Psych

I just spent a good chunk of last month in Vancouver filming PSYCH. Everything about it was a great time. It was my first visit to Vancouver and let me say the place is BEAUTIFUL. From the airport to downtown to the mountain ranges to the open sea, it’s a lovely city to be in. Even the “tough” parts of town look nice.

Second, Canadians are nice people. I shot LADIES MAN in Toronto, and they were very nice there too. I remember thinking “why do I feel like a burden has been lifted” as I walked down the streets, and I realized for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel myself constantly appraised because of my race. I understood what those black expatriates talked about when they came to Europe. But even though I felt it when I’ve been there too, I never felt the absence of attitude more than Toronto.

Vancouver isn’t as multiethnic as Toronto (with their banging Caridad festival every year, just to give one example) but while black folks are few and far between, there is significant Asian and East Indian presence. But race aside, Canadians are just nice. They have manners. They are friendly. It’s like some idealized version of America.

The cast and crew were also great. When I first walked on set, I found Dule tapping like a mad genius. I didn’t know he was part of the original cast of BRING THE FUNK, BRING THE NOISE but boy I knew then. He can rock it in sneakers, desert boots…no taps needed. It’s a joy to be around.

Chi McBride was our guest star this episode and he’s an excellent actor with brilliant comic skills. His team up with stars James Rodey and Dule Hill was a joy to watch. Speaking of talent, that James Rodey has a lightning fast comedic imagination. We all did some hang time off set, where they introduced me to some fine dining in the city.

The episode was co-written by executive producer Saladin Patterson, who I knew from my BERNIE MAC days. Great guy and a fine writer. We each left with YO GABBA GABBA swag for our kids that we wrote into the show. That’s Black Power for ya!

We had a few stunts on the show, including a two day sequence we shot on a ferry in the ocean. I don’t get seasick, but a few crew members went down. I was still rocking on dry land several days after.

Everyone in Vancouver boats; it’s so pretty out in the water it’s easy to understand why.

I wish I had more shots of the show, but I was kinda busy at the time.

Talk about it on HEF – the Hudlin Entertainment Forum

Cassandra Wilson

This is a shot I took at the front row at Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles of the brilliant Cassandra Wilson. Cassandra and I have known each other for a long time. We both lived in Harlem over 20 years ago, and I remember her throwing parties at her apartment with her neighbor, the genius writer Greg Tate. The doors of their facing apartments would be open so you could wander between the two rooms.

Now she’s got a gigantic body of work but still creating exciting new music. She’s got a new album coming soon and still tours globally. After the show we sat down, talked old times, and started talking about ways we could collaborate. 

Talk about it on HEF – the Hudlin Entertainment Forum