#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 👀 @PriscillaShirer talks @OvercomerMovie on #RolandMartinUnfiltered

Episode Date: August 26, 2019

Priscilla Shirer talks "Overcomer" on #RolandMartinUnfiltered Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത� Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത� Thank you. ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത്ത� Thank you. All right, folks, joining us right now is Priscilla Shire. She, of course, is starring in, is your second movie? It's the third one. Can you believe that? The third one. So the last time we actually talked was War Room, and that was, what, five years ago? Unbelievably. I think it came out in theaters four years ago. Wow. Yeah, because that's what I have to show on TV One News One Now. And we talk.

Now, of course, for everybody who's listening, I actually met Priscilla a long time ago. Of course, she probably has not had me drawn out long like that. Of course, I'm a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. I think at the time I was on the board of directors. I was a national student representative and She was one of the scholarship winners of the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators and of course native of Texas there in Dallas

Her father a pastor Tony Evans and so yes, it's been it's been a while. Always good to see you Good to see you too. Really good. So, let's talk about, first of all, before we get into the movie, this is not what you actually supposed to be doing. This was the, it was like, people understand in terms of what's your plan and what's God's plan. You did not want to do this acting thing. Well, I just didn't, I wasn't skilled at it. It's not something I'd studied. And I have an appreciation for people that have, you know, taken on acting or filmmaking as a craft. It is

a craft. And so you don't stumble on it just, you know, by chance. And so I was aware of that. And so when I was asked to do it, which War Room was when the directors of that movie asked me if I would do it. And my first response was, no, I'm not doing that. You know? I don't want to mess up your film and I don't want to embarrass myself. So no, you need a real actress.

But they said, no, we want you to pray about it because we think when you read this, you'll see it's not just a movie, it's ministry. And they knew ministry was my heart. And of course, if you've seen War Room now, you know that's the truth, it was ministry. And of course, I mean, first of all, you book author, you speak, you do all those different things.

You're in pulpits all across the place. But again, acting is a whole different ball game. And so take me through that process because how did you run lines? How did you go through that, trying to remember stuff? What was it all like? Yes, well, I was given some great advice by an acting coach. She said, what I want you to do is actually say your lines onto your iTunes feature,

where you record your voice, use a voice memo, and then while you're jogging, while you're washing dishes, play it in your ears over and over again, just like you would music. You know, we learn the lines to music all the time because we just listen to it. So she said, just record scene after scene and then just listen to it.

So a lot of the memorization came that way, just sort of letting it run in my mind while I was doing other things. See, I like to improvise. And so in the, like, for instance, when I did Beyond the Lights, Gina Prince-Bythewood, she said, "'Hey, I got something for you.'

But what's great about that, she says, "'Okay, you're just gonna do your thing. We're just gonna press play. Just press record.'" And so I got a chance to actually just let it flow. There were other couple of movies, Armed with Mario Van Peebles and then Downsizing with Matt Damon, where I actually had lines. I got a chance to actually just let it flow. There were other couple of movies, Armed with Mario Van Peebles

and then Downsizing with Matt Damon, where I actually had lines. And I did some improvising there, and it was sort of like, man, is he going to read the lines? I was like, look, okay? I said, look, I give speeches. I don't write them. And so y'all are going to have to have a little leeway

to allow me to do it. But yeah, but it is. I am very impressed with actors who, again, who memorize pages of lines. Unbelievable. And the thing is, what folks don't realize, I don't think, until you, you know, like me, have just had a little bit of an insight into the world of filmmaking,

is that they're thinking about so many things other than their lines. You know, blocking, you got to end. If you're gonna walk across the room, you got to end up at the right place where the light, blocking, you got to end. If you're going to walk across the room, you got to end up at the right place where the light is, and you got to do it not just once, but 10 times. Or if you're going to cry, well, shoot the wide scenes first.

And you don't want to waste all your tears in the wide scenes, and you got to cry some, but you can't cry fully, and you got to cry 10 times. I mean, I am, listen, I applaud all the actors and actresses who win these awards. They deserve every award that they get. Well, I'm going to tell you right now, there's no way in the world I could do that for a living.

Because one, it takes too doggone long. I mean, you're standing around. When I did the quad, I'm sitting there going, yo, y'all, it's been nine hours. Yeah. Okay. I'm serious. I told Carrie Washington, I said, Carrie, I don't know how y'all, it's been nine hours. Okay? I'm serious. I told Kerry Washington, I said, Kerry, I don't know how y'all do it.

