We should all applaud our youth when they show initiative, when they dedicate themselves to something positive like good grades, sports and staying out of trouble. We live in a changing world where for some, avoiding trouble is difficult, especially when you’ve already sworn your loyalty to them. Life can be complicated when the people you’re closest to – become the most dangerous to your future.
Sons 2 The Grave is a story about high hopes and touching your fingertips to fame, only to have it end with 2 bullets on a footbridge. Written and produced by Lynne Stoltz.
Ruth Jennings moved to Hudson for her son. A sad irony she lives with today. Marcus was headed to the NBA and oddly enough, undesirable and neglected Hudson is on the NBA radar. Ruth, a hard-working single mother, felt she could protect her child against all odds, but Marcus found it hard to fight off his new surroundings and mislaid loyalties. Sons 2 The Grave is a compelling story of greatness unrealized and the people you surround yourself with. It has a star-studded cast that include Trevor Jackson (Atlantic Recording Artist, Grownish), NAACP Nominated Darren Dewitt Henson (Double Cross, The Family Business), Maria Howell (Hidden Figures, The Colour Purple), Brad James (A House Divided, Outer Banks), Justin Martin (Flight, Highschool Musical II), NAACP Nominated Algee Smith (Detroit, Judas and the Black Messiah), Atkins Estimond (Hightown, The Resident), Gregory Alan Williams (The Righteous Gemstones, Brightburn) and Messiah Harris (Hip Hop Artist TI’s son) makes his acting debut as Jermain.
Sons 2 The Grave premieres throughout February on multiple platforms, including Amazon Prime, Roku, Tubi, Pluto TV, Xumo TV, IMDB TV, Sling TV and more to be announced.
I had the incredible opportunity to speak with writer, director and producing extraordinaire Lynne Stoltz from her home in Toronto. It was inspirational, informative and an absolute pleasure. Roll the tape!
HNMAG “This film is going to be released very soon on multiple platforms, including Amazon Prime, Roku, Tubi, Pluto TV, Xumo TV, IMDb TV, Sling TV with more to be announced. That’s pretty incredible.”
LYNNE “We’re actually going on to do a series after the release. The station CHCH Channel 0 is going to be co-producing a spin-off series, Hudson with Have Faith Productions. It picks up at the end of Sons 2 The Grave with 6 episodes.”
HNMAG “I also read that you’re turning 2 books that you wrote into films?”
LYNNE “Yes, my company, Have Faith Productions is going to be producing 2 films from the books. The first one, Loud Silence – which I wrote a long time ago and did well – it caught a lot of people’s attention, including the late Dr. Maya Angelou, who was attached to direct Loud Silence, but unfortunately passed away. I lost my husband around the same time and wrote a book called, The Other Side of the Bed. Loud Silence is a story about 2 accomplished families, both upper class/well to do. One is Black and the other is white. They built their homes next to each other in an affluent neighbourhood, raised their kids together and the women became closer than sisters. They would share their ups and downs together, their secrets and everything else in their lives for 18 years. The white family had a girl and the Black family had a boy. They were in their senior year of high school, about to go to college. Where the boy would go onto the NBA. The two fell in love and decide they want to get married. Although the women are so close, they come to terms with their children’s announcement. You have to ask yourself why. It’s a story from love and not hate. The kids can’t understand it, they didn’t grow up like that but somehow when it comes full circle, it’s not exactly what the women wanted for them.”
Lynne continued to explain that she’d written this story before she knew what the words ‘systemic racism’ meant. Lynne says, “I may have been naïve to the problems but these last 2 years have all been about systemic racism.”
HNMAG “Your second novel, The Other Side of the Bed -is it about losing your partner?”
LYNNE “It is what we talk about in the story. It’s set in Los Angeles where there is an Oscar-winning writer married to a high-profile producer. The husband suddenly dies and it’s the story of how she goes forward to succeed and survive. The world, people around her react differently and Lifetime said it was one of the most honest stories they had ever read on this subject. It shows the ups, the downs – you laugh… and you put your hurt and pain away and visit it on your own terms. It’s set in Beverly Hills and the Malibu Colonies. She ends up going back to work and writes for one of the biggest soap operas on TV. I think it’s a very interesting story, so we’re very excited to make both of those films.”
HNMAG “Your film Sons to the Grave premieres later in February. Did you screen the film anywhere?”
LYNNE “We actually had the amazing opportunity to screen it with MLKIII, Martin Luther King’s son. We went back to Atlanta for the private screening with Mr. and Mrs. King and his Chief of Staff. It was an honour and a humbling experience. They found the film to be emotional and it made the points it set out to do.”
HNMAG “Was this film based on a true story?”
