Oscar Co-Host Regina Hall Talks Will Smith’s Apology Video

Regina Hall carefully chose her words when asked about Will Smith’s recent video in which he apologized for fanning Chris Rock at the Oscars.

“I think it’s a tough thing to do, and I know it’s a tough road,” Hall told me Monday at the premiere of her new comedy mock comedy “Horn for Jesus.” save your soul. “The first step is for him to apologize. How people see it, it’s up to them…I know it’s not easy. “

She linked the Oscar fiasco to “honk the horn for Jesus.” Hall plays the wife of a popular pastor (Sterling K. Brown) who is looking to reopen their megachurch after a scandal forced them to close.

“Redemption,” Hall said. “The point is that we can evolve from where we are.”

Smith posted a video of his apology on YouTube on July 29. “No part of me thought that was the right way to behave at the time,” he said in the video. “I didn’t think it was the best way to deal with feelings of disrespect or insult.”

He closed the video by promising to grow from the event. “I know it’s confusing, I know it’s shocking,” he said. “But I promise you, I’m very committed and committed to bringing light, love and joy into this world. And, you know, if you stick with it, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”

Hall is open to potentially co-hosting the Oscars again. “Of course I had a good time,” she said, praising her co-hosts Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer.

Based on the short film of the same name “Horn for Jesus”. Save Your Soul” from twin sisters and filmmakers Adammo and Adanne Ebo. Hall recalls watching Brown filming his first sermon scene. “It was amazing,” she said. “He was brilliant in the movie. It was so much fun watching him. “

Daniel Kaluyya, who produced the film through his production company 59%, said Hall was the Ebo sisters’ first choice for the role. “They said they wanted Regina, so I said, ‘Let’s go to Regina,’” he told me. “Then they want sterling and here we are.”

Growing up in a Southern church, the Ebers weren’t worried that their childhood pastor would complain to them about the film’s premise and irony. “Sadly there are a lot of situations and people to draw from, so the proof is you,” Adanne said with a laugh.

“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” will be released and streamed in Peacock theaters on September 2.