Stand-up comic, actor and now director Cedric the Entertainer appears at Resorts.
Relatively few stand-up comedians have attempted "the concert film." Richard Pryor was the only comic (in my opinion) to master that art form. The art of stand-up comedy before a live audience dwells somewhere between science and magic. Capturing that energy successfully on film actually takes more magic -- and better timing -- than an artist needs to have live. The translation of stand-up before a live audience to film has rarely produced classic moments. Sure there have been films that should be required for everyone to see such as Lenny Bruce: Performance Film or Bill Cosby: Himself. Unfortunately, for every classic stand-up film (Eddie Murphy: Delirious) there seems to be a bunch of that have barely produced smiles much less laughs (Martin Lawrence: He's So Crazy.)
This Saturday night (June 21) Resorts will play host to Cedric The Entertainer, a man who has been a part of one of the best concert films of any genre: The Original Kings of Comedy. I spoke with him recently.
Pretty soon we'll be looking at 10 years since The Original Kings Of Comedy was released. It's about time for 'The Reunion Tour' isn't it?
You're the first writer to ask me that. We hear that all the time. We would like to make that happen, but me, Bernie [Mac], Steve [Harvey], and D.L [Hughley] have such different schedules. We have different priorities. We love each other, but it would be hard right now to do another tour. I'm not saying it won't happen.
Since The Original Kings Of Comedy, there has been The Original Queens, The Original Latino Kings, etc. You have been ripped off more than the Million Man March. How do you feel about that?
That's a difficult question. I feel like we let the big one go. I mean we came up with the idea of this super tour, but we never reaped all the benefits. Other people came along and built on what we started. The most successful guys to come after us have been the "Blue Collar" comics. I really wish we could have stuck with the idea longer to see what all could have come from that idea and that tour. We all had fun, but I think we stopped just a little short.
You've come along way since BET's Comic View.
I am blessed to have a career that includes movies, TV, books and to have touched so many people. But I just finished directing my first film. It's called Chicago Pulasky Jones. It's a parody of all the "step" movies like You Got Served. It stars Kel Mitchell from Keenan and Kel. And somewhere out there is a dramatic role just for me.
That's interesting. How do you see Cedric making a dramatic film that your fans would appreciate?
Well I am most interested right now in a few roles about historical figures. I feel I can look inward and bring something dramatic to the right role. My role model would be Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner. He played that role so well that people didn't think Ike Turner was Ike, because he didn't look like Larry Fishburne.
Whose life stories have you been looking at?
We've been talking about doing Louis Armstrong for a while. Then there's the life of comedian George Kirby. Kirby's story would definitely have some comedy in it, but it would be mostly dramatic. Most recently I have been looking in to the life story of Marcus Garvey. There's a story that needs to be told that I'm very interested in.
What's next for Cedric the Entertainer?
I'll do more directing. I'm doing the voice work/filming for Madagascar 2 for the kids. But my next big project will be acting in Cadillac Records based on the story of Chess Records. It will also star Adrien Brody, Beyoncé and Mos Def.
Motion pictures can share the same title but offer completely different stories. A case in point is Atlantic City — two films with little in common beyond their names. The more recent Atlantic City, which came out in 1981 and was directed by Louis Malle, depicts the resort in the early years of legalized gambling. Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon lead a strong cast in this gritty drama filmed on location.
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