Why Kenya Barris Wanted ‘You People’ To Be His Feature Directorial Debut

27 Jan 2023
You People

Kenya Barris attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix's'You People' at Regency Village Theatre in ... [+] Los Angeles, California.

FilmMagic

Entertainment industry heavyweight Kenya Barris is an acclaimed and accomplished television writer, producer, director, and actor but even he found helming a feature film for the first time tested his limits.

"On the last day of shooting, I was like, 'I'll never do this again.' (Laughs) I was literally walking off set saying it," he told me as we discussed You People, a culture clash romantic comedy which Barris co-wrote and co-produced with Jonah Hill.

The Netflix NFLX movie is about a young couple, Ezra Cohen, played by Hill, and Amira Mohammed, played by Lauren London, navigating their relationships, parental opinions, and societal expectations. The ensemble cast also boasts Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and David Duchovny as the parents.

I caught up with Barris to talk about You People, why it was always going to be his feature debut as a filmmaker, and what got him back behind the camera so quickly.

Simon Thompson: You People is your first feature as a director. You co-wrote it with Jonah Hill. Why did you wait, and why was this the project you wanted to start with?

Kenya Barris: I've been asked to do one a bunch of times, but I knew whatever it was that I directed, I definitely wanted to write. The things I had written before they asked me to do, I felt like I was in the middle of running shows. They asked me about Coming 2 America, but I didn't think it was the right movie for me to do. Ultimately, I had experiences where I was writing and getting them made, and I didn't like what I saw. I was like, 'If that's what you're going to do, I should just do less is more, and if I have a vision, I should try to do it and see what I felt was in my head when I was writing it.' I'm glad I got an opportunity to do this because this is how I saw the movie in my head.

Thompson: When you were considering it, did you talk to any of the ensemble cast, like Eddie Murphy or Julia Louis-Dreyfus, about being in it and pitch it with them attached?

Barris: No, we sold it as a directing vehicle for me. We didn't have any of those people. In some aspects, I think maybe the things I had done helped them consider taking a chance on it. I think moving forward, that would be something I would want to lean in on, those relationships and things that I've made in the past years, to make people feel comfortable that you're going to try to take care of them and do your best.

Thompson: What were the most significant similarities and differences you found between TV and film? Were there any surprises?

Barris: One of the things I found, and I laughed, was like, 'You guys have it easy.' You're doing a mini-movie in TV for a fraction of that cost every week. While making that mini-movie, you're editing the mini-movie from last week and writing the mini-movie for the next week. I felt well prepared for that part of it because of the years of production, and it helped me not get treated like a first-time director. The part I wasn't prepared for was that with movies, a lot of it is about talent management. In TV, people come to work almost like they're going to work at a canning factory. They clock in every day, and they may be there for the next five or ten years, and that's a different situation. Movies have movie stars, and movie stars line themselves up to say, 'You know what? I'm here for two months, I'm in, and I'm out.' It's a different sort of energy.

(Left to right) David Duchovny, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jonah Hill, Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, and ... [+] Nia Long getting to know each other in 'You People.'

Parrish Lewis/Netflix

Thompson: The shows you've done have been for TV networks and some streaming. They have come with their own pressures and metrics of success. You People is streaming on Netflix, which has different success metrics than a theatrical film. That takes some pressure off and adds different ones. Did you feel that juggling act of requirements and responsibilities?

Barris: It's interesting that you say that. Moving forward, if I had my choice, I would want to do box office movies for a few different reasons. One is that I'm a big show and prove contextual guy, and with theatrical movies, you have the box office, and it either worked or didn't. I know marketing has a lot to do with that, but you can really stand up and hold your head high if people show up for your movie. I feel like that matters to me. Also, when I was making TV, I knew I was making it for TV, so you shoot it differently. When making a film, you make a film for a theater; you don't make a film for streaming, or at least I didn't. That wasn't how I set this up. I noticed that there are certain rules and things that go along with streaming that I was not accustomed to, things like attention spans and this and that. You People tested really, really, really well in theatres, and I don't know if those tests had the same numbers when it came to the streaming platform. If I were to make another streaming movie, I would go into it with the notion that I was making this for streaming. When you go into it with the idea that you're making a theatrical movie, and it's not that, it affects how you approach it.

Thompson: So it was tested for theatrical?

Barris: Oh yeah. We did a lot of testing for theatrical. I got to see 1,200 people at the premiere, and it played like I wanted to play. I don't know if that same thing resonates in streaming. I really hope that it does.

Thompson: Where did you test it? I ask because this is a very LA movie.

