Singer and actress, Janelle Monáe, along with film director Rian Johnson, dropped by V-103 Atlanta’s The Big Tigger Morning Show to discuss their new film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
LISTEN NOW: Janelle Monáe and Rian Johnson on The Big Tigger Morning Show
Johnson set the background of the film, “this one’s set in Greece, this one's like a vacation mystery,” he shared and explained how a bunch of friends are all invited to a vacation home to solve a murder mystery, but things go completely wrong.
When setting out to find the cast for this film, Johnson’s goal was to have an “all-star cast,” and with actors like Daniel Craig, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Edward Norton and Janelle Monáe, you can assure he did just that.
Monáe shared that this cast shared amazing energy with one another and Johnson made it a wonderful film experience. They compared it to feeling like “summer camp.”
Monáe plays the character of “Andi Brand” who Janelle describes as “very mysterious” but also “gives you that boss b**** energy.” They related to the character of Andi as being the minority in their industry. “In many ways because she's a tech entrepreneur, she's a black woman and in that space she has to navigate in her own way, she is the minority… She's around a lot of sharks, and if you know anything about that industry, the face of tech is not a black woman.”
Monáe described this role as a “dream role” and loved the part, “as someone who loves to honor black women on screen, it was great.”
Acting aside, Monáe did tease that fans can be expecting some new music in 2023. “I was on a little musical drought,” but with working on this movie they found inspiration.
“Yes, I will say that I am excited about 2023.. All around, this film, this music…”
While the film has been out for about a week in theaters it is set to premiere on Netflix December 23.
Johnson shared that he is excited about its release on Netflix because it gives viewers the opportunity to catch all of the details the film has to offer. The more you watch the film the more you begin to notice things that you probably didn’t notice the first time around.
Johnson shared that a third movie is in the works, “I’m making a third one, I’m starting to come up with it right now,” and he’s taking suggestions he told Big Tigger.
In a daring game of Ones Gotta Go, Janelle had to choose between movies she’s starred in: Harriet, Antebellum, Hidden Figures and Moonlight. After careful deliberation she decided that she could not let any of the films go because “all of those roles helped me to be able to play this role.”
Listen or watch the full interview with Janelle Monáe and Rian Johnson above.
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