From his incredible and still thriving career as a musician, to a new but promising career as an actor, Common has grown into nothing less than a superstar. From the moment he strolled towards the red carpet at the brand new Roosevelt Collection ShowPlace ICON Theater, the aura surrounding him was vibrant as ever, as he politely made his way through the hefty crowd greeting friends, family and supporters. Common then spoke to members of the media regarding his first independent film, “Luv”, a story of trust as a young child from the streets of Baltimore battles the hardships of growing up with no male figure, until one day with his Uncle (Common) completely changes his life. By touching on themes of black male masculinity and the hard truths that surround ex-inmates in our country, “Luv” truly depicts factual lives for many American minorities living in our inner-cities.
This ultra-realistic film only hit home harder as we sat in the South Loop theater, in the midst of a turmoil in our own city. After the 90 minute film concluded, Garrard McClendon hosted a Q & A with Common, (manager & producer) Derek Dudley, Father Pfleger, and a local teenager who himself has dealt with similar issues as shown in the film while growing up on Chicago’s South Side. In the discussion, in which the purpose was to come up with solutions to our epidemic of violence, reality filled the theater as Father Pfleger announced he was informed another teenager was shot in our streets. While no one could come up with a direct solution to slowing this epidemic, all gave heartfelt, honest and useful opinions on ways to help curb this nonsense. With a focus on Chicago, I was able to catch up with Common and ask him how the content of this film has influenced his music career, as well as speaking to him about the best script he’s worked on as an up an coming actor.
Read the interview on the next page.