Black characters in horror cinema history continue to evolve beyond the unintelligible, fill-in friend killed in the first 15 minutes (despite being the only person with the common sense to run). In addition to being the focal point of scare tactics and antagonist fodder, the genre has effectively elevated discussions on racism, gentrification, and self-hatred. Though most memorable performances have come from abject fear, some have integrated comedy into their storytelling while maintaining nuances of Blackness.

With Halloween approaching, it’s a good time to pull out a comfort blanket, make some popcorn, and turn out the lights to watch your favorite Black-casted thrillers. In honor of the spooky season, here are five horror films, in no order, featuring Black actors with optimal powers of survival and more lines than “I know you better quit playing” right before getting slashed, dashed, and buried.

Tales From the Hood (1995)

Though not a Halloween movie, this scare-fest features Clarence Williams III (Hoodlum, Purple Rain) as Mr. Simms, a quirky, somewhat frightening mortician with a penchant for storytelling. When three drug dealers enter the funeral home looking for drugs to sell, their encounter with the Shaherazad-esque Simms is more than they bargained for. 

What Tales from The Hood does well in utilizing horror to illuminate modern-day ills affecting Black people. Told as four short stories that shine the light on police corruption, domestic abuse, racism, and gang violence, Williams’ iteration of Mr. Simms is a compelling history lesson before the ultimate horror pay-off closes things out.

Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)

Directed by one of the horror genre’s most notable figures, Wes Craven, Vampire in Brooklyn, though scary in parts, ultimately delivers a comedic punch thanks to performances by Eddie Murphy and Kadeem Hardison (A Different World, K.C. Undercover). Featuring a who’s who of Hollywood royalty, including Angela Bassett, John Witherspoon, and Kadeem Hardison, Murphy stars as a Caribbean-born vampire searching for an extraordinary lady with whom he shares some common lineage. More fun than fright, half of the fun comes from the array of accents Murphy has from start to finish. Think Prince Akeem hops on the F train and transforms into Maximillian, a regal creature of the night.

Candyman (1992)

Say it three times while looking into the mirror and be prepared for what happens next. 

Set in Chicago‘s north side, this supernatural thriller intersects fear, racism, and urban legends with Tony Todd (The Rock, Destination), at the helm as Daniel Robitaille. As the son of an enslaved person born in the 1800s, who ultimately becomes a talented and sought-after painter in the city, he breaks the cardinal sin of becoming entangled with a white woman. 

Ultimately, her racist father assembles a mob that dismembers his hand and smears him with honey, leading to the horrific death of a million bee stings in the town square, ultimately becoming the Cabrini Green housing project. The trauma of his death leaves his spirit unsettled in the afterlife, thus leading him back to earth to wreak havoc in the projects, leaving a trail of death that the city attributes to Black-on-Black crime. But the residents know better.

His House (2020)

America has long ground zero for popular horror movies. However, His House shatters the mold with supernatural storytelling, jump scares, and a sense of dread a family feels when life forces them to confront the dark aspects of life, all while living in dreary conditions. 

His House is a psychological somber thriller starring Sope Dirisu (Gangs of New York) and Wunmi Mosaku (Loki, Black Mirror) as a family fleeing war-torn Sudan for England in search of a more peaceful existence. Instead, they face racism, discrimination, and slum lord practices. Beyond the societal ills, the absolute horror lies within the four walls they’ve attempted to make a home. 

What ultimately connects His House to spooky season are jump scares that are subtle in real. Many scenes load up with such a dark dread that the most jaded person’s neck hairs stand up at attention.

People Under the Stairs (1991)

This underrated thriller, also written and directed by Wes Craven, features Brandon Quentin Adams (The Sandlot) and Ving Rhames (Baby Boy, Mission Impossible) alongside many familiar faces of the era. Inspired by a true Los Angeles crime story, the film centers on a trio of robbers, two adults, and a boy who break into a wealthy landlord’s house looking to come up on some money and jewelry. While there, they discover something sinister at play just below the stars. 

In addition to the frightful nature of discovering something darker at play, the film also examines the ill effects of gentrification, race relations, and the wealth gap. Themes that anyone from the inner city can relate to. 

Honorable mentions: Blacula (1972), Get Out (2017), The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023)

Happy Halloween!

