“Dave East was cast for the role,” Huang reveals to EW.
“We had incredibly shot a great scene with Dave East.
So we had four days to find somebody.”
Rapper Pop Smoke in character as Monk in the film ‘Boogie’.Credit: Nicole Rivelli / Focus Features
I was like, ‘What?’
He’s like, ‘Yeah.
Pop was like a top recruit in high school.’
Taylor Takahashi and Pop Smoke as high school basketball rivals Boogie and Monk in ‘Boogie’.David Giesbrecht / Focus Features
I was like, ‘Get out of here.'"
“Pop read the script, loved it, thought it was hilarious.
And he shows up at my crib with nine people.
Pop Smoke, Huang, and ‘Boogie’ lead Taylor Takahashi on set.Nicole Rivelli / Focus Features
We played basketball, put them on tape,” recalls the director.
“I knew from the first five minutes, I was like, this is him.
This is a blessing.
Like, Dave East, I love you, but it’s Pop.”
We got to shoot him in 12 hours.’
From the minute he signed, he had a 12-hour turnaround to the first day of shooting.
Never acted in his life."
That didn’t matter to Huang though, who felt an instant understanding develop between him and the rapper.
“With Pop, I was the most liberal.
With Pop, I really felt a trust between us.
He was a real joy to direct and we had a lot of chemistry.
Some of the audio, like I just played back listening to, of our days was just hilarious.
It’s like a quarterback and a receiver that had been playing together for 10 years.”
“Me and my best friend, Raf [Martinez], who’s the executive producer.
And we will embrace this.'
The filmBoogieis dedicated to him.
He relates more to the Panamanian side.
“We think about him all the time, and it’s affected everyone,” adds the filmmaker.
“And I think that we’ve been carrying this through post.
Boogieis now playing in theaters.
