Catching up with Director Charles Stone III

The Design 2 Play conference produced by the Organization of Black Designers(OBD) was an amazing mix of people from every aspect of design. I was inspired by being among such creative people. Thanks to David Rice and Keir Worthy for bringing such an impactful conference to the Motor City!

I had the pleasure of listening to Keynote Speaker Charles Stone III, an award winning film Director who was responsible for films such as Mr. 3000, Drumline and Paid in Full. Charles was also the mastermind behind the Budweiser “Whassup” commercial campaign in 2000 that took the country by storm. it was based on the movie short “True” also directed by Charles. This was an incredible accomplishment for a black Director. At the time the commercial went viral, the Director’s Guild of America had over 11, 800 registered members of which only 385 were African American.

I spoke briefly to Charles after the conference…

During your presentation you made reference to the movie Soul Plane being the “pinata” of the film industry. Many felt that the movie was a throwback to blaxploitation movies of the 70′s. I personally thought Soul Plane was hilarious. I feel it all has its place. Did you feel any backlash from the black community for the Budweiser campaign who may have felt it was exploitive?

I had one response from a father who’s son was watching the commercial and began to mimic the slogan. He initially thought he should dislike it but realized that it really wasn’t anything wrong with it, he thought it was cool in the end. That was the only hint of negativity I experienced. I expected that I would get a lot more and actually I waited for it but it never came. Fortunately, it was very popular among a lot of people.

As an African American with such incredible success, do you ever feel the weight of responsibility to the black community?

Sure, I feel that and you do have to be sensitive in your work so that it wont be offensive. It is more important that you remain true to yourself so that your work will be authentic.

I really loved “Drumline”! What I loved most is that the content of the story was not specific to any one race, the characters could have been played by any demographic. As the Director of the film, how much influence did you have in the storyline?

I was given the screenplay and liked the concept. They had initially sold the piece using a different demographic. When I came on the project, I drew from my experiences with historically black colleges and brought that element to the project. It just made sense. From then on I was involved in all aspects of the creative process.

I have to ask you, how was it working with Bernie Mac in ” Mr. 3000?”

Bernie was an interesting guy. We butted heads a lot during the film, primarily our ego’s clashed. Overall he was cool to work with. When Bernie was “on” he was amazing to watch. One interesting thing that he did was when on the phone before hanging up I would here him say ” Now hang up” instead of saying goodbye. When he said it to me I asked him why he just didn’t say goodbye? He just said, ” The conversation was over, so hang up!”

Oh, It was just his way of controlling the conversation huh?

I don’t know, I guess so!

So what is next for you?

I am currently in the process of remaking ” The Last Dragon” a classic movie from the 80′s. We are in talks with Samuel L. Jackson to play the evil character (Sho-Nuff). It is still in the developmental phase. I am enjoying the process.

Here is the trailer from the original “Last Dragon”. If Charles’ body of work is any indication, this will be a must see!

Features Editor, Cassandra Jones-McBryde -- Daily Venus Diva.

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Cassandra Jones-McBryde serves as Features Editor for Daily Venus Diva. She is US Director of the Fuller Women Expo, responsible for bringing together a number of outstanding local and international speakers and celebrities, seminars and workshops that attract attendees, sponsors, vendors and exhibitors from throughout North America. She also the Founder of The Fuller Woman Network which is a network of women from across the world who share our mission of self-love. Cassandra is also the co-founder and C.E.O. Pretty Girl Project, a non profit organization that helps girls realize their inner and outer beauty during critical stages of development. This is achieved by various initiatives and programs developed throughout the year. Where Are You From: I was born and raised proudly in Detroit. What were you doing before writing for DailyVenusDiva.com: I had written for a few independent online magazines until being blessed with being on the Daily Venus Diva team. What do you do for DailyVenusDiva.com: As Features Editor, I will bring news and information that resonates with our readers that effects various aspects of our lives. What does it mean to Thrive In Your Curves: It means to live unashamed of how we look, to learn not let our curves limit or dictate our destiny What is your favorite hobby: My favorite hobbies are creating initiatives that are geared to serving my community and volunteering for the same. That takes up most of my time. What is in your future: I don’t try to predict the future. I try to let God order my steps. What’s so special about DailyVenusDiva.com: A better question is what isn’t special about it! You will be hard pressed to find a site that caters to every aspect of women, that just happens to have more to love. I feel privileged to be a part of such an impactful group of women.