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Kellita Smith Full Interview · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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Speaker 1: My next guest as an award winning actress who was
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Speaker 1: born in Chicago, and Lord knows, I's been four years
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Speaker 1: of Chicago, so I know about Chicago and was raised
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Speaker 1: in Oakland, California. Been there many times, were participated in
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Speaker 1: the Oakland Black Comedy Festival. That's what enabled me to
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Speaker 1: get on Death Comedy Jam because at the time they
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Speaker 1: didn't think I could make black people laugh. So I
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Speaker 1: had to go to Oakland and show everybody I can
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Speaker 1: make black people laugh. Then they put me on Death
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Speaker 1: Comedy Jam. You've seen her born in uh starting the
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Speaker 1: shows like Martin Living Single. First time My Man was
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Speaker 1: on Sister Sister. I was a writer producer on that show,
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Speaker 1: then the Jamie Foxx Show. I was a co executive
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Speaker 1: producer and writer on that show. She is one of
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Speaker 1: Hollywood's most talented and versatile actresses with groundbreaking comedic performances.
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Speaker 1: Are starting in My Man Bernie Max Show, to Battling
0:50
Speaker 1: Zombies on z Nation, to currently start in the hilarious
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Speaker 1: sitcom on the Bounce Network. In the cut, please welcome
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Speaker 1: to money Making Conversation. My good friend hadn't saw a
1:01
Speaker 1: long time, which means I'm not talked to her in
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Speaker 1: a long time. Kalita Smith, thank you. That's because I'm
1:07
Speaker 1: out here making money. There you go, I love Come
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Speaker 1: on now, see that's a good actress. See they listened,
1:15
Speaker 1: They listened, and they react. Kalita, you are you are?
1:20
Speaker 1: I'm a fan because you know, I'm gonna tell you
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Speaker 1: what people are my favor right, you know people can
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Speaker 1: say that, Okay, even before I knew her first of all,
1:27
Speaker 1: when she came on the set and I first met
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Speaker 1: the sister. Sister just a pro, just come out to
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Speaker 1: do her things. She works, and that's all you can
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Speaker 1: ask for somebody, because first of all, they talented, but
1:40
Speaker 1: you knew right then there was something extra because people
1:42
Speaker 1: come through. I fortunately be blessed working with people like
1:46
Speaker 1: Gabriel Union, Kim Woodley, you know, toward to be here,
1:49
Speaker 1: and all of them have that gift. And she has
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Speaker 1: that gift because I always say she's photogenic. Okay, lords,
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Speaker 1: Lord knows who show I could take a lot of picture.
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Speaker 1: I gotta I gotta pose a different angles. Palita Luker,
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Speaker 1: make it work for me, you know. Listen, Li we
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Speaker 1: do too. Listen and then and then on the Jamie
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Speaker 1: Foxx Show, and uh, and you know its success has
2:12
Speaker 1: always been a blessing in her career. Awards have come
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Speaker 1: our way in her career, and today she's on the
2:19
Speaker 1: show to talk about the show is filled with a
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Speaker 1: lot of people that I know, right, you know, it
2:27
Speaker 1: almost feels like a Parker Show reunion. Then my boy
2:30
Speaker 1: from a smart guy, So my life has been feeling
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Speaker 1: and work with talented people. Tell us about your role
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Speaker 1: on the end the cut, and then I'm gonna start,
2:38
Speaker 1: you know, snapping out of what I know about the
2:39
Speaker 1: show because your boy been you gave me my Jobe.
2:43
Speaker 1: Come on in this conversation we're gonna do just talk
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Speaker 1: about people we know absolutely absolutely love story, long story, short,
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Speaker 1: sound indefinite. Uh that we hit me up and said,
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Speaker 1: you know, uh, Kalita's this we're into our second season
2:57
Speaker 1: here we go to our second season in the cutting,
3:00
Speaker 1: can you come join us? And I was like, yo,
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Speaker 1: be yeah, but you know I'm out here in the apocalypse,
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Speaker 1: so you know, and we were scheduled this and he
3:08
Speaker 1: was like, yeah, I'm working around your schedule and I
3:10
Speaker 1: was like, you got it. I'm there and I was
3:12
Speaker 1: like all right, uh once again, who's on it? And
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Speaker 1: then he said, oh, my god. Dorian Wilson, John Marshall, Jones,
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Speaker 1: Ken the Austin Loura Hayes. I was like, what words Listen,
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Speaker 1: I'm there, are you kidding me? So I get to
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Speaker 1: play awesome character name Michelle and um she is the
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Speaker 1: owner of the hair salon, which is um uh. Drian
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Speaker 1: Wilson's character, Jay Weaver, is the proprietor of of a
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Speaker 1: strip mall plaza. He happens to own the barbershop and
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Speaker 1: the hair salon, and um, I get to work with
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Speaker 1: some wonderful people. Um this season he well, last season
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Speaker 1: we got married, and so this season we're showing black
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Speaker 1: love and what it means you actually try to enjoy
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Speaker 1: ourselves and balance out of those things that we haven't
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Speaker 1: worked out as people and come together as proprietors of
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Speaker 1: a business and watch ourselves grow into laughter, love and
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Speaker 1: just we're just actually having a ball. That's what we're doing.
