I was extremely honored to sit down with a handful of other bloggers to talk with the Author Kathryn Stockett (Atlanta resident) of The Help. She was joined by long-time friend and Director Tate Taylor and two of the Cast members Viola Davis who plays Aibileen and Octavia Spencer who plays Minny.
I’m one of those Moms that live under a rock and don’t have time to read. Yes I know I’m terrible but I work full time and have lots of writing that I do each week. But I got to see the movie last week and let me just say, it’s the best one that I’ve seen this year. Being able to laugh and cry in the same movie isn’t something most directors can pull off easily.
The story follows three women that form an unlikely bond while working on a writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. Skeeter (Emma Stone), an Ole Miss grad that is trying to get a job as a writer instead of settling down like a good little southern girl like her friends. She lands a job writing Miss Myrna cleaning column that she asks Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), her best friend’s maid for help. Aibileen has been a maid her whole life, raising 17 of her employer’s children and her own so.
Viola Davis brings an entirely new level of amazing acting as her character Aibileen cares for little Ma Mobley reassuring her that You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important. Skeeter sees that there is an amazing story to be told from the help’s perspective so she asks Abileen to help tell her story.
Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) brings comic relief to a film that pulls at your heartstrings. She works for Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) a prominent member of Jackson that believes all the homes in Mississippi need to have bathrooms outside for the “people of color.” The ensemble tells such an amazing story. That you need to go see and experience for yourself. I don’t want to ruin it all for you.
I sat down with Director Tate Taylor and Viola Davis for the first part of our interview. One of the best things that I took from this interview was something Viola Davis said, “You are only as good as your secrets.” It made me rethink a lot of things. Here is the video from the first part of the interview.
This is the second half of the interview where we sat down with Kathryn Stockett the author and Octavia Spencer who plays Minny.
The interview was too good not to share the whole thing, and as long as it was I’d be transcribing until next week. Hope you enjoyed it.
