A Trailer for Cop Out:
Tracy Morgan - The "Cop Out" Interview with Kam
Williams
Kam Williams: Hey, Tracy, thanks so much for the time.
Tracy Morgan: What's up, brother?
KW: Nothing much. What interested you in making Cop Out?
TM: Come on! It's Bruce Willis! Bruce Willis, Kevin Smith and Tracy Morgan,
what an awesome combination.
KW: Kevin Smith was just in the news because he was booted off an airplane
for being too heavy. What did you think of that?
TM: That's great stuff, man! That's good stuff. I love it! In fact, Kevin's
the one that told me that when things like that happen, it happens for us.
KW: It may be good for publicity for the movie, but it must have been
humiliating to Kevin when it happened.
TM: No, not Kev, you can't humiliate Kev. Not Kev Smith. Kev is tougher than
that.
KW: What was it like working opposite Bruce Willis?
TM: It was a joy. It was a pleasure. It was definitely fun and interesting.
That man has been doing this for a long time, and he taught me a lot about
camera angles and about how to be professional in the work.
KW: Children's book author Irene Smalls asks, how is this movie different
from other buddy cop movies?
TM: The actors are different, although I didn't set out to be different. My
inspiration came from people like Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and Will
Smith. The genre is what it is. My inspiration was drawn from great movies
like 48 Hours, Bad Boys and Rush Hour.
KW: Irene was also wondering whether you based your character, Paul Hodges,
on anybody?
TM: Yeah, man. I'm from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. So, you grow up around police
officers. Some of them are in your family, some of them you have encounters
with. I had a young police officer we were friends with in our group. He was
a little older than me and he became a cop. So, I just channeled him.
KW: I'm originally from Bed-Sty, too. You know where Medgar Evers College
is, at the corner of Nostrand Avenue and President Street?
TM: Are you serious? So, you going Downtown! You from Nostrand. I'm from
Tompkins. So me and you come from the same ‘hood!
KW: Yep!
TM: That's wassup! You said Medgar Evers, right?
KW: Yeah, that's where I went to high school. It's a college now, but it was
a high school back in the day.
TM: So, like my pops, you were probably around when Power Memorial existed.
KW: Oh yeah, I saw Power Memorial play when Kareem Abdul Jabbar was on the
team. Of course, he was still Lew Alcindor back then. So, how did this
brother from Bed-Stuy get interested in making Hollywood movies?
TM: When I was a young kid, my pops introduced me to it. He took me to
Harlem, 145th and Edgecombe, to watch the filming of Claudine with James
Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll. That was my first taste of seeing a set and
the cameras, and I was bit by the acting bug at a young age, man.
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks, whether you looked up to Colin Powell,
another native New Yorker, as a role model?
TM: Yeah, I looked up to Colin Powell, absolutely! But I was really busy
looking up to my father, because he was also a righteous man. My father was
the role model I looked up to. My dad was an entertainer, too. I patterned
my life after him. He wanted me to do better than he did. He never sold a
record in his life, but to me he was still a rock star.
KW: Jimmy Bayan asks, are your kids interested in showbiz?
TM: You'd have to ask them. They're grown men. One is 24, one is 22 and one
is 18. They have their own lives and they're going in their own directions.
They might not know what they want to do yet. Right now they're very decent,
respectful people, and I love them for that. They don't have to be rich or
funny, but they are better men. The thing that I love is that they are
better than me.
KW: Jimmy also asks, where in L.A. do you live, and where is your favorite
place to hang out there?
TM: I don't have a place in L.A. I used to live at the Palazzo on West 3rd
Street. And when I go to Los Angeles, I like to go to the SkyBar and just
hang out. I don't drink or anything. It's been two-and-a-half years since I
had a drink. But when I'm in the mood to listen to music, I do like to go to
the SkyBar. But I'm 41 years-old, and so busy with work, that I like to just
stay home and get my sleep now. I try not to burn both ends of the candle.
KW: Larry Greenberg says he loved that hilarious Maya Angelou Hallmark Cards
SNL skit you did. He wants to know if you're planning to turn that into a
movie.
TM: Oh, absolutely not. The things I did on Saturday Night Live are going to
stay as Saturday Night Live. You've never seen Eddie Murphy do a Gumby
movie. There's a lot more new material inside of me.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
TM: I see me. I see Tracy Morgan. It's been a journey. I see the ups and
downs. I see the mistakes I've made. I see a funny person. I see a serious
person. I see a diamond. I see the good times. I see the bad times. And I
see knowledge of self. I see knowledge of self. I know who I am. When I look
in the mirror, I see me.
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
TM: World peace.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
TM: I was 4 years-old, in the park in my neighborhood in Tompkins. I was
with my father who was telling jokes and snapping on all the guys on the
basketball court. And he told me one to say about somebody's mother, and
everybody laughed.
KW: Aspiring actor Tommy Russell would like to know, how long did it take
you to get to where you are as an actor, and whether you still struggle
internally about your career path?
TM: I'm not really struggling about my career. The struggles are in my
personal life. I can't really pinpoint how long it took me to get where I'm
at, and I didn't care how long it was going to take, because it's not about
the destination, it's about the journey. Tell Tommy he has to stay in the
moment and focus on that, because when all is said and done, and there's no
more to say or do, you want to be able to look back and say, "Wow! What a
ride!" Fame doesn't matter. Money doesn't matter. Those things are forever
fleeting. I just want to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so that
when I'm long gone my great-great-grandchildren can walk up to it and say,
"That's my ancestor." That will be my legacy.
KW: Jimmy also asks, what do you give Obama as an approval rating on a scale
of 1 to 10?
TM: I give him a 10 because he's not God, and he inherited a couple of wars,
and a financial mess. Nobody could fix all that in 9 months. But he's gotta
step up his game now. I want to see him curse somebody out on TV. You can't
finesse a bull. He's gotta throw down. He's in the shark tank.
KW: Tommy has a political question, too. What do you think about the Obama
administration using nuclear energy as part of their overall energy policy
plan? Can we achieve France's level of success with nuclear energy and
cleanup, or, will politics ruin our chances of moving forward?
TM: Well, I'm not really much into politics, because it's rarely discussed
in my line of work, but I know that he's trying his best, and that at some
point down the road, he's going to get it right.
KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who's your favorite clothes designer?
TM: The jeans I wear are Lee, and I like Rocawear and Sean Jean.
KW: The Zane question: Do you have any regrets?
TM: No, absolutely not.
KW: The last time I asked you, what was your favorite dish to cook, you said
Cowboy food: pork and beans and franks. What's do you like to have with it?
TM: Grape Kool-Aid on ice with a slice of lemon. I also like to have cheese
biscuits on the side.
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What are you listening to on
your iPod?
TM: I'm listening to classic stuff like Rakim, old school hip-hop.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
TM: I had a good laugh yesterday just talking about stuff. I'm always around
jovial people .
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
TM: Yeah, I'd like Maury Povich to ask me, are you the baby's daddy?
[Laughs]
KW: How would you describe yourself in one word?
TM: I would like to say "generous." I'm very giving. Even if it's for
nonsense, I'll give it to you.
KW: The Mike Pittman question: Who was your best friend as a child?
TM: In the Seventies, my best friend was Warren. In the Eighties, my best
friend was Smitty.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
I Am
the New Black
Click to order via Amazon
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau; ZZZ edition (October 20, 2009)
The outrageously funny, heartbreaking, and surprising story of Tracy
Morgan's rise from ghetto wiseass to superstar comedian.
TM: I got to say the last book I read was the one I wrote, "I Am the New Black," which was inspired by my experiences as a black man, as an American, and as a human being.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your
footsteps?
TM: Don't follow in my footsteps. Be original, and create your own path. Be
a trailblazer! Do you! Be better than me. Do you! Be happy and have joy in
your life.
KW: The Boris Kodjoe question: What do you consider your biggest
accomplishment?
TM: Raising my kids to be respectful adults.
KW: The Laz Alonso question: How can your fans help you?
TM: Just keep laughin'.
KW: Well, thanks for another great interview, Tracy, and good luck with the
film. And I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
TM: Thank you. Right on!
Related Links
Cop Out - Film Review by Kam Williams
Tracy Morgan - The "G-Force" Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/tracy_morgan.htm