- Jamie, you're maybe one of the best mimics on the planet.
How's your Michael B. Jordan?
- He's got a video, you gotta show him the video
where he just did his new movie,
he's doing the fight with his shirt off.
He's got a muscle in his back,
I didn't even know existed. (laughs)
How this mother (beep) get that?
What is that?
I took a screenshot, sent it to my trainer,
"Can we achieve this?"
He didn't text back. (laughs)
- What do you guys know each other from?
You've never collaborated, but as I understand it,
you actually have known each other for a long while.
- Yeah, I think it just goes back to me first moving
to California when I was younger and there was a group
of people that kinda took me in as a mentee,
as a little brother and Jamie Foxx was one of those guys
who always gave me advice and words of encouragement,
and invited me over to the house.
He knew the journey that I was on.
He knew what I was trying to do
and he was just trying to be helpful and as much
of a big brother as he could.
- So what did you see in Michael
and are we talking like, 'The Wire' days,
when are we talking about, what performances did you see?
- Mike has always had this light and it's interesting
because I see a lot of people that come up
and I try to be there for them,
but Mike has a different type of light.
Having a movie star light is different
from a singer, rapper, whatever.
It has to be cultivated so the things that I was told
in the business, I would just share with him
because I knew that he had something special about him.
And then as you see now, watching him evolve into this
Hollywood juggernaut, you see that early.
You say, you say, "We don't know what it is,
"but we know we gotta make sure you cool
"because you're necessary."
- Michael, in the last few years, and we've
talked about this, like when you've gotten this huge
amount of success, is that something that
is fair to say that has consumed you guys throughout?
How do I steer my own path and how do I take control
of my own life and career?
- Yeah, also advice that, you know, Jamie gave me
and a few other handful of people in the industry
who, they take notice to certain things
and they understand what's happening
to a person in that position.
From afar you could be like,
"Oh I bet he's going through this.
"He's in this stage of the game right now."
So to lend information, some people are very precious
with that and they wanna keep it for themselves
and some people are very giving
and I think at that point in my career 'til now
and still going through new phases and still learning
and growing, Jamie's been through that already.
So for him to kind of give me that road map,
"Oh there's a pitfall over here.
"Don't step on that landmine right there."
You know, he's protecting my mental sanity.
I'm just trying to continue to grow and I'm learning
that's the right way to do it.
Now I'm trying to do it.
It's weird to me now when I see some younger cats
that are coming up and they hit me up asking.
I'm like, "Me, me, you wanna talk to me?
"Like okay, am I there right now?"
Oh man, but I love that.
You're defined by who you put on.
I can only do this but for so long,
however long that's gonna be, but your legacy
is who you help and who you're able to push forward.
And I wanna take his example and continue to do that.
- So you sign on to this one first, you're producing it,
you're starring in it and you ring up Jamie.
What's the phone call like?
Is it an easy yes, is it a hard pitch?
What did he say?
- We have a personal story behind this,
but I will tell you that Michael B. Jordan in this world
of sort of make believe that we live in,
is a standup guy and I mean that.
I mean, the words that he spoke to me,
he gave me the opportunity to have my,
my artistic integrity put intact.
That means a lot 'cause even with all of the advice
that you may give or like that, we're still in Hollywood.
There's still, you gotta swim.
You gotta figure out where you're gonna go
and certain things move your career.
This is one of the most important movies that I've ever
been part of and so when that happened, I jumped at it, man.
It was like a chance for us to be on screen together
and really do something special.
- It seems like the aspirations for something like this
aren't like the usual thing.
Like sure, we all hope it does well at the box office
and all that kind of thing, but do you go into a project
like this with kind of different goals
than you would another project?
- Yes. I feel like, I think everybody involved
understood that before they signed on, before they got
really involved with it, which makes the process
that much easier because everybody
has a common goal, you know.
- Yeah, you're in it for the right reasons.
- Exactly, so it's not like,
oh, when we get to the marketing of this,
now everything changes because they're trying
to make this a blockbuster film
when it's not, the archetype isn't that.
So I feel like from the studio to the producers
to the cast and everybody involved,
everybody knew how important this story was
and how important Bryan Stevenson is.
So, that's the main concern is protecting him,
his legacy and what he's trying to do.
Making sure we portray him in the right way,
the honest way, what his lifestyle, what his trials
and tribulations, what his memoir reflects.
That's what we really wanna put on screen.
And yeah, everybody believes that this is a very important
story and they're treating it as such.
