The year was 1990, Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin would make an indelible mark in Black cinema, with “House Party”.
The cult classic would become a franchise that’s spawned five additional films over three decades.
When it was announced that LeBron James’ production conglomerate, SpringHill Company, would be at the helm of the sixth and latest iteration, it was met with mixed reactions. Shot amid the global pandemic, the film was up against many obstacles.
Triumphantly, “House Party” directed by Calmatic was released in theaters on January 13, 2023.
The GRAMMY and VMA award-winning director for Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” utilized his feature film debut to create a ‘love letter to Los Angeles”. Where he personified the city as the preeminent place where transplants and natives alike are willing to do whatever is necessary to accomplish their goals.
The film stars Jacob Latimore as Kevin and Tosin Cole as Damon. Kevin is a young father and aspiring music producer. He and Damon are party promoters who also work as house cleaners to make ends meet. When Damon allegedly steals jewelry from their adversaries, he and Kevin are kicked off a party that they were slated to host. The pair now find themselves in need of fast cash, especially Kevin who also needs to pay for his daughter’s school tuition.
Unbeknownst to them, they’re assigned to clean LeBron James’ mansion. Kevin and Damon decide to use James’ home to throw the ultimate house party to not only meet their financial goals, but Damon also wants to establish himself as the premiere party promoter in the city. What they think is a foolproof plan is anything but seamless. As a result, chaos ensues.
Calmatic speaks exclusively with L.A. Watts Times about the process of bringing this film from pitch to production as well as a critical scene that he had to convince the studio was culturally relevant.
LAWT: Can you talk about your transition from being a music video and commercial director to a feature film director? How did you prepare yourself to pitch your vision for the film to the studio?
Calmatic: I’ve done my fair share of treatments for music videos and commercials so I knew the formula of how to state my case as far as my approach.
This was special because once Springhill decided that they wanted me to be the director, the head of film at Springhill, Spencer Beighley made me come to the WB studios every day for like three weeks to practice my pitch with him.
He would give notes like, ‘say this, don’t say that’.
He taught me how to come into the room and look and sound like a filmmaker.
There were the things that made the folks at New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. perk up.
These were also things that I needed to consider in making the film. Like, ‘it’s a love letter to Los Angeles’ is something I wasn't saying at the beginning.
Initially, I was saying, ‘this is an LA story’ but if you say, ‘it's a love letter to LA’ that means a few more things and now there's a way to separate LA and make it its own character which it is in this film.
When it was finally time to pitch in front of all of these people, I was knocking it out of the park, the pitch was that embedded.
Spencer even told me to scribble on the script, have notes on it, rip pages, and make it look like I've been really tearing this script apart to make sure it’s the right fit.
So I went in really showing my dedication to the project and that helped me to get the job.
LAWT: Were you involved in the casting process? And how did you help teach Tosin Cole, who has a British accent, how to embody the characteristics of an LA native?
Calmatic: When I first read the script I was ‘like Damon gotta be super LA! He has to be the most annoyingly LA guy.
At the same time when you look at the landscape of actors today, I don't want to say that person doesn’t exist but that person hasn’t been given the chance to be on everyone's radar. Going into this I said, “Man we have to find someone who's super LA..”
We got a bunch of video auditions from the who’s who of young Black Hollywood. It was right at the beginning of the pandemic so I think everyone was vying for the job. When I came across Tosin’s tape, I said, “He’s for sure from L.A., we gotta get him in this role. And he was on a show in the UK, that’s dope, he has the range!”
It wasn’t until I met with him after the first casting session that I heard his British accent. I was like ‘Yo! What's going on?’ (Laughs) I know there's a lot of controversy about British actors “taking American roles,” but no one thinks about it from the perspective of a director.
If I need to fill this role with this particular type of energy and I see it, why would I change my mind just because he’s “not from where he’s supposed to be from?”
One thing about Tosin, he’s a student of the culture and not just broad hip-hop culture Tosin follows ratchet Instagram pages, and he knows all of the underground lingo. There were a couple of words he had trouble with but for the most part, he nailed it.
