- Good Joint to watch with the Wife, fiance, girlfriend... Directed by Salim and Mara Brock Akil...based on their life . Good acting, soundtrack is OFF the Chain
Why Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil Shared Their Love Story in ‘Love Is__’
By MANNIE HOLMES
CREDIT: MICHAEL BUCKNER/VARIETY/REX/SHUT
“Love is… getting my way,” Mara Brock Akil joked at the premiere of OWN’s new scripted series “Love Is__” Monday night. The series creator was standing on the carpet alongside her husband, director and producer Salim Akil, ahead of the premiere screening at NeueHouse in Hollywood when she explained why there was an empty space in the series title.
“There is not one definition of love and we are supposed to fill in that [space] for ourselves,” Mara explained, adding that it needs to be a commitment between people.
While Salim has collaborated with Mara on a number of projects, including “Being Mary Jane” and “Black Lightning,” he admitted to being hesitant about disclosing aspects of their personal lives onscreen.
“I wasn’t ready to do it, [but] Mara was,” said Salim. “I think part of the theme of ‘Love Is__’ is love realizing you can’t allow another person to do anything. If they respect you enough to ask your opinion, you can can give your opinion but she’s a grown woman independent of me. So as an artist, she should be able to do what she wants to do… but I wasn’t down with the s—.”
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The series follows a blossoming TV writer (Michele Weaver) who meets and falls in love with an aspiring director (Will Catlett) in ’90s Los Angeles. Mara admitted that while the “essence” of their relationship throughout the story is captured and many details are factual, other moments have been altered for the show.
“It is an inspired by story and it needs to be so that the story can stay compelling and intentional for what the show is,” Mara said. “The pilot sort of nails a lot but as the season of courtship goes on, we manipulate some of the facts so that Nuri and Yasir can be ambassadors for this idea that love is achievable if you define it for yourself.”
The Akils’ love story made Oprah Winfrey want to bring the series to OWN almost instantly.
“Mara walked in with this story about her actual courtship with Salim and before she even finished the pitch, I said: ‘Yes I’m in,'” Winfrey said. “I think the intimacy, the tenderness, the true affection, the real trust and the most important — wanting you to be the best you can — that’s what real love is, and I’m so excited for people to see it play out in a way that they will absolutely recognize.”
Following the screening, stars including Weaver, Catlett, Kadeem Hardison, Idara Victor and Tyrone Marshall Brown attended the reception where Winfrey made a toast to the new series with tequila shots.
“Love Is __” premieres June 19 at 10 p.m. on OWN
Anybody check this series "Love is"? - a 90's love story - by directors of "black lightning"
- Thread starter Tdot_firestarta
- Start date
Good Joint to watch with the Wife, fiance, girlfriend... Directed by Salim and Mara Brock Akil...loosely based on their life . Good acting, soundtrack is OFF the Chain!!
The main sista (Michelle Weaver) is cute too
The main sista (Michelle Weaver) is cute too
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I feel like a show like this should be on a streaming service or premium channel, there needs to be stronger language (to be fair the f-bombs have been dropped on the show before) and some tasteful nudity and more intense sex scenes. On the show, Yasir lags quite far behind Nuri, professionally and one is left to wonder, if the early days of their relationship was more sexual than anything else and just grew from there.
Yeah I like the show.
yeah man, the scenarios and storyline is so real...
lol @ the "Marvin" show...and "Martin" sneak diss
I guess that mirrors her experience when she got her start as a writer on the "jamie fox show"
and damn the brotha Dwayne Wayne got fat as FUCK....hope he's just eating good and that the weight gain ain't from medication.
Co-sign the soundtrack comment
Lol well in her defense the show isnt a total autobiography...its "inspired by" their story
Sista looks better with short hair imo
great show
A bunch of neo soul i presume?
I also heard LTD, Luther Vandross and Bootsy Collins.
Last night's episode.
Damn I gotta wait till Sunday night to see this
Hate to say this but it just too many shows..... I’ll have to catch this after the series is over.
