Alicia Keys The Secret Life of Bees

MoviesOnline had the pleasure of sitting down with Alicia Keys at the Toronto International Film Festival to talk about her new movie, “The Secret Life of Bees,” written for the screen and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood based upon the award-winning novel by Sue Monk Kidd. The film also stars Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, and Sophie Okonedo, a powerhouse ensemble of women from the world of music and film.

“The Secret Life of Bees” is the touching story about the need for love, sisterhood and redemption that explores the undeniable desire for a sense of belonging and the often daunting journeys that we must navigate to achieve it. Set in South Carolina, the home of the intelligent and independent honeymaking Boatwright sisters (Latifah, Keys and Okonedo) is suddenly thrust into upheaval with the arrival of fourteen-year-old Lily Owens (Fanning) and her caretaker Rosaleen (Hudson). Surrounded by the unexpected comforts, grace and deep rooted spirituality Lily encounters in the Boatwright home, she soon forms a maternal bond with each of these women whose unique and special gifts help reconcile the loss of her mother. Through the strength and female empowerment that embodies the Boatwright sisters, Lily ultimately comes to the realization that sometimes you must leave home in order to find it.

Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist Alicia Keys has changed the face of popular music since she burst onto the scene in 2001 with her debut album, “Songs In A Minor.” The album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 235,000 copies in its first week, and went on to sell more than 10 million units worldwide. Key’s critically acclaimed sophomore effort, “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” was released in December 2003 and sold over 618,000 copies during its first week of release in the United States. The album is currently seven times platinum. Keys returned with her long-awaited third studio album, As I Am, in November 2007. Within 10 hours of being serviced to radio, Alicia’s first single, “No One,” became one of the fastest moving and highest charting singles on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and marked the highest first single debut for a female artist in 2007 on the R&B Monitor’s Urban Mainstream chart.

In her music career, Alicia Keys has won 11 Grammy Awards, 11 Billboard Music Awards, 3 American Music Awards, 3 World Music Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, 2 MTV Europe Awards, 1 NAACP Image Award 2004, 2 Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards, 1 BET Award, 3 Soul Train Music Awards, 1 Soul Train Lady of Soul Award, and a My VH1 Award.

Keys made her motion picture debut in Joe Carnahan’s “Smokin’ Aces” as Georgia Sykes. She also appeared in the big screen adaptation of the best selling book “The Nanny Diaries,” opposite Scarlet Johansson, Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti. She is a very talented artist and we really appreciated her time. Here’s what she had to tell us about her new movie, “The Secret Life of Bees”:

ALICIA KEYS: Good afternoon!

MoviesOnline: How did you get the part? What scene did you audition to show you could pull it off?

ALICIA KEYS: This is an interesting story. I’ve been a fan of the book since it came out. I was so enraptured by it. So, it came down the line that they were going to do a ‘Secret Life of Bees’ movie. And I was like, ‘Omigosh, this is my favorite movie in the whole world.’ I actually wanted to play May. ‘May, that’s the part.’ And so, I basically went in and met with a lot of people at Fox Searchlight and just said, ‘I love this book, I really support it. I know you are just getting it together, but I just want to let you know I love it.’ So, that was cool, but they didn’t quite know what they wanted to do and they were not really sure. So, later on as time passes, they kind of got Gina into it and they started to revamp and they rewrote it and it came to life again and I was excited again and I was like, ‘Wow, they would audition and get it together and la, la, la, la’ and then it was kinda like, ‘Hmmm, no, we have the cast that we want. We love you no, but thanks. Nah.’ And so, I was crushed because I loved the book and I was a fan.

