Star Struck Co-stars of new movie visit SU while on tour

March 19 was a very busy day for Southern University, as campus tours coupled with “Pretty Wednesday” had students bustling about. Most exciting was the scheduled appearance of celebrity actors Keke Palmer and Eric Hill.
SU was one of many stops along their college promotion tour of their upcoming drama film, “Brotherly Love”. Palmer and Hill are amongst the star-studded cast which also includes R&B Soul singer Macy Gray, Romeo “Lil Romeo” Miller, Cory Hardrict, Malik Yoba (Why Did I Get Married?) and actor and comedian Faizon Love (Friday). Palmer and Hill were welcomed across the hump by the student body that packed the back patio of the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union to catch a glimpse of the two. They received a taste of Baton Rouge culture through “jigging” and listening to local rap artists.
When asked why coming to Southern University was important Palmer stated,
“This is whom we made the movie for [college students]. Whenever I’m going out I like to make sure it’s shown to the people I’m trying to reach.”
Hill also stated, “This a film for us. So I want to make sure that we [African–Americans] see it.”
Hill remarked on the most memorable part of the tour for him, saying,
“Today was the best day and the most memorable! Watching you all jig; I’ve spent three months down here, and the jig is the dance. I love that you all tried to get me involved!”
Palmer commented as well, saying,
“There’s something memorable each day,”
Palmer described her “Brotherly Love” character Jackie Taylor as, “The sweetheart of the family. She is the twin of Sergio. She’s learning who she is independently; identity and love.”
Palmer also explained the challenges she faced transitioning from child acting to adult roles.
“Just from trying to pick the right role that doesn’t make my fan base feel left out and ask ‘Who is this new person?’ but still allows them to feel like they’re growing with me. I’ve been concentrating on making sure I chose right role that allows you see me grow up on film such as ‘Joyful Noise’ which I was 17 and now ‘Brotherly Love’ that depict me in that growing pains stage.”
Hill plays Sergio Taylor and described him as,
“[Sergio’s] main obstacle is trying to what is right for the family. Fortunately, he has the discipline instilled in him from Cory Hardrict’s character June Taylor. While growing up with obstacles, there comes a time when you have to make choices. Dealing with theme and issues of growing up while being famous.”
Hill and Palmer both agreed their favorite part of filming was the “relationship that have been built’ and “being apart of something we all believe in.”
The purpose of the upcoming drama flick, is to accurately depict the millennial relationship. Palmer agreed excitedly stating,
“Absolutely! That’s of the one main reason I became apart of the film because I really knew the character.” She further explained, “It felt like you were in it [movie], watching people live their lives.” The relatable characters will remind you of everyday people. “We wanted the film to feel authentic.”
Rapper turned actress Queen Latifah was an executive producer on the film project. Palmer expressed what it was like to work with Latifah, saying,
“Queen wasn’t always on set but her presence was with us because it was her energy that started this movie out,” Palmer stated. “They came to me about the project, because they’ve known me since I was about nine years old, and knew the type of films that I wanted to do,” she concluded.
“Brotherly Love” hits theaters April 24.