Andre Benjamin on Making - and Marketing - Idlewild: “Honestly, I think anything we try to do, we try to make sure that we’re being true to ourselves, and I guess that’s being an artist. But we also know that it has to sell. We want people to come to the theater to see it, but at the end of the day, if people just talk about it and say, ‘This is a necessary film and it’s something that needed to be made, and had to be made…’ It actually had to be made because all the chips were stacked against us. So, at the end of the day, if nobody comes to the theater, we just know we had a great time doing it - and somebody will be influenced by it. This ain’t no bulls**t interview answer.”
Balancing Music, Dance and the Culture of the Era: “I think when Bryan [Barber] was writing the script and he made it in the 30s, I think style-wise, he knew that it take the audience to a whole other world," explained Benjamin. "I think it was a great choice because right now, in the times we’re living in, especially as black people, you don’t get to see people with class on the screen. I think it was a great choice on his part to do it, just to show that because you don’t get to see it.
As far as the music, we knew that it was [set in the] 1930s so we kept in mind, when we were writing and producing, that this was a period piece. But at the same time, we’re Outkast and we’ve got a responsibility to live up to our fans, so we had to make sure that it was modern as well. I think when we do that, it brings something new to it. It pushes it and it’s not just a 1930s pic. I think once we add some newness to it and we bring it to now, it makes it into something totally different. You do have Rooster break out into rhyming on stage in the 1930s. Even though Cab Calloway did rhyme back in those days, but [it wasn’t] quite the same rhythm.”
Benjamin continued, “In my opinion - and I’m not Quentin Tarantino or [anything] like that - the reason why musicals don’t work that well now is because people always want to do the music of old, and people are not listening to that music now. You want to do the music of now to make it make sense.”
“Us being influenced by every musical genre, and using every aspect of music in our records, that was an advantage we had because we were never biased to one particular type of music,” added Antwan A Patton. “We listen to rock, jazz, blues, pop, country, hip-hop and the whole nine yards, so to go back and throw a little swing in there… I think previous albums that we’ve had, we always had a touch of that ragtime feel. We just had a chance to do what we wanted to do. Like Dre said, it is ‘30s, but we can still satisfy our fans by doing what we do best.”
The Decision to Tell This Particular Story: “I think it was a great choice because you got to leave this world and go to another world,” said Benjamin. “I’ve always been a fan of 1930’s style. It was probably one of the best eras, especially for a man’s dress. Just showing up on the set, putting on your wardrobe, listening to the music, every day leaving the set and playing Cab Calloway, or watching Stormy Weather and Casablanca… It was a different time.
I had to actually learn how to walk differently and sit differently because in the 30s, they didn’t slouch. They sat up straight. Your chest is poked out. You exude that class. It’s different now. Now, it’s chill and everybody is laid back, and then, on Sunday, you may dress up. Back then, it was the opposite. You’d dress up every day and then on Sunday, you’d chill out. It was a blessing, for me. That’s the best thing about making movies, to get that experience and to live out certain fantasies and do things you wouldn’t have done. Before we started the movie, I actually had to sit down with morticians and talk to them, in the room where they do it, and see how people react to him. [He’d] tell me stories of how he met this girl and how, the first time you tell a girl, ‘I’m a mortician,’ how that works.
You get to do cool things. That’s the best part about movie making. It’s not glamorous at all, no matter what they tell you, because it’s a lot of work. The most glamorous [thing] is learning stuff and, I guess, that red carpet. That’s about it.”
Page 2: Tackling a Feature Film and the Visual Style of Idlewild