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Speaker 1: Let me work thirteen episodes in like ten days, which
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Speaker 1: we shoot so fast, and we got we we can't
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Speaker 1: even we can't even him and heart, but we just
4:24
Speaker 1: gotta have fun to keep it pushing. Yeah, I've been
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Speaker 1: to the studio and the fact actually when the last
4:29
Speaker 1: time I was studio, I say, about a year and
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Speaker 1: a half ago, you actually were shooting the scene and
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Speaker 1: I could we we didn't get a chance to talk
4:35
Speaker 1: because he's out there Northridge, correct, right, right, and so
4:39
Speaker 1: and so I know Bentley as as a good friend
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Speaker 1: of Bentley created the Modern TV series, also created the
4:45
Speaker 1: Jamie Fox series, and he also wrote a pilot for
4:49
Speaker 1: me when I was recurring on Jamie five. Absolutely, you know,
4:53
Speaker 1: because he had a big development deal with Warner Brothers
4:55
Speaker 1: at the time. Yeah. My whole thing that when I
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Speaker 1: when I when I talked to individuals like ms Smith
5:01
Speaker 1: and in evidences that their game changers. Because even when
5:05
Speaker 1: she was reading the just just going over the description,
5:07
Speaker 1: the show is funny. He's just funny. I thought, I
5:11
Speaker 1: thought the need doesn't smile as you was articulating of
5:14
Speaker 1: the how it came about and the fact that but
5:17
Speaker 1: you slipped in that little zombie populist conversation. Let's let's
5:21
Speaker 1: lie let's lie back to that to that National Guard,
5:24
Speaker 1: that National Guard commercial when you're a National Guard out
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Speaker 1: there fighting of zombie. So I recently bring it up
5:30
Speaker 1: because you were, you know, throughout I listen to nothing
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Speaker 1: but comedic shows, you know, you know, burning back comedic show. Now, now,
5:40
Speaker 1: this is nothing funny about battling zombies tuk tuk walkers
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Speaker 1: through that whole process and mindset of being able to
5:46
Speaker 1: adjust to that, to that, to that, to that request.
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Speaker 1: And also you have to did you have the audition
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Speaker 1: for that role? Did I have to audition? I didn't
5:54
Speaker 1: even realize what I was auditioning. Four seconds, that's what
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Speaker 1: I said. But they only gave me, um three sheets
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Speaker 1: of material, which means a couple of monologue. And I
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Speaker 1: knew it was a drama because I can do post.
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Speaker 1: Most of my accomplishments happens to be in the theater,
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Speaker 1: so um in doing it. Um, I went and they
6:16
Speaker 1: let me know that it was um definitely about having
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Speaker 1: to do um martial arts and fencing, which is something
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Speaker 1: that I dabbled in or and um it's a matter
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Speaker 1: of fact, Sean Lambkin. But it's a sense of mine,
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Speaker 1: remember Sean lamp Absolutely absolutely So you're saying that you're
6:34
Speaker 1: saying fencing right, you know, like you know with a foil, yeah,
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Speaker 1: sword savor, I could do combat fighting. Um. Um. I
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Speaker 1: did my own stunts in this, which is probably what
6:48
Speaker 1: made it um more advantageous for me to be able
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Speaker 1: to do this show. But the great thing about it,
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Speaker 1: the writing was excellent. It gave me an opportunity to
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Speaker 1: show something different besides just doing company. Because what I
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Speaker 1: am choosing to show in this business is that range
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Speaker 1: is everything, and that's because we are actors and we
7:07
Speaker 1: do a role very well doesn't mean that's not that's
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Speaker 1: all we can do. So I want to make sure
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Speaker 1: that I am simultaneously during drama and comedy at the
7:15
Speaker 1: same time, which has been fortunate to be able to
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Speaker 1: do for two decades. WHOA, Okay, We're gonna come right
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Speaker 1: back and hear more from the the theati, the theata,
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Speaker 1: the mind, theaty of Kaleta Smith on Money mc conference,
7:30
Speaker 1: I anxious be right back, Promorrial Hi, just with Sean McDonald.