LYNNE “It’s inspired by actual events. There was a shooting on a bridge in Toronto that divides an affluent community with an at-risk community. The difference between the two sides are night and day. The young man was killed on that foot bridge that divided the communities. We decided there was a much larger story to be told. Just because of where we live, doesn’t mean we should ignore the other side – it exists. We need to do more than buy a ticket to a ballet, an opera or a play and say that I’ve done my part. This isn’t just about race or religion, it’s about society and where we stand in it.”
HNMAG “It sounds like there are a lot of important lessons/messages to be taken away from this film.”
LYNNE “Our Marcus, played by Trevor Jackson, was outstanding. He’s a recording artist and in the series Grownish. Gregory Alan Williams is the coach, Maria Howell plays Marcus’s mother and Brad James is the bad guy – I have to say that they did phenomenal. They portray how young men get into situations where they think they can handle themselves and walk away whenever they want. I gave understanding to the shooter and understanding to Marcus. Adding, ‘I didn’t say the shooter was right but I explained why he had his reasons.’ The young men controlling at-risk neighbourhoods control all aspects of them and they don’t want to give that up. If they let it be known that they let loose of their power, it will be gone. When Marcus announces that he’s been scouted by the NBA and he’s leaving – he cannot let him go, that’s the bottom line. I didn’t understand it, but after talking to enough of the people in those neighbourhoods and the people that grew up there, the understanding came.”
Lynne added, that she didn’t believe it was just young Black men, but ‘anyone’ that is getting involved in these groups that take over communities. Once you get in, it’s not so easy to walk away. She says, “we didn’t try to make it about young Black men, White men or any colour, we just told a story and Marcus Jennings happened to be Black. The series, Hudson will pick up and continue forward in the hopes that it can provide awareness to what’s going on.”
HNMAG “When you were seeking your cast, were you looking for actors with a strong dramatic presence?”
LYNNE “As the writer and the one that selected most of the cast, when I write I really get a feel for the character and I write for someone I have in mind. I didn’t have any of the actors in mind. When we picked the 3 boys at the heart of this film, with Marcus as the lead but in the story, they all grew up together and are all friends. One of the boys, played by Atkins Estimond (Hightown, Lodge 49) was outstanding. He wasn’t anything like I had in mind but he came in and read for it and it was an immediate yes. He plays a boy with mental challenges, and the other boys as tough as they are – look after him and include him in everything. His performance was unbelievable. Justin Martin (Flight, Highschool Musical II) is also phenomenal as Marcus’s best friend. Then there’s NAACP Nominated Algee Smith that was nominated for Detroit and in The Bobby Brown Story series. The sensitive detective David Reynolds, played by another NAACP Nominated Actor – Darren Dewitt Henson (Stomp the Yard, The Last Astronaut). Everyone came in and we had less than 3 weeks to shoot it. They all flew in and we went to work.”
HNMAG “Is everyone cast from Atlanta?”
LYNNE “No, Trevor is from LA and so is Darren. Everyone else is from Atlanta. The cast felt just right. Brad James, who plays the shooter, was such a good fit and although I believe it’s his first time playing a bad guy, we knew he could pull off this role.”
HNMAG “As an experienced successful filmmaker like yourself, what kind of advice would you give to younger up and coming filmmakers?”
LYNNE “Be very organized in what you do and be sure that you are 100% ready to go. If you’re doing your own film, you have to have everything aligned. We hopped on a plane and went to a location we’d never been before and it turned out. For that, we are very grateful and humbled by it. Be sure that this is what you want to do and ask yourself if you’re prepared to do that. Be sure that you have trusted people around you because you need support and can’t do it on your own. You need good people in key positions that have been down this path before that you can rely on.”
HNMAG “Did you have someone that you could also rely on for support?”
LYNNE “Back then, we just kind of did it. These days we say, when we do our next film, we want… so and so. There has been someone that has helped us from Toronto when I was writing another project and I could call him up to ask him what he thought. He didn’t work on this film, but he guided us. Norman Denver is one of the most respected producers in Canada. He’s done everything, from major film to a number of television series for more than 20 years. I need to say that this film was made on a small budget and with a fast turnaround. The actors and crew that worked on this film, everyone that came in did unbelievable performances because they all said they liked the words on the’ page. I’m hoping it does really well and that some of the points come across. From a human being point of view, we tried to do a story that said, ‘we are our brother’s keeper’ and we owe people in our community understanding and help along the way.
Lynne Stoltz hopes this film can bring attention to the crimes going on in communities that go unchecked and unchanged. Watch for Sons 2 The Grave this month and help bring upon change for our youth to have a future and a career.