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Examining urban policing is very layered. Usually, we see stories told from the side of criminals or we see the side of policing where they are looked at as noble, but this is new and fresh. When you initially read the script, what were your impressions, and what about a project got you excited? 

Courtney: It’s the commitment to the script. It has to be supported by the entire network and streamer. I met with Peter Moffat and J David Shanks and understood and believed their commitment. That’s the deciding factor for me. Otherwise, if you’re not getting underneath the project then you might as well not do it. It cost too much to do these projects in terms of time, effort, emotionally and physically being away from family. If you don’t want to do it, please don’t come to me because I’m going to commit myself entirely. People are wasting their time if you don’t really want to do it and you’re playing. We are a very sophisticated audience now, so that’s why I did it.

For Tosin, can you speak more to your own emotional commitment and those feelings of approaching this subject matter day after day until the finished project?

Tosin: Yeah, you just want to do it justice. This is a subject that we’ve had conversations about for decades. My granddad talked about it, my dad, my talked about it, and now my younger siblings. They started to have this conversation. You want to make sure we’re telling these stories in the best way possible. In order to do that you’re putting your body, mental state, and emotional on the line. I make sure on set I give everything, I try to portray these emotions and tell these stories in the best way I can. I wouldn’t be doing the audience, script, or cast justice if I didn’t take it seriously. Sometimes that’s the tax you pay in order to tell a good story and be a good performer. I take it very seriously.

Courtney, in every project you do you are among our elite in Hollywood, and you always bring a new audience. Now, you have another new audience; Tosin and younger people like him who will watch this. You said our audience is more intelligent and informed on what they consume. Do you feel it’s the same way for the younger audience?

Courtney: Absolutely, you can’t put anything over our young people now. Especially with those phones, they know more than I do. All I hope is when young people see this it’ll force them to go “hmmm” and they’ll start to look back and go beyond the first page of the Google page. They’ll say, what is it about the healthcare system, how did our grandparents and great grandparents do it? How did Rosa Parks and others do all those things without a computer or phone? Then you start to realize, how great we are as people, and that we stand on the shoulders of greatness. We are learning about people who didn’t see what the future was going to be, and still did things to prepare generations. So that I can stand where I am standing. I take nothing for granted and do my best because I know someone younger is watching me. They will watch this and say, “wow I want to do that” or find out more. These are people’s lives, people really live this situation as someone locked down and they’ve thrown away the key and people look at you like you don’t count anymore.

This interview was conducted via Zoom by Jeandra LeBeauf. The interview has also been condensed and edited for clarity.

61st Street is currently streaming on AMC+ and ALLBLK

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As the world continues to find ways to re-engage audiences and boost ratings in the COVID-era, the Academy, in its infinite wisdom, opted to forego the booking of a traditional host and instead placed Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer at the helm of hosting duties. Overall, the trio did well on a night with momentum that was interrupted by the slap heard around the world. But, some jokes and gags could have been fleshed out a little further or, better yet, left entirely on the proverbial cutting room floor.

The Highs

1) Regina Hall patting down some of Hollywood’s most handsome in the new COVID testing procedure.

Regina Hall is easily one of the funniest/unintentionally funny comedic actors working, making her testing protocol much more enjoyable. In the bit, she pulls Simu Liu, Bradley Cooper, Tyler Perry, and Timothée Chalamet out of the audience for “random testing.” Instead of swabbing their noses, she proceeds to pat them down and offer some alternative methods for testing, specifically a “deep PCR” test.

“It’s simple. I’m going to swab the back of your mouth with my tongue,” Hall quipped. While COVID and testing is no laughing matter, this bit brought some much-needed fun to the event’s intense testing protocol.

Grade: B+

2) Wanda Sykes dressed as Richard Williams, with the tiny shorts and the whole nine yards.

At times, as popular as Sykes is, it still feels like her comedic value is underrated. In a nod to the film “King Richard,” Sykes took to the stage in the signature tiny white shorts while pushing a cart full of tennis balls. It wasn’t so much what she said but the commitment to the bit, including bad knees.

Grade: B

3) Amy Schumer’s calling out pay inequity between men and women.

During the opening monologue, Amy Schumer’s call-out was spot on and hilarious at the same time: “This time, the Academy hired three women to host because it’s cheaper than hiring one man.”

Also funny was calling out Leonardo DiCaprio’s affinity for dating younger women. Ouch. Miss Schumer isn’t wrong, though. “Leonardo DiCaprio, what can I even say about him?” she said. “He’s done much to fight climate change and leave behind a cleaner, greener planet for his girlfriends.”

Grade: B+

The Lows

1) DJ Khaled kicked off the show by talking to the hosts.

Khaled is going to Khaled, but it didn’t fit the hosts’ energy. While it was clear he was part of a bit trying to overtalk to hosts, it just came off as ill-timed and dated.

Grade: F (For not making sense)

2) Two Black women, a white woman, and a jab at representation.

There were many cringy, awkward moments for every legitimately funny moment in the opening. Particularly this one: Regina Hall exclaiming, “We are excited to be hosting, representing Black women who are standing proud.” Sykes then added, “Yes … and living out loud.” Schumer finished the joke off, “And I am representing unbearable white women who call the cops when you get a little too loud.”

The timing, the cadence, the delivery gave the impression of a teleprompter malfunctioning.

Grade: C-

Bottom line, though, the ladies did a fair job in moving the night along. Overall grade: B-

As the Academy prepares for next year’s big show, here are three few tips that could help return to the prominence it once enjoyed:

• Select one host, preferably a versatile host who is funny, tuned in to world news, and looks good in a dance routine. Give Wanda a shot as a solo host next year. Her humor is sharp and engaging, plus she can dance and sing well enough for a good ensemble number.
• Present the awards while the audience is watching. Many categories and winners had their Oscar moment reduced to the in-house audience. At the same time, viewers at home watched the red carpet arrivals. Glamour is a significant part of the event, but so are the actual awards themselves.
• Fewer presenters, more performance. Pick a few hosts to present two to five awards. While it’s fun to see non-nominees present awards, it’s more fun to see live performances. It will also shorten an already lengthy ceremony. Plus, after 2+ years of COVID, many people miss seeing live performances.

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Chris Rock took the stage to present the award for Best Documentary. A renowned comedian and a previous Oscars host, he seized the moment to roast the room. When his sights landed on Jada Pinkett-Smith, he quipped that he was excited to see her appear in GI Jane 2. There’s no film planned, but Rock implied that Pinkett-Smith’s bald head reminded him of that role (played by Demi Moore). 

As the audience groaned, Smith stood up and walked to the stage towards Rock in what appeared to be part of a joke. Instead, he cocked back and slapped Rock with enough strength to send him tumbling around. Rock, shocked by what happened, exclaimed, “Wow, Will Smith just slapped the sh*t out of me.” Back in his seat, Smith yelled off-mic, “Keep my wife’s name out your f**kin mouth.” The live audience sat in shock, unsure if the moment was a joke or a genuine confrontation. A visibly shaken Rock continued to read the nominees.

There are two schools of thought at play here. Some observers will condemn Smith for being too sensitive. For acting violently when the moment could have taken place at another time. At the same time, others will applaud his actions after being long tired of Black women being the butt of jokes about their appearance, particularly things out of their control due to health conditions. For Smith, his reaction to Rock’s joke was an attempt to be protective of his wife. Pinkett-Smith’s battle with alopecia is something she’s been very candid about in recent years. This disorder occurs when the immune system attacks hair follicles. She has long been an advocate for fellow sufferers of the condition.

Soon after, Smith became the fifth Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. In contrast, delivering a tearful acceptance speech, Smith likening art to life indirect reference to the incident. As his voice quivered, he called himself a fierce protector, much like the man he embodied in King Richard, Richard Williams. He then went on to say that fellow nominee Denzel Washington told him, “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.” Is Chris Rock the devil? For Smith, he was in that moment.

So where does that leave Will Smith and Chris Rock at the moment? The facts are he assaulted Rock on live television. At this time Rock has decided not to file charges against Smith for the physical assault according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Also it has been reported that Diddy spoke to both men backstage and they have decided to make amends. The two and are expected to “work out their issues”.

The facts are also that he and his family have long been the butts of jokes, and on the night he stood to win his highest career honor, he felt that enough was enough. For Rock, tonight was any other night. He came on stage and told a joke, the same thing he’s been making his entire career. It is fair to say that Rock will have a highly-watched, highly compensated comedy special sometime shortly. 