Because, see, look, when I go live, that red light goes on, yo, we're on. And then an hour later, we're done. And it's like, yo. And what's crazy is, they'll look at me, they'll be like, man, you're great at this. I'm sitting there going, yo, it's an hour. The waiting and the whole... And then you're right. Then, like, you're great at this. I'm sitting there going, yo, it's an hour. The waiting and the whole...

And then you're right. Then, like, you're shooting the same scene. And first of all, they're shooting you, yeah, tight and wide. Then they got to switch it to shoot them tight and wide. Then they got to switch it. You're sitting there going, this the same scene we shooting.

And I lose patience trying to hear the same thing over and over again. Well, listen, I say to people who want to be extras in films, or I've had parents say, I'm going to bring my kids down to the set so they can be in a movie. And I'm like, wait a minute. Let me make sure you understand that

once you sit in that scene, then for the next 12 hours, you have got to be in that scene for continuity sake. So you need to think about that thing before you make a decision to be an extra in a film, because it is a long, tedious process. -"Can't untie your tie. You got to have the same look. You can't." I mean, yeah.

It's a whole different process, but, yes, kudos to those people who do that, who are excellent at it. Absolutely. Let's talk about this movie, Overcomer. It is not a sequel to War Room. It is not. It's by the same filmmakers. It's their next film, but it's not the same as War Room. And so what is this one about? Yes. It centers in on several main characters. The main one is a high school student she's 15 years old and she's struggling with issues of identity just a lack of significance and self-worth you know she's a teenager and who of us didn't struggle with that when we were teenagers but

compounded on that for her is a very dysfunctional sort of family that she has come from she's struggling with feelings of abandonment and rejection and those sorts of things. Then there's a coach. His significance is found in his job, and his career is stripped away from him. So he finds himself totally decimated because the thing he's put his significance in is now no longer a part of his life.

And then you find another guy as a main character in the film, and his health is stripped away from him. And now without his strength, without the use of his body, he's like what what value can i add to anybody's life so you've got these three main characters that are all struggling with significance and that really is in a very poetic incredibly uh incredible way that they told the story very emotional you find these three people's lives being woven together. And the message is clear that if you find your significance in things that can be taken away from you, like success or beauty or money or a certain acceptance by a group of people. Well, there's nothing wrong with any of those things. But if your significance is tied to them, you're going to be in trouble.

So it's all about rooting your identity in something that cannot change. And as believers, that is who God says we are. That doesn't change. We're forgiven, chosen, accepted. We are enough whether or not other people applaud us or not. One of the things that I hearken back to, Tyler Perry told this story. A lot of people don't realize that before he did,

before BET, before OWN, before TBS, Tyler Perry had a development deal at ABC. And when he was doing the show, and one of the network executives, they sent notes down and said, hey, you know what? I think you're using Jesus a little too much. And they asked him to take it out, and he said, they saved it for me, and walked away from the deal.

And people were shocked by that. And I think that when you talk about faith-based films, there are some people, so I'd love to get your thoughts on the difference between a faith-based film and a spiritual film well first of all let me say that i can relate in a obvious color perry described there um the reality is that there have been a lot of scripts that have passed my office now at the you know because war room was so successful i got a lot of scripts after that but not all of them are unapologetic gospel films.

And there's a difference between just an inspirational film and a gospel film, a film that is designed to not water down the name of Jesus Christ and the gospel. And I know that because my purpose, I believe, for my life is not just acting, not just that very noble craft. But for me, my purpose is to share Jesus. My purpose is to encourage people in their walk with the Lord. So if I can do that on film, then the projects that have come across my desk,

the ones that are not sugarcoating the name of Jesus and the ones that are going to be clearly designed to edify the body of Christ, that's what I'm supposed to do. That's just Priscilla's purpose. And so we live in a day and age now, Roland, where people are up at the theaters and spending their box office dollars

on films that have excellence, because it used to be 10, 15 years ago, gospel films didn't have technical excellence. We were embarrassed to take our film away. Well, first of all, from a technical, from a lighting standpoint, the writing wasn't great. And it was like, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, kind of like, from a technical, from a lighting standpoint, the writing wasn't great. And it was like, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, kind of like, okay, I know we believe in Jesus, but can this be a good story?

