Vivica A. Fox of 'Chocolate City' Talks Race, Hollywood and Naked Men
When Vivica A. Fox watched 2012’s “Magic Mike,” it was obvious to her where the male stripper flick didn’t measure up.
“The first thing I said was, ‘I can’t believe there weren’t any brothers. They’re hardly any minorities in here,” Fox tells Made in Hollywood. “So when I was sitting there watching ‘Magic Mike’ and said, ‘Whoever makes this for African-Americans, it’s going to win’ – I’m so happy to be a part of that.”
Enter “Chocolate City” – an all-black cast answer to “Magic Mike.” The 51-year-old actress stars as a struggling single mother whose college student son, played by Robert Ri’chard, 32, secretly moonlights as a male stripper after a successful turn at an amateur night.
Also starring Michael Jai White, Tyson Beckford, Ginuwine, Carmen Electra, and real-life male stripper Bolo, the comedy-drama is available for preorder ahead of its DVD release on Aug. 4. It was released in theaters on May 22 and later aired on BET for its broadcast premiere. It's currently available on Video on Demand.
It arrived slightly ahead of “Magic Mike XXL,” on July 1, which diversified its act in the Channing Tatum-led sequel. “They heard the audience’s reaction as well,” she added. Newcomers Stephen “Twitch” Boss, Michael Strahan, Jada Pinkett Smith and Donald Glover are among the black actors joining the cast.
And Fox sees “Chocolate City” as a product of what happens when Hollywood studios ignore moviegoers and overlook black actors in major roles.
“I think finally it's what we’re seeing now, having African-Americans in leads. They used to say a long time ago when I started acting, ‘Oh you guys can’t carry a film or can’t carry a television show.’”
Just look to the networks that are winning acclaim and ratings from viewers of all colors who are tuning into shows with largely all-black casts like “Empire,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder” for evidence that it’s about quality and not color, Fox said. She calls it “a beautiful thing.”
“We can see that audiences are not so tied to what race someone is—they just want quality entertainment.”
Though the TV landscape has shifted for the better for minorities, along with other platforms for film distribution via streaming and Video on Demand, Fox said that the old Hollywood narrative of African Americans being “too risky” to cast in leading film roles because they lack international appeal is still in practice.
“I think with film, they are the last to catch on because of the whole international thing,” she explained. “They like to say, ‘Oh, internationally… you guys do well domestically but we don’t know.’
But that claim doesn’t sit well with Fox.
“’The Equalizer’ with Denzel Washington is proving that wrong,” she said. The 2014 action-thriller brought in $192 million worldwide. “You know, international audiences, I find that so hard to believe because internationally—like Asians and everything—internationally they embrace our style… our way of dress… our music, everything.”
“They are not afraid, but I just think that film is the last to catch on, but what we need to do is keep on proving them wrong, keep working hard and putting out quality projects and that will change.”
