Paula Patton stars as Sabrina, a woman who hasn't made the best choices when it comes to dating, in the comedy Jumping the Broom. Sabrina seems to have a knack for going after losers, but after telling God she'd give up sex if he'd send her the perfect man, she runs into - literally - the man of her dreams. Laz Alonso co-stars as Jason, a decent guy who is willing to wait until marriage.
However, Paula's mom's (Angela Bassett) not pleased with her daughter's choice of marrying into a family from a much lower income bracket and expresses her displeasure in the hours leading up to the wedding. And the relationship between mothers is further strained when Jason's mom (played by Loretta Devine) wants the couple to jump over a broom - a centuries old tradition which symbolizes leaving what came before behind and starting fresh on the other side.
Together for the LA press day for the TriStar Pictures film, Paula Patton and Laz Alonso discussed the appeal of the project and life on the set.
On returning to work with Jumping the Broom when her son was two months old:
Paula Patton: "My son was two months old when I got the script and I thought I was going to take a little longer off. I read the script and I loved it. [...] I called my mom because I just didn’t know what I was doing, it’s a brand new experience. My mom was a schoolteacher for 30 years or so and she said, 'I had to go back to school when you were two months old.' My son was three months old and she said, 'I’ll come with you, I’ll help you out. You should do this if you feel passionate about it.' So she came with me and she helped me take care of my child."
On playing a character he shares traits with:
Laz Alonso: "I mean naturally, there are similarities that you can take advantage of and reflect on times in your life and how you may have reacted in certain scenarios. But there are also areas that I learned from from this character, how he handles certain situations that I can apply in my own similar life, considering that I have a single mom who at times has to get accustomed to a new woman in my life who might take up more time than she’s used to having to share. So it was kind of a give and take between my life and the script. There were times when I could add meat and potatoes to the bones of this character, and there were times when I’ve actually taken some lessons from him as well."
Paula Patton didn't jump a broom when she got married:
Paula Patton: "Honestly, I’ve got to be really real with you. I did not know of the tradition of jumping the broom until I read the script - and that’s the truth. A lot of my friends who have gotten married, they didn’t do it. When I read the script and I started talking to people, I realized it was a tradition. It’s not something that’s done all the time, but it is something that’s done. I was fascinated by it and I would have because I love that idea. I think the idea that you’re sweeping the past away and you’re forming a union, you’re jumping into the future to become a family, is a beautiful idea."
But jumping a broom can be done retroactively:
Paula Patton: "Absolutely. Listen, you can get married as many times as you want to to whoever you want to and to the same person if you want to. What woman doesn’t love to put on that big dress and have a party? So yes, I would."
On handling the film's extremely emotional scene with Loretta Devine:
Laz Alonso: "I have to jump in on this one because I was supposed to be the strong man in that scene and she was supposed to be the one breaking down. But when Paula turns around and she has those tears in her eyes and she addresses Loretta with that smile, and you know behind that smile there’s nothing but pain, there were so many takes that I had to fight back the tears. That’s just, to me, the credit to the work that she was doing every single take. She was 100%. As an actor, you’re supposed to save it for the close-up. Every take she was on and it blew me away. That day, I was totally blown away by your acting abilities and I was like, 'All right, this movie’s going to be a hit. We’ll just all ride on Paula’s shoulders. We’ve got Angela Basset. We’re good. I’m along for the ride.'"
Paula Patton: "That is very sweet. It’s always, those days when you have to do it on set, and mostly Sabrina gets to be light on her feet and happy and I remember that day everybody’s like, 'Is Paula okay? What’s going on?' You try to get into the character, but, I don't know. I don’t try to think about anything else but try to deliver what’s honest. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I just did it and the thing was, by the time we shot that scene, we had worked quite a while so the whole cast and I had become very family-like. We were working in a small town and somehow all of us came together and there was really great chemistry between us all. Laz and I had already done so many scenes and really developed who our characters were and what our 'isms' were as a couple, that I just did what I felt was right in the moment."
On working with director Salim Akil and the film's tone:
Paula Patton: "Salim is a brilliant director. Honestly, when you see the film and you see what he’s done and the way that all the characters come full circle and you feel very satisfied in the movie, that’s a credit to him as a director. He does see the full picture, so [playing] happy might not be the problem but him understanding that you need to save some emotion because we’ve got this scene coming up and maybe do a little more, do a little less. He’s just really a quiet brilliant man that, as Laz always says, never lost his cool. We just all trusted in him so whatever he said, we basically did."
