Charles Stone III's name was first up in lights in 2002, when he directed the entirely fun Drumline, about a college drum corps, and launched the career of Nick Cannon. But before that, he was the brains behind Budweiser's "Wassup?" commercials, and even before that, the son of revered Daily News columnist Chuck Stone.
Stone is behind the camera again for Lila and Eve, in theaters, a film about two mothers (Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez) and the spree they go on in the wake of their children's murders.
Viola Davis is pretty great in this.
She's a total student of the craft, really just about full dedication to the character.
If the film comes out on DVD, if there are deleted scenes, there are scenes of Viola encountering her son in the hospital. I did one take that was 10 to 15 minutes long, with Viola just talking to her dead son. It was crazy for Aml Ameen [who plays her son] as Viola is going through a myriad of emotions.
I enjoy working with the actors like that. It's about witnessing the actor and giving them the room to create.
This is very different from your other work. What was it about this movie?
The film can easily be construed as a revenge film, the Charles Bronson/Clint Eastwood-style film. But for me, what was more interesting was the psychological struggle Lila had, going about trying to satisfy her anger. That intrigued me more, to take the genre concept of a revenge movie and use the thoughts a real person would have had. Viola has said this, but these thoughts of revenge are something we all have. It's how we reconcile pain.
It's typically the guy in this position, so I was excited that it was a woman. And a woman of color.
That means even more in the wake of current events and the position the mothers of, say, Michael Brown or Eric Garner have taken.
It's quite topical on the front of gun violence.
This film is about a mother taking actions into her own hands and making things right. What was important to me is how I can make people like this character in the end - after she's caused quite a lot of bloodshed. It was important to note, the pain of losing a child doesn't go away. You manage it. The end shows there is this monkey still on her back.
Viola was a champion of that, too. We don't make it feel like all is well and all is cured. That's part of Viola's mantra: It's a cliché term now, but she's keeping it real.
How did you keep it real?
The writer, Pat Gilfillan, spent a great deal of time with support groups in Los Angeles. I sat down with a support group where we shot in Atlanta.
I asked if these characters felt real. The thing that was really fascinating is that all of the women I met, all of their children they had lost were involved in crime in some way, which is not what our story does. There was a whole other level of coming to terms with the dealings the child was having, on top of losing that child. The son is innocent in our film, at the wrong place at the wrong time. But the stories were just unreal.
"Drumline" was set in Atlanta. "Lila and Eve" is set in Atlanta. Come on, you're a Philly guy.
I have a film I'm hoping to do in Philadelphia that took place in West Philly High. It's about a teacher named Simon Hauger, who used to be an engineer and started teaching students science and math. He ends up doing something radically different and helps them build an electric car. They go on to compete in international competition. It's called Speed Boys. It's Stand and Deliver meets Fast and the Furious.
We'd love to shoot there. It has to happen in my lifetime.
STONE'S TOP 5 REVENGE TALES
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Frank Miller's graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns"
"This is by far my favorite story involving a form of psychological revenge or vigilantism. It takes place when Bruce Wayne is an old man retired from the Batman. Gotham is losing to a new generation of criminals, which awakens the voice of 'the Bat' in Wayne's head, coaxing him into becoming the Dark Knight again."
"Enter the Dragon" "One of my favorite superhero movies. Bruce Lee's character helps the feds stop a major drug lord, but he takes on the job to kill the guy who murdered his sister. When he administers the deadly blow, the look on Bruce's face is this incredible mashup of anger, sadness, and regret."
"Star Trek II:
The Wrath of Khan"
"A great superhero vs. supervillain film. The spotlight performance comes from the fantastically vengeful Khan, played deliciously by the late Ricardo Montalban. Khan's Hall of Fame line in the film: 'Revenge is a dish best served cold!' "
"Thelma & Louise"
"In the classical sense of the revenge genre, this film doesn't qualify, but psychologically, it is a super-revenge film in that the two women get retribution upon the male-dominated system."
"Unforgiven"
"When Clint Eastwood's William Munny learns one of his close companions has been brutally murdered. This pushes Munny over the edge into becoming a heartless, vengeful killer who kicks ass and takes names with no regrets." EndText
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