So, honestly, I groveled my way into this thing. I begged and pleaded and really tried to express my passion for this piece. So, it came to a place where they started putting together the cast. They got Queen on board, they got Jennifer on board and they realized that the person who would be great for it was me. So, I actually never auditioned. But Gina and I had a great – had some conversations and my passion for the book and the piece and June as it came to be, as I realized June was the right one for me, and she did obviously realize that was the right one for me, they had the utmost confidence that I would be able to do it. And we worked really hard at pulling it all together and making it all authentic. So, it’s an interesting story because it’s not quiet conventional because it happened and it wasn’t quiet going to happen and then it came back in and then it left and then they thought they had the cast they wanted and they didn’t and time was of the essence and they worked on it and we talked about it. So, that’s how it worked out, but I like to say I begged for the part.

MoviesOnline: Had you met Latifah or Jennifer before?

ALICIA KEYS: Absolutely. Yes, both. 

MoviesOnline: Were you friends when you already got on set?

ALICIA KEYS: Myself and Latifah, we definitely had met at different events and things. We were always very friendly. Myself and Jennifer had met at a couple of events. In fact, before the movie came together, when it was still kind of in negotiations with everything, you know, Latifah called me and said, ‘Y’know this movie, I really hope it works out that we could do it together.’ And she’s like, ‘It looks like it will be real special.’ And I was like, ‘Everyone knows I love it. So, I’m ready for sure.’ So, yes, when we walked on set it was a very family thing and we all just connected anyway. All of the players.

MoviesOnline: What was it like to be one of the more inexperienced movie actresses on the set?

ALICIA KEYS: It was very, very calm and very encouraging. Everybody really came to the set and wanted it to be a brilliant piece. And so there wasn’t any kind of particular. It wasn’t any particular way. Everyone just really wanting to bring the best to the piece. So, no matter what your experience, it was really about banding together and making – especially because we had very limited time. The resources were limited. It was freezing cold. We were supposed to be in the summer. Everything was about totally being focused. So, that’s really what it was about.

My personal preparation took months that I did by myself, before I met anyone. And then for my dialect, I had to learn my dialect. Do my own personal research about June and how her story develops and how it relates to my personal story to give it authenticity. And when we got on set it was more about creating a family environment. And Gina was really good about research too. She made us do things on the spot as the character. Right there, right now, do it. And you felt crazy and uncomfortable, but it forced you to become your character and associate with the people who were part of that life.

MoviesOnline: Did those improvisations make it into the movie or were they just rehearsal bits?

ALICIA KEYS: Well there was a lot of improv in the movie just because of the nature of it, but I remember specifically myself and Nate, to get to know each other and to understand our stories and how we fell in love and that kind of thing, we had to talk about our parents. When we have this improv session about the memories of our parents. And I’ll never forget the way he described his character’s mother on the spot and about how she loved gardenias and the smell of gardenias. And he had so much detail that obviously that inspired my detail and I’m a writer, so it’s natural for my mind to kind of be in that way.

And so it was very creative and she was really like she threw Jennifer – Jennifer will tell you this herself, she threw Jennifer into a situation where all these people in a restaurant – she just thought she was going to eat, but all these people in the restaurant started challenging her and how would she react? So, it was really about submersing ourselves into the environment and into the understanding of the family and the culture and the time. It was incredible.

MoviesOnline: As a writer, did you ever feel you were departing too much from the core audience or not being true to what the book was about?

ALICIA KEYS: No, the cool thing was that because I had read the book, I felt really aware of everything that was going on. That was nice. Everything is very close to the book. The only thing we departed on was little things like June is really the middle sister in the book, but I’m the younger sister in the film. Just, obviously, because it made sense and because for June’s character she is really about the time and the civil rights movement and encouraging people to get involved and that was really a younger generation’s movement at that time. So, it made sense to make me the younger sister and my anger and kind of my defiance is kind of like a younger kind of vibe. So, the book is, Sue Monk Kidd, she’ll tell you, it’s very much like the book and, the things that were a little varied, she was like, ‘What? Why didn’t I think of that? That was good.’ So, I think she’d agree.

MoviesOnline: I think I cried from the opening to the close of this movie. What are you most excited about the fans seeing?