Yes, right. Exactly. So none of us wanted to go. And so now it's sort of like a resurgence of what it means to be a faith-based film. That there are the dollars behind these films to make them technically excellent. The stories are well-written and they are not sugarcoating the name of Jesus. And so we've got, you know, I can only imagine last year, which was the second film that I was in, an apologetic gospel, a technical excellence, and nearly $100 million in the box office. Then of course, War Room was the same, nearly $100 million in the box office. Then, of course, War Room was the same, nearly $100 million in the box office. That's unheard of. And so I remember last year USA Today did a story.

The headline was, Hollywood should stop being surprised. And it was basically saying, why are y'all shocked every time one of these faith-based films does well? It is very clear that faith-based films that don't water down the gospel are here to stay. People want these films. The church wants these films. And even people that aren't believers, they're just looking for hope.

They want these films. They might not know how to describe it, but there's something about these films that are drawing an audience in and really speaking to them. Also, I think, again, you go back to storytelling. At the end of the day, if it's quality, it's quality. But also, it's not a surprise that Hollywood would sort of have that view,

because every time a so-called black film does well, like, oh, my God, did you see that? It's like, yeah. And it's also, I think, Hollywood loves to categorize. So, for instance, you take Girls Trip, which was the number one comedy that year. It just happened to have an all-black cast. That wasn't a black film. The reality is, I don't necessarily even want to put it in the category of,

this is a Christian film. It's a faith film. No, it's a film. It's a film. Whatever the subject matter is, it is what it is. But I think what Hollywood likes to do is, because to me, and again, this is not running away from Jesus, but when Hollywood says black film,

they literally then say, oh, okay, different marketing, different strategy, different everything else, as opposed to, no, you market like you market any other film to a particular audience, and then that determines that. And I think it takes away the blocks, if you will, that are on these films to go, yeah, that's gonna be a Christian film.

No, and to me, that's where the problem comes in. And that's, so you can make a great film, but how they market it is a whole different category. That's right. And case in point, when Alex and Stephen Kendrick, who were the writers for Overcomer, which is coming out August 23, and then War Room, when they took this idea to Sony and said,

here's the idea and here's the cast that we see, Miss Clara is a black grandmother, and Elizabeth Jordan is a black grandmother, and Elizabeth Jordan is a black woman in her upper 30s and 40s. When they described the cast and the demographic to Sony, Sony said, wait a minute, are you trying to make a black film? Do you really think you can do what Tyler Perry has done? And I remember Alex and Steven kind of standing back and going,

no, we're not trying to make a black film. It's just that this story needs to be told in this way. Right. But here's the deal, though. I never hear Hollywood say, oh, this is a white film. Exactly. And I think that's the problem. I think and this is because the reality, again, I use Girls Trip. It was the number one comedy of the summer that summer a very similar

film that amy schumer uh led also was released and it blew that one away it was girls trip wasn't a black film it was a cast led by african-americans taking place at an event in new orleans and a lot of black people go to. And it is what it is. And guess what? People thought it was great because it was funny because it was just funny. It wasn't black funny. It was funny.

That's exactly right. And I think for films like these, it doesn't matter if you're a Christian who happens to be a person of color or a Christian who happens to be a white person or Hispanic or whomever. People appreciate that there is a film or a Christian who happens to be a white person or Hispanic or whomever, people appreciate that there is a film that pictures us and our faith

and doesn't water it down, doesn't have to quiet it. It just is the church, period. So you talked about the last question before, you talked about scripts crossing your desk. Are you considering other films or do you say, you know what, look, I appreciate War Room, or do you say, you know what? Look, I appreciate War Room. I appreciate this. But you know what? My lane is still primarily this. Yeah. So for the past 20 years, I guess people who just saw me in War Room, they may have thought,

you know, that I just kind of showed up out of nowhere. But you know this about me, that for the past 20 years, I've been in ministry to women, primarily writing books and Bible studies and teaching and preaching the word of God. That's my passion. I want to do that any way God gives me opportunity to do that. So all of the scripts that have crossed my desk, if that's not the purpose of that script, then I know that's not the script for me. There are many other trained and skilled actresses that can be able to play those roles. But for me, I want to stay in my lane and that's ministry. If I'm going to do it on screen or if I'm going to do it on a platform with a microphone

in my hand, or if I'm going to do it sitting behind this desk that I'm at right now here in my home, writing a book or a Bible study, that's going to encourage people. However God gives me to do it, I'm going to do it. But I don't wanna get out of my lane and miss the purpose that God has for me. All right, Briscilla Shire, we appreciate it. Thank you so very much. And the movie comes out when? The movie comes out August 23rd.

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