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At just 14 years old, Black-ish star Marsai Martin is the epitome of black girl magic.
Unapologetically natural and confident, Marsai is the youngest executive producer in Hollywood. Yes, you read that correctly! Not only is she the star of the highly anticipated film Little, she's also the executive producer. Talk about boss moves!
Related: Marsai Martin Is Proof That We're Never Too Old Or Too Young To Pursue Our Wildest Dreams
Thursday night (April 4), hundreds of movie lovers gathered at Regal in Atlantic Station for the blue carpet premiere of Little. Filmed in Atlanta, the film follows the life of an overbearing tech mogul Jordan Sanders (Regina Hall). Scorned by her catastrophic childhood, Jordan has a larger than life attitude. So much so, she treats everyone including her assistant, April (Issa Rae), like trash. Jordan's life gets turned upside down when a spell turns her back into the person she tries so hard to forget -- her 13-year-old self. Now, younger Jordan (Marsai Martin) must depend on the very person she treated poorly to help her navigate life as a tween.
To walk the evening's blue carpet were Marsai Martin, Issa Rae, Regina Hall, Will Packer, Little director Tina Gordon, Star's Luke James, Stranger Things' Caleb McLaughlin, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, V-103 host Jade Novah, and many more.
On the carpet, xoNecole caught up with Marsai to find out what it was like working with such beautiful, talented black women:
"It was amazing! I worked with Gina on 'Black-ish,' so we go way back. It was more of a family reunion with her and most of the people on the crew. But, with Issa, I was actually nervous. I was nervous because she's actually a creator herself. So, I was like do you like the script? But, when I started working with her the chemistry was there, and she's so chill and easy to work with."
Marsai and Issa's chemistry on-screen is simply undeniable! Together, they resemble the female version of Shawn and Marlon Wayans.
Brighter than Issa's smile was the glacier sitting gracefully on her ring finger. From the success of her hit HBO show, Insecure, to landing a lead role in the upcoming film The Photograph, it's safe to say Issa is having what I like to a call a "Cardi B year".
Issa wasn't the only lady basking in her black girl magic. While most children are concerned about recess and cartoons, Marsai had her eyes on something bigger. She noticed the lack of black characters in the 1988 film Big and thought why not do a modern version, but with a majority black cast. She pitched her idea to producer Will Packer and the rest was history. Will loved the idea so much he enlisted the help of an all-black female crew to bring Marsai's vision to the big screen.
To reintegrate the importance of a black woman's perspective in Hollywood Will told xoNecole:
"First of all, it hasn't been told enough. We don't have enough black female storytellers telling their story. So, for me to be able to empower somebody like a Tina Gordon…when you think about black female directors, there are very few, and especially very few in the comedy space. So, I'm just proud to be able to left one up."
Uplifting and funny, Little touches on themes of self-empowerment, personal evolution, bullying, and the importance of encouraging those around you. Director Tina Gordon explained to xoNecole why the theme of being authentic really resonated with her:
"People say it as something simple, but a lot of things can get in the way of you being your authentic self. So, the idea of people saying you can't do this or no one has ever done that before—in the case of Marsai. Little negative things that people say along the way sometimes changes who we really are. So, the movie just asks you to take a moment and think about if you've adjusted anything in yourself because of something someone said negatively about you and get back to being authentic."
Do your inner child a favor and be sure to catch Little in theaters everywhere April 12.
Check out some of our favorite celebs that showed up and showed out at the ATL screening by clicking through the gallery below.
Featured image by Getty Images
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