Regina Hall Rewatches Scary Movie, Girls Trip, Honk For Jesus & More ｜ Vanity Fair

This movie is good. Hey, baby, you came back just in time. She's about to get it on with Shakespeare. Oh, Brenda. That was all ad-libbed. And so he just was like, don't. And the Shakespeare, because I was like, I know Brenda's never seen Shakespeare, let alone read it. Hi, I'm Regina Hall. And today, I'm going to be watching some scenes from throughout my career. I'm a little nervous. It's all, you know, because you're looking back through time. Not the fried chicken. This is some scary ----. Oh, Brenda. When I booked this portion of the movie, this was really Marlon's cousin who came to visit, and she went to the movies. And so then they merged it once I got it, and then it became one part. I was really excited because it was the first time I had ever been away and shot. Just, like, to be in a movie was a big deal. Like, I don't know that people knew Brenda would be received so well, because, like, I wasn't even, I wasn't even invited to the press junket. But then after the movie did screen well, people wanted to know about Brenda. So that was exciting. Excuse me? Uh-huh. Honey, like, for everybody else up in here. Yeah, right there. Do you mind? I know you better get out of my face. I think the biggest treat for me was to work with, I mean, the weigh-ins, yes, but even more specifically, Kenan. I auditioned five times, so I had auditioned quite a bit. Maybe it was my third or fourth audition I finally got to audition for Kenan. Even if I didn't get it, the fact that I got to audition for Kenan, and I just remember he was like, Regina, you're funny. Being able to work with him, I felt like I learned so much from working with Kenan. The first thing he told me and Anna was that there's no vanity in comedy. Kenan, I will say, he said, don't bother her, just let her do whatever, scene to scene. And so all this kind of out of my face and candid camera, that was all ad-libbed. And so he just was like, don't, and the Shakespeare, because I was like, I know Brenda's never seen Shakespeare, let alone read it. I did love when we all got to film scenes together, because I think Shannon Elizabeth, I think the one time I laughed was when she said, oh my God, we hit a boot. Because I was like, they're so dumb. Bobby, look at my car, man, my dad's gonna freak! I didn't see it, it came out of nowhere. Oh my God, we hit a boot! Where's the foot? I don't know, you know, in the last, I think the last scary movie that I did or the one right before it, I think Brenda was a teacher, which she wasn't that great with the kids. So I don't know, maybe she's somewhere doing, like maybe she's working in the nonprofit world trying to help people, I don't know. She's somewhere she shouldn't be, I know that. That's what I didn't know. That was the fun part about the movie. And the scene is, you know, we didn't know what we were doing. That's always the best to me with comedy. It was very improvised, but it was actually, I'm looking at how nice the set looks, because it was actually a stage. So they built, because we really couldn't be in some of the bigger places. And so they designed all the sets to look like what those rooms looked like at Essence. And so a lot of our sets were, you know, a lot of our pieces were on a set. So I'm just thinking about how like, how well they did some of the set design. Now that was actually in the script because they had to figure out like how to put the wax on her mouth and the cut, but which just, because they were trying to, you know, obviously show how high they really were. We were all really happy and proud that everyone loved it, but we were really proud that, you know, that Essence audience, that women, you know, not that we don't love the men, but we were happy that women really felt like, oh, that looks like a girl's trip. We really had, because I think going through it, I was like, Malcolm, you know, we curse sometimes when we talk a little dirty. And I was like, so please, we're not on a like, on what men think of as a wine trip with my girlfriend. So we wanted to make it raunchy, but honest to show all the facets of what it is to be a woman. What is she doing here? She's here to take your order. Yeah? What can I get you? You can get your mouth off my husband's dick. I had met Laia, I'd done her show and I'd met her, you know, like high and by, and I had met Jada and never didn't know Tiffany. So I didn't, we didn't know each other well. So when we all sat down, I mean, I have to say just quite naturally, well, the chemistry was just there. And we didn't, you know, we didn't know until we arrived on set and we did our first rehearsal together. So yeah, it could have been a bust. They all made me laugh. Quiet as cat. Brian, we gotta go right now. The tsunami has hit. I repeat, the tsunami has hit. Please excuse us. My date will pay the check. You may settle up with him. Everyone was really excited and celebratory. Just because comedies had not been doing so well at the time that I was trepidatious because they did a summer release. And I was like, shouldn't we be going for fall? Because I thought of summer and all the big movies