| By Fred Topel
In Theaters March 31
|
A.T.L. is short for Atlanta. Kind of like The O.C. but hipper. In this new vision of youth, rising stars get a chance to shine in a coming of age story spanning every emotion. There’s fun as they roller skate together, love as they explore their first relationships, identity as they deal with class struggles and of course lots of conflict.
Hip-hop artist T.I. makes his feature film debut as Rashad, the default father to his younger brother, Anton. They live with their uncle but he doesn’t guide them like a parental figure. Coming from a different artistic world, T.I. (real name Tip Harris) felt he had some good parents looking out for him in the film industry.
“It was a definite transition for myself,” Harris said. “I think it was cushioned by people like Lauren [London] and Jackie [Long] and Chris [Robinson] and the whole cast, Big [Boi] and Will [Smith]’s production company Overbrook they helped everybody out with the things that were unconventional to us at the time. Everybody knew that Will was a part of it and we had Will’s support. It was a family. He didn’t make it to the set much but I spoke to him through Charlie Mack and James Lassiter. Even if you don’t see somebody there you know he out making it happen.”
On top of playing the big brother in the film, T.I. took the role behind the scenes since he was the headliner of the movie. “I felt like a big brother to everybody. I felt it was my watch. I felt like if anything happened or something needed to be taken care of, I felt responsible to do it because I was the only one who was really from there and this is about my character. I guess you could say I took my character home with me and kept taking care of them even after we shot. We’re all cool.”
A native of Atlanta, T.I. helped the cast and crew get familiar with the location. “I worked with Lauren and Evan [Ross] and the twins and everybody, just taking them around to show them ‘this is this part of town and this is what they do over here. This is how we kick it like this and on this day you want to go to this club.’ I showed them, ‘if you want to go out to eat, this is a good restaurant to go to. If you want some ribs or soul food, you want to go here’. I felt responsible for everybody involved. We went to Justin’s and ate. Me and Jackie went to Ruth Chris one time. Some went to a lot of places. “
Lauren London plays Rashad’s love interest, New-New. She comes from a wealthy family but hides the truth so she can relate to the poor kids. This obviously causes friction when it comes to light, but fortunately London has never experienced anything like it. “I can relate to her innocence and trying to get what she needs out of life but I was nowhere near rich trying to perpetrate something else,” she said.
For her, having T.I. around to show her the scene was a plus. “I was really, really happy to hear that he got the part as well because he’s such a big force in Atlanta. In order for the movie to be authentic about Atlanta, I know that his presence was needed. It was exciting. He’s a cool dude.”
He also kept the set fun. “He’s a jokester. He’s really funny. He’s hilarious. I can’t say. We had a lot of fun. He’s real cool.”
Evan Ross also comes from the music world like T.I., but for him his mother Diana was the melodic force. ATL is his first movie too. “Working with a first-time director as well as my first time shooting a movie, I think it was a blessing because we both were able to learn together,” Ross said. “A lot of the people in the film, not Mykelti Williams, but most people in the movie we got to have a kind of closeness and we all got together and got to feed off one another which made it an easier process for everyone. It was a big deal for me. We were all so passionate about the project because of that too.”
Ross does sing a little himself and he’s working on dual careers, but entering a project in any field is a big decision. “If there's something I want, I never do just a little. My mom would say, ‘Don't go into anything not ready. Always be ready.’ It was one of those things that I took a lot of time to make sure that I was prepared to go in there. It was a big deal. I've taken classes. I've been able to take the time to actually work on my acting skills other than whatever's natural. I feel like I've learned so much more just being on set. I think at the end there's just been a growth. So I'm excited about my next film.”
Miss Ross did visit the set to see her son at work. “She did and it actually was the day we were fighting. She was being such a mom. She met everybody was really she was just there to be there. She had missed me because I'm usually always with her. I had been away for awhile. She sat on set. It was actually during the scene where me and T.I. fight. You know that scene where he's pushing me, hitting me in the head. And my mom was like, ‘Come here.’ After I'd come over there she'd be like, ‘He hitting you in the ear? Don't let him hit you in the ear.’ I'm like, ‘Mom, it's fine.’ She had this guy Tony who was with me on set. She'd be like, ‘Go tell him if he's OK.’ I'm like, ‘Mom, I gotta keep my rep.’”
ATL opens Friday, March 31. |