Laz Alonso: "There were a lot of moments where I wanted to react with comedy or do something silly and he always wanted me to be cool. 'You’re the cool guy. You’re cool. Let everybody else be frantic. Let everybody else be crazy. The beach scene, let DeRay do all the trash talking. You don’t trash talk. You just be cool.' After working with him for a while, I understood that I was almost playing him, so to speak, in my Jason Taylor character and I got it. I saw how cool he was under pressure, dealing with the studio and the producers and the set and everybody. He was the eye in the center of the storm and that’s when it clicked. I was like, 'That’s who he wants Jason to be in this story.''
Paula Patton: "I knew when I was working with Laz how incredible he was, but then when I saw the film, what I think is really brilliant about his role and that people need to know is that while he’s a man and in many ways has to play the straight man, his ability to allow his vulnerability to show was what was so beautiful and believable and subtle and so difficult to play, that he really deserves so much credit for being able to be a man and a man that women will fantasize about as saying, 'I would love that kind of husband.' And then have a heart that’s open enough and sensitive enough to make you really believe it when his girl leaves and that he really wants her back and that he’ll humble himself. Or when all his boys are saying, 'Hey, you better go after her,' and he doesn’t, but then you see him later at the end of the night trying to be like, 'Sabrina, Sabrina!' To be able to be a really cool guy and be a very masculine man, then be able to play the great lover and companion to a woman was so well done."
On working with producer Bishop T.D. Jakes:
Paula Patton: "This is what everybody needs to know about T.D. Jakes: he is a remarkable man and that he understands that human beings are flawed. We all make mistakes. It was his idea that we had to start the beginning of the movie with Sabrina having slept with the wrong guy and made some bad decisions, because he understands that we aren’t all perfect. We make mistakes and all we can do is try to be better people. He really felt strongly that we needed to show that human side of Sabrina and thank God, because that’s what really attracted me to the character. When you see her in that moment, that she loves too quick and too easy so she makes bad choices. Then she calls on God to say, 'I don't know what I’m doing but please help God me and I’ll make this promise of chastity to you until I find my husband.' Then of course I literally run into Laz’s character, Jason. It really speaks to what a brilliant mind he is and why he’s been the advisor to many American presidents and has the stature he has is because I think he understands how to speak to men and women and understand with compassion and caring who they are and just try to push them forward to be better people every day. That’s all you can ask for."
Laz Alonso: "It was funny because the first day that Paula and I worked together, we had to do the kissing scene at the end of the film, when we come back together again. The first take that we did the scene, [producer] Tracey Edmonds pulls me aside. She’s like, 'Look, man. You kissed her like she was your sister. You’ve got to bring it. We have to see that you have not had sex with her and that not only are you about to explode with the sexual tension, but also that you just got the woman that you almost lost back.' This was Tracey talking to me, so this is one producer in my ear."
Paula Patton: "So that’s why your tongue suddenly appeared in my mouth. Wow."
Laz Alonso: "Those are the jokes that can start a lot of problems - no tongues in Jumping the Broom. So my point in this whole thing was to say that the day that we had to shoot the wedding, it was in front of T.D. Jakes. We had to kiss a bunch of times and I’m sitting here like, I’ve got Bishop T.D. Jakes standing next to me.' I think what broke the ice was after take number three, he was just like, 'Mmm mmm.'"
Paula Patton: "That’s love right there. [There isn't anything] wrong with being sexy if you’re married and in love. There’s no acting. That was good for the film."
Laz Alonso: "You didn’t feel you had pastor, bishop T.D. Jakes on set. You felt like you had a human being who could crack jokes, and he was part of the cast as well. He was with it. He was 100% there. I think that’s what makes him special as well."
On her next project: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol:
Paula Patton: "I mean, it was the surprise of a lifetime. I was meant to go on and do 10 episodes for Law & Order. I had just finished Jumping the Broom and I had one week at home and they asked me if I’d come in and read for the director. I did, and then a couple days later they asked me to do a chemistry screen test with Tom Cruise. Then I did, and a few days later I found out I got it. Really, I thank the grace and the good will of Dick Wolf for allowing me to leave Law & Order. I did one episode in good faith to them and then they said, 'You know what? This is a life changing opportunity. We don’t want to hold you back. Go ahead and do this film.' It was a dream come true in many ways."
Paula Patton's always wanted to star in an action adventure film:
Paula Patton: "Absolutely. I am a very athletic woman and my mom had to teach me how to walk like a lady. She was like, 'Don’t walk like a duck. What are you doing?' With all those soccer practices and track practice, she was like, 'Put your feet together and get it together, lady.' So I have a very aggressive sort of masculine personality inside of myself and it was wonderful to be able to let that go forth, and especially after being pregnant. They asked me to do all my own stunts, which I embraced right away. So it was a very empowering role to play. I had a blast."
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Jumping the Broom hits theaters on May 6, 2011.
