Calmatic Is Bringing Classic Los Angeles Stories To A New Generation
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“House Party is one to which audiences will regret accepting the invitation,” wrote one critic at The Hollywood Reporter about the 2023 reboot, directed by Calmatic. The Los Angeles native is, however, relatively unphased by any harsh critique of his debut film.
“It’s like a rollercoaster of emotions,” shared the 35-year-old, looking out onto the Pacific Ocean view from the studio at VIBE’s West Coast office. Pointing out the different areas in eyesight, the Grammy Award-winning creator recognizes the vastness of Los Angeles—and his very existence proves the City of Angels is full of blessings. With a population of over three million and transplants moving to the city daily to prove their demiurgic merit. Everyone wants to be somebody in a vigorous scene powered by local grit and industry dreams.
“So I think, growing up in L.A., you have the opportunity to live this very well-rounded life…I think it breeds this thirst for whatever that is,” he said. “Just driving through L.A., you can see the Hollywood sign, you see Beverly Hills, you see the palm trees. It feels tangible, it’s within reach. But also at the same time, it’s not that easy. It’s a place that attracts people that have a hustle mentality.”
For Calmatic, the route to feature films included roadblocks, reroutes, and detours. However, his belief in his creative journey has certified him in his own lane. Before directing music videos for artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X, the South Central native wanted to be in their shoes. He began his quest with a hopeful rap career, releasing music under a stage name he refuses to reveal. Still, while working on his rhymes and forging relationships in the Los Angeles mixtape scene, Calmatic realized his other talents and went to work behind the camera.
“I was trying to be the next Kanye,” he recalled. “Naturally, I would hang around all the up-and-coming artists from L.A., but at the same time, I’m the tech nerd that they know, and so when they need a website done, I know how to code HTML. When they need an album cover done, I know Photoshop. When they need a flyer for their show, I was the person that did it.”
He tells the story often about how a robbery became a blessing, as his savvy mother parlayed an insurance payout to invest in his future.
“From there, I was able to replace all my equipment right away, and the new camera had video on it. Instead of going back to the studio with the homies and taking pictures, and doing graphic design, I’m filming. I taught myself, following my curiosities, and figured out ‘oh man, this video stuff is cool.’ [I] Went on YouTube and searched some stuff and learned how to do what I ultimately am doing now, which is just editing, filmmaking, all that good stuff. One thing led to another, and I’m here.”
As new projects are in the works, Calmatic keeps his creative energy kinetic. While the Lebron James-approved House Party reboot continues to draw mixed reviews, he has another Los Angeles classic at his fingertips. Tapped to direct the White Men Can’t Jump reboot as well, he faces falling into a 1990s nostalgia trap. But he refuses to be boxed in.
“Actually, someone did offer me another remake movie, but I turned it down. I’m definitely not trying to do any remakes anytime soon. I was telling somebody if I were to do a remake, I would do a live-action version of Princess and The Frog or something like that, but I’m not about to try to remake any beloved titles. At this point, I’ve done it,” he detailed.
Starring Sinqua Walls, Jack Harlow, Teyana Taylor, Vince Staples, Myles Bullock, and the late Lance Reddick, White Men Can’t Jump debuts on Hulu on May 19. The film is directed by Calmatic, written by Kenya Barris and Doug Hall, and produced by Barris and Paul Hall. White Men Can’t Jump is executive produced by Blake Griffin, Ryan Kalil, Noah Weinstein, Calmatic, Doug Hall, E. Brian Dobbins, and James Powers.
Excitedly speaking on the film, Calmatic dishes on his favorite elements of what he calls his last reboot movie for a while.
VIBE: What do you think was the defining moment where you made that pivot from making the music to being behind the camera and getting more creative that way?
Calmatic: That’s an interesting question that I never really talked about, and it’s a funny but kind of a deep thing. I had a lot of anxiety about music. I remember it was a time where I was trying to come up, and you remember the blog era and all these rappers are on different blogs, and I wasn’t really getting that much recognition. And it really caused a lot of anxiety for me. To the point where I thought, man, I don’t really want to do this no more, or I don’t want to play the game anymore. And so doing film and doing the graphic design and all that kind of stuff was my excuse to not really care about the music. Like, ‘Oh, I ain’t tripping on that, I got this.’
It would be times where I couldn’t go online because seeing other people on blogs really fu**ed with me. But when I was able to do videos and then I was on the blogs for that, that relieved some of that anxiety. And I realized this is the thing that I’m going to do because I can control this. The other thing, I can’t really control whether or not people f**k with me in that way or not.
Being around so many different types of creative people, whether it’s directors, producers, rappers, or actors, how do you keep your own creative ideas fresh?
It’s funny because doing this press run and talking a lot, I’ve been able to hear myself out loud, and I’m realizing my process and I’m realizing some of those answers by just hearing me tell my own story. And I think one thing that I try to do, or that I’ve done with these films, whether people get it or not, is I’ve stayed true to myself and my references of what spoke to me, or what resonated with me in my life. I feel like as long as I continue to do that, I’m going to always have a fresh and new perspective, or take, on whatever the subject matter is because it’s me. It’s my own personal opinion and viewpoint on the situation.
And so that’s what I try to pull from, no matter what the concept is, I can make a movie about a little girl that lives in Japan, but there’s something in me that I can pull from, that I’m going to try to relate to her story. And hopefully, that’ll come off as being unique and fresh, compared to whatever else is out there.
What was the biggest lesson you learned in the whole process with House Party, and how did you apply that going forward with White Men Can’t Jump?
I think the thing about House Party is, every day I learned a hard lesson. I learned something new every day, that I wish I knew the day before. But at the same time, at the end of 40 days of filming, I got 40 days of lessons that I can apply to my next project. I don’t think House Party is a perfect film, and I don’t think it’s like, ‘This is me as a filmmaker, this is my style,’ I’m all about process and also starting the process. I think that my goal as an artist first is that 20 years from now, I could look back and all the projects that I’ve done up until that point, you can just see the progression.
I think when you see White Men Can’t Jump, you’re going to instantly see the progression. And it may not be because of how I approached it. It might not be like me specifically, but it’s how I hire certain department heads that create the look and feel of the movie, the wardrobe people, knowing how to talk to actors better.
To be honest, filming a movie is hard as hell. That sh*t is not easy, it’s so hard. I wish a lot of people knew how hard it was, but the fact that I made it through, I feel like I can at least make a simple movie. I’m equipped to at least do this again, and hopefully, I continue to grow, and grow and then do [a] Black Panther one day. But this is just part of my journey and I’m just starting out, man. But I’m going to get to where I think I want to get, regardless.
What are you most excited for audiences to see, and what do you think they can expect from White Men Can’t Jump?
Well, on the personal, just to be a little selfish, I’m excited for the audience to see my growth as a filmmaker. I think I’m super proud of the way this film looks, I’m super proud of the performances we got from our leads, and it’s just going to be a fun time. But I think more specifically, I’m more excited for people to see Jack Harlow’s acting debut. I don’t think y’all understand, it’s different. He’s about to be an actor, he’s about to be known as an actor that just so happens to rap. He killed it. No stunt doubles, played basketball. All that good stuff. He’s crying in the movie.
I think his approach to being a creative is super inspiring to watch, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for him. But I think this film is just… I think it’s going to be interesting just to keep it in the theme with L.A. Like White Men Can’t Jump is an L.A. story. I drew from my inspirations and how I experience this type of story in my life. And we put it out there, man. So hopefully the world enjoys it.
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