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Mink-coat-wearing strippers work the pole beneath hailstorms of dollar bills.
Men with facial tattoos drive Lamborghinis and pop off on rival drug dealers with matte-white machine guns.
But even with that fealty to the past, this iteration ofSuperflycould only exist now.
So that someone who knows the original is like, What the fuck is this?
What did yall do to my favorite movie?
We took the original film, thought out the original characters, and asked, What are the beats?
When we found those moments, we had our freedom to go where we needed to go.
(Sonys blaxploitation-inspired crime thrillerProud Maryhit theaters in January.)
It was a kind ofKing Learstory, Silver recalls.
It was a drug dealer aesthetic.
But it didnt have the flow and development of whatSuper Flywas.
We kind of veered away from the original material.
In the originalSuper Fly,they snort coke to say hello.
It just wasnt something I was comfortable putting in the world, Director X says.
Now youve got to deal with his two girlfriends.
This gives us a challenge.
Is he going to be a cheating chauvinist who has two girlfriends who dont know about each other?
Or do we bring themtogetherand say, Fuck it.
This is the world today.
We know people like this guy.
Weve seen this out in the culture where a guy has enough game to have two girlfriends.
Its one big happy family, right?
We know cops are doing some dirty shit.
But not on the Get out of the life level.
For its time, the originalSuper Flyfunctions as something like an underclass cri de coeur.
Were not looking to weigh you down and really make you contemplate this big, heavy thing.
You dont watchThe Fast and the Furiousand wonder about the socioeconomic statement that theyre making.
You watch it to see a car drive off a fucking train and land on the space shuttle!
Yet in an era of Black Lives Matter, its impossible to viewSuperflyas strictly popcorn entertainment.
Do we touch on elements in society?
Are they factors in our movie?
Yes, says Silver.
Weve had this picture for almost 20 years, but now is the perfect time to make it.
I think the notion of an African-American/black-centric action movie is right for right now.
