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[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for House Party.]From director Calmatic and with a script written by Jamal Olori & Stephen Glover, the R-rated comedy House Party is a remix (not a remake!) of the ‘90s classic with Kid ‘n Play, this time following aspiring club promoters and best friends Damon (Tosin Cole) and Kevin (Jacob Latimore), as they hatch what they believe is the perfect plan to solve their problems. When their side hustle of cleaning houses brings them to a mansion owned by LeBron James, they see it as an opportunity to throw a party with a top-notch guest list that’s truly once in a lifetime.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Calmatic talked about his journey from music video director to feature directorial debut with House Party, what makes the movie a remix and not a remake, making his own dream come true much like these characters, how LeBron James helped entice some of the many cameos to the shoot, paying homage to Kid ‘n Play, and the biggest challenges of the shoot. He also talked about his take on White Men Can’t Jump, expected to come out in 2023, why he cast Jack Harlow in one of the lead roles, and what folks can expect from the soundtrack.
Collider: You’ve called this House Party a remix, not a remake. Why is remix the way you’ve chosen to describe what you wanted to do with this movie? Why is that the right word?
CALMATIC: I think the word remake is a little too literal. I don’t know too many movies that are shot for shot remakes of original films. I think a lot of the films that are remade are more so remixes, meaning that we’re taking some of the elements from the original, like the storyline or maybe some of the themes, but we’re remixing them into something new. If you wanna compare it to music, it’s like we’re taking this sample from this film, and we’re adding new drums and new baselines that the new generation can appreciate. And then, you get a whole new composition when that happens. That’s what this is.
You’ve previously said that the story of House Party is about following your dreams, and just by making this film and having it come out in theaters, you’re achieving success in that, yourself. What was the moment for you, when you knew your dream was possible and that it was actually within reach?
CALMATIC: Man, to be honest, I feel like it happened recently. I feel like filming this movie, my head was down and I was so focused on doing a good job that I didn’t really get time to celebrate the idea that I’m about to have a movie in theaters. And so, once we locked the cut and did the final mixing, I sat back and I was like, “Wow, I can’t believe this is happening,” especially with such a beloved franchise. I can’t wait to go to theaters. I can’t wait to see my family in the theater, watching it with me. I can’t wait to just sneak into a theater in a random city and get a raw reaction from all the fans that are gonna watch it. It’s a dream come true, man. I went to the theater a lot, when I was younger, so to know that I’m contributing to someone else’s cinema history is an honor.
It probably doesn’t feel totally real, until you’re in a room full of strangers watching the movie, having whatever reaction they might have.
CALMATIC: Exactly. That’s real, man. I might pull my hat a little bit lower when I go. And if they applaud, then I might stand up and be like, “Hey, I directed this!”
What was it like to pitch your ideas for this film? This is your feature directorial debut, and you can’t get the job until people agree to hire you for it, so what was that experience like, really selling yourself as the one who should get this opportunity?
CALMATIC: The story revolves around the L.A. lifestyle. The youth lifestyle in L.A. is very celebrity-driven and influencer-driven, and everyone wants to be famous. And me, being an L.A. native, I’ve lived in this culture, ever since I was born, so I know it like the back of my hand. Before film, I was doing music videos and filming concerts, events, clubs and parties, so I just know how the whole world works. I had so many references to pull from, to create a very unique story that’s super timely to what’s happening with the youth today. I always say, no disrespect, but I don’t really know what’s going on in Nebraska, but folks in Nebraska know what’s going on in L.A. They’re tuned into what we’re doing. I just wanted to really lean into that and create something that is very specific to L.A., but also has a broader theme that the world can relate to.
House Party has a ton of big name cameos? Was it easy to get people, once they knew LeBron James would be there?
CALMATIC: Yeah. To be honest, I feel like there were some names that we reached out to that we couldn’t get in contact with. But then, as soon as we tugged on LeBron’s tail to reach out, they came running. I think we used that to our advantage. Like the movie, we really used LeBron’s phone book and we invited a bunch of celebrities to have fun with us. We had Lil Wayne and Kid Cudi and Tinashe and Anthony Davis, and a ton of people that you don’t expect to see on the big screen. Everyone watching this is gonna be in for a treat.
I love celebrity cameos and appearances, especially when the celebrity is also down with poking fun at themselves, and somebody has to really know themselves and what the perception of them is, in order to be able to do that. We see clearly that LeBron was willing to make fun of himself, in that mirror sequence. Did he come up with any of those lines himself? Was that all scripted? Was there anything you wanted him to say that he wouldn’t say? How did you figure all that out?
CALMATIC: Most of those were scripted, but there was a few that weren’t scripted. It was a funny moment when he was talking about his rating on NBA 2K because I guess it used to be 100 or 99. Since he’s gotten older, over the years, they ticked it down to a 97, and he said that in one of his lines. He said, “Your NBA 2K score should be 100 not 97 .” And then, he like looked it up and he found out that it was actually 96, so he was even more pissed. You could see that he was genuinely mad that he’s not at 100, when 96 is literally in the .4 percentile of rankings. He was upset that they ticked him down one number.
Was it always important to you to include an homage two Kid ‘n Play, especially with the dancing?