7:34
Speaker 1: You're listening to money making conversations. The thing about Money
7:37
Speaker 1: Making Conversation that makes it such a unique show is
7:40
Speaker 1: that I'm talking to people I know. I'm talking to
7:42
Speaker 1: people I don't know, and usually when we're in a interview,
7:45
Speaker 1: they know me and I know them and we want
7:47
Speaker 1: to talk some more. My next guest that you heard
7:50
Speaker 1: in the first break is the War winning actress who
7:52
Speaker 1: was born in Chicago and it's windy for a reason.
7:55
Speaker 1: I'm teasting. If you're Chicago, uh during the wintertime, it
8:00
Speaker 1: will change your life. And then she raised in Oakland, California.
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Speaker 1: You've seen it in shows like Martin Living Single sister
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Speaker 1: Sister Jamie Fox, and she talked about you know, like
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Speaker 1: she said, she she developed a craft in the theater.
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Speaker 1: And now she talked about her athleticism. You know, fancy
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Speaker 1: you know what you know, that's that who who thinks
8:20
Speaker 1: of that fainting? But that's something that skilled that she
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Speaker 1: has and she did her own stunts and she's starting
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Speaker 1: to show that. Premiers on Bounce Network is called in
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Speaker 1: the cut now Ms Smith, Yeah, do you do you
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Speaker 1: have a workout program or what is the physical fitness
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Speaker 1: side of you? Well, Sina pause, I ain't been doing
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Speaker 1: a damn thing, but uh um um, because when you
8:54
Speaker 1: said it's waiting for a reason in Chicago, like it
8:57
Speaker 1: will change your life because nobody has the right clothes
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Speaker 1: that you can be prepared for the wind in Chicago.
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Speaker 1: So fast forward, um well, I um dances my background
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Speaker 1: um spinning basically spinning and pilates because it's just polite
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Speaker 1: to my body. UM and with a dance background and
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Speaker 1: kind of like suits UM in rehabbing some of these
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Speaker 1: little knee injuries that I've had. UM Martial arts is
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Speaker 1: something that I dabbled in and fencing because unemployment and
9:28
Speaker 1: kind of happens in your career spread me in the
9:30
Speaker 1: beginning and so that you don't go crazy, you try
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Speaker 1: to find another art form to develop. UM and for me,
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Speaker 1: it just it just made sense to do UM martial
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Speaker 1: arts and I'm spencing right here. And then Sean Lambkin,
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Speaker 1: who our love, challenged me in taekwondo and UM, once
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Speaker 1: I got there and saw that he was a since
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Speaker 1: that he was amazing, and he inspired me to keep going.
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Speaker 1: So because is uh taekwondo, I'm not saying I'm you not.
10:01
Speaker 1: You can take your boy our fast, you know, because
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Speaker 1: I gotta think about some of my moving time. Ran
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Speaker 1: do tie crome dope. Okay, they'll be messing with my
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Speaker 1: skills set Kalina. You know we might be walking down
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Speaker 1: the street, I might have to do something to you.
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Speaker 1: I might have to test you out, take you out
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Speaker 1: with a band. That what you want to be able
10:27
Speaker 1: to do is be able to get away or be
10:30
Speaker 1: able to negotiate your way because what you want to
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Speaker 1: do is live another day. Absolutely talk my way out
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Speaker 1: of that. Uh. I can definitely talk my way out.
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Speaker 1: I can talk my way out of the good but
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Speaker 1: real quick, especially when the numbers are not in my favor.
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Speaker 1: So so it was something I will read your bio
10:49
Speaker 1: and I want to bring this up because it shows
10:52
Speaker 1: that special side of you, says you're a big supporter
10:55
Speaker 1: or more women behind the camera and female filmmakers in
10:58
Speaker 1: addition to lend your name and time to new image
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Speaker 1: homeless Shelter. That's two. There was a couple of things
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Speaker 1: we talked about. Let's talk about first being a big
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Speaker 1: supporter or more women behind the camera and female filmmakers.
