SCREEN
Paula Pfilms include the aula Patton’s
musical IDLEWILD, the late director Tony Scott’s thriller DÉJÀ VU, MIRRORS, the acclaimed drama PRECIOUS, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLEGHOST PROTOCOL, DISCONNECT, JUMPING THE BROOM and 2 GUNS. The actress, 37, is married to singer Robin Thicke; they have a three year-old son. Looking stunning in high waisted J Brand jeans and an Isabel Marant shirt, her dark hair falling in waves down her back, Patton sat down in LA for the following interview.
Q: You look lovely and your character in the film wears some fantastic outfits; how interested are you in fashion and style? A: “To be honest, as a mother you don’t have much time. I used to spend time on fashion when I didn’t have a child. I would go through my closet and pick out outfits. Now I often find myself racing to drop my son (Julian) off at school wearing the same thing: black jeans and a t-shirt works. I still love fashion; I just don’t have as much time for it, so I have to carve out windows of time when I need to dress up. I don’t have the same attention to detail I used to have.” Q: BAGGAGE CLAIM is great fun. How did you get involved in the film? A: “I read the screenplay when I was making a film called JUST WRIGHT with Queen Latifah. I read it out loud with my husband 36 LIME MAGAZINE 2013
Patton and my best friend and we laughed out loud. It’s a rare thing for a black woman to be the lead in a romantic comedy, which is something I always wanted to do. I love romantic comedies. They just feel good. So I met David (E. Talbert, the director) to discuss it. But the movie went away and then I got pregnant and had my son. I did some other films and got a call saying: ‘BAGGAGE CLAIM is back, and David wants to make it with you.’ That brought a tear to my eye. I jumped up and down with joy. I was so thrilled and making the film has been a dream come true for me. It has been a labour of love. David created this entire world; he wrote this book. Of course I read his book afterwards, loved it and I loved the script. I always keep the original scripts from my films, because I think they are so precious. I feel so blessed to be here doing this work.” Q: What was the appeal of your character Montana? A: “I love going to the movies, so first and foremost I want to be in a movie that I want to go and see. Who cares if you do a great performance in a bad movie? This character Montana goes through so much. When we meet her she is very happy. She has
a career that she loves, friends she loves and at the start, she thinks that she’s met her dream man who’s going to ask her to marry him; then she realises he’s not so dreamy and that is devastating. So she has come back home and as she’s crying into her pint of ice cream, in walks her beautiful younger sister, played by Lauren London, with a big rock on her finger, saying, ‘I’m going to get married in a month.’” Q: Why does she care about getting married? A: “Montana comes from a family that places a great deal of importance on marriage. Her mother (played by Jenifer Lewis) believes you’re not a lady unless you’re a wife. This pressure feels like a boulder on her back. Emotionally she’s about to crack and so she says, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I don’t want to go to one more wedding,’ because people at weddings keep asking: ‘what about you? The clock is ticking.’ So she devises a plan with her best friends (played by Jill Scott and Adam Brody) who are