ALICIA KEYS: Yeah, I am very excited about this film. Yesterday I was jumping off the walls like a crazy person. I’m just really proud of it. There is a certain – you feel so proud to be part of a piece. It’s such a piece. So, for people to see that is one of the things I love the most about it. The way that all these people’s stories, they really relate to our own. So, somewhere inside one of those characters you find yourself. Someone. No matter if you are a man or a female or if you are black or if you are white or however you were raised, whatever religion. Y’know, it’s not really about those specifics. It’s about this general feeling of the human experience and how you find yourself through it all. And it’s not always clean. It’s a little messy sometimes. And so, that vulnerability of the whole piece, it sweeps you up and it makes you laugh.

That was the fun for me seeing it yesterday. I saw it by myself with a couple of people when it was in a very rough state, so to see it totally completed and with a room full of people and to hear where they laugh. Hear them actually crying, like you hear them crying. And it’s amazing. I’m crying! I was there. I shot that part. But I’m crying because it’s just truthful. Gina, she’s just really, really good and she made it heartfelt you know?

MoviesOnline: This is so different from ‘Smokin Aces.’ With the small amount of movie work you’ve done, do you know what kind of movies you want to be in as an actor?

ALICIA KEYS: Well, I actually desire to do different things every time. That’s my goal for myself. I want to do things that – it’s like my music. It angers me when people say, ‘Don’t you just play the piano?’ That makes me mad because I feel like you are kind of forcing me to just be one thing. And as much as I love to play the piano and I always will play the piano, I am not ever just one thing. So, for film as well, I just want to be able to express the many sides of myself. And I think that is what really defines us, a true actor and a true musician. Someone that really is unafraid to try and connect to. So, I want to try everything.

MoviesOnline: Isn’t today the day you are shooting the Casino Royale video?

ALICIA KEYS: Right, so I am doing the Bond video tonight. I am very excited about that.

MoviesOnline: Where are you doing that?

ALICIA KEYS: Somewhere in this beautiful city. I think. Yeah, in Toronto. With Jack White, baby! Let’s do it! So, it’s very, very exciting. I was just able to approve the piano that I am going to use. They made it so it’s very nice.

MoviesOnline: Did you write the song too?

ALICIA KEYS: Yes, myself and Jack. But Jack really took the lead on that and it was kind of cool because I am a big fan of his music obviously and of The White Stripes, so it was cool to kind of walk in and put my flava on something he really vibed up. So, it was cool.

MoviesOnline: Does it have a title that’s been released?

ALICIA KEYS: It’s called ‘Another Way to Die.’ And I did see the movie. I saw it four days ago. It’s ‘off the chain.’

MoviesOnline: Does it work in the Monty Norman theme? Like McCarthy did years ago, he worked in the ten famous Bond notes.

ALICIA KEYS: Yes! It has the essence. You will definitely feel the essence. It’s right in the beginning. The movie starts with this crazy car chase scene and it’s bananas and once you reveal this reveal, it starts with the song and it’s just perfect. Perfect. So, it’s not as good as ‘The Secret Life of Bees,’ but I enjoyed it.

MoviesOnline: Did you contribute a song to ‘Secret’?

ALICIA KEYS: Yes, I did. I did. Actually the title song at the end, it’s called ‘Don’t You Know The Sky Is Blue.’ Myself and Lynda Perry wrote it. So, it’s really nice. I like it a lot.

MoviesOnline: Did you, Queen and Jennifer have any time to sing or do any music on set? I would think there would be some great things coming out of you all.

ALICIA KEYS: I know, everybody was like, ‘What do you mean it’s not a musical?’ They were pretty upset about that, but I thought it was cool that we were all musical backgrounds, but really, really focused on this time. But music is such a part of life anyways. It’s really hard to separate the two from anything and the music in this film really drove the film as well. We knew the music in the scenes. In fact, in particular scenes the music was already in it, it was part of it, so that allowed us to sing. That kitchen scene, ‘I can’t break away…’ (sings) That song that Jennifer kind of sings, it’s beautiful and it was fun and we would all have a good time.