There is one other train of thought. It’s hard to take a side here, at least from the outside. On the one hand, we want Black men to stand up and defend Black women. Sometimes that protection is protecting Black women from other Black men. Unfortunately, it’s painful to witness Black men acting violently towards each other on a night that was full of joy and happiness. It was a night when hard work and determination finally had their moment on a night. A film about a Black father protecting his family and propelling them to greatness was front and center for the world to see. Instead, the conversation was reduced by some to another example of Black on Black crime. The moment was concocted to create a viral moment for an antiquated award show struggling for quite some time. 

If there’s anyone to feel sorry for its Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, and David Dinerstein, the team behind the category is winning the documentary Summer of Soul. In a career-defining moment for him and the team, the talk instead shifted to his fellow Philadelphia native delivering a complete-handed, head-snapping slap to one of the most decorated comedians. A pity the moment had to be ruined for him. Hopefully, Smith and Rock can return to a peaceful place in the weeks to follow. The joke will be left in the past, and Thompson will be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor fully.

Only one can hope. 

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The unsolved murder of Brooklyn-born rapper Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., continues to be the subject of everything from novels to films to search engine conspiracy theories. Despite the years-long outpouring of interest, the crime remains unsolved.

Though it’s been 24 years since Wallace’s passing, requests for permission to use his likeness and music for projects continue. At the helm of that approval process is Wallace’s mother, Voletta, working diligently to preserve the legacy of B.I.G. Among the countless films that cross her desk, there is the rare project that captures her attention.

City of Lies, based on the book Labyrinth by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Randall Sullivan, is one of those projects. Speaking to Black Girl Nerds, Wallace says she gave her approval to the City of Lies production company not because it was hoping to champion his music but instead because it wanted to center the story on the widespread corruption surrounding the investigation of her son’s murder.

“This young man [from City of Lies] called and told me that they’re doing this project. There were so many projects going on,” says Wallace. “I’m tired of them, some of them. He said he would like to meet me. So I decided to meet him. When he told me that it was a ‘Russell’ story and wanted to bring out the truth about my son’s case, I decided, Okay, I’ll do this for Russell. I’ll do this for Russell’s family.”

Differing from other retellings of the investigation surrounding B.I.G’s death, City of Lies centers on LAPD detective Russell Poole (Johnny Depp). Poole spent nearly 20 years trying to solve the murder. Jack Jackson (Oscar and Primetime Emmy winner Forest Whitaker), a journalist, teams up with Poole in search of the elusive truth. Together they explore why the case remains cold — and why a secret division of the LAPD is seemingly set on keeping it that way.

In the immediate months following B.I.G.’s death, Wallace and Poole forged a relationship of sorts. Both equally committed to finding her son’s killer, their common goal gave Voletta hopes for justice. Unfortunately for both the Wallace and Poole families, that goal has yet to happen. Wallace remains convinced the LAPD conspired to keep her son’s murder unsolved, and Poole went to his grave, never seeing the fruits of his labor realized. Though resolution often seems unattainable, Voletta remains hopeful for justice. Those responsible for suppressing the investigation will also face the consequences of their actions.

“I have strong hope that I don’t care that it takes 40 years for the truth just for somebody to be accountable for what they did,” Wallace says. “Those in high positions try to put the case on the shelf and not let the truth come out. [They do not want] to expose these police officers for the crooks that they are. You know, all they wanted was to do was to save their retirement. They didn’t want to ruffle their feathers; they didn’t want people from the East Coast to come over. They did everything they could under the real investigation [to put it] on the shelf. They moved on with their life, and I know they can’t sleep at night. I hope and pray that the truth would expose them individually. Russell died exposing them; he was a man of his word. His wife said he died of a broken heart because he didn’t see justice. All he saw was corruption or corruption — pure lies. Everything was hidden.”

As her son’s memory lives on, Wallace finds solace these days in her garden. While the world celebrates the accomplishments of a man whose humble beginnings transformed into worldwide phenomena on the day of his passing, she instead forgets the day altogether. She appreciates the love and celebrations from across the globe but still finds it painful.

“I have my son all over my house,” she says. “So I look at it and reminisce my private way. He is not here, and that is bad. I cannot commemorate death, and I commemorate a life. The fans who are doing it know why they are doing it. I don’t criticize them for what they’re doing. It’s just their way of showing their love for my son. I appreciate them for that. To be honest with you, [this] March 9th, I went and got my first COVID shot. Sometimes over the years, I forget the day. I do. Because guess what? He’s here with me.

