L-R: Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall, Amandla Stenberg, and Common in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE HATE U GIVE. Photo Credit: Erika Doss.(NEW YORK) — With today’s release of the Black Lives Matter movement inspired-film, The Hate U Give, the director George Tillman, Jr. and some of its cast are weighing in on its significance and why the film is not just for black people.
“It’s really for everyone,” Regina Hall tells ABC Radio.
Hall — who plays Lisa Carter, Starr’s protective mother — continues, “Of course it’s based in the Black Lives Matter movement. But I think when people see it, they’ll realize it is for everyone.”
The film’s director agrees and adds that the adaptation also offers a “wide range of emotion.”
“There is humor there,” Tillman says. “There’s this wonderful family at the core… And then you’re going to be shocked at certain things. And that’s what I wanted to make as a film to have these emotions that keep you on the edge of your seat.”
Tillman says the film is also bound to make you think. He reveals that his hope was to have the audience “see [themselves] in all of these characters.”
“Somewhere in there, somebody could say, “I was Mav, or I was Haley, or I was Chris,” he says naming some of the characters. “‘How do I changed my perspective?’ ‘Oh, we need to listen to one another a little bit more and respect.'”
Meanwhile, for Russell Hornsby who plays Starr’s father Maverick — he sees a much deeper connection.
“When I was younger– there used to be a shirt… It said, ‘It’s a black thing you wouldn’t understand,’ he recalls. “And I’ll never forget my religion teacher…said, ‘No, it’s a black thing. Let me help you understand.’ And I think there’s a difference.”
“So I think what we’re trying to do with this film is bring something that audiences can feel about what our lives are. And I think we do a wonderful job.”
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