We're trying to get as many people to see this as possible
because there's obviously an epidemic, there's obviously
a problem right now. Obviously the system is flawed
and his approach and his mentality behind attacking that,
trying to solve this problem,
this constantly evolving thing.
- When you guys were growing up, were you brought up
to know or believe that the legal system had different
rules for you based on the color of your skin?
Is that something that was kind of ingrained in you
that there are sadly in America for Black men
there are different rules?
- It's different. (Jamie chuckles)
It's like an E ticket ride.
You know what that is? - No.
- Back in the day when you go to Disneyland,
they used to give you a book of tickets.
- Right.
- And the A, B, C, D tickets were like the teacup
and everything like that, but the E ticket was the
Space Mountain. It's the rollercoaster in the dark.
Sometimes being a Black man is the E ticket ride.
You don't know exactly what's gonna happen.
You could go out, be having a great day
and just somebody - the cop see you and it just be wrong.
And you can scream this at the top of your lungs.
Millions of us are screaming.
We do this every day and tell people every single day
that being Black is different and people kinda go, "Hmm."
So it's sort of like you want sometimes for people
to just take this ride and see what it's like.
To see what it's like to be successful. Riding in your car,
the Lamborghini truck, a few weeks ago on Sunset,
pull into the gas station, cop makes a u-turn
on the motorcycle, pulled next to me and looking at me
like this and then he didn't recognize me,
I guess he didn't have the box set, the DVD, whatever,
(laughs) you know he ain't seen...
He don't know who I am and I'm just like,
"Hey, hello brother."
This mother (beep) look at me like, "Huh?"
And then it takes him two minutes to fill up his gas tank.
It takes me, you know 12 minutes,
it's the Lamborghini truck. (laughs)
Until a little Mexican dude walk up to me say,
"Jamie Foxx," came and took a picture.
He went... then he let up off of me.
And that's now. And then as far as the justice system,
my grandmother taught me early that it's gonna be different.
I'm out with my white friend at the time, Kyle Marscola,
we like ten years old, we get in, the sunlight,
the street light came on, so you know, you supposed
to be in before the streetlight. - Yeah, that's the rule.
- So we late, so we both supposed to be in trouble.
Kyle's mother said, "Come on Kyle, don't do that."
And they take off.
My grandmother tried to put me in the grave.
I said, "Why you whooping my (beep) like that?"
"Whoop yo (beep)!"
I said, "But Kyle did the same thing."
You know what my grandmother told me?
"Black men can't make white man mistakes."
I said, "Huh?"
She said, "You remember that for the rest of your life."
Even now when we toil about things like,
"Well so and so did it and he white."
"Yeah, but we different."
They look at us differently.
(beep) you do that (beep), it's just skewed differently.
- And these lessons are so ingrained,
like the first scene of Walter we see,
he's pulled over, he instinctually puts his hands out.
- [Jamie] You better.
- Is that something that growing up, it's like,
it's not even a lesson, it's just what you do?
- Yeah, it's just what it is.
I think there's just the quote, unquote "talk"
that you get when you get to a certain age
or there is no real certain age.
It's just kinda common knowledge.
That's the normality of it all.
We become numb to what it is and that's not okay.
I think it's the perception of what it is
to be Black and brown, the evolution of slavery 'til today.
Slavery didn't technically end, it just evolved.
That idea of being Black and brown is dangerous
and guilty, it's still today the propaganda that is
the news, the clips, the this the that, all the imagery
is saying one thing, so we have to fight a perception
that's really hard to change, which is why movies
like this is very helpful.
Hopefully it helps bring the humanity, bring people
who feel so far away from the issue,
so far away from these people,
that aren't really viewed as full people, full humans.
We can start to have some type of humanity
brought back to it.
We do live by a certain, a different set of rules
and a certain fear and anxiety out in the world
that you'll be treated and judged by the way you look.
- And this kind of segues into another initiative,
which is all about sort of trying to level the playing
field, which is the inclusion rider,
which is an important aspect of this film.
I think it's the first film from Warner Bros.
that is doing this and this is something,
an initiative of yours that was important to you.
Why is this one of the issues that's important to you?
- The lens in which films are being made from.
I feel like the entertainment industry is my home.
It's my community.
If you're not an active member of it,
if you don't try to fix it, if you don't try to do things
to try to help and enrich your community,
what are you really doing?
And I think for me, hearing Frances McDormand's
powerful speech at the Oscars that year,
I was like man, I'm sitting in on this, I'm like,
"Man, there's something on paper that I can actually do?
