Honeymoon For Cedric And Epps?
Who says the honeymoon is over?
The classic situation comedy, "The Honeymooners," is re-born this week, coming to the big screen. Cedric The Entertainer plays bus driver Ralph Kramden, the big man with even bigger dreams. Mike Epps plays "sanitation engineer" Ed Norton.
To prepare for the role, Cedric The Entertainer says he watched all 39 episodes of the series ("The Honeymooners" debuted in 1955 with Jackie Gleason as Kramden and Art Carney as Norton.) This time, the aim is to pay tribute to the original by doing a modern version of it.
"Mike and I talked about it early on," Cedric The Entertainer tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "We had the opportunity to be ourselves, but to do some nuance. So I did the voice on occasion. Try to give you a few of the looks. But you know, at the same time, definitely not try to do a mimic or imitation."
As for Epps, he wanted to keep some of Art Carney's classic mannerisms. "I had to steal a little bit of it just to pay homage."
In the film's production notes, Cedric The Entertainer notes mannerisms just come naturally to Epps, so it was a perfect role for him.
Asked what his first thought was when he was approached to portray a role most Americans know so well, Cedric The Entertainer says, "I think as a comedian and as an actor, that we have to take those challenges. Of course, I was a little shaken by it because it was a different type of show. Different than what I've done. But it's a challenge. And that's what I live for, challenges."
To those who point out white guys were in the original "Honeymooners," Cedric The Entertainer says, "It's a new day. We have to dip the show in chocolate now."
The film opens nationwide on Friday. It's being released by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by the same parent company as CBS.
Cedric The Entertainer's recent films include "Barbershop" with Ice Cube; "Intolerable Cruelty" with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones, "The Original Kings of Comedy," a concert documentary directed by Spike Lee; and "Be Cool," the sequel to the hit "Get Shorty," with John Travolta.
Epps's other films include: New Line Cinema's "All About the Benjamins," starring opposite Ice Cube; "Friday After Next," the third installment of the "Friday" series; "The Fighting Temptations." working alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyonce Knowles; and "Resident Evil: Apocalypse."
Most recently, he was seen in Columbia Pictures' "Guess Who," with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac, and soon will appear in Fox Searchlight's "Roll Bounce," a film set in the late 1970s about the roller-skating lifestyle. He recently began production on Focus Features' "42.4 Percent."