Sterling k Brown on flexible “Honk for Jesus” comedy sticks. save your soul”: ‘it was exhausting’

This is the story of “The Final Comeback”.

Monday Night Cast and Crew Call Jesus. save your soul gathered at Regal LA Live for the film’s premiere. Filmed in a satirical documentary style, the comedy follows the Childs family, Trinity (Regina Hall) and her husband, Pastor Lee-Curtis (Sterling K. Brown), who once led a Southern Baptist megachurch until a scandal forced his congregation to close temporarily. . . In an effort to rebuild, Trinity and Lee-Curtis are trying to make the biggest comeback organized religion has ever seen.

From executive producer Jordan Peele of Monkeypaw Productions, Call Jesus. save your soul. From the twins Adam and Adan Ebo in their directorial debut, inspired by Adama’s 2018 short film of the same name.

“I’ve been saying all night that the Ebo twins are the next titans in Hollywood,” said Confidence, who plays Keon Sumpter in the film. “They’re amazing. This is his first movie, check it out!”

He points to the purple carpet along with the event’s full turnout. Prior to the talent’s arrival, the mat kicked off with a performance by DeP Entertainment’s gospel choir and Asher Entertainment’s Presents: We Sing. The crew sang hits like Beyoncé’s “Break Your Soul” before stars like Peele, Daniel Kaluuya, Hall and Brown hit the mat.

“It’s sublime, it’s smart, it’s nuanced and it’s also very specific,” said executive producer Dana Giles. “It’s very culturally specific. It’s very black And that’s the Monkeypaw way. We’re always looking for projects that feel like they’re moving towards something very specific from a thematic standpoint, but also specific to specific cultural groups that have the potential to speak universally.”

Peele’s frequent collaborator Kaluuya also produced the film under his production company’s 59% Productions banner.

“Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown are incredible actors,” Kaluuya said of the chemistry between the film’s leads. “And they give an incredible performance. They have a lot of experience and they have a lot to give. There are so many other sides to them that you can’t really see. It’s amazing that [movie] There is a great platform for that.”

“They have tone chips,” added director, writer and producer Adam Ebo. “You know, they can do super fun stuff and they can also do super dramatic stuff and everything. And that’s what we needed. There are many improvements.”

Emmy-Winning Drama Productions on NBC It’s usBrown showcases his comedic talents in this film, a side of him that may not have been fully seen before.

“Sterling was really bringing it up,” said co-star Nicole Beharie, who plays Shakura Sumpter. “It’s amazing because we know Regina from all her comedy and she’s funny, no one can take that away from her, she’s brilliant. But I was thinking, Dan. It’s us, Vision [Sterling] Bringing so many colorful and colorless comments and improvisations. Good to see your range. I think people will be driven out of the water by them.”

“It was exhausting,” Brown added as he showed off his comedic skills. “I mean, it was a quick shoot, but a full shoot, six to nine pages shot almost every day. But I had a great scene partner. [in Regina]And I love my directors and the production team. I felt supported so that whatever I wanted to do or try was right. There was freedom to play every day. Whenever you feel like you have the freedom to play, that’s the best environment you can be in.”

And while the film is certainly a comedy, it’s also satire that focuses on the deeper aspects of what it’s like to be part of a megachurch congregation. In making this film, the Ebo twins were able to explore their own issues and relationships with organized religion in a unique way.

“It was quite liberating,” Adam Ebo said of the story’s satirical narrative. “It was liberating to tackle something that isn’t necessarily new, but to do it in a way that I think a lot of people haven’t. In a way that allows us to come to terms with where we are in our own faith and how we feel about our involvement in organized religion.”

“I think what we want the audience to take away from this is to always ask questions,” Adan said. “Question everything.”

“I really enjoyed the themes – the megachurch, wellness, LGTBQIA [experience]all these themes, it’s universal,” Hall said of what impressed him most about the film. “I think we all struggle with things that may not be right in our soul and [we’ve] Developed as an open generation ready for church growth. I just think I can play characters that are complex, but also beautifully flawed and beautifully human. I think it’s it. You can bring who you are, so that everyone can benefit from it. I do for everyone. I create stories to be human. “

“I feel like there are some stories about the church, but not in this way,” Beharie added. “Don’t deal with taboos, don’t take risks. I think that’s the main thing: not making everything so pure, always so aspirational, and not showing all the flow and the nuances and the gray areas.

Call Jesus. save your soul It hits theaters and the Peacock streaming service on September 2.