City of Lies is available on digital and on demand.

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Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians), a principal member of the film’s writing team, was eager to participate in the project after a conversation with film producer Osnat Shurer. Excited to join a new project, Lim found beauty in a strong warrior woman’s initial concept, a film that not only celebrated the physical attributes of a female lead but a character rich in culture and honor. Speaking to Black Girl Nerds, Lim discusses the origin conversation with Shurer that set her wheels into motion.

“We’d met at Disney, and when [Shurer] called me, at that point, all she could tell me was, ‘We have a young Asian female warrior who’s kicking ass,’” says Lim. “‘And, we have a dragon.’ I said, ‘I am your person for this, look no further.’”

Lim drew from her Southeast Asian roots and early exposure to Hong Kong action movies for this feature. She dove headfirst into developing a unique variety of healthy and predominately female characters. As she envisioned who these characters would be, she thought of the early images she’d seen. Growing up, she’d become accustomed to seeing names who were not only love interests or villains but talented and influential martial artists. Instead of looking at that as a deficiency, she was eager to expand on ideas she’s always known.

“I grew up with a lot of Hong Kong action movies growing up in Southeast Asia,” Lim says. “We didn’t see ourselves a lot in Hollywood movies. With those action films, the female characters were amazing, whether they were the love interest or the villain. But at the same time, they were also powerful martial artists.

“The filmmakers were using Southeast Asia as an inspiration where I grew up, that was just the icing on the cake. In Southeast Asia, we have traditional, strong female leaders, strong female warriors, so we wanted to incorporate all of that into Raya.”

But it’s not only Raya’s strength and resilience that make the story whole. At the film’s core are strong messages on the importance of friendships, particularly between women. This is a theme that isn’t central to any animated film and vastly underused in cinema as a whole. Lim goes on to explain how those relationships between women are critical on-screen and in real life.

Additionally, the strength of friendship extends to the human characters and the mythical dragon Sisu voiced by comedian Awkwafina (Breaking News in Yuba County), who was also part of the cast of Crazy Rich Asians. While dragons are typically a symbol of strength in Asian culture, in this film, the storied figure is something else entirely different.

“We don’t often see female friendship being at the center of a major Hollywood movie, particularly an action one,” Lim points out.  “And that was something that I think all of us circled early on in the beginning.

“When Raya is a little girl, she has this idea of a giant, powerful dragon who’s able to do something magical and immediately fix all the problems with the world and people. When she meets the dragon, it’s not at all what she expects. The dragon isn’t incredibly powerful. She has to protect the dragon.

“So, on the one hand, Raya feels that this dragon is not the solution she wanted. There is a deeper wisdom to her. Because of this humor, she can recognize the humanity in people. She can have faith in them even when they disappoint us, even when they betray us or let us down time and time again. She’s the one thing in Raya’s life that reminds her of her father’s dream and to have faith in her fellow man.”

The weaving of these themes paints an intriguing picture of who Raya is. As the film examines strength, mysticism, healthy friendships between women and having faith in your fellow humans paints a fascinating portrait of what to expect from Raya and the Last Dragon when it finally arrives on March 5 to Disney+. As her story unfolds with her faithful companions, she will undoubtedly take her place alongside an entire catalog of strong female leads. More importantly, instead of being the lone female voice carrying a whole film, she will have a strong tribe of sisters right next to her. Because as Lim says, that’s the “magic” that will pull people together.

Raya and the Last Dragon makes its premiere March 5th.

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The first Walt Disney Animation film in over four years, Raya and the Last Dragon centers on the Southeast Asian fantasy world of Kumandra. In earlier times, humans and dragons lived in harmony until sinister forces threatened the lives of all. Instead of diving headfirst into destruction, the dragons sacrificed themselves so that humans could live. Fast forward 500 years. Humans find themselves repeating the same mistakes of the past, and it’s up to Raya, a lone warrior, to find the one remaining dragon to save humanity. Much like the film Mulan, Raya is presented as the lone, strong, Asian female descendant charged with persevering against all odds. What makes this different is that though culture plays an important factor in the character’s lives, it’s not the story’s driving force.

Veerasunthorn (Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet) was encouraged by the opportunity to present different versions of Asian women that were strong but still relatable. More importantly, though the principal characters are predominately women, that isn’t the story’s nexus. Instead of leaning into the culture, honor, and the other characteristics most would hold in high regard within their community and family. 