Early on in the production process, we had Tosin spend a day with the rapper Problem, who’s from Compton. They hung out and Tosin definitely got some things from Problem that he incorporated into the film.
Tosin bought his A-game and made it an authentic role and I’m super grateful. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know who would have played that role and I don't think it would have been the same.
LAWT: In addition to the various Covid compliance protocols that made filming a literal house party challenging, what were some other hurdles that you had to overcome to bring this film to fruition?
Calmatic: The biggest challenge for me was having battles with the studio over certain decisions. The collaboration with New Line and Warner Bros. was streamlined and pretty positive for the most part but there were times when we didn’t see eye to eye.
For example, the moment with Juvenile and “Back That Azz Up,” they didn’t think Juvenile was relevant, they didn’t think that was the best song for that moment. If a party isn’t crackin’ and you need folks to go to the dance floor, there’s literally only one song to play and it’s “Back That Azz Up!”
But, I couldn't just go in and say, “Naw, trust me.” I had to learn how to state my case and how to have a professional argument with the studio. I had to find all of these links to videos of kids in college dancing to the song. I even found a video of Ellen DeGeneres dancing to “Back That Azz Up” and that was the thing that made them consider it.
It's so funny because right when we decided to do it, Juvenile released, “Vax That Thang Up” (to encourage people to get COVID vaccinations) and when that went viral, they were sold.
To this day, folks from the studios will send me messages about Juvenile. I had to learn how to educate them as opposed to shutting them out and saying, ‘I got this.’ I had to find ways to bring them along so that they could learn at the same time. Because that song will never get old.
LAWT: Between the Illuminati scene and the koala, were you taken aback by any aspects of the script?
Were the screenwriters Jamal Olori and Stephen Glover a part of the production process to help shape some of your directorial decisions?
Calmatic: Jamal and Stephen were writers on “Atlanta.” I think they did a really good job of adding that twist, adding that, “Oh wow, we’re taking it here, I didn’t see that coming.” As I was reading the script I was looking for that the whole time and it was like, “Yes, here it is, this is the moment.”
When people think about the original movie they only think about the house party but there are so many other scenes outside of the party that we tend to forget when thinking about the highlights of the first film so we wanted to make sure that we weren’t stuck in the house the whole time and that was the perfect way to get out.
We started to work on the actual movie, Steven and Jamal were in the offices when we were prepping. One of the things about film, the script never stops changing, there will be ideas. When certain celebs couldn’t make it, we had to pivot. We had the idea of Odell Beckham sitting down on one of the inflatable couches and all of the sudden it throws him off the couch, injuring him.
We were just joking around and said what if he fell in a hole and Lil Wayne came in and said, “Now you know he dead” (lyrics from his song, “Go DJ”). It became an inside joke because we didn’t think we were going to get Wayne, but we figured out a way to reach both him and Odell and they did it! But that was something that we thought of later in the process.
LAWT: In your quest to create "A Love Letter To Los Angeles," is there a particular scene that you're most proud of?
Calmatic: The opening sequence is probably my favorite part. Opening up on the American Legion Post on Slauson, seeing someone sweeping up and then seeing that “Hollyhood” license plate, the skaters in Leimert Park, the girls walk out of the wig shop on Crenshaw that's a classic wig shop I've been looking at my whole life.
When the weekend is coming, that’s what people do, they go to the beauty supply and go to the barbershop on Crenshaw. These are all things that we’ve all done before, and those shots made me most proud. As well as going to the Hollywood sign and then panning all the way down to the avenues in Leimert Park, that’s super LA for me and I’m glad I was able to do that.
LAWT: You mentioned that there should be remakes of certain films like “House Party” because each film is pertinent to that generation. Do you feel like remakes are a safe space because they have reference material?