that come out in summer. I thought it was going to be a very specific audience. I thought it was going to be really a black audience. I didn't expect that it would be so expansive and the audience would be so broad. But I mean, we were, everybody was ecstatic. I mean, you know, we were all really happy and proud that everyone loved it. Of all races, all cultures felt like they saw themselves or someone from their friend group in that movie. Who are you waving those singles at? Mm-mm. There ain't no magic in that mini mic. You see what I'm talking about? Take a little drink. Get on the way. Uh-huh, I have that. What is she? Joe! Uh-uh. Hey, Joe! What'd you just say to them? Nothing, I just told them you gave me herpes. That? I don't have herpes, Joe! Interestingly enough, while doing press for Think Like a Man 2, Will Packer, there's a portion of the press where I go in and bother the guys. And it was just something where Will was like, Regina, go in there and bother the guys. Because we were on a break, the girls. So I went and bothered them. And I think the studio head at the time, Clint Culpepper, saw it. He was like, I think she'd be great for About Last Night. Because he didn't necessarily know that I did comedy. He hadn't seen the scary movies or anything. Ah! You better lose my number. You lose it. I'm gonna lose the memory that you ever lived! Ah! Yes. We had never worked together that much. We'd only been in the same movies, but not worked together. So we were actually surprised that we had that much chemistry. And then we just had a ball. Kevin's hilarious. And it's just fun to bounce off of each other. I bounce off of him. And, you know, we wanted a couple that is so toxic, but you want them to be together still. We just did whatever we wanted. And so we had a great time at About Last Night. When I did the first one, I was, I mean, not that I wasn't excited for this one, but I was like nervous. It was my first movie. I didn't know anybody. I was like, it's Nia Long. It was like Taye Diggs right after Stella. It was such a big deal. I had a honey wagon. I didn't even have my own trailer. My friends came and there was nobody on the other side of the honey wagon. So it was open. So I was like, you guys look at my trailer. But I had never been in another trailer. So the audition came in two parts. So they auditioned us for the scenes. And then once they narrowed down who they liked, we had to come back for the dancing. So what happened was I don't dance. I can't dance. And when we were dancing, we had to do the stripper scene. I had a friend who I was in class with who stripped part-time. And she said, all you have to do is just turn around and just smack your ass. And I was like, that's it? Like that's, she's like, that's it. And so when I get to the audition, I see other girls, they got routines. And I was like, oh, all I have, she's like, just take a chair. So they had a chair when I went into audition. And by this, at this point, there were no, there were no words, just the dance. And so I turned around and smacked my, I was kind of, it was horrible. I was looking and I turned around and I had on a dress and then like a boob popped out and then I covered, and then I just remember the producer stopped it. And he said, can you do anything else? Cause I guess like one minute of just turning around and I was like, yes. And then I just picked up my stuff and left. Cause I was like, you know what? I'm not going to get it. And like, what's the point? And so then they called back and they were like, we want to give her the part. We're just, we're nervous. Cause she, she walked out and danced. If we get a, if we get someone, if we get a coach in and the coach believes they can train her to do it, then we'll, then we'll, we would like to hire her. So that's how it happened. And then with the second one, I knew everyone. And so by the time we came back for the second one, we had all become friends and I had a lot more to do, you know, and I had, I had a lot more scenes than, you know, so then by, at that point, Candy was a part of the group. So it was really fun. Cause the first one was kind of the wonder of like, really actually booking a movie. But the second one, I had the script and I was friends with everyone. So that one felt like a reunion. Come on, baby. Say it back to me. Green Acres, Hillbillies, Hooterville Junction. I'm no longer a piece of goddamn relevant. And women will not care if Dick finally got down with Jane on search for tomorrow. Because black people will be in the streets looking for a brighter day. The revolution will not be televised. Dad said, if anyone said that to me, I needed to trust him with my life. All right, right now you need to. Cause you're in trouble, Willa. Right? Now there's an SOS signal out. I am here to help, but we have to leave here right away. So first of all, I was already a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan. And, and, and I had seen all of his movies. I think except one, which I did eventually see. And that was Heartache. PTA's work, it always is him, but it is also very, you don't know what it will be. You know? So it's like, you can go from a Boogie Nights and then have a There Will Be Blood and then a Phantom Thread. So it's not like I could, I didn't necessarily know how I would ever fit into a PTA world or film. You know, Licorice Pizza, you don't know what he's going to do next. Even in Punch Drunk Love, you know? So I didn't know, you know, I didn't ever expect necessarily. It's not like you can pitch yourself for a film of his and you don't even know how to get to him, almost. So, so I psychically stalked him, I think. And it worked, I think. So when this came, I was incredibly excited and nervous, you know, because I didn't know how he worked and I didn't, I actually didn't know anyone who had worked with him. But the performances on all of his films are, they're so authentic. So I didn't know how he got there. And ironically, in this film, I do know comedy. I mean, she is very straight. But, you know, I think the biggest thing with Paul is you have to really be present and in the moment because you don't necessarily know the scope of what you're shooting. You know what I mean? And the way he does lighting and the setting, you can't have any preconceived idea about, oh, what you're going to do. But on the flip side, you know, Paul's great at talking about things before you shoot and answering questions. And he's incredibly transparent about a scene's intention. So you, I definitely felt prepared. I just, I just, you know, I just had to be prepared for anything. This was actually my first day of filming. I remember I was like, oh, this is my first scene and first time working with Paul Thomas Anderson. So that was exciting. In terms of having the weight of how the film does, that pressure is not there. But then of course you do want the film to do well, right? Because any film you do, you are, you just are inherently attached to its success. However, that's defined, right? Whether that's critical success, financial success, you know, audience success. So you feel it, but of course, you know, this is Leo's fault if it don't work out. Does everybody know that? This is all on Leo. And if it does well, it's all of us. If it does well, it's truly all of us. It was, it was, it was everyone involved. But I think when you're making a film like this, I have to say it has not been a thought of mine. My thought is that audiences see it and they enjoy it. And that like people watch and kind of grasp the film's humor, its intention, its wit, that's kind of it. Because it's also, the shots in this film are so brilliant. I mean, the way Paul shot it, you know, it's not, it's like the filmmaking is another part of the storytelling. So I think I just, you just want audiences to see it for that reason. Again, like I said, if it is a success, I think everyone should remember me and everything I gave to this film. The big bad wolves who eat up all the little piggies, well, guess what? Those are not little piggies out there. I am. Right here, I am the victim. Why don't you just leave? Why would you ask her something like that? This one, it was great. It's very special. Adama, our director, Adani, our producer, they're twins. And I just loved their ambition. And we had a meeting and in the meeting, they sent the script and I was like, gosh, this is interesting. It's gonna be really good or really bad. It didn't feel like there was a middle ground, but they were so smart in the meeting that I thought it was worth the leap. Being there from the beginning, being a part of, you know, choosing, you know, who was going to play this pastor. And the first time Sterling and I spoke on the phone, on Zoom or FaceTime, immediately I was like, oh, this is him. Like, there's no, there's nobody else. Like, I hope he says yes. So we had a great conversation. And in the movie specifically, you know, she'd love to be more silent, but he's always saying, you know, she's always having to just, it's such a tight rope with him because he's so unpredictable. And also, I mean, he's, you know, he's a showman. It was so much fun to work with Sterling, but just, I think, being a part of the production, you know, pre and during and then post. ♪ Now he knock, if he knock, boy run, if he stop, boy love ♪ ♪ It's a must, if you buck, boy run ♪ So we sang, Knock If You Buck, in the car, which everyone knows, of course, we had never heard the song before, either of us, but it was really fun to learn it. I think we got really into it. We were, we wanted more takes. We were ready. We had spent like all week getting ready, and we were ready, but it was, it was really good. It was a fun, fun movie. Sad movie, but fun. Saddest love scene of my career thus far. Isn't it sad? He didn't want her. That's two decades, two and a half decades. That's crazy. I'm grateful I'm still here. I did look at the, the, the scary movie scene, and I was like, oh, I would have never thought she'd be in a PTA film. So it's a nice, quite unpredictable trajectory, and it's, and it's, it's great to see drama. It's, I mean, all the people I've worked with, that, that is, that's pretty amazing to have worked with some incredible people in front of, and behind the camera. I mean, I've, we've had great crews and cast, so pretty lucky. I'm a lucky girl.