The actress opens up about how she hopes Hollywood steps up going forward and her new Hulu project with Judy Greer.
Actress Elise Neal is moved by the “monumental” scale of Black Lives Matter protests around the world, which she hopes will not only usher in changes for how the Black community is treated worldwide, but also in Hollywood.
TooFab caught up with the star about her work in Hulu’s “Into The Dark” — more on that in a second — where she opened up about how the size of the support for the movement has been “nothing less than incredible.”
“It is so important and I would say monumental time in the universe — not just necessarily the United States — the huge crowds in every single protest in Los Angeles, across different states and countries is incredible,” she explained. “It’s nothing less than incredible. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. And I think it needs to be recognized even more.”
“I think it’s one of those things where you have to show appreciation to those who are doing the best to create change and are still alive,” she continued. “And God rest the souls of so many fallen African American men, women — Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery — and the list goes on and on and on. But as we are now in this moment for healing and creating change, to see so many young people create something so miraculous, is almost unbelievable that this is happening today.”
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The Black Lives Matter movement has led to a greater discussion about race, privilege and equality in everyday life. We asked Neal what she hoped to see shift in Hollywood going forward.
“I think it’s really opening up people’s eyes to try to hopefully correct the wrongs that they’ve done in all businesses and see that there should be more of a 50/50 playing field for people of all color, especially African Americans,” said Neal. “We don’t necessarily have to play X, Y, and Z. We can be leads, we can be anything and everything. And perhaps green-light some more scripts and green-light some more opportunities and not overlook those opportunities that are African American.”
“I would like to see more strong, Black female movies,” she continued, citing her own upcoming movie “Survival,” which she also executive produced. “I want them to maybe open their eyes to some of those great scripts and things that maybe they would not necessarily have thought about, but are in a changed mode.”
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In addition to “Survival,” Neal dipped her toes back into horror with a role in Hulu’s anthology series, “Into the Dark.” Starring Judy Greer, the latest installment follows a woman who finds herself in the middle of more than a couple mysterious deaths after adopting a cute pooch. Neal plays Greer’s fertility specialist.
The project reunites the “Scream 2” actress with the director of another horror flick in which she appeared, Tyler MacIntyre’s “Tragedy Girls.”
“What’s really funny about that is I am scared to go to any horror film in real life. I need a boyfriend, popcorn, napkins and try not to chew my nails type of girl you know?” said Neal. “Like that’s what so crazy. But to film them is so much fun. It’s such a great world. I like the sticky, messy, fake blood. I like filming them, but to watch, I’m a mess. An absolute mess. I couldn’t even get all the way through ‘IT.’ It drove me crazy. I had to leave.”
As for working with Greer, Neal said she’s been a fan of hers since “The Wedding Planner.”
“Her wit is so on point and dry and amazing, it’s kind of like you got to step your game up,” she said. “I told myself to step my game up because I am a huge fan.”
Saying the two connected as “two veteran actresses” on set, she also called her “easy going” and “amazing to work with.”
“Into the Dark: Good Boy” is on Hulu now.
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