Calmatic: When you say “safe space,” it’s actually a war zone. It's hard to create when you know everyone has a reference for this thing. It's interesting because I know I said “House Party” is a movie that I think should be remade, but I feel it’s because of the subject matter - young people living it up in hip-hop culture. A party is like a pinnacle celebration of culture. It's ever-changing and it's important to keep that going and to look back and document that.
I can’t wait to do my original stuff and do something that doesn’t already have a reference where people don’t have any expectations going into it. They’re not judging, they’re not rolling their eyes when they hear the title. I want to tap into some of the stories that inspired me to start making films in the first place and use what I’ve learned from directing “House Party” and “White Men Can’t Jump” to tell stories my way without being tied to other franchises. I’m ready to carve out my own lane and show ‘this is how I do my movies when I write it and when I control every aspect.’
Sisters and DreamGirls Co-Founders, Sharie Wilson and Tonya Thompson, are on a mission to debunk the stereotypes that Black people often face in regard to their hair.
Wilson and Thompson are stylists and healthy hair experts who both have decade-long reputations of having “magic-growing hands,” helping Black people grow their own hair through DreamGirls’ Healthy Hair Program and 5-Step Healthy Hair Care System product line.
DreamGirls is a women-owned, family-owned, and Black-owned salon and haircare line set with the focus on negating the myths that Black women and men cannot have long, healthy hair.
The journey started with Tonya Thompson, who loved hair at a young age.
“I used to do hair for all my friends at school—I used to braid hair, flat iron their hair, play around with relaxers, and just doing anything you could think of.”
While in college, Thompson brought her sister Sharie into the mix. Tonya is five years older than Sharie, who started getting into the business when she was in high school. Never having the intention of doing hair, she’d continued it throughout college and even after as a way to make extra money.
“[Because] of the stereotypes and how people thought of hairstylist, I just never went into that field,” admitted Thompson.
The two went on with life—Sharie went onto college and got a job in corporate America, while Tonya worked in education—however remained doing hair on the side. With time, the sisters realized that doing hair was bringing them more money than they’re day jobs. The rest became history.
“I’d work a nine to five, and then come home and do hair form six to ten,” said Sharie Wilson. “And I realized I was making more money between six and then, so I deiced to walk away from corporate and dived right into doing hair.”
DreamGirls originally started as a hair line.
“We were one of the few in Sacramento and a very few if the people in LA that started selling hair,” Wilson told the Sentinel. The two opened a shop on Crenshaw and Manchester, and while selling hair, decided it would be a good idea to have someone there to install the hair.
“That’s how the salons ended up coming about,” continued Wilson. “Then we had our first salon in LA, and then I branched out and opened a salon in Sacramento. We’ve had salons in both locations ever since.”
The sisters have made it their expertise and their passion to help black women and men’s hair reach it’s greatest potential in both length and strength. Through their DreamGirls Healthy Hair Program, clients wear the protective style of a weave while the natural hair underneath the extensions is cared for and monitored by DreamGirls stylists.
Every three months, the weave is taken down, DreamGirls stylists treat the natural hair with the 5-Step Healthy Hair Care System product line, and then weave is reinstalled. After the course of the recommended time frame on the program, one will take out the weave permanently to reveal healthy, full, and long natural hair.
With doing hair, the DreamGirls founders wanted to make sure they were making a difference. They also wanted to make sure they didn’t treat their business venture like a hustle, but as a true career path.
“People normally treat the hairstylist world as a hustle, uneducated default type of position that you get into,” explained Thompson. “[However] we took and changed it into a real profession, and that’s what we’re trying to do with all stylist. We’re trying to create DreamGirls Certified Stylist, and show people that this is a real profession.”
Thompson continued, “This is the best thing I could have done because it’s a whole new world! It allows me to make a difference in the community, make a difference in our own people in general, talk with a lot of people…”
Currently, DreamGirls has a cosmetology school, and is looking into many more ways hairstylist can turn this craft into a profession with benefits, insurance, and so much more.
