'One of Them Days' is the buddy-comedy film you need to see as it comes out victorious in its first weekend at the box office. Director Lawrence Lamont and producer Issa Rae sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to dish all about Keke & SZA's comedic chemistry, taking inspiration from classic films set in L.A. and more.
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00:00Their chemistry was just instant.
00:02I think the pairing was just a match made in heaven.
00:04You know we getting a wife.
00:05A white person in a jungle.
00:07I am right here.
00:08If you guys ever want to have a girl's night.
00:10A little Prosecco and Powell.
00:11One of them days is the buddy comedy film You Need to See,
00:14as it comes out victorious in its first weekend at the box office.
00:18You been that girl.
00:19Been that girl.
00:21The film stars Keke Palmer and SZA,
00:23who play best friends and roommates in West Los Angeles,
00:26barely getting by and dreaming of financial stability.
00:29However, when it's time to pay rent,
00:31things take a turn, forcing them on a desperate path
00:33to recoup the money before they're evicted.
00:35We don't get the rent money by six.
00:37We're going to be on a card with Fabian.
00:38Director Lawrence Lamont and producer Issa Rae
00:40sat down with The Hollywood Reporter
00:42to dish all about Keke and SZA's comedic chemistry,
00:45taking inspiration from classic films set in LA, such as Friday.
00:49Well, that was a huge point for me to make sure that the roots
00:56of Black cinema in LA, you know, shine.
00:59So not just Friday, it was, you know, Boys in the Hood,
01:03Poetic Justice, a lot of John Singleton's work, The Hughes Brothers.
01:08I think that was very important to keep the essence of LA,
01:10but also making sure the world is broad as well.
01:12And it's no question that Keke and SZA were magic on screen,
01:16as the two have been paired before on SNL back in 2022.
01:19Everyone who witnessed their hilarious chemistry
01:21knew that that wouldn't be the last time audiences
01:24saw the duo back together again.
01:26Keke was a dream get, and she's been with the project,
01:29you know, since it, but for about like six years now,
01:32this has been a long development process.
01:34And she's just the ideal, like hilarious every woman in some way.
01:41And then SZA came about because our studio exec,
01:45you know, he was, he was just like, SOS had come out.
01:48And he was like, I, my daughter loves SZA.
01:51Do you think we could get her?
01:52And we were like, what?
01:53I don't know if she would ever do something like this.
01:55She's more of an, she's an artist, but we can try.
01:58And she was down and she came and did chemistry reads.
02:01She was working with Keke at her house.
02:03And their chemistry was just instant.
02:05And it was, I think the chemistry reads happened right after they did their SNL appearance.
02:11Oh yeah, it was.
02:12We did a rehearsal with them like earlier in the year and it was just instant.
02:16SZA also makes her feature film acting debut in One of Them Days.
02:19And according to Lamont, they made sure she stayed true to herself
02:22while portraying her character, Alyssa.
02:24She's such an artist, you know, and I can see like the perfectionism in her.
02:29So she wanted to make sure that she was just always on point.
02:33We made sure she had somebody running lines with her all the time.
02:36And again, she literally is Alyssa.
02:39So it's like leaning into who she is was so like automatic,
02:44you know, for her portraying this character.
02:46One of Them Days is out in theaters everywhere.
02:48This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
02:50Oh my God, bitch, I thought I killed you.
02:52I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.