(L to R) Justice Smith and An-Li Bogan talk ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes.’
Opening in theaters on March 15th is the new comedy ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ which was written and directed by Kobi Libii (‘We Broke Up’) and stars Justice Smith (‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’), David Alan Grier (‘Boomerang’), An-Li Bogan (‘After Yang’), Rupert Friend (‘Asteroid City‘), and Nicole Byer (‘Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Justice Smith and An-Li Bogan about their work on ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ Smith’s first reaction to the screenplay, collaborating with director Kobi Libii, Bogan’s character and her relationship with Smith’s Aren, and working with legendary comedic actor David Alan Grier.
Related Article: ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’ Exclusive Featurette
(L to R) Director of photography Doug Emmett, actor Justice Smith and writer/director Kobi Libii on the set of ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Tobin Yelland / Focus Features.
Moviefone: To begin with, Justice, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and what were some of the aspects of this character that you were excited to explore on screen?
Justice Smith: I got sent the script. I was going to workshop it with Kobi at the Sundance Labs. He invited me out there, and when I first read it, I was like, “Oh, this is my experience. I could lend so much to this character because I understand this arc.” I think I knew how to play the specific complicated feelings, the specific rabbit hole that Aren was in, of feeling discomfort, trying to mitigate that discomfort by appeasing, but then indirectly allowing them to treat him in a way that, again, which makes him uncomfortable. So, I understood that vicious cycle and I understood how complicated that makes you feel. So, I knew I could do it. I knew I could lend myself to it.
Writer/director Kobi Libii (right) on the set of ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Anne Marie Fox / Focus Features.
MF: To follow up, director Kobi Libii has said that he based the character of Aren on his own life experiences. Did you feel at times like you were playing a version of Kobi?
JS: Yes, but only because I was playing myself. I’m so grateful because it’s the first time I worked with a director who looked like me and understood my specific racial experience and it was cathartic. I had never worked with someone who I didn’t have to explain myself to and it was freeing, and it allowed me to just explore what he wrote and bring my truth to it, which was fortunately, very similar to his truth. So, if anything, I was just playing myself.
(L to R) An-Li Bogan as “Lizzie” and Justice Smith as “Aren” in director Kobi Libii’s ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Tobin Yelland / Focus Features.
MF: An-Li, can you talk about your approach to playing Lizzie, and the relationship she forms with Aren?
An-Li Bogan: Kind of similarly to Justice, a lot of Lizzie felt like she was already in me, so that was great. That was easy just for day one. Then actually getting to work with Kobi in rehearsals and on set, he just included who I was into the character and the development of the character. I feel like he kind of did that too for our relationship. We were allowed to bring ourselves. We weren’t trying to hit certain points necessarily and how they connected, it came very naturally. I feel like we were given a lot of freedom to be comfortable and to be ourselves and that was important for playing these characters.
(L to R) Justice Smith as “Aren”, David Alan Grier as “Roger” and Aisha Hinds as “Gabbard” in writer/director Kobi Libii’s ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ a Focus Features release. Credit: Tobin Yelland/Focus Features.
MF: Finally, Justice can you talk about working with the great David Alan Grier and the friendship that forms between Aren and Roger?
JS: David is incredibly funny off-screen as he is on. He would tease me constantly, bully me constantly on set, and make fun of me. But he’s just surprisingly caring. He would send me gospel music, which was cool. It was amazing to work with him because I couldn’t really hold myself together when he would do his scenes because he’s very funny. But also, I feel like he taught me a lot in a similar way that Roger teaches Aren, where Roger mentors him. I felt that same mentorship from David.
“Saving the damn world.”
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGICAL NEGROES is a fresh, satirical comedy about a young man, Aren, who is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who… Read the Plot
What is the Plot of ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’?
Aren (Justice Smith) is recruited into a magical society of African Americans to follow their lifelong cause: to make the lives of white people easier.
Who is in the Cast of ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’?
‘The American Society of Magical Negroes,’ a Focus Features release.