The DreamGirls product line was released during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and helped provide hair solutions to anyone at home who could no longer visit their salons. Over $1 million of products was sold within the first six months, and customers were blown away by the results. The Healthy Hair Care System became a trending online sensation because of the results customers were seeing.
Since then, the product line has expanded into curl and styling products as well as accessories. DreamGirls even carefully chooses the names of their products to chance the narrative around Black hair by leaving out words like “unruly” and “hard-to-manage, and instead uses words like “revival” and TLC” in the product names.
“Words have power,” enthused Wilson, “and we want our clients to speak life into their hair and we want our products to speak life into their hair as well. We want people to walk in confidence. We want to show Black women that if you choose to wear your hair straight, that’s fine. If you choose to wear it curly, that’s fine. Whatever way you want to wear your hair, you can, as long as it’s healthy.”
Wilson continued, “As long as your hair is healthy, it can grow as long as you want it to with no cut off. As long as you want it to grow, it can grow.”
DreamGirls products are sold exclusively online at www.dghair.com or in person at the Culver City Salon. For information on Sharie Wilson and Tonya Thompson check out their social media (@dreamgirlshair).
Los Angeles bid farewell to the iconic Beverly White, the dynamic news reporter who has graced local airwaves for the last three decades and been in the industry for more than 40 years
The versatile TV journalist attracted legions of fans while covering tragic events such as earthquakes and shootings as well as conducting memorable stories like the untimely deaths of music superstars Michael Jackson and Prince.
However, after 30 years of stellar work at NBC4, she is leaving L.A. to pursue new opportunities in Florida.
Acknowledging her success in the city of angels, White said, “L.A. has been good to me and I’ve truly enjoyed my time here.”
On Twitter she wrote, “This is for anyone who ever granted me an on-camera interview, gave me a news tip or blessed me w/a kind word. Thank you.
I’m retiring today after 41 yrs in TV news. Y’all who watched & liked? I’m grateful 4 you too. Stay safe! And support journalism #1A.”
White’s fellow journalists expressed comparable sentiments about her storied career and friendship. Her colleague Michael Brownlee quipped, “Without Bev White on site, it just don’t feel right,” in response to her departure.
“Beverly has a command in the field. She grabs you by the arm and says, ‘Let me explain this to you and pay attention and I got you,’” insisted NBC4 General Manager Todd Mokhtari.
“She’s like the queen mother of news,” said photojournalist David Gregory. “Compassion and fairness. I mean it means the world to both of us really to make sure we get everyone’s voices in the story.”
“Beverly is a kick-ass reporter,” declared anchor Colleen Williams.
Her statement is illustrated by White’s coverage of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the jarring street protests following the murder of George Floyd, and the delayed government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Looking back on some of the stories she’ll always cherish, White said, “I covered Nelson Mandela when he was first released [from prison]. The station flew me to Miami. Also, I covered him when he came to L.A. [and appeared at] First AME Church. Just to be in that space was memorable.
“I also got to interview Desmond Tutu, which was awesome. And due to childcare issues, I had to take my daughter on my interview with Maya Angelou, who actually got down and played with her. My daughter still remembers it.”
While some believe they witnessed White grow up on the L.A. TV news, she was a seasoned and award-winning reporter when she joined the KNBC4 in 1992.
A native of Texas, White worked at several stations before coming to the West Coast.
Armed with a broadcast journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, her first assignment was at KMOL in San Antonio.
She moved on to stints at KCEN in Temple/Waco, KENS in San Antonio and WKRC in Cincinnati where she anchored the weekday morning news. Later as a reporter at WTVJ in Miami, White was part of the news team earning a Peabody Award in 1992 for covering Hurricane Andrew.
Regarding her arrival, she remembered, “When I came to L.A., I had a proven track record and was an established reporter.”
She also joined the growing contingent of L.A.-based African American TV journalists.
“There were already many Blacks in the industry here. I worked with Furnell Chapman at KNBC and also, Marc Brown (of ABC7) and Pat Harvey (of KCBS/KCAL) were here. Although we’re on different stations, we are all colleagues and support one another,” noted White.
