#intervew

"Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air, I know I can count on you", has being the ring on my alarm clock for the last three years, however today I didn't really need it. Today was my first real interview with a movie star. Real as in there are going to be less than a feet away from me, real as I will be able to smell them, real as in I had to bring five questions and real as is going to be in all E! Entertainment Television channels.

I sat on the bed and closed my eyes, I mutter a thank you mamma picturing her smile when she sees me for the first time in television, and a thank you universe for all the rest of the things that brought me here.

I jumped to the shower and repeated the questions in my mind and then thought of all the things that could go wrong, then I open my eyes and said, everything is going to be okay, you have prepared for this moment for years, you watched this movie seven times, you have seen them in all of the interviews, you have good questions, you're READYYY! Hyping myself up help me finished my shower and just as I was getting dressed, I heard her, "Honey!, stop overthinking and get dress!", she knows me.

Sammie is my best friend since college and roommate. We went to school for film, but she ended up in business and now is a corporate six figure girlie, total bad ass. She also helps me a lot with my own business specially with my insecurity and recurring anxiety.

"I'm comming love!" I said beforme emerging from my bedroom to find some chai tea and a scone. "Thank you love" I said almost whining. "Now, show me the fit!" She didn't say, she yelled. I stand up from the table and show her my green suit perfectly tailored with a pink corset under. I wore my light brown curls lose and a sultry brown makeup that always makes my black afrolatina skin pop. "You look great babe", she said in her reassuring voice and I responded "Dude this suit makes me feel so much power, but I'm unsure about the corset, do you think there are too much -boobs-?", we look at each other and said out loud -yeahhhhh-, after a nice laugh, she poured a quarter of a bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier "La Belle" on me, “Today you have to smell like whore, your meeting Michael B.Jordan after all”.

Yes, I was.

The interview is with Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku, about Sinners. A dream come true that I managed to land after a few viral videos on the movie, a red carpert that I worked where I met Delroy Lindo and a killer New York Times review that went viral for my takes on racism, and the construction of blackness from a latin american point of view. And so far, it has been a dream, in my eyes I already made it, except that the day before yesterday my manager put me in contact with María from E! and Warner Brothers and invite to an interview with the man himself and her lover: Smoke and Annie. I almost choke, I said yes inmediately, then I had a panic attacked, and then I went by to prepared the five questions they requested.

And now 'm here, looking at myself in the mirror, all of my 5.1ft, my purse with a tarot deck, and Ipad, a notebook a few pens, a water bottle and all my hopes and dreams.

"Come on honey, the uber's here".

Before I left, Sammie give me a blessing. "Dios te acompañe" she said in a broken spanish as she has heard my catholic Colombian grandma before. "Amén" I responded in automatic, not because am catholic, but because I need it my grandma voice with me today.

The ride to Warner Brothers studios was long and it gave me time to read my questions again. I will be in front of Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku, I was hoping to asked them about race and colonization undertones about the movie but I also wanted to asked them about Annie and Smoke love. Their relationship is so mature, so delicate, perfect and sad. I was olso hoping we laugh a little, since Michael can be a little serious. "Help me lord, I make this people laugh", I said to myself more like a prayer than an instruction.

When I finally reach the studios, I was a wreck. "Please don't get lost, please don't get lost" I said to myself up until I reach the recording studio. I was received by María, the WB exec, "Hi Alex, welcome, what do you think about the set? Amazing yea, c'mon, let's get you through makeup.

“You okey baby?”, she asked in a motherly voice. “I am really nervous”, “Don’t worry babe you’ll be fine!, your amazing at this, and this movie matters to you, that’s why we bring you. Come on, let’s touch up your makeup”. I sat in the chair and she continue, "Don't worry you'll be fine, only Ryan and Michael love this movie the same way you do, that's why we brought you here!". She was way to excited, if you asked me, but on the last part she was probably right, I do believe Coogler is a genius and Michael a terrific actor and Wunmi the most beautiful woman alive, well, I guess i'll be alright.

In the chair, the makeup artist told me, “their great people”. “Do you know them”, I asked. “Yes! I have done Michael’s makeup a couple of times before, he is a great guy, polite, a trooper and Wunmi is great, humble and sweet”. Okey, so I guess I am in good hands I then. Please, lord let me make this people laugh, please don't let me be like that girl that interview Blake Lively or like Blake Lively for that matter.

I went in first, got seated in a studio with a Sinners poster behind me and another one behind the two artist chairs. I re-read the questions from my ipad but I knew I had them in my memory and a couple of minutes after that I heard them come inside.

Wunmi’s face card was INSANE, what a women. She smiled, said hello with that sexy accent, got seated and the lights make her skin shine like a black sun, blinding, inspiring. Then there was him. First his smile, a wonderful suit with burgundy notes, he got close to me and extended his hand "nice to meet you", I grabbed his hand and for a second the time seem to stop, all I could see was his face and those dimples, "nice to meet you, Alexandra". I caught him checking me out, he licked his lips looking at my boobs up until Wunmi said his name and tell him something in secret. His face went a little red and I though it was really sweet, she probably tell him to got seated cause in that moment their PR came. “You have three questions, okay? I know we said five, but we don’t have time”, “Sure that's wonderful, thank you!” I quickly complied. Sometime after that I heard someone yelling for silence, another voice counted to five and then said “Alexa go”.

