'Blackbird' director defends Mo'Nique in first film after 'Precious:' 'There was no drama or diva behavior'
VIDEO - Patrik-Ian Polk talks about directing Oscar-winner Mo'Nique in his new film 'Blackbird'...
Director Patrik-Ian Polk teams up with Oscar-winner Mo’Nique, Isaiah Washington and Hollywood newcomer Julian Walker for his highly anticipated upcoming film, Blackbird.
The film focuses on a teenager who’s on the verge of manhood and struggling to come to grips with the fact that he is gay, all whilst growing up in a small, rural Mississippi Baptist community.
Polk also penned the screenplay for Blackbird and says, for him, the film hits home, because he too struggled to come to grips with his sexuality while growing up in small, close-knit Southern town.
Finding a leading man to star in Blackbird was no easy feat. Polk says he approached several established actors but was turned away because the leading men weren’t comfortable playing gay on the big screen.
“It’s always been hard for me casting these kinds of projects with black gay subject matter…. approaching sort of established Hollywood actors,” Polk said. “There has always been a reluctance on the part of the actors to play gay characters. Everyone’s really worried about it. They think they’re going to get stereotyped in terms of the roles they’re going to get offered after that. A lot of people think it’s going to kill their careers.”
The award-winning director says that, ultimately, stepping out the box and taking on a gay character only showcases a straight actor’s on-screen talents.
Polk says that Blackbird brought about what he describes as a “surreal” opportunity to direct Mo’Nique in her first film after winning an Academy Award in 2009 for Precious.
Recently, reports surfaced that Mo’Nique was blackballed from Hollywood after her Oscar win because directors found her to be too demanding.
Polk says his experience with Mo’Nique couldn’t have gone smoother.
“Initially when Isaiah Washington mentioned Mo’Nique, I never thought we had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting her for my film, but it happened pretty quickly,” he said. “She read the script and she says when she got to page two she knew that she wanted to do the film. It was the easiest experience, there was no drama, no diva behavior. It could not have been an easier experience.”
Polk later opened up on a double standard in Hollywood that he seeing present for black gay directors.
Be sure to go see Blackbird when it hits select theaters April 24.
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