"Okay, cool, let me see what that's like."
'Cause I mean, naturally I was gonna kinda do that anyway
unofficially, but now I can actually hold my production
company to a certain standard.
I could, Warner Bros. ran towards this idea
with us to have the inclusion policy adopted
by all of Warner Bros. So much that WarnerMedia
came in and asked us to help write the language
for their inclusion acts, so now all of WarnerMedia
and all their umbrella companies have the inclusion policy
on how they hire, which basically means that
people from unrepresented groups are gonna
be heavily considered for a major department head
on a production behind the camera and in front of the camera
also, so it's not bulletproof, it's not foolproof.
It holds people to a certain moral standard.
It's giving people the opportunity to be seen,
to have a shot.
This industry, it's natural, it's human nature
for us to hire our friends or people that we
previously worked with and it's easy to get caught up
in a circle and not want to work outside of that.
- Yeah, just perpetuates the same group over and over.
- Over and over again, so this just allows people
to be able to see that there are other talented people
who are just as fit for certain jobs and opportunities
and giving people a shot.
Sometimes all you need is a foot in the door.
Whether you get that one or the next one,
it's giving people an opportunity.
- On some lighter notes--
- Did you say whiter notes?
- No, I didn't. (Josh laughs)
- I heard that and I wasn't gonna call it.
I was like, "That's kinda funny."
- Let's go to the tape.
Seeing what Coogler and Michael B. accomplished
on 'Black Panther,' does that make you wanna get involved
in a film like that or even his sequel?
That's the high watermark in some ways right now.
- When I watched that movie, I mean, at the premiere,
it was just amazing and Ryan Coogler and Michael B.
have a great relationship.
It seemed like when he came on camera, he shot you
with a different camera.
(laughs)
'Cause you was so much bigger than every--
I mean you way bigger than Black Panther.
I was like, "Wow."
I just sat back and enjoyed that,
but you know what I loved about it,
the narrative that he brought even as the villain
was still connected to our culture.
That's what's special, you know what I'm saying?
You feel like the future is in great hands artistically.
- You know what could be special?
- What's that?
- Michael B. Jordan as Superman.
- What?
- Oh man. - That would be so crazy.
Son of Jor-El. (laughs)
- Honestly, I've been rumored to play Morpheus
to Superman to 'DuckTales' reboot to 'Power Rangers'
and everything in between, so it's like I'm kinda used
to the rumors I'm playing something,
but anything that I do dive into
has gotta be done the right way.
It has to be full of authenticity and I know,
I'm a fan of comic books.
I understand fans being upset at, "Oh no why are they doing
"this and why are they changing that?"
I would feel the same way about certain things.
So just know if I ever were to dip, dibble and dabble
in anything, it would be authentic and something
that I feel like people would really support.
- Last thing for you guys.
It occurs to me, two things, you've never hosted 'SNL?'
- I have not.
- You've never done the Oscars.
I saw you at an event the other night
and all I was thinking when you were on the stage
is like, "This guy should host the Oscars."
- That's a tough gig, though.
Because the Oscars is a tough gig.
There's really no prize for that.
And there are more barbs than there are prizes.
You know what I'm saying, it's like anything
that you say now as a comedian for some reason,
us as comedians, anything that we say or we do
it's like we're persecuted as if we're not comics,
so you know, jokes are sort of like the plague.
It's like, I feel like we're back in the 16th century
and we're getting pulled out in chains
and then someone's running to the king,
"They're telling jokes, sire."
"Jokes?" (laughs)
"Bring them to me, off with their head."
You'll see me, Kevin Hart, (beep),
Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock.
Dave Chappelle, "Damn, this is what's happening.
(laughs) "They're trying to kill us all."
You gotta be willing to say, it's gonna be some (beep)
after it's over. - Right, right.
- So I think I could do it, but I'd rather be sitting there
and taking part of it and laughing at someone else's jokes
and watching them go down the tube.
- And 'SNL' for you, any interest?
- I can see myself doing it eventually.
I think it's all to do with timing
and something that--
- Maybe not, 'Just Mercy' is not the right fit for you.
(laughs) - I don't know if that's the right film for that one.
It's gotta have the right time
and really put into it and develop it.
I've never really came out and you know
a true comedy before.
I've always, it has to play to my sense of humor.
People that know me say I'm, they think I'm kinda funny,
so it just has to be done the right type of way.
Never say never, I'm down for it.
- It'll be good to promote Superman in like 2022, 2023?
- Oh my gosh, dodging these bullets, man. - Come on, baby.