Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by L.M. Land
Featured photo: Cast members of “She Belongs To Me:” James Petty II, Daniel Brown, Tammia Vesser and DeWaun E. Robinson are as excited about the future of the film as the everyone else who attended the recent premiere!
“She Belongs To Me,” an intriguing and powerful drama depicting a gripping love triangle between Lorraine, Pete and Jelly, had its red carpet premiere at Flint’s Capitol Theatre on December 7.
Pete, who says in the movie he got his education in the street, lost Lorraine, the love of his life. Lorraine later married Jelly, who Pete coincidentally grew up with. Pete comes up with a devious and twisted plan to break Lorraine and Jelly up. He says and feels Jelly doesn’t love Lorainne like he does. The plan has consequences for everyone, including Pete. But the movie explores the vastly different ways individuals can respond when their lives are turned upside down.
Flint Native James Petty III played Pete in the movie. Petty told the Courier “a lot of life experience” prepared him to play his role.
“It was easy to relate to the character, the lines and the emotional moments within there,” Petty added.
Petty said although he is happily married now, he was involved in a love triangle long ago.
“I thought Mike Matthews did an excellent job with the script writing, the casting, how it all came together – I thought it came together perfectly,” Petty stated.
This was the second movie Petty has acted in, but it was the first one to be released. The other one will be released in February.
“The other movie is really fun. This one (‘She Belongs To Me’) definitely had more action in it, which I like. I would think it kept the crowd engaged as they are going through the movie.”
Daniel Brown played Jelly. Brown was born and raised in Rochester, New York and currently lives in Saginaw.
Brown described his character as “the antagonist.”
“The role is definitely outside of my character,” he said. “As a normal person, it took a lot of meditating to get into the role. It took a lot of breaking down the character just to understand who I wanted Jelly to be and how I wanted to portray him on film and make him come alive.”
Brown networked with others in the acting industry to get their perspectives, as well.
“I thought back about how I used to be,” said Brown. “At one point in time, I was a Jelly. So, I had to go back and live that life again and think about who I was back then.”
Brown said the project had been a long one. As noted previously in the Courier, some of the filming took place at Triumphant Temple of Praise Christian Church on Pasadena Rd., in Flint. Other locations within the city can be seen or are mentioned in the film.
Brown has been involved in several plays, including “Still Emmett Till,” with the Bay City Players, where again he said he was a “bad guy.” He’s also appeared in the plays “Fences” and “The Piano Lesson,” as well as some YouTube films.
“I’ve done some short films in the past, but I have to say this is the biggest project that I’ve ever done. Doing a film to this magnitude is amazing!”
The cast, as a whole, showed they had a mixture of acting experience, real-life experience and raw acting talent.
They all used these attributes to help bring attention to the movie’s theme, which was about the importance of turning toward God.
Tammia Vesser, an actress from Lansing, played a prostitute named Juicy. She has had roles in “For the Love of Cash,” parts 1 and 2 on Tubi, as well as in “Baby in the Hood.”
Vesser said Juicy in “She Belongs To Me” was a “jezebel.”
“I’m like the complete opposite of that,” Vesser said, laughing.
Flint Native Angelitha Anderson-Jackson played a madame named Ms. Bev in the movie. Her first stage play for POP Entertainment was “Ain’t too Proud To Beg.” She also appeared in “Mama Where Are You” and the TV series “She Belongs To Me.”
Anderson-Jackson said of her role in the movie “She Belongs To Me:” “It’s something I’ve done in my past. It’s something I’m familiar with. I was on drugs for 30 years. I went down to my lowest bottom, and I got tired of that lifestyle. As of today, I have 19 years clean and sober.”
Anson Banister said it was “awesome meeting the local talent and the team that filmed the movie” at the premiere.
Anthony Bell, who attends Flushing High School, played the violin before the movie and said he was “grateful” for the opportunity, and he hopes the movie does very well.
Flint Resident Paulette Clemons is Bell’s grandmother. Clemons knows the writer of the movie, Michael Matthews, as well as others involved in the movie’s production through attending church. So, she described the event as a “like a family reunion.”
Director Larry Keels said he was “excited and overwhelmed with joy” at the number of people who attended the premiere and showed support. He called the red-carpet premiere “fun,” noting many people were walking the red carpet with style and grace.
Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Mary Hood also attended the premiere.
Keels also shared that people who missed the event will likely still have an opportunity to see the fascinating movie.
“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from this movie,” stated Keels, “We expect to be on maybe Netflix, Tubi, Peacock, Prime and other networks like that. We’re talking with Sony right now.”
Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley and DeWaun E. Robinson, CEO of Artistic Visions Enterprise and president of Black Lives Matter-Flint also have roles in the movie.
Famed Flint Playwright Michael Matthews came out of retirement and shifted his successful Pop Productions to create “She Belongs to Me” as Pop Productions’ first film. After climbing to the top of the urban theater ladder and being globally recognized as the God-father of gospel musical theater, he became ready to give back to the entertainment business, according to the Pop Productions’ website.
Pop Productions is a Flint-based film company. 93% of the cast and crew for “She Belongs To Me” were Flint-based.
The film has no swearing or nudity, despite the intense drama throughout it and the fact the film is action-packed.
