This week, Revry interviewed the director of the film Leave it on the Floor. The film, set in Los Angeles in 2011, highlights and celebrates what is known as ball culture. The director, Sheldon Larry, discussed the film in celebration of its rerelease to Revry, and calls it an “act of love to so many people.” The director explains that producing the film took a lot of hard work from everyone involved, especially since it was created with such a small budget. Larry notes that many of the people he worked with were at the beginning of their careers, and is still friends with them as it was such a positive experience.
Director and Producer of Leave it on the Floor, Sheldon Larry worked @BBC http://t.co/pUFP68WV4s pic.twitter.com/lUnXpJrA8T
— Gay Essential (@GayEssential) October 6, 2015
At one point in the interview, he uses the term “in the trenches” when referring to harder parts of the filmmaking process with this particular film and explained how that bonded them. He mentions that they have each had interesting careers, like Ephraim Sykes who was in the musical Hamilton and will soon be playing Michael Jackson in an upcoming musical.
JUST IN: EPHRAIM SYKES of @ainttooproudmusical & @nbchairspraylive fame (@ephsykes) has been cast as MICHAEL JACKSON in “MJ”
THE MUSICAL inspired by the life of Michael Jackson. Previews begin in July 2020. Congrats, Brother! .✊???????? #broadwayblack ????: little fang photo pic.twitter.com/RTUGWTxApc— BROADWAY BLACK! (@BroadwayBlack) November 21, 2019
When asked about how the film has paved the way for other films or projects, Larry says he felt connected to the ball community after the documentary Paris is Burning debuted, which examines the LGBT subculture typically including young African American or Latin America residing in New York, typically who are also drag queens. He says that though he does not want to take credit for the inspiration of Ryan Murphy’s Pose, he does feel that he might have had a little bit to do with that inspiration, especially since there were many of the castmates in that film as well. To watch the film and the interview, you can visit Revry