“I was excited to work on something that is not just one person who has to carry everything that a woman has to be,” she says. “We can portray different aspects of a woman and how strong or good or bad they can be. It creates a dynamic conversation into what these characters can be like and where they could go. Their Asian culture influences the characters, so there is a strong sense of family and to protect your family and aging parents at all costs. What is beautiful is when characters come in conflict, they get to make their own decisions based on their lives, who they are, and what they want for the world.”

Similarly, the overall mystique of a dragon is rebooted in a new and inventive way. Instead of the fire-breathing, fearsome marvel that’s often displayed in period films, Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina) changes that depiction. Bringing Sisu to life was a truly collaborative effort to turn the mythical creature into a unique character but still necessary to Raya’s success.

“Sisu is a collaboration between so many people,” Veerasunthorn says. “At first, she was kind of hard to write because she’s inspired by Makkah, and that’s a religious speaker, and we didn’t want to go into that territory. We want her to be still a fictional character that people can relate to. I love the aspect that there’s so much expectation from Raya in the world as to who she has to be. And once you meet her, you think, ‘You’re not bad. How do I tell you I still need to be respectful because you’re a being that is higher than the human? How do I steer you to what you need to do?’ So that was really, really fun.” 

Ultimately, for Veerasunthorn and her team of storytellers, the hope is to make the film feel grounded and real. Part of that realness required conveying emotion in a two-dimensional form. Something that she and the team found particularly challenging.

She says, “How do you talk about the theme of trust that is nuanced and contemporary and relatable to people? That’s more of an abstract thing that is in every single sequence that we deal with. So that becomes more about discussion versus how things look like or the technological aspect of it will work.

“How do you reach a consensus on creating the trust that this abstract thought amongst these characters? For example, if Raya is being convinced to take a chance, how do you convey that? She can’t just say, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ That’s too simplistic in the storytelling. So we did so many different versions digging into what makes Raya who she is. What did she experience as a young child? What was her relationship with her father? How does she change when she meets Sisu or the other characters? How do we draw that? There’s so many elements in the toolbox. If one didn’t fit, we pulled another out. At first, that was difficult. Maybe it’s two of these, or three of these are too much. Take one out.”

Raya and the Last Dragon makes its premiere March 5th.

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With the second season of the NBC break out series, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist now underway, Mo’ (played by Newell) will have the opportunity to step out and be seen as more than Zoey’s best friend and benevolent presence. The Broadway standout and former star of Glee says there’s more to Mo’ than being a “magical negro.” In fact, the focus will shift from Zoey’s world to the worlds of the friend group that surround her, most notably Mo’.

“There’s so much more that I really didn’t want Mo’ to turn into,” says Newell. “I didn’t want Mo to be this magical negro that fixes the lead character’s life. I really wanted to dive into more so what Mo’ goes through on a day-to-day, and we figure out more and more what that is and the backstory about it all and the life that Mo’ has outside of Zoey. Last season was us going into Zoe’s worlds. This season is Zoey coming into our world more.”

Between seasons, Newell, like many others, spent large amounts of time in isolation. After testing positive with COVID, moving to a new location, and not having a performance to keep his fire lit, there were challenges. Instead, he turned inward and found ways to cope with real life by way of Zoom meetings and performances. During those moments, he found joy in performance in a different way—much to fans’ delight.

“It’s been an uphill battle. I had COVID, being by myself in my New York apartment, just coming off filming monasteries, and doing a lot of manual work. Just like moving into a new apartment, it was hard to like, stop life in general and just like, do a hard reflect on everything. I had to find what brought me joy. What brings me joy is performing and singing and dancing and acting for everyone and doing live performances and recording and filming, and everything flows from that. I was fortunate enough to keep doing that virtually.”

With the season returning when people are adjusting to new normalcy, Newell is pivoting along with it. In addition to finding a new way to perform for the masses, he’s also learned some new and important things about himself and how to move going forward.

“The biggest thing that I take away from all of it is just because you look at music in one variable at one point, knowing so much about music doesn’t mean that there aren’t different reasons behind songs and how a song may even sound different to somebody else.