MoviesOnline: Off set, not part of the movie, were you able to do anything musically?

ALICIA KEYS: I can’t say we were in the corner doing Doo Whop, but y’know…(Laughs)

MoviesOnline: One thing I loved about your character was how it was very forward thinking for the time in terms of not wanting to get married yet. Can you talk about that?

ALICIA KEYS: Yeah, I loved June. June is like, to me, June is really special to me. And I needed June in my life at the time we were shooting that. A lot of her thoughts are my thoughts in a lot of ways, but obviously she’s even more extreme in her protection for her family and her self is like priority, paramount. And that was a very interesting thing to discover about myself. I found that that is something about myself that I’m learning to be a little bit more less blocked I guess in some sort of ways to really protect yourself in some way or whatever and so I really understood her and I really understood that feeling of wanting to just be careful. You just don’t want everybody to come inside, because you’ve done it before and it’s hurt you.

Her relationship even with August was very much like that and the past with August and her feeling a little abandoned and things like that. Actually there is a whole scene in the movie that had to get cut out because she was supposed to be married a long time ago, but her first husband left and didn’t come to the alter and that really crushed her. That’s really the reason why Nate could never get in no matter what and she was just so angry about it. So, there were a lot of things about June I really loved because even though we didn’t know June’s whole story, you could elude to why all of this was going on, and of course her involvement in the Civil Rights Acts, so she was just no nonsense. She was just no nonsense.

Q; A lot of talk is being made before the election about the George Bush film coming out. This film seems like the perfect film for the pre-Obama hopefully presidency…

ALICIA KEYS: Yeah, I feel.

MoviesOnline: I was wondering since you’ve come out vocally in support of Obama, how do you think it might play into that? It’s very subtle and shows a time in America where what we are seeing today wouldn’t have been possible before.

ALICIA KEYS: Well, you know, I do support Obama 100% and I do feel like this movie does say all of those things. In fact, it’s true what it shows. This time period that there was so much struggle and so much accomplished actually to forward a whole group of people and to forward a nation no matter where you were. In fact, a lot of the research we did for the film was really about the rallies and the marches and the way there were so many walks of life there. So many faces from so many walks of life. And, so, it’s true this movie does show the uniting of people and I think that’s what is so exciting about this election now. It’s really not about color, this film is not about color. This film is about people being inspired. And people finding their way. It’s about a chance for change.

MoviesOnline: Dakota had the great line, ‘Well maybe she didn’t notice.’ When they say, ‘I didn’t think you were right. How come August didn’t say that?’

ALICIA KEYS: Exactly. Exactly and I think that’s very relevant to what is going on now.

MoviesOnline: You have such an amazing music career. Do you feel it was harder to get into movies and acting?

ALICIA KEYS: No, I feel like it’s just a delicate process. I think that y’know, just with music. The same care I take with music, I just don’t sing any song. I just don’t do anything. It’s very important to me to just feel out what’s the right thing for me and where I am. And that’s the same thing for film. So, I think it’s just a process that takes time and I don’t have any rush to … I want to really build myself up. Just like I build myself in music. So, I want to continue to build and get better and better. It doesn’t seem like it gets harder. Everything that is good takes a lot of work. Everything is work. So, I can’t say it’s harder than the next thing.

MoviesOnline: Do you see yourself doing anything more creative on the movie side, either writing movies or getting more behind-the-scenes kind of stuff?

ALICIA KEYS: I do. I do. I would like to bring forth, help continue to bring forth movies like this that are varied in its experience -- interesting and different and stories that are not often told.

MoviesOnline: Do you have a next project?

ALICIA KEYS: I do. I’m not sure I can talk about it.

MoviesOnline: Are you on tour?

ALICIA KEYS: Yes, I’m on tour until December.

“The Secret Life of Bees” opens in theaters on October 17th.