Shaft - Interview with Director and Stars!!

Shaft is back on the big screen - but this time around we have a triple threat to contend with!

Shaft is a new  action comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Kenya Barris and Alex Barnow. The film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, and Richard Roundtree. It is the fifth film in the Shaft film series and a sequel to the 2000 film with the same title. 

The movie centers around John "JJ" Shaft Jr. (Jessie Usher) an FBI agent and a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT. After his best friend dies under suspicious circumstances, he turns to his estranged father - the legendary John Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson) - to uncover the truth. Father and son must navigate the Harlem underworld to solve the crime. Along the way they team up with the first generation John Shaft (Richard Roundtree).

Samuel L. Jackson is still as cool as a cucumber and this is the actor’s second go-round as John Shaft. The film is more comedic than previous films in the series, which began with the classic 1971 movie starring Richard Roundtree as the badass private eye. 

Roundtree, who starred in three “Shaft” flicks in the ’70s plus a 1973 TV show based on the character, plays his original role in the new film as the family patriarch — giving the movie three generations of Shafts working to solve the case.

SHAFT opens across North America on June 14th.

I had the opportunity to speak with all three SHAFT’s ( Sam Jackson, Jessie T Usher and Richard Roundtree in Harlem about the film.

I also spoke with co-stars Regina Hall, Alexandra Sharp and director Tim Story. You can watch all of the interviews below: