MOOZ-LUM
Now on DVD

Featuring Roger Guenveur Smith, Nia Long,
Danny Glover, Evan Ross and Dorian Missick

 (Left) Smith on set with “Mooz-lum” director Qasim Basir

Faith and sacrifice shape the story of an African American Muslim family in Mooz-Lum, centered on a families struggles between cultural identity, conflict and ignorance.  Receiving rave reviews on the film festival circuit in 2010, Mooz-lum tells the story of Tariq (Evan Ross of “ATL,” “Pride”) a young man challenged to find his own passion for a faith that he feels has abandoned and ostracized him from his peers. 

Hard pressed by his father’s zealous pursuit of perfection, Tariq slowly begins to peel away his emotional shell, revealing an untold trauma that shakes his family to the core. Roger Guenveur Smith (“American Gangster,” “Get on the Bus,” “Do the Right Thing”) is uniquely brilliant as Tariq’s stoic father, Hassan, whose stern and unrelenting beliefs make it next to impossible to be the husband his wife desires. 

Safiyah, Tariq’s mother, well-suited to the acting range of Nia Long (Are We There Yet?, Big Momma’s House), gifts the plot with an indelible arc.  Her aching portrayal of a mother caught between religious obligations and intuition is the cornerstone of Mooz-lum, an illuminating story, disrupted by the events of September 11.

I spoke at length to Roger Guenveur Smith on the eve of a Mooz-Lum premiere and on the heels of Better Mus Come, another film in which he stars.  We talked about his work with director Spike Lee and many of the roles he has chosen, often setting him apart as one of Hollywood’s most intriguing character actors.

Sandra Varner (Talk2SV): You have been busy with a string of projects, these two films in particular, Mooz-lum and Better Mus Come.  What do you have to say about them?

 Smith in scene from his one man show, “Juan and John”

Smith: The Muslim piece traces the story of a young college man --a black American man-- who is Muslim, grew up in a very strict household and is dealing with the consequences of the events of September 11th.  I play his father. Evan Ross plays my son and does so very well. Nia Long plays my wife and there’s a very interesting role played by Danny Glover.  The story is remarkably topical considering what we’re going through right now with the reaction to the proposed Islamic cultural center that is to be built in lower Manhattan (NY). Better Mus Come is a political thriller set in 1970’s Jamaica.  It traces the roots of Jamaican political violence, which played itself out, tragically, when almost 80 people were killed (2010) in just a matter of days in the Tivoli Garden section of Kinston, Jamaica, the capitol city. I play a character called “Prime Minister” that is based on a real prime minister by the name of Michael Manley who served two terms in Jamaica so I’m very happy to be involved, particularly with these up and coming filmmakers, Qasim Basir (Mooz-lum) and Storm Saulter (Better Mus Come).  It is exciting to play such radically different characters as well. In Mooz-lum, I play a very strict Sunni father; in Better Mus Come, I play a politically left learning prime minister.

Talk2SV:  I have always described you as intriguing. By your own definition, what makes Roger Guenveur Smith so intriguing?

Smith: I don’t know if Roger Guenveur Smith is an intriguing as you might think.  Roger Guenveur Smith is simply an artist who is attempting --by any means necessary-- to get his art out into the world.  I feel very blessed when I’m able to collaborate with other artists, particularly with the young folks that I’ve collaborated with here. It gives me the same sense of excitement as I had twenty years ago when I was working with another up and coming filmmaker by the name of Spike Lee.

(Left) Smith in 1989 as “Smiley” in
Spike Lee’s acclaimed “Do The Right Thing”

Talk2SV: Ah yes, tell me more…

Smith: We did a film called Do the Right Thing, which continues to resonate for another generation of filmgoers.  My first love, however, is really the stage.  If I’m able to work in collaboration with film artists on interesting television projects, that’s great.  But, where I really come from is the stage and that’s where I continue to return to every season. Recently, I was just at Purdue University to perform Frederick Douglass Now (one of Smith’s acclaimed one-man shows). I’ve been doing Frederick Douglass material since I was an undergraduate student at Occidental College.  Douglass is someone I can continue to grow with; he lived to a ripe old age and was such a prolific writer, such a prolific speaker.  His words, his thoughts, his actions, are still exemplary for our current moment. Even Glenn Beck (politically conservative radio host) had to acknowledge the brilliance of Frederick Douglass.

Talk2SV: How can you mention Glenn Beck’s name in the same breath as Frederick Douglass?

Smith: Well, he had a picture of Frederick Douglass on display at the Lincoln Memorial when he did his rally (in 2010).

Talk2SV: Oh, my…

Smith: Now, I don’t know if Frederick Douglass was smiling on that rally, I doubt if he was, but Glenn Beck and Barbara Bush, our former first lady and mother of the former president (George W.), is a big fan of Frederick Douglass.  They like to claim Frederick Douglass as a Republican, but I think the Republican party of Frederick Douglass was a little different from the Republican party of Newt Gingrich.

Scene from the acclaimed “Huey P. Newton” stage performance

Talk2SV: You have refined the art form of the one-man show receiving acclaim for several pieces: your portrayals of Frederick Douglass and Huey P. Newton are regarded as seminal works of art.  When we consider the technique, difficulty, creative intelligence and challenges of the one-man show format, courage is paramount.

Smith: Or a lot of foolishness or madness, take your pick (laughter).  There is probably a thin line between the two or three, but I enjoy it.  It is immediate and something that I can do without a lot of sets, without a lot of props.  After performing the Huey P. Newton show for years, we were able to film it, directed by my long time colleague Spike Lee.  I’m very thankful that we filmed it; that we documented that play because it allowed me to retire from smoking all of those cigarettes.  Huey Newton was a chain smoker; he smoked Kool cigarettes, which was my only prop in the entire play.  So, I’m very happy that I liberated myself from Kool cigarettes.  Now, people can just go to Netflix to get the film and I haven’t destroyed my lungs.  

Talk2SV: Are you telling me that you were inhaling?

Smith: Well, I mean you can’t help but inhale, you’re surrounded by sometimes 20 cigarettes in a 90-minute performance.  Whether it was second hand or first hand smoke, I don’t know, I’m sure it wasn’t very healthy.  But, it’s all for the art and I suppose it’s worth it.

Smith in scene from “American Gangster”

More on Roger Guenveur Smith:

He will next be seen in John Singleton’s “Abduction” from Lionsgate Pictures with Taylor Lautner and Denzel Whitaker.  Recently, he costarred in Dito Monteil’s “Fighting” with Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard. 

Smith is well known for the Peabody Award winning adaptation of his acclaimed solo performance, “A Huey P. Newton Story” (winner of the Obie Award amongst others) directed by  longtime collaborator Spike Lee. Smith and Lee have worked together eight times including the films” “Do The Right Thing,” “Malcolm X” and “He Got Game.”

He worked opposite Denzel Washington in the Universal Pictures release of Ridley Scott’s hit film “American Gangster,” which marks the third time Smith has appeared onscreen with Denzel.

Smith starred in the independent feature “Fatwa” opposite Lauren Holly.  His body of work also includes such classics as Abel Ferrara’s “King of New York” and New Line Cinema’s “Final Destination” for James Wong of “X Files”. Other film work includes RKO Pictures “Shade” opposite Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, Gabriel Byrne, Sylvester Stallone and Thandie Newton, and the New Line Cinema hit with Ice Cube, “All about The Benjamins.”

He was a lead in Steven Soderbergh  and George Clooney's  innovative HBO series, “K Street” with John Slattery of “Mad Men” and Mary McCormick of “In Plain Sight.”