'Mama's Boy' according to the dictionary is a term referring to a boy or man who is excessively attached to his mother or highly influenced by his mother. In some cultures the phrase could be slang for calling someone "soft" or "not manly enough." The demeaning terms however have nothing to do with a young actor, writer, and filmmaker I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with, his name is Michael Gregory and his story will certainly inspire you. The basis of his young life is the subject of his first writing and directorial debut. His film "Mama's Boy" follows the journey of a young black boy who longs for his absent father but finds his mother is capable of being both mom and dad. You can say that his mother was his everything, his spiritual guilder, his consoler in times of need, and suddenly the lead character in the movie, Morgan leaves his southern town and goes off to the big city for a lucrative job. Morgan's life is about to change with one phone call, the woman he called mom, the woman he looked to for moral support would be diagnosed with cancer and Morgan would soon have to deal with the loss of the one person he had come to count on.
I met up with Michael Gregory (MG) and his business partner Ashley Elizabeth Green (AEG) in Harlem, New York to talk more about the project and the messages the film explores. "Mama's Boy" is produced under the duos production company, Man Plan's God Laughs Inc. and is set in a southern North Carolina town and later New York City. It's fair to say that this duo is about making films that speak to the heart of people, but they also create roles for people that you don't often see on screen. For instance, "Mama's Boy" while tugging at the heart strings, tells a very compelling story of hope, determination, and survival.
KM: Michael, this film after watching the short you created from it seems to be very personal for you.
MG: "Yes, it's extremely personal. It's essentially my story since graduating college and sharing with the world what it means to have a really strong relationship with my mom. I'm a mama's boy at heart so to be able to honor her spirit is a way to really honor single mother's everywhere. They are like superwomen."
KM: You touch on a number of topics in the short, absent fathers, single mothers, things you have experienced in your own life. How has the experiences shaped your creative process?
MG: "My mom is deeply influencing my work anyway. I use her for a lot of inspiration so when I was first inspired to write this piece it came from an Oprah special she had on fatherless sons. Something that really stood out to me is, it's one thing to not have your father in the house and one might feel like they are lacking something but my mother played the role of mom and dad. There was a point in my development that I felt like I was different from other people because I did not have a dad. The film is not able bashing fathers who are not there but highlight to resiliency and drive of single mothers."
KM: Talk me about the process of putting this together and Ashley I want you to get into this too?
MG: "I started this in 2011 and it was very messy and I knew I wanted to write something to get my creative juices flowing. I wasn't acting a lot and I just wanted to share something and writing was a way for me to grieve what was happening with my mother. (Michael's mother eventually lost her battle with cancer.) Later, I met Ashley Elizabeth Green and she was kind of the force behind the piece going from paper to screen.
AEG: "He (Michael) wasn't even going to direct his piece because he was looking for other people to do it and I felt nobody would understand this story of "Mama's Boy" the way that he does. So I pushed him to direct his own piece. I don't recall how I got involved to co-direct but I think it just happened naturally because we think like-minded so it was a natural groove."
KM: I understand that you have big plans for this film. It has down well in some writers labs and you see film festivals in the future?
MG: "About two years ago I submitted the piece to the Sundance Writing Lab and it became a finalist so that let me know that I had something to work with. At this point, we are submitting the final short to a few festivities to see how it does there. We really want to share this labor of love that we created."
AEG: "The reception of the short so far has already been far-reaching because I have had people reach out to me via social media talking about the short film that we just completed. I think people are receptive of we have created because everyone experiences love and loss. So the issues we talk about are reaching and touching people because they can relate."
KM: I would like both of you to sum up "Mama's Boy" in four short adjectives?"
AEG: "Deliciousness, Tenacity, and Hard Work."
MG: "Resiliency, Love, Faith, and Surrender."
What is true about "Mama's Boy" is the message really does have an impact on your life no matter who you are. Personally, my father died of cancer and I only wish that I had more time to get to know him and vice versa. I don't know if anyone is prepared to loss a family member especially a parent but Gregory's film is certainly a good way to cope with loss and along the way learn to deal and live the life you're meant to live.