Oscar-winning actress Mo’Nique hasn’t appeared in a film since her debut in Lee Daniels’ film “Precious†(2009). That was not until this past weekend with the theatrical release of coming-of-age film “Blackbird.†The film, which centers around a young gay male growing up in Mississippi, premiered in New York at Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in association with Harlem Pride and DBQ Magazine, an LGBTQ publication for people of color. It has been released in limited theaters across the country by the Urban Movie Channel, an RLJ Entertainment brand, created by BET founder Robert L. Johnson. UMC is an online channel that some have referred to as the black Netflix. “Blackbird,†an independent film, is reportedly the first original film acquired by UMC.
“Blackbird†is an adaptation of author Larry Duplechan’s coming-of-age novel. Written and directed by Patrik-Ian Polk, the film’s main character is a talented teenage singer who’s struggling with religion, sexuality, a troubled home life and other high school woes in a small Southern Baptist town—a journey that ultimately leads to him learning to accept and love who he is. The original setting was Southern California during the ’70s but Polk changed the film’s backdrop to his hometown of present-day Hattiesburg. Isaiah Washington plays the sympathetic father of the teen and Mo’Nique plays his judgmental religious mother. Mo’Nique and her husband, Sidney Hicks, are executive producers on the film through their company Hicks Media.
[Related:] ‘Blackbird’ Filmmaker Details Journey To Tell The Untold
Given the choice between acting and producing, she would opt for the later, Mo’Nique told BlackEnterprise.com during an exclusive interview. She also opened up about the recent controversy with Daniels after Mo’Nique told Access Hollywood that the “Empire†creator had offered her the role of Cookie before Taraji P. Henson was hired on the Fox series. That claim followed Daniels’ assertion that she was “blackballed†from Hollywood after making “unreasonable demands†during the Oscar campaign for “Precious.†Daniels and “Empire†co-creator Danny Strong denied the actress was ever offered the role of Cookie.
But Mo’Nique fired back by presenting emails that proved Daniels had a conversation with her about his new television pilot for Imagine Tv/Fox. According to the email, Daniels told Mo’Nique’s team, “We would like to screen test her for the role of ‘Cookie.’ Please contact us with her television quotes, so that we can start a test, option, deal.â€
Mo’Nique told BlackEnterprise.com, “The situation at hand with Mr. Daniels is just a part of the journey. It is a part of life. What I have learned from this situation is that you must have a proof of a conversation.†She went on to say that she harbors no ill will toward Daniels. In fact, she would embrace him, but she simply wants him to clear her name. “We reached out to Mr. Daniels, we sent him an email to say, ‘Hey brother, we ain’t got nothin’ but love for you, but you know what you have to do. Say, ‘I misspoke. I want to apologize to my sister.'”
Mo’Nique talks more about her career, latest film and homophobia in the black community on the next page …
On Claire Rosseau (‘Blackbird’) vs Mary Jones (‘Precious’):
Mary Jones was mentally ill. Claire Rousseau is emotionally distraught because her daughter has been abducted, her marriage has come to an end and now her son says that he is gay. She is a woman who is so deeply rooted in her religion that she believes everything from that Bible and everything that she hears from that pulpit. She believes that she is cursed with a child who is a homosexual. There is an emotion disruption with the two women—that is the common denominator.
Wanting the role after reading the first page of the script:
Isaiah Washington sent me the script, and I knew on page one that I wanted to do the movie. It was a scene that has never seen in cinematic history and it is one that we need to see because it is happening; it is what our babies are going through. Patrick is fearless. He wasn’t willing to sugar coat it; to dress up or make it comfortable. He made it very uncomfortable.
Blackbird is a universal story:
For a long time I thought that it was only the African American community that got it the worst was black gay men. I saw that pain and that misery. Until we started taking this film to festivals around the country and we started to hear from the Italian community, from the Asian community, from the Jewish community. And they were all saying the same thing: ‘this is my story. When I came out my family threw me away. When I came out I could no longer go to my church.’
Homophobia in the black community and the church:
“Blackbird†impacts the black community and it impacts the LGBT community within the African American community. What would I like to see come out of this movie. If told well it will become a movement. I think it is time that people stop making an announcement about who they were born to be. So, we are hoping that people walk away with acceptance of who people are and not having to be apologetic. We are hoping that those little boys, and those little girls, those mommies, those daddies, those church members, those pastors are able to say nothing is a mistake. When you say God is Love there is no but after that.
Blackbird breakout star Julian Walker:
Patrick said that he went the standard route which is Hollywood but people were afraid of it, would people think they were really gay, would it hurt their career. So the question was who is going to be brave enough to play this character?  This is Julian’s first role (he’s a college student). He doesn’t know to be afraid. The same feelings that I had about Gabby Sidibe (“Precious†actress) are the same feelings that I have about Julian. He is so courageous. He gave himself fully (to this role), because he said ‘I want to be the guy that a little boy can look up to because he had no one to look up to when I was a little boy.’