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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Well, I just really think that there's a
11:16
Speaker 1: there's a different sensitivity that uh we as women have,
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Speaker 1: especially women who who have come through this business because
11:24
Speaker 1: not always have we women of color have been treated fairly. UM.
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Speaker 1: I just think that, um, even for myself, I would
11:32
Speaker 1: be interested going down the road of doing a little
11:35
Speaker 1: deep team just so that certain angles and uh lighting,
11:40
Speaker 1: you know, those kinds of things makes a difference in
11:43
Speaker 1: an actor's career. You know, those kinds of things make
11:46
Speaker 1: your star procepps and things like that, and sometimes you'll
11:49
Speaker 1: get situations where you might be the only African American,
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Speaker 1: the only person of color in the project, and they
11:55
Speaker 1: really don't know how to light you know. Those kinds
11:57
Speaker 1: of things are Yeah, those kinds of things put you
12:00
Speaker 1: in a different disposition, which is not totally fair. So, um,
12:04
Speaker 1: even with you know, there's there's just a difference between
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Speaker 1: a female director and a male director. Not to take
12:10
Speaker 1: away from it, but a female director has a tendency
12:13
Speaker 1: to be a little bit more patient, um, you know,
12:17
Speaker 1: more maternal about especially if there's an actor who may
12:20
Speaker 1: be nervous or maybe unsure, you know, and you may
12:23
Speaker 1: not have time to really go to a place where
12:27
Speaker 1: you have to start coaching. But if you just say
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Speaker 1: the right words to an actor, it changes the whole
12:32
Speaker 1: moment and it changes the whole dynamic. UM. I just
12:36
Speaker 1: really think that, um, you know, we we are we
12:39
Speaker 1: are more detail oriented, which is why most women are
12:43
Speaker 1: you know, office managers or customer service or um, you know,
12:47
Speaker 1: hostesses or accountants or you know, basically, when you are
12:52
Speaker 1: the person who has to get make sure that the
12:54
Speaker 1: day ends well, a woman is pretty good at that. Absolutely,
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Speaker 1: it's great that to hear this conversation because I've been
13:02
Speaker 1: fortunate and the mini sitcoms I've worked, I've had female
13:05
Speaker 1: directors and male directors, and that their their approach is
13:09
Speaker 1: definitely different and there's no there's no negative push on
13:12
Speaker 1: either one of them. But you have to accept that
13:14
Speaker 1: these styles are different. And the process it's you know,
13:19
Speaker 1: it's room and and it only expands the opportunity for creativity.
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Speaker 1: That's it. And and and that's important because you know, I
13:27
Speaker 1: always always like to bring in another really tie one
13:30
Speaker 1: director to the series because I always felt that you
13:33
Speaker 1: you you give your actors, if they get that same beat,
13:36
Speaker 1: they never grow. And so you bring me in you
13:38
Speaker 1: might give you might get one director maybe four or
13:40
Speaker 1: five episodes of season, and then bringing others in and
13:43
Speaker 1: and and that that way you can see there there
13:46
Speaker 1: the growth that the director may see some stuff and
13:49
Speaker 1: have an actor and actors create something comedically that we
13:52
Speaker 1: wouldn't have pulled out of that person if we'd have
13:54
Speaker 1: been using the same director. So that's indeed, So let's
13:57
Speaker 1: talk about let's talk about the there's other program that
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Speaker 1: you've been lending your name to and where's it located?
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Speaker 1: New Image home with a shelter? Where's it located? A
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Speaker 1: New Image Homeless shelter is located in Los Angeles. Um
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Speaker 1: Long Beach is there um their main hub. Uh, these women,
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Speaker 1: they to how I how I got to this. There's
14:19
Speaker 1: probably over the day, maybe seventeen years ago. I did
14:24
Speaker 1: a m I did you know where you served the homeless?
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Speaker 1: And and and all that, and see it just wasn't enough.
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Speaker 1: I even came from behind serving. I started hugging, and
14:37
Speaker 1: then I had an actress said, oh my god, what
14:39
Speaker 1: are you doing. You're hugging them. I said, yeah, because
14:40
Speaker 1: that might make a difference, a little human tux. You know,
14:43
Speaker 1: just look somebody in the eye and let them know
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Speaker 1: that they matter. You know that it's a moment away
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Speaker 1: from being from being there, right, It's just a moment away,
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Speaker 1: and and you never know what it is the thing
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Speaker 1: that will trigger the person or inspire their person to
15:01
Speaker 1: go further and do better. So UM, I happen to
15:05
Speaker 1: have uh ear hustle because they do a co ed
15:09
Speaker 1: where they have men, women and children that they shelter
15:12
Speaker 1: there um and they're very protective of the women and
15:15
Speaker 1: the children. So what they will do is give the
15:18
Speaker 1: women and the children vouchers to go stay in a hotel.
