Comedian Mike Epps, Las Vegas Sun, June 11, 2004

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Movie star Epps won’t shun comedy roots Lisa Ferguson Friday, June 11, 2004 | 9:50 a.m. Lisa Ferguson's Laugh Lines column appears Fridays. Her Sun Lite Column appears Mondays. Reach her at lmsferguson@yahoo.com. In chatting with Mike Epps, one senses that he knows he's on the verge of becoming a household name. But you won't catch the comedian-turned-actor embracing his next-big-thing status -- at least not yet. Check back in with him next year, when the updated, big-screen version of the television classic "The Honeymooners" is slated to hit theaters. Epps is set to co-star as bumbling Ed Norton, opposite comedic heavyweight Cedric the Entertainer's portrayal of bus driver Ralph Kramden. Of the film's potential to bring him big-time fame, Epps -- who headlines a pair of stand-up shows tonight and Saturday at the Las Vegas Hilton -- figures, "Hey, it's a possibility that it could happen." In the meantime, he says, "I'm just gonna look at this as a great opportunity." The humility may be due in part to the fact that 33-year-old Epps claims he's "still shocked a little bit" to have been cast in "The Honeymooners," on which production is to begin later this summer. He says he will also have a hand in producing the movie. "I wanna give fans what they're used to," he explained during a recent call from his car while driving on Los Angeles' Wilshire Boulevard. "I wanna give them a few of Ed Norton's little trinkets and some of his persona, to give back to the audience that's really looking forward to that. And I'm looking to just have a good time with it. It's gonna be different" than Art Carney's portrayal on the TV series, he assures, "because it's me doing it, and Ed Norton can't be copycatted." Nevertheless, he's been preparing for the role by viewing old episodes. "I'm watching endless copies of tapes. I just went and bought a hundred episodes of 'The Honeymooners' the other day. I wake up to it and fall asleep on it." Epps -- who previously co-starred alongside rapper/actor Ice Cube in "Next Friday" and its sequel "Friday After Next," as well as "All About the Benjamins" (which Epps also co-executive produced); "How High"; "The Fighting Temptations" with Cuba Gooding Jr.; and as the voice of Sonny in "Dr. Doolittle 2" -- is also anticipating the release of his next film, "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," in September. Working last year on the flick -- the sequel to 2002's "Resident Evil" -- was "great," he says. "Any man's dream was to be on that set right there because they had professional stuntmen, explosions." Not a bad gig for a guy who's life epitomizes the classic rags-to-riches tale. A native of working-class Gary, Ind., Epps served a short stint in prison for committing a crime he's reluctant to discuss at length ("I wanted to make a little fast money"). Though he'd recognized that comedy "was in me before then," he says it wasn't until his stay in the big house that he discovered his professional calling. "I was funny -- that's what saved me. That's when I knew I was a comedian because I had to be funny in that situation. I could mimic the warden in front of all the inmates and they would laugh. I knew how to act like all the guards." In his early 20s, Epps moved to New York and began his career in earnest. In the mid-'90s he performed on the "Def Comedy Jam" tour and appeared in a pair of HBO's "Def Comedy Jam" specials. When Hollywood beckoned, Epps moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and has since formed his own production company. "Being behind the scenes is real fun. It's real interesting because you get to put in work on another area of the film ... making some right choices and decisions on the creative end of it outside of being an actor in the movie," he says, "and I think what makes a great actor or performer is someone who knows the behind-the-scenes" process. In the works for his company are "a few projects," including a documentary titled "Cold Situations" that details "how I made it in the business ... I was a kid in the ghetto that had hidden talent, you know what I mean? That's what the documentary is about -- about wasted talent," he explains. "You know, people in the 'hood, the neighborhood that I grew up in, so much talent has been wasted ... and I was fortunate enough to get out if it, and I want people to see in this film that, hey, you don't have to be in the neighborhood, sit around broke with no money and not be nothin' ... I'm a prime example of going from nothin' to somethin'. You know, I don't have a lot; I'm not Will Smith but, hey, I'm Mike Epps. I've got a little somethin' going." That includes his comedy career, which he vows not to abandon no matter how his big-screen stardom transpires. Epps makes certain to take the stage often and perform his act, in which he riffs on "everybody" from President Bush to characters from his old neighborhood. "I stay on top of my stand-up game, and any true comedian, they'll realize you've gotta keep working; you've gotta stay in the comedy clubs; you've gotta stay working on your jokes in order for you to be funny and spontaneous in movies -- bottom line," he says. "In this business if you're scared, you're dead, and a lot of comedians get scared to go out on the road and work on their craft. But they've gotta understand that's what got them in the business, and that's what's always gonna be there for them if they cherish it and take care of it." Out for laughs Loyal readers of Laugh Lines (bless you, people) who tuned into this week's installments of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" likely recognized a few comedians who have been profiled in this space, including Kathleen Madigan, Monty Hoffman and Alonzo Bodden. A handful of others featured on the shows -- Ant, Todd Glass, Pablo Francisco, Will Durst, Louis Ramey and John Heffron among them -- have received honorable mentions in this column and/or have graced local stages. Next up is Jimmy Dore, who plays June 22 through June 27 at The Improv at Harrah's; and Tammy Pescatelli, who is set to headline July 6 through July 10 at Palace Station's Laugh Trax. Both were seen on Tuesday night's "Standing" episode. It's a good time to be Larry The Cable Guy. The comic, who has performed in Vegas showrooms and comedy clubs, is celebrating the success of "Lord, I Apologize," his major-label debut CD, which this week topped Billboard's Comedy, Country Catalog Albums and Pop Catalog Albums charts. Later this summer he'll co-star with Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall on "Blue Collar TV," a sketch-comedy show set to premiere in August on The WB. "The King of Queens" star Kevin James -- a frequent headliner at The Mirage -- has been tapped to voice a bovine named Otis in the forthcoming computer-animated flick "The Barnyard." Written, produced and directed by Steve Oedekerk of "Ace Ventura" and "Bruce Almighty" fame, the story follows the human-esque antics of a bunch of barnyard inhabitants when the farmer isn't around. Meanwhile, James is also working on the film "Last First Kiss." archive