Loretta Devine talks new movie A Snowy Day in Oakland

A Snowy Day in Oakland explores meaningful themes including navigating relationships and family, Entrepreneurship, as well as the importance of exploring mental health issues within the black community 

 A beautiful psychologist from San Francisco decides to end a stalled romance with her high-profile psychiatrist boyfriend and business partner. She moves on with her life by opening her own practice in a vacant office space in the middle of a small commercial block located across the bay in Oakland, turning the predominantly African American and psychologically ignored neighborhood on its emotional ear. 

I had the opportunity to speak with Loretta Devine about the movie and her role as Jeanette, the funny, nosey, and comedic mail person.  

Cox: Loretta Divine, it’s a pleasure to have you here today to speak about A Snowy Day in Oakland. First off, what drew you to the movie?
Loretta Devine: It was all because of the creator Kim Bass. She called me and told me to come to do this movie. And I just loved the character, Jeanette.

Cox: Speaking of Jeanette, what do you love about playing here?
Devine: I love that she is totally different from me. She’s broad, loud, and nosey. She isn’t lazy, but she’s in everyone’s business so much sometimes she isn’t doing her work. You see her coming to the barbershop, leaving most of the mail in the truck, and only bringing in a few pieces. People thought she was crazy because she would bring up people they didn’t know, and that’s because she knew everyone’s business.
I loved that I got to bring this energy with Jeanette.

Cox: The movie has such a fantastic ensemble. What were some of the best parts of filming this movie?
Devine: Some of the best parts started with the cast and behind-the-scenes. We had those moments in the makeup room and getting into costumes. The movie just so enthralled everyone. It’s unusual for all of us to be doing something so different, like a film like this, based on our everyday work.
Another thing I liked was we got to shoot in Los Angeles rather than the usual places like Atlanta for films like this. I loved shooting at home and getting a chance to go home in the evenings. That was so fabulous to me.
I must thank Kim Bass for this experience; she is such a joy. We all just gave 100% of ourselves to this movie.

Cox: You all enjoyed it so much; why would we, as viewers? Why should we watch it?
Devine: It’s such a well-written script with comedy and drama. It’s a great date night movie because you will have a lot to talk about afterward. Some essential topics touched on in the film are great for conversation, such as owning your own business and therapy. Therapy is a topic of discussion that is stigmatized. This movie shows how therapy can be beneficial for everyone. And you must do more than just go to one session and be done. You have to do it more than once.

Cox: I love that you all are bringing awareness to the benefits and stigmas that surround therapy.
Devine: I mean, it’s something that needs to be talked about. Kim Bass felt it needed to be something we centered around, so she wrote it into the script.

A Snowy Day in Oakland is now in theaters