15:21
Speaker 1: And so I, I know, I was ear hustling, and
15:24
Speaker 1: I overheard that they didn't have enough money. And so
15:28
Speaker 1: because I was impressed that that was their process, I
15:31
Speaker 1: timed in and and basically wrote check. And from that
15:35
Speaker 1: point on I had decided I'm down with them. And
15:39
Speaker 1: so what they also do is they they have they
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Speaker 1: make sure that they have like a little department store
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Speaker 1: for people who are getting themselves back on their feet
15:47
Speaker 1: and transitioning into the workforce. So there's there's clothes, there's
15:52
Speaker 1: there's you know, the beginning, the beginnings of people's um start,
15:57
Speaker 1: and they're just they foster a real, real livelihood for
16:01
Speaker 1: you to really really get back on your feet. Awesome,
16:04
Speaker 1: let's tell I'm talking to Kalita Smith, one of the
16:06
Speaker 1: stars on a good friend of mine and exactive producer
16:09
Speaker 1: and created Bentley Evans who created Martin, who created Jamie
16:12
Speaker 1: Fox show. It's called in the Cut. It's on tonight
16:16
Speaker 1: Monday Night, July fifteenth, which is to date tonight, Excuse
16:19
Speaker 1: July twenty July fifteen is winning Premier July twenty two
16:23
Speaker 1: is on tonight at napi m. Eastern Standard Time. It's
16:27
Speaker 1: a new episode every Monday night this summer. She plays
16:30
Speaker 1: the character Sheryl. She works out works with My Board
16:33
Speaker 1: Dorrian Wilson from The Parkers, My Boy, My Board, Ken
16:37
Speaker 1: Lawson from The Parkers, My Girl, Lord Hayes from Death
16:41
Speaker 1: Comedy jam My Boy, Marsha from A Smart Guy Again,
16:45
Speaker 1: a show we all should be watching and laughing at.
16:48
Speaker 1: Tell us something about the show before we get out
16:50
Speaker 1: of here because of this interview. Been amazing. You are
16:53
Speaker 1: at one of my I'm gonna tell you something. I
16:56
Speaker 1: didn't have to work that hard on this interview. You
16:58
Speaker 1: got something to say, you know, I head, so tell
17:01
Speaker 1: us about the show so we can get out of here.
17:02
Speaker 1: My friend again. The Bouns is on the Bounds Network,
17:05
Speaker 1: Must see TV. If you ain't doing that on Monday night,
17:08
Speaker 1: what you need to do is just going and find us.
17:10
Speaker 1: Bounce around and find us on Bounce and you'll have
17:12
Speaker 1: a good time and you get to see us the
17:14
Speaker 1: Chemist Studio, get to see um, you get to see
17:17
Speaker 1: people that you've always loved, and we have a great
17:19
Speaker 1: host of guest casts coming through every Monday. You can
17:22
Speaker 1: catch This show is a great show. It's called end
17:24
Speaker 1: Cut on the Bounce Network nine pm. I'm talking to
17:28
Speaker 1: Kalia Smith. She's she's a couldn't I say taekwondo? She said,
17:33
Speaker 1: I do high kwondo. I took offense to that because
17:37
Speaker 1: she made me feel like I was, you know, a
17:39
Speaker 1: whimpy whimp. But I do taekwondo. I am not a
17:43
Speaker 1: brown belt. In fact, I wear regular belt when I
17:45
Speaker 1: do my taekwondo. Because she wasn't you want too far
17:50
Speaker 1: away from my high kwando? Thought? Watch it now from
17:54
Speaker 1: now from the nineteen I love it. I would thank
17:57
Speaker 1: you for calling on my show. This has been amazing
17:59
Speaker 1: And if you anytime you need me to promote, if
18:02
Speaker 1: you're doing in the charges, let me know so I
18:03
Speaker 1: can write a check to help out the program we're
18:05
Speaker 1: talking about that homeless yef though. Okay, absolutely, and I
18:09
Speaker 1: appreciate you and keep doing it well. Bye bye