Source: Tubi / Tubi
Hailey Kilgore goes from a rugged crime family protege to a delicate but devious songbird in Cinnamon. The Tubi film from Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. sees the actress who brought “Jukebox” to life drop her cold demeanor and adopt a softer side as Jodi Jackson.
The gas station attendant with dreams of stardom is less hostile and more hopeful. She also has a different style from the crisp polos and steel-toed boots the Queens teenager favors in Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
“I love filming Power. It’s so much fun. Juke is so different from me. So it’s so fun to do that,” said Kilgore.
She was eager to ease into another pace full of less suspicious glances and more cheerful smiles.
“I was so excited to be able to step into someone else’s shoes for a little, to take the timbs off and step into something a little bit nicer,” said Kilgore. She loved rocking “a diva ponytail” in the makeshift studio where Jodi reached for her goals.
Performing without financial backing can seem like a lost cause, and at one point in Cinnamon, Jodi admits that she has been ringing up condoms and pecan pies for so long that she has almost forgotten who she is, but the artist is alive inside of her.
“When she sings, that is when she is the most fulfilled and feels the most enlightened, and I can relate to that,” Kilgore continued. The movie is an ode to the Blaxploitation flicks and touches on how sometimes you have to nab your own version of justice or tip the scales to escape your situation.
“I think that a lot of people have so many goals and so many dreams, especially Black women,” said Kilgore. “And we end up stuck having to do so much and fight so hard.”
Eddie, her love interest in the film, played by David Iacono, is devoted to ensuring Jodi doesn’t fight alone. Kilgore appreciated their struggle and love when she read the project for the first time. “I’m a sucker for romance,” she said. “It’s nice to have a man fight for me and be so invested in me.”
“When I read it in the script, it hit for sure,” she added.
The young lovers come up against a series of cowboy hat-rocking obstacles including Mama, played by Pam Grier, a hero of Kilgore’s. “It was so much fun. Just getting to know her. She carries this light,” said Kilgore excitedly. “I can’t even put into words how beautiful her energy is.”
Their characters clash on screen, but when the cameras were down Grier was supportive and welcoming to Kilgore. Grier lovingly referred to the rising star as her “daughter” in an interview with HelloBeautiful.
“It makes such a difference on set,” Kilgore continued. “I love laughing with her. I loved learning from her. It was truly a gift.”
Watch Kilgore and Grier display their gifts in Cinnamon on Tubi starting June 23.
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