In addition to supporting her fellow reporters, White advocates for up-and-coming African Americans in the industry through her work with the National Association of Black Journalists.
A longtime member of NABJ, she served two terms as president of the organization’s Southern California Chapter.
“I owe so much to NABJ,” said White. “I began attending the national conferences in the 1980s. At one conference, I had my reels and showed them to a woman who [went on to] hire me in L.A.
Also, I met my husband at a NABJ convention, and he came to L.A. with me!”
As for the future, White and her husband are preparing to relocate again. “We are moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the Gulf side,” she announced.
“I’ll be close to my granddaughter, and I won’t just do nothing. Perhaps I’ll teach since I taught as an adjunct professor at USC.”
She also intends to continue promoting NABJ and Black media in general. “I appreciate the Black press,” White said.
“Mr. Bakewell – Sr. and Jr. – have always supported me and covered my career in the past. I think the Black press is important.”
Whatever comes her way, White aims to employ the mantra that has guided her throughout her career. “Be an encourager,” she recommended. “The world has enough critics.”
Assistant Managing Editor Devyn Bakewell has contributed to this story.
Beauty photographer—Jamil Brown— focused his lens on editing and perfecting his skill in capturing beauty in diverse cultures, specializing in darker skin tones.
He highlights the unparalleled beauty found in the Black community. In the entertainment industry, he is well known by first name, Jamil.
Editing Black people in digital photography is a skill that takes a keen ability; one must master picking up on mahogany skin tones and illuminating ageless beauty against what society has labeled attractive.
As a small business owner, Jamil reflected on his growth. He started his career shooting landscape images and moved to capture editorial and beauty photography.
Jamil shared that his uncle inspired him to pick up a camera, he recalled memories of his uncle taking pictures of family trips; he realized that his uncle captured countless memories, and this led Jamil to find his purpose.
Jamil has been a photographer for over six years, he reflected on his journey and stated, “I started with landscapes—and then landscapes led to capturing images of people,” It was a pivotal moment, when Jamil decided to start capturing images of people.
Jamil described his mindset when he was exclusively shooting landscapes, he said, “You have mother nature, you never have to wait.
You know at a certain time the sun is going to set and you’re not going to be disappointed.”
His uncle works in the entertainment industry and provided an opportunity for Jamil to work as a production assistant on The Steve Harvey Show.
“As I was on the show, I got close to the photographer, and that’s when everything changed,” Jamil stated that he watched the show’s photographer, Adam, turn out extraordinary visual work from a small space, igniting his motivation to pursue photography.
Jamil reflected on the motivational messages Harvey would share with the live audience on the show, he left that production knowing that at any stage in life, one can make things happen for themselves.
Jamil described his photography as “clean and true.” Jamil stated, “When I say true—how you see it on your phone, or a screen is how she (the model) looks in real life.
You can see the texture; you can see the pores—you can see everything. It’s not airbrushed, which a lot of photographers are doing these days.”
As a beauty photographer, Jamil manages anywhere from 3-4 photoshoots per week; he confirmed that it takes approximately 8-10 hours to edit the images.
“The editing varies, depending on what I am going for—I’m editing longer than I’m shooting,” Jamil said.
Jamil painted a mental picture depicting his love for capturing headshots, by stating, “It’s really the lighting, the end result, and the editing— it’s my favorite. It’s almost therapeutic.”
Jamil harvested a sense of purpose through a camera lens; he recalled a time when he didn’t know what he wanted to do in life before photography.
He stated, “Being able to be happy doing something, being good at it, and being able to service people—you’re making other people happy, that’s my purpose.”
Jamil’s studio is located in Moreno Valley, California, but he conveyed that he travels with a lot of his clients.
Jamil studies different types of photography, but his bread and butter are headshots. One day he would like to work with fashion model, Aslayy Baugh.
To find out more information follow Jamil Brown on Instagram, @milly2s
To book your next headshot with Jamil, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .