How Calmatic Went From Directing Rap Videos to 'White Men Can't Jump'
Ahead of the release of White Men Can’t Jump, Okayplayer spoke with Calmatic about directing reboots, his thoughts on diversity in Hollywood, the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strike, and more.
“The way I put this film together is how J Dilla puts together beats.” Referring to his soon-to-be-released second film as a director, a remake of the ‘90s cult classic White Men Can’t Jump, Calmatic is joined alongside the film’s lead stars, Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow, as he talks about the movie following a screening of it at NYC’s AMC Lincoln Square. It’s a fitting statement for someone who’s loved hip-hop since he was a kid, the genre not only influencing his artistic sensibilities but being his gateway into becoming a sought after music video — and now, feature film — director.
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Calmatic (born Charles Kidd II) was always drawn to hip-hop. He was a tech nerd who rapped, and eventually his interest in music led to him experimenting with producing. In the late 2000s, he spent a lot of time at an open mic spot where he found himself rubbing shoulders with then-budding stars — Casey Veggies, Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar, Jhené Aiko, Ab-Soul — and taking pictures of them. From there, he found himself making music videos for some of them, too: Kendrick’s “Cut You Off (To Grow Closer),” Ab-Soul’s “Nothin New,” and Jhené’s “The Pressure” to name a few.
“I just was in the right place at the right time and I got to develop my craft through looking at music videos, going on YouTube looking at tutorials, and just doing my thing until my name started spreading around town,” he said. “I feel like music videos are the battleground for filmmaking. And if you can make it out of there, then you could pretty much do anything.”
Hollywood finally caught up after his video for Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ defining collaborative single “Old Town Road” won a Grammy. He signed on to direct the House Party 2023 remake five years ago, and was personally called upon by Kenya Barris for the White Men Can’t Jump remake prior to the official announcement in 2021.
Although Barris and Doug Hall wrote the script, Calmatic said he received a lot of freedom to create the movie he wanted to see. Of course, the center’s film is Kamal (Walls) and Jeremy (Harlow) who, despite both being at rock bottom, forge an unlikely friendship by preparing for a street basketball tournament. There’s also Teyana Taylor and Laura Harrier as Kamal and Jeremy’s respective girlfriends, Imani and Tatiana, bringing their talented acting skills as supporting actresses. But it’s Calmatic’s personal relationship with Los Angeles that brings everything together, whether that be intimate close-up shots of “The Jungles” — a notable neighborhood that was put on the map after being featured in Training Day — or the enviable costume design made up of pieces by local brands Rhude, Fear of God, and Carrots By Anwar Carrots.
As he focuses on his rise as a feature film director, Calmatic still makes time to direct music videos, too. After wrapping House Party, he directed Kendrick Lamar’s “Rich Spirit” music video, a brilliant and beautiful visual that shows just how far Calmatic has come as a director. Whether the big or small screen, Calmatic brings his distinct cinematic eye to whatever he directs, and he looks forward to fans seeing more of that as he begins to work on original ideas.
“I'm excited for people to see another offering from me,” he said. “I think it's been a great year for me to put out two films, and as an artist this is the best part. Just showing the world what you did. I'm so grateful to be able to do this on a big platform.”
Ahead of the release of White Men Can’t Jump, Okayplayer spoke with Calmatic about directing reboots, his thoughts on diversity in Hollywood, the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strike, and more.
What elements were you hoping to pull from the original film to give your own take on White Men Can’t Jump?
Calmatic: Obviously, White Men Can't Jump is a film that everyone knows like the back of their hand. They know the trash talking scene, they know the Rosie Perez moments. I wanted to dig a little deeper and think about the other elements that we all fell in love with that aren't so obvious. For me, it was the textures, being in Los Angeles and seeing the sunset, and all those kinds of elements — the colors, the fashion, the way basketball was played at that time. All these things stuck out to me. I wanted to find a way to remix them and make them feel not only modern, but glimpse into what the future of this streetball hustle culture is.
What was it like collaborating with Kenya Barris and Doug Hall?
Kenya and Doug, they were the anchors on this film. I met Kenya a couple years ago, right in the middle of the pandemic. We had a meeting that didn't even have anything to do with White Men Can't Jump. Then, a couple months later, he hit me up like, "Yo, we got this White Men Can't Jump. You trying to do it?" So, I pitched on it and we went in. Doug Hall, the writer, did a great job. He's from LA, so when I first read the script, I was hearing certain terminology and certain landmarks and I'm like, “Oh, yeah, yeah, this is a LA movie. This is right up my alley. I know this world.” Even from a production standpoint, Kenya definitely supported me as a filmmaker and wasn't too involved. He kind of sat back and just let me do my thing, and came in whenever it was needed.
The casting of Teyana Taylor was excellent. Why was she selected for her role?
Even before we casted her, I've always thought that Teyana is the most iconic hip-hop figure we have, if you think about it. She epitomizes what hip-hop is. But at the same time, she has more layers than that. She has a soft side, a tender side. She has a strong side where she'll tell your ass what to do. I think [her] character allowed her to have a full range of emotions, while having fun at the same time.
Let’s talk about Sinqua Walls and Teyana’s chemistry in the film, which I felt was really great.
I think what's dope about Sinqua and Teyana together is that they're veterans. They've been doing this for a long time. It's one of those things where real recognize real. Once they get in the room together, he gets it, she gets it, and it's like a match made in heaven, so to speak. I think Sinqua brought nothing but professionalism and a sense of class and grace to the screen. And Teyana, she just does her thing.
What are your thoughts on your first two films in Hollywood being reboots?
It is very ironic that my first two films were remakes, but I think it wasn't planned. It just happened this way. Like I said before, I wanted to just add my own twist to it, and doing these films I learned the power of being selfish as a director. It's like, “What's the movie I want to see, and how would I want to see it? What would make me laugh? What would make me perk up and be like, man, this is fun? What would make me smile?” Those are the things that I went into wanting to make my own version of the film. That's literally what my task was to do, and I did it.
Really being a student of the culture, I feel like that I already had something like this in my head, and given the chance to actually do it was a dream come true. So, I just made sure I took advantage of it and did exactly what I had in my mind.
What do you think about Hollywood’s obsession with reboots right now?
I think it's easy for [Hollywood] to have a reference point of what success might be, and I don't blame them all the way for that. I just wish that at the same time they would give a little bit more power to more original concepts.
A movie like White Men Can't Jump is more of a unique story. I feel like right now was the perfect time for this film to come out. The conversation about race is more prevalent than ever, but at the same time we're not hitting you over the head with the race conversation. We're proving that it’s not that deep anymore, and it's actually more about who we are as humans versus what our skin color is. I think that's the lesson, or that's the message that we're trying to send [with] White Men Can't Jump.
Do you have a movie from the '90s that is a dream franchise you want to reboot?
No. To be honest, I hope I don't ever have to do a reboot again. I was telling somebody the only type of reboot I would do is if I were able to do a live action version of Princess and the Frog or something like that. That sounds like something I would be interested in. But I'm not trying to remake Belly or Forrest Gump. I'm good. The next chapter of my career is to really dig in and lean into my original ideas, and make those feel as big as these remakes I've been doing.
How did you feel about House Party and how there was a pivot to giving it a theatrical release much later than the initial release date?
Basically, what happened was there was a change in ownership with Warner Bros., and they had a merger with Discovery. So, they had to figure out ways to save money. It costs money to put projects out, and it costs money to put stuff on streaming. A lot of movies that were complete got the ax, and luckily House Party tested really well. They felt that it was good enough to put in theaters.
I think the only thing that sucked about it is how far they pushed it back. It was supposed to come out in June 2022, and it ended up coming out in January 2023. But other than that, it was great to have a theatrical experience and know that people around the nation were able to see my film. I have no complaints.
What was your experience working on House Party?
It was my first movie and I learned so many lessons. I'm proud of it. But I feel like in hindsight it was a practice run. I shot White Men Can't Jump immediately after, and I felt way more prepared as a director to execute what was in my head. So, I'm thankful for that experience and for all the people that helped support me in that experience. Every day I learned something new that I wish I knew the day before. But after 40 days of filming, I have 40 days of lessons to apply to the next one.
How do you feel about the current state of representation in Hollywood?
I think my [point of view] when it comes to diversity in Hollywood is it's always touch and go. I'm grateful for all the programs that are put in place to help with that, but it always feels like it's a rollercoaster. It seems like there's moments where they're all about it, and then there's moments where it goes silent. I feel like we're in one of those dips right now where it's not the top of conversation. I hope that it doesn't get lost and doesn't take some kind of tragedy or something to get it back to where it was. I just wish it was a more steady line versus a wave type of movement. At this point we all know that it's an issue. I think every job, every project, every one of us, we should have an obligation to make the representation feel like the world at large. My hope is that it'll stay consistent in the future.
What are your biggest takeaways from the Writers Guild of America strike that’s happening right now?
I think it sucks, man. I talk to my family about this all the time. It's like us as humans when you think about our phones. Our phone, it updates every four or five months. You have to get the new update or your phone doesn't work. As humans, we have to update our software, too. That might be doing some research or reading books or just exercising. We have to do things. We have to take time to assess what's programmed inside of us, and find out what needs to be upgraded.
These systems that we live by need to be upgraded because if they don't get upgraded, then something won't work. If it's set up for one person to benefit, they're going to continue to benefit. The more they get used to it, the more resistance they're going to have to make the change. So, I think that we need constant reassessment of what our jobs are, what our duties are, and how much people are getting paid and all that kind of stuff. Because the world is changing so fast and everything has to keep up, or else somebody's going to be mad.
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