Glamazons,
Something epic is happening this Saturday. Three writers who I admire, Ebony EIC Mitzi Miller, CocoaFab‘s Angela Burt-Murray and Denene Millner of My Brown Baby, penned the best-selling novel The Vow and now it’s being turned into a movie (this is every writer’s dream, by the way).
“With This Ring” stars Regina Hall, Jill Scott and Eve Cooper (hey, new last name!) and will air on Lifetime this Saturday (January 24th) at 8PM ET/PT.
Executive produced by Gabrielle Union, Sheila Ducksworth and Tracey Edmonds, and directed by Nzingha Stewart, the movie centers around three girlfriends who make a vow to get married in a year after attending their friend, Elise’s (Brooklyn Sudano) New Year’s Eve wedding.
But of course, their plan isn’t as simple as it sounds. Talent agent Trista (Regina Hall) isn’t over her ex, gossip columnist Viviane (Jill Scott) still loves her son’s father and Amaya (Eve Cooper) wants her married boyfriend to leave his wife. There’s no telling if any of them will make it to the altar but it’ll be fun watching their journey!
I got the chance to chat with actress Regina Hall this week and I love what she had to say about sisterhood, dating, marriage and of course, fashion! Check out some excerpts from our interview.
On whether she relates to her character, Trista, in “With This Ring”:
“Oh my God yes. I made that vow. And I clearly didn’t stick to it. [laughs] But, you know, I’ve had moments where my friends and I have been like ‘by this time next year, we’re going to be married.’ [laughs] I think the whole point of the movie — and I certainly resonate with this — is that we can’t wait to be happy. And there [shouldn’t be] an event or relationship or something that you have planned in your head that creates your happiness.
And [people might say] they’re not married because they’re uptight, or they’re not married because they’re frigid or they’re not married because they have bad personalities. Sometimes, we’re just not in a relationship. We’re just single. And maybe it’s a numbers game or maybe [a relationship] is just not what we have. Of course, I relate to that.”
On the spirit of sisterhood on set:
“There wasn’t a woman on that set who I didn’t like. Obviously I respected them and admired their work. But I also liked them as women. And that was wonderful. So it became more than just shooting a movie. It was really a wonderful experience from beginning to end.”
On working with Gabrielle Union in her executive producer role:
“It was wonderful. It was a little bit of pressure because you’re like ‘Oh, I don’t want my friend to think I suck.’ You don’t think about that when you’re both acting but [as executive producer] she’s got a different lens on. But she was great. Gabrielle is very smart and extremely supportive so I always knew that she was there and just backing me up all the way. So it was wonderful — a little scary but wonderful.”
Why “With This Ring” is one of her favorite roles:
“With this Ring is amazing for me because it’s my first leading role. So to have Tracey Edmonds and Gabrielle Union as producers and Nzhinga Stewart as the director to just allow me that opportunity, that really means a lot to me, especially at this point. You don’t get a lot of [leading] female roles. There are not a lot of female producers of color and there are not a lot of female directors. So to be able to get all of that and then have a book written by [three] African-American women, that’s a rarity.”
On what women should take away from this film:
“Life doesn’t begin when [you get married]. Life is right now. One of the biggest things I want is for women to value themselves with or without a relationship. I remember speaking with Nzhinga one day. She said, ‘Oh, you know I have so many friends who are waiting thinking that their life will begin [once they get married].’ And I know before this movie started, about three years ago, I wanted a house with a yard. And I remember my first thought was ‘Oh, you know what? I should probably wait until I get married and then I’ll move.’ And then I thought ‘Well, I don’t know when that is. And I could enjoy my yard right now because right now is really all I have.’
And I think that’s the message I really hope women take away from it. There as so many wonderful things and so many wonderful pieces that make up life as a whole so just because it’s not the way you envisioned or dreamed it doesn’t mean that it’s not deliciously wonderful. And I hope women really can know that and know that they themselves are the most valuable component in their lives. And making that choice to really acknowledge and delight in that is the most important step to real true happiness.
And I think it’s always nice to be reminded of that and just know that love comes in so many different forms. It can come in an intimate relationship. It can also come in your relationship with family and with friends.”
On the dating advice she’d give women looking to get married:
“I think just enjoy the process of dating. I think one of the most interesting things in the movie is with Eve’s character, she had this amazing guy that she overlooked for her own reasons, and then she was finally able to see him. But I don’t have any secrets to getting you to ‘I do’ —- look, clearly I don’t [laughs]. Just enjoy your time single just as much as you will enjoy it married.”
