SECOND COMING: Zeke (Romany Malco, left) and Mya (Meagan Good) in Think Like a Man Too.

 

By Molly Eichel

 

Meagan Good and her Think Like a Man Too co-star Michael Ealy were in Philadelphia last week to talk about the movie, the sequel to the surprise 2012 blockbuster Think Like a Man, based on Steve Harvey’s book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. Too follows the group of friends navigating relationship follies as they continue their stories, past the meet-cute stage, on a Vegas vacation.

During the first movie, Good’s character, Mya, who was dating former playboy Zeke (Romany Malco), was taking part in the 90-day rule, which essentially translated to no hanky-panky for the first three months of a relationship.

“While I was playing Mya, who was implementing the 90-day rule, I was living Meagan who was living the 90-day rule and then some,” Good said about her impromptu method acting. “It was like, ‘Girl, I get it.’ “

She and her pastor/movie-exec husband, DeVon Franklin, had decided to abstain before their 2012 nuptials. It worked so well, they’re literally writing the book on keeping things before marriage. Good and Franklin are calling their book The Wait.

But just because they waited doesn’t mean Good thinks everyone should. “I wouldn’t preach to other people. It’s just offering another option,” she said.

“It’s not about telling people to wait but just talking about what it was like to wait. You can liken that to anything. It can be a relationship, a career, shape or form to show up for you.

“In that time, you grow, you mature, you learn about yourself. There are so many reasons to be present in the wait so you’re not focused on getting what you want immediately.”

For Ealy, Good’s ethos ties into the theme of the movie. “You have to define happiness for yourself,” he said. “Sometimes that’s being with the one you love instead of jumping into a situation you’ve always dreamed of.”

He was referring to his character, Dominic, who might have to separate from girlfriend Lauren (Taraji P Henson) because both have new opportunities. Ealy noted that he liked that Lauren makes this decision on her own, not based on the demands of her man.

But he bristled at the idea that Think Like a Man Too is in any way more progressive than the original’s source material, which was criticised for what some called an outdated view of how women should act in a relationship. Ealy said that Harvey’s perspective boiled down to a simple idea: If you respect yourself, he will respect you.

Think Like a Man Too expands on the ideas of the first movie, in that it looks at what Ealy called “phase two” of any relationship. Once the honeymoon is over, that’s when real life starts.

“People want to see a reflection of their own lives,” Good said. “Hopefully we get to do a part three. What happens next?”

Ealy went through his own struggle with long-distance love last year when he started filming his now-cancelled Fox show Almost Human in Vancouver.

Would he bring his family — son Elijah and wife Khatira — with him, or commute home on weekends? (He chose the former, he said, because he wanted to be a present parent for his young son.)

Going hand-in-hand with seeing real-life issues on screen, Ealy stressed that it’s also important for all types of people to see reflections of themselves up in lights.

A spate of movies with predominantly black casts have been deemed “surprise hits” at the box office of late — the original Think Like a Man ($91.5mn box office), Best Man Holiday ($70.5mn) and Ride Along ($134.2mn) — to name a few.

Ealy, who also starred in About Last Night ($48.6mn), admitted he feels a certain amount of pressure as a black actor; that if one movie featuring an African-American cast doesn’t do well, no more will be made.

“Everybody who does a film — it doesn’t matter whether you’re black, white, Asian, whatever — they want it to do well. I would be lying if I said there wasn’t any pressure, though,” Ealy said. “You don’t want these movies to not be made. Having seen the reaction to Think Like a Man, I would hate it if they stopped making these movies. There’s a demand for them. There’s a pressure to not lose that for the audience, more so than yourself.” — Philadelphia Daily News/MCT

 

Being a mother ‘rewarding’,
says Kristen Bell

 

Actress Kristen Bell says being a mother is “extremely rewarding”, and loves spending time with her 15-month-old daughter Lincoln. The Veronica Mars actress, who has Lincoln with husband Dax Shepard, loves watching their little girl grow up and become more independent, reports femalefirst.co.uk. The 33-year-old said: “She’s delicious. It’s such a fun age. I feel like having a toddler is exhausting and extremely rewarding — and far more rewarding than exhausting.” She spends as much time as possible with her daughter and even takes her on hiking dates with her husband. — IANS

 

Robert Pattinson can’t
remember life before fame

Actor Robert Pattinson says it took him some time to accept his life as a star and now he can’t remember not being famous.

The British actor, who became popular when he landed a leading role in the Twilight Saga franchise when he was 22, admits it took him a long time to adjust to being a Hollywood star, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The 28-year-old said: “I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn’t do a lot of the stuff I used to, or be able to do. But once I got through that a year or two ago, I just accepted my life is something else and now I can’t really remember what it was like before, so it’s much easier to deal with.”

Pattinson enjoyed filming his upcoming movie The Rover in Australia, as it gave him a chance to relax away from prying eyes. He said: “I just loved it because not only was there no one trying to find you, there’s no one there at all. I wasn’t worrying about anyone trying to sneak up on me or anything so I found it incredibly peaceful and relaxing.” — IANS

 

Tom Hardy injures ankle on movie set

 

Actor Tom Hardy has injured his ankle while filming Legend — an upcoming movie about the infamous Kray twins. Hardy is playing both brothers, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, the notorious gangsters who ran London’s organised crime scene in the 1950s and 1960s. The action star was recently admitted to a hospital after hurting his ankle while filming a fight scene for the crime thriller, reports femalefirst.co.uk. “Tom went (fell) over pretty hard. He’s a tough guy but you could tell he was in pain. They didn’t take any chances and carted him off to hospital for an X-ray,” a source was quoted by The Sun newspaper as saying. Hardy has not taken any time off from filming, but his ankle is reportedly “giving him grief” during the long shoots in London. — IANS