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ICE CUBE:
“What attracted me to the movie was the slice of life aspect of it, showing people a different world. I believe a movie should take you to a place that you could never ever go – I think that’s what BarberShop does. It’s the same thing Boyz in the Hood did. It’s showing you a piece of the world that you would probably never even see unless you were a black man.”
TIM STORY:
“BarberShop has a zillion characters, and I had to put myself in the space of seeing the story from every character’s point of view. From a director’s standpoint, this is a film about family, about community, about roots, and about neighborhood. It’s a film about the people you grow up with, about all those connections we make in life and what they mean to us. Everyone can relate to that.”
EVE on going to barber college for research:
“It was very interesting. A friend of mine came in and let me cut his hair, but then he went to his barber after I finished! It was so nerve-wracking. My hand is not steady enough and I was scared I was going to nick someone. I couldn’t do it!”
CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER:
“The character I play, Eddie, is a fun role. I could do a guy like him all day. That’s why you see a lot of stuff in this movie that wasn’t necessarily in the script. When I read it, it was not a very huge part in the movie. But because I was able to lock into the character and improv stuff, Tim (Story) just said, ‘We’re going to turn it on you, just do stuff.’ We had a great time.”
TIM STORY:
“As a director, this is the kind of story that you dream about. It’s an ensemble piece and it has a multitude of layers and levels, and all the characters’ stories intertwine. I like a story that moves and continually evolves and has surprises. We did a lot to create a story that seems to be going one way but spirals into something else. This is the kind of story where you really get excited about what happens next – and you laugh the whole time you’re waiting to find out.”
ICE CUBE on Samuel L Jackson’s negative remark about rap stars going into movies:
“I’m not offended. I’m a fan of Sam’s. I just think it’s a little unfair. Everybody comes from somewhere. Just because you start off in one spot, you shouldn’t stay in the same spot. I’ve been rapping for 15 years. I shouldn’t be just stuck doing that until I’m 65 without the opportunity to do something else. The thing about acting is, the screen picks you, you don’t really pick the screen. And in my defense, I’ve created more jobs, opportunities and careers than I’ve taken away or hurt.”
EVE on Jackson’s remark that rappers shouldn’t be actors:
“Everybody is entitled to their opinion. But this is a business, and people say, ‘Let’s get some mainstream artists in our movie to fill up some seats in the movie theatre’ That’s all that they’re doing. And some of us are good, so why not?”
CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER on how he got his name:
“I kind of gave it to myself. I started doing standup in St Louis, and I got popular before I had a lot of material. People would hire me to do 30-40 minutes and I didn’t have 30-40 minutes worth of jokes so I’d sing, do a poem and all kinds of things. The announcer would say, ‘Our next comedian,’ and I’d say, ‘Don’t say that because I don’t want people to be fooled that I’ll be doing jokes for the next 30-40 minutes. Just call me an Entertainer. That’s where Cedric the Entertainer comes from.”
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THE CONCEPT:
