Every Day I'm Hustling Page 22

  Yes, I was very hands-on, but I kept my hands off the men. What’s funny is that as I did the press rounds for the show, a big question was always if it was hard to resist hooking up with these guys. The people asking me sometimes just assumed I hooked up with my employees. Um, no way. Mostly the guys thought of me as Mama Bear, anyway, but a couple of times they would say, “Vivica, you fine as hell.”

  “And I’m still your boss,” I would say. “And I don’t shit where I eat. So back that thing up and keep all of them little eyes and that flirtations that work on them other girls. That ain’t workin’ on the boss lady.”

  I really was the boss. When I walked into that room with my “Hola! Hola! Hola!” these eight strong-willed men snapped to attention. I put $300,000 of my own money into this, and I was looking for investors. So I had to make sure I taught these boys to not be selfish and not waste this opportunity. It had to be a Las Vegas–ready production. I was also going into my own pocket to make sure my girls in the audience had some money for tipping. Hell or high water, I was gonna give them the ultimate girls’ night out. I always referred to the audiences as my guests. If I realized maybe there was a bachelorette party or a birthday girl in the house, I would gift them something from my Vivica Fox clothing line. It wasn’t for the show or cross-promotion. I just wanted to leave the people saying “Wow.”

  Some people working behind the camera didn’t get that. “Hmmph, black stripper show.” I would come into the venue on some nights, and the location would be dirty, or it wouldn’t be decorated.

  “Are you going to have drinks or appetizers for my guests?” I would say. “You’re asking them to come at six-thirty?”

  “Oh, but we don’t want eating on camera.”

  “But you want my people to sit around with nothing?”

  This is the quality I am talking about. I wanted light foods, finger foods. Put up some chicken wings in this bitch. Open up the bar for wine and beer. Girls aren’t big heavy drinkers. A small investment of money and effort would get a huge result.

  The night turned out amazing. “See, this is how show night is supposed to be,” I said. But reality shows, they want stress. They got some stress, but it wasn’t the fun kind they wanted. They were like, “Oooh, stop pissing her off.”

  Because for me, when you have unnecessary stress, it trickles down. If you’re the leader and you’re walking around like a stress case, guess what, your production is going to be a stress case. When everybody is happy and people feel respected, they will bend over backwards and give you the world.

  LESSON NINETEEN

  GO FAR, BUT DON’T FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM

  This Head Chick in Charge is writing to you on the plane back from Indianapolis. We Fox kids just wanted to spend some time with Mom. Part of this next chapter in my life has been realizing that my mother is becoming more fragile and my time with her all the more precious.

  Whenever I walk in that house, the creak of that screen door sends me back in time. I hug Mom, and I’m little Cartwheel Angie again, bursting with energy. The house is immaculate, but it has remained unchanged since I was a little girl. When I sit in the front room where I used to dance, it is easy to look at the dozens of family photos in Mom’s little gold frames and think about all the dreams I had right in this space.

  My siblings all came to the house. When we’re together, it’s interesting how we still play the same roles in our family after all these years. Perhaps the same is true of yours. You play to your strengths or you stick to your habits. In my own family, again and again I see my handsome big brothers, Marvin and Sandy, and my sweet beautiful sister, Sug, playing the same roles. Marvin is still our “Sarge,” ready to take on any heavy lifting for us girls and bring it home with military precision. Sandy is our Sandy, mellow about all things except his fierce love for our mother. I’m the worker bee. If we need something, I can provide. “Okay, now how much is that going to be?” It is my privilege to pay for things, and it’s why I work. There are so many day-to-day things that I cannot be there for, and I embrace moments when I can be a provider for my exceptional, loving family.

  And of course Sug has remained that Mama Bear, seeing to the health of our parents. She is so strong for others, and one of my roles is to tell her to be strong for herself and for the beautiful family she has created on her own. She is a jewel for our family.

  This weekend I told her how I have been reflecting on what she has done for me all these years.

  “It must’ve been hard for you to be so responsible as a kid,” I said.

  She sighed. “Yes, it was,” she said. “I had an old soul at my young age.”

  “Sug, you know I adore you,” I said. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me.”

  “But we had fun, too,” she said. “Do you remember when we went sledding at Dad’s?”

  How could I forget, since I near about broke my neck? Dad was living in Cleveland for a bit, and he took us sledding when we visited him in December. I was doing fine, but then some neighbor girl jumped on my sled. She made the sled go even faster, so when we hit the slope, we were airborne.

  “The sled went one way, and you and that girl went the other!” Sug said, laughing hysterically.

  I was laughing, too, remembering Sug’s face when she ran over to make sure I was okay. Angie couldn’t get hurt on her watch.

  We could have reminisced all day, but there was work to do. Mom was finally letting us update her bathroom for her, but only if we did it ourselves. “I don’t want a bunch of strangers in here,” she said. Thank God Marvin and me are handy.

  My brothers, Sug, and I all drove over to Walmart, and it was just cool to be out with them. I loved flying under the radar in my baseball cap, because to me they’re the stars. I tend to grab their arms for a squeeze while we’re walking, because I get so excited when we’re all together. It’s different from when they visit my world. This is our home.

  They know I love shopping and interior decorating, so there was a lot of teasing. “Okay, Angie, come here and pick the towels.” And, “Ask the expert about this toothbrush holder.” My big line was “We need a pop of color,” so they started saying that constantly through the store. “What’s the pop of color?” For the record, my mother’s pop of color was green.

  Nobody recognized me until we had to go back for an exchange. Let me tell you, then I was Vivica Fox. “Okay, we didn’t need these in silver, honey, but we need some more of that stick-on tile that looks so fabulous. Oh, thank you so much, sweetheart.”

  Marvin and I did the work, listening to some fine music on my phone. I sang along to “She’s a Bad Mama Jama”—my song if there ever was one. Sug worked in the kitchen cooking with Mom, and every now and again good old Sandy would pop his head in to see our progress. “You coming to help or just supervising?” I asked. Marvin and I work well together. He was cutting off the ends of this towel holder, and I told him he was just creating work for himself. “Oh, snap,” he said.

  “Teamwork makes the dream work,” I said.

  It came out really beautiful, and Mom loved it in her Mom way. “That’s very nice,” she said. “I don’t want you doing too much for just me.” My other mission was for me to get her all-new furniture for her living room, but she shot that down. “Angie, don’t waste that money.” Her concession was to let me order her a new mattress. She’s not like me. When I get something new, I want everything new, honey. A new house while I’m at it!

  After all that work, Marvin and I were ready for the reward of good cooking. I looked at Sug helping Mom, and I reflected on our mother, so independent for so many years, feeling vulnerable in this new chapter of her life. Thanks to her and Sug, the table was set with beautiful food, like stuffed flounder and collard greens with ham hocks. And of course, there was the rice I had to eat so much of as a kid in order to stretch the budget. We all sat at the table and joined hands.

  “Mom, do you mind if I say grace?”

  “Of course, Angie.”
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  “Lord, thank You for the food before us, the family beside us, and the love between us. You have given us so many blessings, and we have worked to honor Your gifts. We are grateful You let us be in this moment together. Thank you. In Jesus’s name we pray.”

  I pulled Sug’s and Marvin’s hands closer to me and gave each a kiss on the backs of their hands. I looked at Mom across the table, all of us sitting once more in the house she provided us.

  “Mom,” I said, “I’m really proud of you. Everything we’ve got is because you worked so hard.”

  “You said you would make me proud, Angie,” she said. “And you have. You’ve made me the proudest mother at Breeding Tabernacle.”

  That moment lives in my heart. I keep it because there will be a time she will not be here, and I have to accept that as much as I accept any of my own new chapters. As we grow, we have to make way for Generation Next. Amazing people like my little nephew Myles, Marvin’s son with the megawatt smile. Or his middle son, Chris, a.k.a. Private First Class Fox. I am so proud that he has followed in the military footsteps of his army dad and chose to become a Marine. And I look at Sug’s daughter, Sharday, a gorgeous replica of my sweet sister. I see such promise in these children and young adults, and it is a joy and honor to pass on to them the lessons that I have learned in life.

  I am still Angie from Indianapolis, Indiana, and I am still trying to make my mom proud. I have told you to keep thinking of new goals, and it’s only fair that I share mine. The new note to put in my Bible.

  I want to be an advocate for women, and anyone who gets counted out. As a businesswoman, I would like my hair line to go more international and continue to reach a more diverse base of customers. I want to produce more and more projects that provide opportunities for artists to make their dreams come true. I want to grow as an actress, and I think working opposite Denzel Washington or Samuel L. Jackson would challenge me to a great performance. Sam Jackson and I did Kill Bill together, but his part was small. In fact, he wrote it himself. “There ain’t gonna be six fine women in a movie with Quentin Tarantino and I don’t have a part,” he told me.

  When he was on the set, I point-blank asked him how in the world he had time to do so many films.

  “Viv, it’s because I do the work,” he said. “I’m an actor. Everybody’s so worried about being a star and being famous, and I do the work. And so do you.”

  I’m so blessed to be doing the work. I am proud that my films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide. I just finished playing the President of the United States in a science fiction film called Crossbreed. I was talking to a reporter about it, and she asked if I realized I was making history.

  “For doing a sci-fi movie?”

  “No,” she said. “You’re the first African American woman to play the president in a film.”

  The director, Brandon Slagle, told The Hollywood Reporter I was chosen because they needed “someone who could light up a room but also has a commanding presence,” a.k.a. the Head Chick in Charge. I’m finally getting the roles I’ve wanted to play.

  I used to make resolutions. Now I plant seeds. I could never have predicted what job was going to lead to another. I believe me being politically involved and getting out there and standing up for my beliefs led to me playing the President of the United States. Now I plant seeds by doing independent films with young talent and young directors, who later can reward me with bigger and better roles. They will remember that I showed up and supported them. If I believe in the work and in the vision of the director, I take a pay cut and I get them exposure. And I plant that seed.

  As I worked on this book, I realized that I wasn’t just sewing these seeds for me. I think about the women I came up with: Halle, Angela, Latifah, Jada. And the women who planted the seeds to make our dreams possible: Diahann Carroll, Ruby Dee, Lena Horne. But the breakthrough for me was to see that now we have these leading ladies breaking through as producers: Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Regina King—all incredibly talented women who are making things possible. Head Chicks in Charge. We always knew we had it in us. They used to tell us, “African American women in leading roles won’t get ratings. A black woman can’t lead a movie, and black people don’t sell overseas.” Really? Because people across the waters seem to want to see how we dress, how we dance, how we sing …

  I stuck to it, just like I want you to stick to it. I am so excited to hear about all the wonderful things you are going to do. Please keep me posted on your progress and consider me a friend and a cheerleader.

  I want to leave you with the promise I give to all the people I care about. I’m blessed to be your favorite sister girl. I may go far, but I will never leave you.

  Hugs and kisses,

  Yes, that’s me in plaid, hanging in my driveway with my neighbor Ejuan. She lived right behind me.

  Mugging for the camera with my cousin Dana (left) and her little brother, Devon.

  After church in front of my childhood home in Indy. I’m fifteen and holding my beloved nephew Devon (my brother Sandy’s son). Mom is looking on in white, while Sugie stands so beautiful next to her late husband, Goldie.

  Mom standing by my brother Marvin and me. The woman in yellow is my mother’s best friend, the late Fannie Dodd.

  An early modeling shot. I was so determined.

  Visiting from California at nineteen! Back with Ejuan and probably thinking I’m all that.

  I loved working with Will Smith on Independence Day. I was so lucky to have a friend beside me for my big break.

  With friends at the Set It Off after-party.

  With my Why Do Fools Fall in Love costar Lela Rochon Fuqua.

  Sharing a laugh with (from left) the late Dick Gregory, Rep. Maxine Waters, and Rep. John Conyers, who introduced me to the world of politics.

  My Booty Call crew (from left): Tommy Davidson; our late director, Jeff Pollack; Jamie Foxx; and Tamala Jones.

  Girls’ day with Tichina Arnold, Tamala Jones, Elise Neal, and Tasha Smith.

  With the legendary Sidney Poitier.

  The Fox kids (from left): Marvin, Sug, Sandy, and me, showing love to Mom.

  With my cutie-pie godson Christian after my L.A. show Two Can Play That Game: The Stageplay.

  My dad and his former wife Arlena at my wedding.

  My business partner Lita Richardson and me on the Kill Bill set.

  With my amazing Kill Bill director, Quentin Tarantino. PHOTO BY ALBERT L. ORTEGA

  On the set of Lifetime’s Missing with my costar Louis Ferreira.

  Curtis and me after we came out as a couple at the VMAs. That’s my wingwoman Lita on the right, along with Terry Christanio, who introduced me to Curtis.

  Lita and me in my trailer as we co-produced my comedy The Salon in Baltimore. I was so skinny from heartbreak over Curtis. And no, I don’t know what was so special about that damn boot.

  Driving back to the Baltimore set of The Salon with Lita after shooting the cover of Jet. I barely made it through the shoot because I was so exhausted from crying my eyes out over Curtis. I’d never cried so much over someone.

  Carl Craig was a co-producer on The Salon.

  With Lita and Terry Christanio on the left at the Salon party.

  At the wrap party for The Salon.

  Behind the scenes for a shoot for my hair collection. Things were starting to look up!

  Campaigning in Ohio with gorgeous model Liya Kebede for President Barack Obama two days before the 2012 election.

  I stopped in to say hi at a preschool while in Trinidad for Carnival.

  Chilling on the Today show with Chrissy Teigen and her pretty self.

  Bringing a Versace look for Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live.

  Working that phone backstage for Independence Day: Resurgence at CinemaCon in Vegas.

  Honoring our Independence Day director, Roland Emmerich, as he got his star on the Walk of Fame. PHOTO BY JEFFREY MAYER

  Visiting Wendy Williams with the sexy squad
of Vivica’s Black Magic. PHOTO BY BJ COLEMAN

  Back at Wendy with Columbus Short. PHOTO BY BJ COLEMAN

  Cookie and Candace on the set of Empire. I adore my TV sister Taraji P. Henson. PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX

  In Jenny Packham at President Obama’s last White House Correspondents’ Dinner. I got that dress on sale for fifty percent off and I’m looking like a million dollars! You know I love a deal. PHOTO BY BJ COLEMAN

  THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS (AND BEAUTY SECRETS!)

    1.  Downy fabric softener. You’re gonna laugh, but I just love the smell. When I travel, I fill up a spray bottle with Downy, and I mist it on the bed and linens in my hotel room. It just reminds me of home.

    2.  Wolford underwear. I am a G-string type of girl, and Wolford is my go-to. They fit like a second skin, with edges that never show, so I can wear them on the red carpet. Bonus: They’re nice and light, and you don’t feel like you’re gonna get a damn yeast infection from them.