“You know, I’ve been fortunate enough to have this elaborate musical career outside of working on television. My television career has been so heavy in music at the same time. These questions of how we use music on this show and how we use them on Glee are two different kinds of vehicles. It’s always lovely to see how those kinds of things work. It really sinks you into who these characters are and who Mo’ is and makes you really think about like, sometimes we get assaulted with life by this song. And then I’ll go back, and I’ll listen to lyrics when I listen to the arrangement.”

And that huge American Pie performance that got everyone talking after Season 1? It was all done in one single take.

“We didn’t say ‘cut’ any time between the beginning of the shot to the very end of the shot, and wow, everyone’s effort. That’s cast, crew, background artists. Light, cameras, everything was taken into account because if one person messed up, we’d have to start from one again. If you watch closely to that theme, it goes from the mid-day where the sun’s still up. You notice, as we go around the entire house, things start to go away. People start to leave. The dining room table goes from being fully set up with buffet trays and all of a sudden, to just having like a little food on it, and then being completely cleared out by the end of the number when everybody’s gone. And I’m still there at this house, and everything is still cleaned up. That took a lot. This is the set dressing behind the house set. People were ripping and running, changing the blue curtain, bedding the blue sky to make a black curtain to make the night sky. It was a whole ordeal behind the scenes that people don’t know about.”

Now that’s extraordinary.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist airs Tuesdays on NBC. Check your local listings for times.

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Perry-Russell’s performance journey began at the age of three in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Despite donning her first tutu as early as three years old, she felt a tug towards competitive cheerleading, a more popular activity in her area. But that initial tug of dance and acting returned when she was 16. Additionally, an encounter with legendary performer Debbie Allen forever reaffirmed her commitment to dance.

“I didn’t really get back into dance until I was 16,” says Perry-Russell. “I have to thank Debbie Allen for that because she came to Texas to do a play. I really wanted to be a part of it. The role I was auditioning for needed to dance, and I ended up getting it by the grace of God. I had a conversation with her about what I wanted to do, after college and she said, ‘Honey, you should be dancing as well.’ That one particular moment really did change the trajectory of my career. I thought, If Debbie Allen is telling me I can make it as a dancer, let me give it a try.”

Directed and written by Robert Rodriguez, We Can Be Heroes is a sequel to the hit film The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. In this standalone sequel, the children of Earth’s superheroes are called to duty after alien invaders kidnap their parents.

With her undeniable talent on display, that initial try evolved into dance opportunities with Rihanna, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Ciara, and others.  Despite those wins, the acting bug remained and translated into roles on hit shows Glee, 13 Reasons Why, and more. With a wealth of experience under her belt, auditioning for another role would seem like a no-brainer. However, she did have some reservations about participating in a project with Isaiah.

After a rapidly paced audition and securing the roles, she discovered a real opportunity to co-star alongside him as his on-screen mother. Reflecting on the audition, she was on the verge of foregoing the opportunity for fear of not landing the role and the subsequent embarrassment of being on set daily with the crew who passed on her audition. Incidentally, she goes on to explain how both characters were slated to be white.

“When we got the script, I said, ‘Oh, my God, you have a mother,’” Perry-Russell reveals. “Maybe I should audition. I thought about it for a second. I told my manager about it, and he reached out to casting and told them I would like to read for it. We were in Texas for three days, and the casting director agreed to see me. I remember telling Isaiah not to mention my audition to anybody because if I don’t get this, I’m going to be so embarrassed that I have to sit and watch someone play your mom for the next three months. But I got it. It’s still exciting because when I looked at the sketches for our costumes and what they thought our characters were going to be, the vision was a white woman with red hair and twin boys.”

Instead of a red-haired white woman, she arrived at the audition donning long box braids ready to demonstrate another version of a superhero. In fact, her choice to wear braids, like the audition, was a last-minute one. Already wearing them, she debated whether her hair choice would be wise given the nature of the role. In the rare instances where a Black woman appears on screen as a superhero, the industry-standard is long straight hair that would blow in the wind. After consulting with her son, she decided to leave the braids in. After securing the role, the braids became part of her superhero’s permanent look, much to fans’ delight.

“The number of DMs I get and continue to get from people who are excited to not only see African-American superheroes that we don’t really know that well, because of weren’t celebrities or anything like that, but also they’re like it’s outstanding to see your in braids on a poster. So it’s been cool.”