CALMATIC: Oh, yeah. That’s house party culture. The interesting thing about Kid ‘n Play is that the film was so influential that whenever millennials or Gen Z-ers hear an old school hip-hop song, the first thing they think to do is the Kid ‘n Play, or the Funky Charleston, as they call it. In this movie, we weren’t trying to like show that these kids are doing the same dance. These kids are doing this dance because they’ve seen the original House Party and they know what to do when that song comes on. We just pointed the mirror at the realities of how we react to music and the culture.
You’re also doing another take on a previously released film with White Men Can’t Jump. Are you also looking at that as a remix? Is that more of a reboot? How do you view what that is?
CALMATIC: Yes, it’s the same thing. It’s the same exact approach. We’re taking some elements, like a white guy and a black guy playing basketball, but we’re flippin’ it. We’ve got a whole new story, whole new approach, whole new tempo, whole new rhythm, but it’s gonna be something that everyone can enjoy. I can’t wait for the world to see that one. I think that’s gonna be great, as well, and be just as good as this House Party film.
One of the aspects of that that folks are going to be most curious about is Jack Harlow. How did you decide on him, as one of the leads of the film? What sold you on him and convinced you that he could co-lead the film, when it’s his acting debut?
CALMATIC: Man, it was weird. It was a moment where we were really having a hard time figuring out who we were gonna go out to for this role, and before we even had a big list of names, someone just brought up the name Jack Harlow. I think it was one of the interns. They just said, “How about Jack Harlow?” And it was one of those moments where everyone just froze for a second and looked around the room like, “Oh, shit, it might be him.” And so, we brought him in to audition and we put him through the ringer. We were there for a few hours and he killed it, man. To everyone’s surprise, he did a great job. He definitely locked in. He turned it up even more on set and was way beyond our expectations of an actor and a performer. It was weird because, after we got through filming, he went on tour and I would see him on stage in front of thousands of people and be like, “Who’s that person? Because for the last 60 days, I’ve known this person who is just very focused, but also cool to hang around. I can’t believe that that person is also one of the biggest rappers in the world right now.” I think that combination of his stardom plus his charm on camera is gonna be the sky’s the limit for him, when it comes to acting.
So for people who are hyped up from what you just said, when is the movie coming out? When might we get a trailer? When are people going to start to get to see some of that?
CALMATIC: Man, to be honest, we locked the edit maybe a couple days ago. I feel like we gotta finish the sound mixing, throw some songs in there, get it color correct, and take it through the final stages of post. And then, I’m sure you guys will see something really soon. It’s definitely coming out this year.
What can you say to tease what people can expect from the soundtrack? It feels like the soundtrack for that will be as important as the soundtrack for House Party.
CALMATIC: Yeah. It’s one of those things where, just like House Party, we want something new that feels familiar. With House Party, we really tapped into the hip-hop vibe and the house party music vibe. For White Man Can’t Jump, it’s a little more open, but still fringe. We’re tapping into the non-mainstream sounds of yesteryear and now. It’s gonna be a mosh of just really unique moments that you wouldn’t expect to hear in a film.
When it comes to the two guys at the center of the story for House Party, even though they’re doing some crazy stuff, audiences have to want to watch them, they have to believe them, and they have to want to root for them. Considering all of that, what were you looking for in the characters, and what did you see in those actors that made you feel like they really embodied that?
CALMATIC: They were great. Tosin Cole and Jacob Latimore, who play our leads, brought a level of realness to the film that I think we needed. We didn’t need any cheesy hip-hop guys coming in and trying to throw a party. We needed characters that were going through something and they needed this thing to work, in order to keep going. Their level of vulnerability, as actors and characters, really make this film feel real and grounded, so that when they do, when they come in contact with their dream and when you’re watching them make that decision, we all feel that through the screen. I think that’s important for people to take away from this film. It’s not just a movie about having a good time. It’s a movie about taking the risk to get what you want in life.
You’re not new to directing, but House Party is your future directorial debut and you really had a lot of things to juggle with this. There are so many things going on in the movie. Were there any days that you just felt overwhelmed or most challenged, or was that every day?
CALMATIC: Oh man, it was so many days when I was just like, “Man, this is crazy.” For me, it was probably all of our nighttime party scenes. It was maybe three weeks straight of waking up at 5pm, getting to the set at 6pm, and then shooting until six the next morning. Coming home as the sun is rising is not fun. But every day that I went in, I just felt grateful for the opportunity. Everyone was so energetic and it felt like a party on set. That’s what we try to do. We try to keep that energy going so that, once we turn the cameras on, we can just ease into it and it’s not a big jump. For the most part, the most challenging thing was capturing a party the way a party should be captured. The extras and our leads made it a good time.
When it came to the Kid ‘n Play cameo and having them on set, how did you decide what that would be? Did they have input on that? What was it like to have them there?
CALMATIC: It was crazy. It was funny because we didn’t film their scene until maybe the last couple days of filming. We had done 30 or 40 days of filming. And then, on the last couple of days, the kings came in and it was like, “Oh yeah, we’re doing this movie because of these guys.” These guys laid the foundation, so we literally rolled the red carpet out for them. Where we were filming the last scene, there were actual thrones in the set decoration, and we sat them in the thrones as they waited for their scene. Once we wrapped, they gave a speech and they told us how grateful they were for us and how we’re doing the legacy justice. It just felt like we got our final stamp of approval before we wrapped everything.
House Party is now playing in theaters.
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