Barris: Jonah and I wanted to do a love letter to LA. We are both LA kids, and that was one of the things from the moment we sat down. We said, 'Let's do a love letter to LA in a way that we haven't really seen before.

Thompson: This leads nicely into my next question about the cultural touchstones and locations in You People, like Roscoe's House of Chicken' n Waffles and Nate 'n Al's. Were those written into the script?

Barris: 100 percent.

Thompson: It's very much a cultural map of 2022 and 2023, like a kind of time capsule.

Barris: Absolutely, and it shows both parts of the city. It shows the hood, it shows Brentwood, and it shows Hollywood, and so on. We really tried to touch what it is to be a Los Angeles native.

Thompson: I related to this from personal experience of a culturally mixed relationship. What worked for me especially was you getting the tone of the comedy right, which is not easy because it never mocks or insults, but it also doesn't hold back.

Barris: That kind of stuff is what I've done for pretty much most of my career. Many times, people come to me to ask about the right things; they reflect society, make us think culturally, and challenge the things we haven't said out loud. Here we say the things out loud and start conversations. That was what I got lucky enough to learn and do what I love. That was really important, and I appreciate you sharing that. It was crucial for us. We did not want to have any cliches. We just wanted to be honest. However, if they fall in there because sometimes cliches are cliches for a reason, so be it. We were trying not to be lazy and lean into it.

Thompson: The ensemble cast is great. There is a slightly eclectic mix and many new faces who really shine. How easy was it to get Julia and Eddie involved?

Barris: We didn't audition anyone. Those were our first choices, and we were lucky that they responded to the material, and we were really fortunate that Netflix wrote the checks.

(Left to right) Sam Jay as Mo, director-writer-producer Kenya Barris and writer-producer Jonah Hill ... [+] as Ezra on the set of 'You People.'

Parrish Lewis/Netflix

Thompson: When you and Jonah wrote this, was it always the plan for him to be the lead?

Barris: We wrote it as a vehicle for him to bring him back to comedy.

Thompson: People have commented on this being inspired by other movies. If, or when, that is the case, how did you avoid it feeling too familiar?

Barris: It really isn't though. First of all, there are no new ideas. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner did not come to my mind until people said it, and I was like, 'Oh, I get it.' The rules are so reversed. That was race-based, and this is culture-based. You People was based upon seeing characters that we haven't seen who are the black guy who doesn't want his black daughter to marry a white guy because he feels like he raised a princess. There's the liberal woke mom who really wants this because she secretly fetishizes it in a different kind of way. I understand why the comparisons to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Meet the Parents, but it's a wedding movie. If I watched anything, to be honest with you, something I watched was Father of the Bride, but when I'm writing things, I try to stay away from things that inspire me because they often will rub off and dilute your own personal freedom.

Thompson: Did you see this as a standalone project from the get-go? You know You People has tested well, so could there be more stories with different people in different cities?

Barris: No, not like that, but there could be more of this story. That could lean into the Meet the Parents world, where this family will grow, and the conversations will continue and turn to other things, so there could be more.

Thompson: Was that part of the original conversation between you and Jonah?

Barris: I think it's come from the fact that it seemed to have worked so well. People have responded positively, and we'll see what happens. I would be open to it.

Thompson: It's clear your feature directorial debut was a positive enough experience for you to wanted to do it again. Some people do it once and are like, 'Never again!'

Barris: Oh, I said that immediately (laughs). On the last day of shooting, I was like, 'I'll never do this again.' I was literally walking off set saying it.

Thompson: And how long did it take you to change your mind?

Barris: The Wizard of Oz coming along changed my mind. I was like, 'Oh, I'll do The Wizard of Oz.' (Laughs) That's the perfect story for the way I like to tell them. It turns the camera on the world, and it's a musical. I learned so much, and that was such an opportunity, but it took me a month and a half, maybe two months, to get away from directing and then think about it again because directing is all-consuming.

Thompson: The original is one of my favorite films of all time. It was forced on me a bit as a kid because it was always on TV, but I've learned to appreciate it much more as I've grown up.

Barris: The thing is, how do you make that contemporary and make it about the world today? That's the fun part. It's going really well, but I'm nervous because you want to do a good job. I'm really enjoying it, though.

Thompson: And is that where you'll put the lion's share of your time moving forward, or are you still interested in exploring series?

Barris: I'm still super interested in doing series. I'm doing The Truman Show right now. That world, the speed at which you can make and produce television, makes it a special gift. When you think about the things you can talk about, how quickly we can talk about them, it's an extraordinary thing.

You People streams on Netflix from Friday, January 27, 2023

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