Like 20 minutes went by, and I saw myself taking a picture with my phone right next to Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi. His hand in my back felt heavy, a weight I felt it was missing me from forever. My god, does he have this effect on every women he meets? Once he moved I felt lacking. Wow. This is new.

They leave the place first, I stayed to say my goodbyes and thank you to everyone, grabbed my stuff and run to the elevator, I pressed the button and proceeded to called Sammie. “DUDEEEE”, she yelled, “how was it, omg tell me everything, was he beautiful?”, “Yes baby, yes he was. What a man”, I said with a heavy voice, “honestly Sammie he could have chemistry with a wall, he is so polite, so nice, his smile is 100 dude, and Wunmi, Sammie, her skin, her eyes, she was wearing a pink dress a dream, a total dream". “So where are you now?”, “I am waiting for the elevator babe”, “Okay, tell me more while it arrives”. “Okay, so, she was great, funny and smart, we spoke about freedom and him was amazing, we spoke about the twins and Annie and Smoke love. I also told them about Colombia and Blackness and we talked a little about that, of being black around the world. After that I asked for a selfie and they said yes. Dude, I have a picture with Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku, can you believe that?, and I haven’t cried at all”, “Baby I am so proud of you! You deserve this! And now tell me, do you flirt with Mister Michael B?”, “Omg Sammie off course I didn’t, he is very serious, gorgeous, but very serious. One thing I can say though, he smells like he knows how to fuck”; Sammie burst out laughing and said “I knew you will assess him at some point”, “I sure did, and he pass with flying colors, he has a muncher face”, she laugh and loudly said “OMG babe, I love you, I have to go, but grab dinner for tonight we'll eat togheter and you can tell me all about it, okay?”. She hung up and while I was laughing and then I felt a figure pressing the elevator button.

“You know, if you don’t press the button, it won’t come up”, “I thought I did”, I said while lifting my face up, I settle my glasses and then I saw him. His burgundy suit hugging her muscles and a smirk that left me paralyzed. I didn’t know what to do, how much time had he being there, why was he alone, I saw him leaving with an entourage of like five people, my god why is he here, I was screaming in my head and then the ring of the elevator brought me from my train of thought.

He holds the elevator door for me. I went inside and felt him unusually close, “What floor?” he said while the doors closed, “First” I said with a shake in my voice. He presses it and then pressed third. We were both looking at the doors, he smells like wood and something I want to taste.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that” I said shyly. He laughs “It’s okey” He turned facing me and said “you smell good too”. I looked at him and smiled. “So who’s your favorite Smoke or Stack?”, he asked. “Smoke” I said with the confidence of a Jean Paul Gaultier whore. “Why?”, the doors open in the third floor but he didn't leave, “Because he is respectful, trustworthy, and I know he would kneel before me if I asked”.

The doors of the elevator got open in the first floor. “Goodbye Michael, thank you for everything”.

The walk from that hall way to the uber was like a marathon, my heart was racing, I felt the inside of my thights tingling, what did I just do. I went inside the uber, waited to leave Warner Brothers and then did a silence scream. “Alexa you just said Michael B. Jordan, you will ask him to kneel, are you insane”, I was shaking, I felt like crying but also felt extremely good. Michael saw me, I saw his smile, he scan my body, he smelled my whore perfume, I knew he wanted that, but still you're an influencer and he is a movie star.

I opened my bag in search of my phone, I was gonna tell Sammie about everything but ended up opening Intagram in automatic. I clicked on the heart and merged with likes and new follows there he was.

Michael B. Jordan - Follow back

After that I clicked the DM’s and right there in my requests, a message: “So, what else would you ask Smoke to do?”.

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Part Two

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Today LIVE! Glee’s Josh Sussman and I were supposed to reunite last July when the SAG/AFTRA strike first struck. It was at the very beginning when it was unclear what the “new rules” were. A loyal unionist, Josh opted out to honor the no podcast ban. It turned out there were soon workarounds, but had Josh joined me during the strike we wouldn’t have been able to talk about his work, and… hell, what fun would that have been? Well, knowing Josh a bit - it still woud’ve been fun, because he’s fun about so many things. Josh is impossible to miss with his unique look which oft likens him to a possible Art Garfunkel son or a very young, much hipper, Larry Fine, in hair only. A Gleek, I recognized him immediately at a social soirée, bumping into him a couple more times over the years. Our interactions were brief, friendly, and perhaps a tad awkward. I didn’t anticipate when we sat down for a Game Changers pre-pandemic, that he would prove to be one of the most enjoyable, easy, refreshing, inspiring, thought-provoking, and fun conversations I’d had. I knew there had to be a lot to him to garner the success he’s achieved, working consistently since starting, racking up an impressive list of credits, for a young man. Josh appeared in a number of shows my kids were addicted to, from the Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Drake and Josh (different Josh), Wizards of Waverly Place, Warren the Ape, to the award-winning, mega-hit, Glee, which we watched together all through its run. Since our chat, Josh was a recurring character on the animated Glitch Techs, on most recently, on Mr. Mayor with Ted Danson. 

Josh appeared in the fierce independent feature, Tangerine, in 2 Lava  Lantula, did 4 seasons of Fish Hooks, and innumerable other TV shows, movies & shorts. 

Josh had a dream the last time we talked… has he yet realized it? Is it still his dream? If not, what is? Inquiring mind wants to know. So looking forward to the fun! 

Josh Sussman on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson

Wednesday, 8/14/24, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

Streaming Live on my Facebook

Azealia Banks for Interview Magazine, August 27th 2021