On her favorite outfit from the movie:
“Oh, my goodness I had so many. I love the clothes in the movie. I hope the lens could capture some of those looks because I love them! [My favorite] was a denim jumpsuit in a scene between Eve and I. And I love the jumpsuit so much I wanted to stand up in the scene but it just wouldn’t have made sense. But it’s definitely something I would wear in my everyday life.”
On her chemistry with “Hollywood husband” Kevin Hart:
“We just we have so much fun together. And I like Kevin as a person but we definitely have great working chemistry. We’re obviously good friends. I don’t speak to him everyday but I do consider him a very, very close friend. And I’m really happy for all of his success. I guess we were probably married in another life or something, and it all comes back on screen.”
You May Also Like: “About Last Night”: Kevin Hart and Regina Hall’s Chemistry Steals The Spotlight
On co-hosting “The View”:
“It was really fun. I’m a fan of all of those women. They’re just so smart and they’ve been trailblazers and their careers speak volumes to have that amount of success in the business and balance their lives as mothers and their personal lives [in general]. I looked up to Whoopi Goldberg a lot. I remember loving her in “Ghost” so much. I looked at how she just could be vulnerable but really funny. And I loved her in “The Color Purple.” It was really amazing to me how she transcended being either comedic or dramatic. She was both. And she could do both in one role. And that informed how I make choices [on which roles to take]. That’s one of the reasons [co-hosting ‘The View’] was so special to me.”
On upcoming projects:
“I’m actually going to shoot a thriller called “When the Bough Breaks” with Morris Chestnut at the end of this month in January. ”
On whether the trend of black women in leading roles will last:
“I think people of all races are really open to our stories but there’s always work [that has to be done for it] to continue. If we write characters that resonate with women of all races — which the themes of love and heartbreak and disappointment and marriage do — then we’ll get a lot of support.
And my belief system is that if a movie makes money or is successful and gets viewership, then they will make more. When one does well, then there’s another one. And Lifetime is an example of that. They have a lot of films with African-American casts that have done well so they continue to make them. So if success continues to be a trend, then [black women in leading roles] will stay.”
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Executive producer Tracey Edmonds also answered a few of our questions. A few snippets from her interview:
On the movie premiering on TV rather than in theaters:
“We were just really happy to get this movie made [no matter the platform]. We set out to make this movie look and feel like a theatrical movie from a production perspective. And of course, we had A-list actresses that were delivering amazing performances, and Nzhinga as a writer and director wrote an amazing script. So even though we ended up on television, we wanted to give the viewer a theatrical viewing experience on television.”
On getting black films and TV shows made in Hollywood:
“I’m very excited that we’ve made some strides. And so the blessings are that you see a lot more African-American females especially on television in empowered and leading roles, and so that’s amazing to see: Kerry Washington in Scandal, Viola Davis in How to Get Away with Murder, Alfre Woodard in State of Affairs, Taraji P. Henson on Empire. The challenges are still the lack of slots for films when your entire cast is African-American, or African-American stories. For example, in “With this Ring,” all of our leads are African-American women but that is still pretty rare to see. And so it’s a blessing that Lifetime is creating slots to allow these types of stories to be told.
But there are still very few studio films that are being made for African-American casts. They’re only a couple slots a year for urban films versus the hundreds of slots that are available for mainstream films. So we still have a long way to go in that arena.”
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Really insightful interview, right? I was impressed by how smart and passionate Regina and Tracey are about their craft and about “With This Ring.” So, Glamazons, I saw it and I absolutely love the film. It was hilarious (Regina shines and Deion Sanders is a riot) and relatable (what woman hasn’t encountered the commitment phobe or experienced that “get over your ex” struggle?!).
Most of all, I loved the message that women should enjoy their single lives instead of believing their happiness or fulfillment will come once they get married.
I totally recommend grabbing your girlfriends, buying a bottle of wine and watching the movie together. And of course, Twitter will be entertaining (as always!) so join the convo with the #WithThisRing hashtag.
Are you tuning into “With This Ring” this Saturday at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime, Glamazons? What’d you think of Regina and Tracey’s interview?
Kisses,
Glamazon Jessica
Photos and Video Courtesy of Lifetime
Great interview!
Aww thanks Ty! x