This past week, I had the privilege of attending an exclusive virtual interview with Craig Brewer, director of the upcoming film Coming 2 America. Along with other college journalists from across the country, I was able to pick Mr. Brewer’s brain on all things about the film and its production.
For those who don’t know, this film is the sequel to Coming to America, which first aired in 1988. This classic film, starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, follows the story of Akeem (Murphy), prince of the fictional country Zamunda, and his journey to America to find the wife of his dreams. Akeem brings along his best friend, Semmi (Aresenio Hall) for the wild ride. Upon their arrival in Queens, New York, the comedic duo meet Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley) and the romantic comedic story line begins as Akeem tries to win Lisa over.
Now, 33 years after its original release, a sequel is finally on the way. But why wait 33 years for a sequel? Though this may seem strange, Brewer offered a great explanation for why this is actually an advantage: “Hakeem and Lisa are like the audience that grew up on Coming to America… I was in high school when it came out, and now my kids are in high school.” Both the actors and the core-audience have all grown up, and that’s what makes the timing of this sequel perfect. Brewer added that this sequel demonstrates something that the now grown-up audience may be dealing with: “Maybe it’s time for some of us old heads to stop talking about the way it was and start listening to our kids and be okay with some change.”
Given that a significant portion of the film’s production took place during the COVID pandemic, there were many challenges that Brewer and his team needed to overcome. One such challenge was editing over Zoom, which was incredibly difficult given that Brewer couldn’t be in the same room as his editors while working on sound mixing or the score. But possibly the biggest challenge was the realization that technology is changing the entire movie business. Brewer explained, “It was a very difficult lesson in how movies are now consumed… we as an industry need to realize that things are changing, and hopefully, we’ll be able to change with them.” He then told us about how he walked in on his 13-year-old daughter watching Enola Holmes on her phone after finding out about the movie from Tik Tok, a stark contrast to how we used to find out about movies from trailers shown in theaters. Because so many people will be watching Coming 2 America alone either on their phones and laptops, Brewer admitted that it will be a challenge to test this comedy given that the communal experience of movie theaters is gone. “Tik Tok makes me feel old too,” I joked, to which he responded, “You’ve made me feel better!”
Given that the film has an all-black cast, a fellow journalist asked how Brewer, as a director, ensured that Coming 2 America would be a film that amplified black voices. He first responded by saying “If you would ask Eddie Murphy that question, he feels that the movie itself is the black voice.” The 1988 film, arguably the first major film with an all-black cast, didn’t make any statements about race, because the film was the statement. Now, after powerful movies such as Black Panther have emerged, simply making a film with an all-black cast isn’t enough. He noted, “I didn’t feel that we could get away with a movie that would take place in today’s day and not deal with the elephant in the room that [racism] still exists.” One such way in which he highlights this is through the many jokes in the movie: “Hopefully the joke greases the path for the seriousness of it to land.” He also noted the importance of the scene in which Akeem’s son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) is interviewing for a job. Here, Brewer made sure to carry on Akeem’s struggle with institutional racism in his son, by highlighting a type of corporate racism.
When asked if a third movie was in the works, Brewer joked and discussed a hypothetical “Eddie Murphy” universe, much like the Marvel Universe we all know and love. But as of now, there are no plans for a third Coming to America film.
Being able to chat with a renowned movie director was such an honor. Be sure to check out Coming 2 America, which will be available on Amazon Prime on March 5th!