Mandy Griffiths
It’s only been up and up for comedian Kevin Hart since we chatted with him on the global promotional tour for “Ride Along” in 2014.
This time joined by co-star and producer Ice Cube as they aim to take the series from sequel to franchise, Mandy chatted with the stars on the black carpet of the Australian premiere at Melbourne Central.
Cube, it was your production company [Cube Vision] that found and developed the script for the original “Ride Along” film, how satisfying is it to be here now with the sequel?
Ice Cube: Oh man you know it’s more than satisfying. We had a lot of help, you know, we had [producer] Will Packer and we had [director] Tim Story and I see Kevin being a producer if we keep this going on. It’s only right to bring everyone in that’s been working to make this thing special. It’s really all about a collaborative effort so Cube Vision is just a piece of the pie.
So you would like to see it turned into a franchise?
Ice Cube: Of course. Yes that’s what I’m talking about – it’s time to get Kevin’s name in there as a producer because he’s put just as much time in there as all of us to make these things happen.
He does the work. I’ve heard this!
Kevin: I don’t mind doing the work man [laughs]. I think the best thing about this is that we’re all part of an amazing team and there’s no selfishness within this team. We all want success but we want it together. If you’ve got one man that’s willing to pull the next man up, it’s very hard to lose. Right now we’re doing the leg work and we’re trying to get the word out on an international level and it’s working.
And your characters, James and Ben, they had some growth in the first film and reached a bit of an understanding. What is their relationship like now?
Ice Cube: They’re working on it, you know, it’s better than it was the first movie but it’s not quite there yet. We’ve still got a long way to go.
A few more films to work it out?
Ice Cube: A few more films before we’re BFFs – as they say.
Kevin Hart: That’s the beauty of it we left some room to go up. You don’t want to reach a plateau in part two, you want to leave some room to go places. We definitely did that, our relationships progressed more and there’s room for more, which is always good for business.
“Ride Along 2” is in Australian cinemas 18 February 2016.
