11
Artist cont’d from pg 7
in “Walls of Heritage”
will be included in an
upcoming exhibit on the
Black Power movement
at London’s Tate Muse-
um.
The downside to histor-
ic muraling, however, it
that many artists did not
create the work with the
long term in mind, said
Dunitz.
Less than 10 years aft er
the visual landmarks of
the Albina neighborhood
were completed, the very
artists who put them up
were asked to take them
down. Painted on parti-
cle board, the murals had
suff ered severe damage
from Portland’s rainy cli-
mate.
While Frison’s show
at greenHAUS will hon-
or legendary Black lives
through his personal-
ized portraits, it’s also a
chance to celebrate the
artist’s contribution to a
city that has suff ered ma-
jor cultural blows due to
gentrifi cation.
“It was so important for
us to have him, because
he’s an iconic fi gure. And
unfortunately
iconic
fi gures aren’t oft en rec-
ognized as being iconic,”
said Reed. “He gave me
the privilege of having it
in my space. Henry is the
kindling to our society
that we need.”
Some of Frison’s orig-
inals and prints will be
for sale at greenHAUS
Gallery and Boutique, as
well as mugs and T-shirts
that feature his artwork.