By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Though well known for her comedic roles, over the last couple of years Tiffany Haddish has also been expanding her profile into other areas. Last Friday her first entry into science-fiction opened in theaters as she’s appearing in “Landscape With Invisible Hand.” Haddish acknowledged to Yahoo Entertainment that she had never taken any sci-fi roles, but joked that maybe she did have experience with aliens.
“I do believe in aliens to a certain extent,” Haddish said last week. “I’m pretty sure I work with some. But I do believe in them. … They’re in Hollywood, New York, Alabama, Atlanta. All of Georgia… Particularly in Peachtree, Ga. I think that’s where they’re really at. Texas. They’re everywhere. I think they mating with us, too. I think they mating with humans. And that’s why some of these kids are so tall. You know, 10 years old, 5-foot-6. It’s like, come on, you’re 10.”
She had her Yahoo interview before July’s widely watched Congressional hearings on UAPs and UFOs that set social media abuzz and left many seeing the testimony as proof that aliens exist. it also occurred before the writers and actors strikes that have shut down Hollywood production. “Landscape with Invisible Hand” is written and directed by Cory Finley (“Thoroughbreds”) and based on M.T. Anderson’s 2017 novel of the same name, Landscape follows a teen artist (Asante Blackk) in a not-so-distant future of 2037. A race of extraterrestrials known as the Vuvv have taken over Earth and its financial and technological systems, leaving most humans in poverty. Haddish plays Blackk’s mother, an unemployed lawyer who is forced to marry a Vuvv because of her son’s misdeeds.
“It’s my first time sleeping with an alien,” Haddish added. “And my first time taking a remote control from an alien. But I might’ve done it before and not known it.”
The film was greeted warmly at January’s Sundance Film Festival. This role continues for Haddish a career shift, though she came to fame as both a stand-up comedian and an actress appearing in such productions as “Girls Trip,” “The Last O.G.,” “The Afterparty” and last month’s “Haunted Mansion.”
The films though that she cites as indicative of the changes continued with “Landscape” are the 2019 mob drama “The Kitchen” and her 2021 dramedy “Here Today” alongside Billy Crystal. “The industry has been very welcoming to that,” Haddish continued.. “I’ve done a few movies where I’m dramatical. … If you pay attention to my body of work, I’m not always doing the same thing, that’s for sure. You know, I’m just showing different layers of Tiffany Haddish, and there’s a lot of different layers to me.” She’s also expanded into other areas of the entertainment business, serving as an executive producer on Landscape alongside Brad Pitt, whose Plan B Productions helped make the film. However she didn’t get the opportunity to work alongside him. “He liked the script just like I liked the script. He put his company, his team in place, and they did a great job. We worked very well together. But you know, maybe me and Brad will get on another one together.”
Among future roles, Haddish is set to play Olympic track star Florence Griffith Joyner in a biopic. But her portrayal of “Mystery Girl,” based on the Dark Horse Comics release of the same name, is one she’s particularly excited about. “It’s about this Black female who can see all the things that you have done, and she knows what you’re gonna do,” Haddish explained “And she can also receive information from like the internet and stuff. She’s like wireless, so she knows what’s up.” Unfortunately though, things seem to have been delayed. The original project, which had her in the lead role and McG (“Charlie’s Angels,” “Terminator Salvation”) directing for a proposed Netflix release was supposed to have been released last year. With everything now quiet due to the strikes, the future of that project is unknown.
But “Landscape With Invisible Hand” is currently showing in theaters, with a trailer also available online.