In HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL., Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star as a married couple whose Southern Baptist megachurch closes after being rocked by scandal. Determined to reopen and rebuild their congregation, the couple stages a wild comeback.
The satirical comedy is directed by Adamma Ebo and produced by Adanne Ebo — and we sat down with the stars and filmmakers to talk about the movie.
Regina Hall discusses her preparation and research, while Sterling K. Brown talks about his mixture of anticipation and anxiety when it came to playing megachurch pastor Lee-Curtis Childs. But working with Regina Hall helped, he says.
"I knew I was going to have the best scene partner in the world in Reg Hall — and not only was she the best scene partner, she's a great friend." All of which makes sense given their rapport on screen. That friendship turned into an "extra bonus," as he describes it.
Both actors praise director Adamma Ebo and her producer sister Adanne Ebo. This movie comes from, as Adamma Ebo says, "a lot of lived experience growing up in the Church, seeing things that we were not big fans of, and then trying to figure out how that mixed with the things in the Church we were big fans of."
And while watching the movie, if you think questions about who's right and wrong can be difficult to sort out, that's part of the point. "I'm hoping that people feel… that the truth is complicated," says Adanne Ebo. "But that doesn't mean you should stop asking questions — keep asking the questions."
Watch our full video interview with the stars and filmmakers of HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL below:
HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL opens on September 2.
All images courtesy of Focus Features.