With the film now complete, Perry-Russell now muses at how professional her young son was on set with all of his co-stars, including herself. With a laugh, she says she found herself turning to him whenever she completed a scene. It was then she realized he was going to be in for the long haul.

“He was on set with me when I did my first stunt scene. And I would walk over to my son like, ‘What do you think? How do you think I did?’ I look strong. Now he’s like, ‘Yeah, but I think you should do this next time.’ That is how we started to bond differently. But as far as bringing different nuances to my character, I wouldn’t say I really had to for this specific role. I really wanted to bring a lot of myself to it since it. I’m the mother of a teenage son. But you know, outside of that, working as co-stars were interesting, to say the least. I appreciate his professionalism.”

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Abit, the son of Nigerian immigrants, grew up in Queens and now resides in Manhattan. This is similar to his characters, but there the similarities end. Following the success of his short film Jitters, Abit was encouraged by producer Kory Apton to expand on the idea of exploring same-sex relationships and marriages in a full-length film. From there, Abit added a layer of storytelling by examining those love stories with the backdrop of the holiday season — a perspective that is virtually ignored by the film industry. In an exclusive interview with Black Girl Nerds, Abit says people were amazed to see same sex marriages normalized within the church.

“When I did Jitters, people reacted to it in such a positive way,” he told me. “People were amazed to see the normalization of same-sex marriage and a church. You never see that. So then I had an idea to have a similar thing. We have a Christmas wedding, in a church, of a same-sex couple, and around Christmas time, because you don’t see many of those stories explored. “

A New York Christmas Wedding stars Nia Fairweather as Jennifer Ortiz, a young professional living a seemingly perfect life. Aside from an overbearing future mother-in-law, Jennifer lives in comfort with her loving and very wealthy fiancé David (played by Abit). When a family dinner becomes uncomfortable, Jennifer leaves for a run. She encounters a young man with whom she instantly feels a connection. Unbeknownst to her, the young man is a guardian angel who shows her what would have happened had she not denied her true feelings for her childhood best friend Gabrielle (Adriana DeMeo).

Making its run at Urbanworld 2020, the film is finding praise for its ability to offer a perspective that has been wholly overlooked — a lesbian couple, one Black, one Brown, who want to celebrate their love in front of their family and friends inside the Catholic Church. For a city as “progressive” as New York City, achieving that detail was a feat within itself as churches throughout the state wouldn’t permit Abit to film a lesbian wedding within sanctuary walls. Ultimately a church gave its blessing for the pivotal scene, which features veteran actor Chris Noth (The Good Wife, Gone) as forward-thinking priest Father Kelly.

Abit says, “With this church, they were very nervous about us going in there. They didn’t want it to get out to the parishioners that we were doing same-sex marriage in their church. I think there are a lot of Catholics out there, and other Christian people, that can’t see this ordinary wedding between two people. I went to many different churches in New York City, and many of them when they heard the content said no. This one church [where we filmed] said yes. We were able to start shooting other scenes, exteriors, and other scenes inside. When it came to the big wedding day, we had about 100 extras, and they began to realize what we’re shooting. Then the priest came up to me and said, ‘You know, this may be an issue for today. Searching for a place to be married and being denied continues to happen [in real life] to same-sex couples, and it saddens me greatly.’”

A New York Christmas Wedding is a remarkable film in that it doesn’t rest on a particular scene to move the story along. Jennifer and Gabrielle’s re-imagined love story is a study in the obstacles same-sex couples face when attempting to live in their truth alongside their faith. Additionally, seeing their early beginnings as high school best friends who don’t fully understand their feelings is inspirational. With no one to confide in, Jennifer navigates her feelings and emotions. When Gabrielle doesn’t immediately return those feelings, she turns her back on them forever. As a result, she finds herself living an incomplete existence. Noth’s portrayal of Father Kelly is steeped in realism as he balances his responsibilities as the local church’s head while being a spiritual advisor to all his parishioners.

Ultimately, A New York Christmas Wedding offers a refreshing alternative to the typical holiday programming that celebrates a singular version of love. It focuses on the beauty of love between two people instead of focusing on the appearance of love. The holiday season can follow other societal segments by becoming more inclusive and reflective of what is happening in cities worldwide. That in itself is a real Christmas miracle —a time when everyone can celebrate no matter who they love.

The virtual 24th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival runs Sept 23-27th.

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