Miami's Holly Hunt is one of the gnarliest sludge bands of all time. However, the local duo's name derives from an extravagantly high-priced furniture store in Miami's Design District. Wouldn't you rather brand your rock group with the name of a more provocative woman? How about, Vivica A. Fox? "Dude, I play guitar for Vivica Fox." Can you hear the crowd chanting, "VIVICA FOX!!!" while holding their cell phones in the air?
When you win those Grammy Awards, and Gwen Stefani asks why you named your band Vivica A. Fox, the answers are simple: "Number one: The sensational fight scene in Kill Bill Volume 1. Number 2: She dated 50 Cent." How about this, "Vivica Fox's hair collection has generated over $20 million in sales, and we've already sold 20 million copies of our debut album."
But wait, there's more. Much more! Vivica Fox co-starred in the most ingenious portrayal of the rock and roll lifestyle ever: Curb Your Enthusiasm. On that TV series, the father of rock and roll comedy Larry David, ends up in a relationship with Fox's character, Loretta Black.
That all being said, your bashful blogger recently attended a screening for an independent film (which hits theaters this Friday April 19), Home Run, starring the woman who we are going to name our band after.
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The movie is about a famous baseball player named Cory Brand (Scott Elrod), who has a serious drinking problem. He is an alcoholic. He causes a terrible D.U.I. accident, severely injuring the passenger of his car. This is his second D.U.I., and police footage from the first D.U.I. has gotten over a million hits on YouTube. His drunken behavior on and off the field has become legendary.
Can anyone out there relate to this story, thus far? Your obsequious narrator sure can! In fact, your faithful raconteur was asked to speak at the movie's screening because he went through the costly mistake of driving drunk in 2009, and running over a pedestrian on Collins Avenue! Two felonies and somewhere in the ballpark of $15,000 later, I have become a new person with high moral standards and an animosity towards alcoholic beverages! Praise the Lord!
Please bear with me, while I get back on the soap box for a moment. I know that there are hundreds of people out there reading this blog right now, who are going through the terrible consequences of a D.U.I. Yes, you my friend! Please, go see this movie. You will laugh, you will cry, but most of all, you will find redemption. We all know that drugs and alcohol can cause serious problems in a person's life, but there is hope! There is a light at the end of that long dark D.U.I. tunnel. That light is this movie, Home Run.
Hallelujah!
After the screening, I was asked by one of the movie's promoters if I would be interested in interviewing Vivica A. Fox, who stars as Cory Brand's agent (kind of like a female Jerry Maguire). Um... Hello!?
Vivica A. Fox called me the next morning from a car in Los Angeles, and told me that she was on her way to work (shooting the sitcom Mr. Box Office). "Versatility has definitely been the key to my success," she stated. After sharing our own personal drug and alcohol related testimonies, and then explaining to her that one of my goals in life is to play a game of golf with Larry David, we got down to business.
She talked about her enlightening experiences while on the set of Home Run: "The movie is really about a man's transformation. None of us are perfect. We all go through trials and tribulations. The simple solution is surrendering and saying, 'I've got a problem and I need help.' Then letting the Lord turn your life around."
She continues, "The movie was shot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I was staying in a hotel across from Oral Roberts University. I was going through a breakup with the man I was engaged with. We were going to get married, but we decided to call it quits. It just seemed like the Lord had me in the right place at the right time. Every morning, when I woke up, I saw this statue of giant praying hands that are in front of the university. It was great because I didn't have to be in Los Angeles with people asking about my break up. The Lord put me there to keep me strong and focused and to know that I could make it through this. My character in the movie is named Helene Landy. The part was originally written for a man, but they took a different direction with me."
She talked more about her spiritual foundation. "I go to church in Los Angeles," she said. "My mother raised us in church. She was a strong Christian parent, and we were always in church: Sunday school, vacation Bible school, whenever the church was open, we were there." She continues, "I thank the Lord each and every morning that I am blessed to wake up and have another day to enjoy. God has been good to me."
She discussed her personal connection with her character in the movie. "I am a huge sports fan," she said, "so that was another reason why playing a sports agent was so easy for me. I grew up as an athlete. I played basketball, volleyball, track, and I was a cheerleader in high school. I literally wake up to ESPN every day."
I explained to Fox that part of my preparation for this interview was watching the entire sixth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm in one night. She discussed her part in that show. "When I hit Curb Your Enthusiasm, I was at another crossroads in my life. I had participated in Dancing With the Stars, and got unfairly booted off. I was ready to drown myself at the bottom of a pina colada! My manager called me the next day, and says that I have an audition with Curb. I'm like, what do they want with me? 'Well, they're adding a black family on the show and Larry David is really interested in you.'
"So, when I got there, they just handed me a little piece of paper, because it's all ad-libbed. That is why the show is so good, because you come up with your own material. I go in, Larry comes into the room (you don't meet him before the audition). The scene starts, and I just go, 'What up, L.D.? Did you get me some ice cream?' And then we finished the scene and I left. I'm ready to hit that pina colada when my phone rings and guess what? I got the part."
Home Run will be out in theaters April 19, 2013.
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