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So that's a regret you have now?

Christine: I think so. If she said "shoot" instead, would it change the essence of the moment at all? Not really. So in hindsight those are kind of the things that we're learning along the way. As for her sleeping with the guy, I really wanted to show situations that could occur in real life. But in the future, I'd like to stay away from that and focus on stories that wouldn't show people having relationships out of wedlock, because I worry about the message we're sending to younger kids. But that was our first film. And we learned a lot about what we would and wouldn't do in the future.

Would you call yourselves black filmmakers, or filmmakers who happen to be black?

Christine: I would say the latter, but I wouldn't be ashamed to identify myself as a black filmmaker because of the kind of stories that we like to tell stem from that point of view.

What's the definition of a "black movie"?

Michael: I think it's loosely defined, and Christine and I have gone back and forth with this. But I think the best definition of a black movie is a movie that has been directed or created by a black filmmaker.

Christine: Or a film that has been made by a black filmmaker, and that could be an all white movie. But if it's told from the perspective of the black director, it has a sensibility from that particular person. So even some films with all black people, I don't know that we would necessarily call that a black movie.

Movies like Soul Plane and White Chicks are so crass and full of racial stereotypes. Do those types of "black movies" embarrass you as black filmmakers?

Christine: I can't say that I'm any more embarrassed than, say, a white person would be by Dumb and Dumber. If you just think of it as entertainment, some people are entertained by White Chicks and Soul Plane. Some people are not. Some people are offended. I don't even comment on those films because those are studio productions that are made to make the most money. And as independent filmmakers, that's not our business motto. We don't make movies to make money. We look at it from an artistic perspective, and filmmaking, to me, is just an extension of our artistic desires.

Michael: But we do make movies with a niche audience in mind. And if we can reach our niche audience, I believe the movie will make money. I don't want to give the impression that we just make movies for a hobby. This is a business too.

When whites make movies, I don't know that they're thinking, Hey, I want to make a movie that only appeals to whites. When you make a movie, do you want it to only appeal to blacks, or across ethnic divides?

Christine: You always hope to have that crossover appeal because, just like with music, crossover is where the money is. But for us, if we can get our niche audience first and foremost, we're okay. And if we have an additional audience on top of that, that's just gravy.

Michael: And like good music, I think good storytelling will find a wider audience despite making it for a specific audience. I think people like to see good movies regardless of what type of cast you have.

Christine: When I go to the theater, I don't think, I'm going to a white movie. I'm just going to a movie. I don't make that distinction. But I don't think the reverse is true. I don't think many white people go to movies that are primarily black cast. They think of it as a "black movie" as opposed to just a movie, unless you have your big, mega major stars in it …

Like Ray? A lot of white people have seen that.

Christine: That movie was not made for a black audience. That was made for the mass audience. You can tell by where it's marketed. When you see billboards for Ray in Beverly Hills, that's the audience that they made it for. You don't see billboards for Barbershop in Beverly Hills. That's how you can gauge what the audience for that film is. I guess the assumption is you would naturally get the black audience as well because this is a black content movie.

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