Who Better Than You?

1

You Gon’ Die Tonight!

Expecting the Unexpected Is Essential

Success is a bottom-line business. You are either producing or you’re not. My job is to produce. But even if you don’t work in the movie industry, if you want to reach the top of your game you will have to make things happen. That means solving all types of problems. Of course, problem-solving is less about finding ways to overcome adversity than it is about dealing with the variables that life constantly throws at you. Knowing what’s coming and being prepared to deal with it is one thing. But it’s the unknown that truly tests your resolve. Fair or not, you’ll be judged by how you handle uncertainty.

Kevin Hart is my very good friend. In many ways our career trajectories parallel each other. Since connecting, we’ve found a way to work together at almost every stage of our professional lives. Kevin is a lovely, giving human who is loyal to a fault to those closest to him. Kevin is also a diabolical rascal spawn of Satan who almost ended my career just as it was starting to really take off.

I first worked with him on Think Like a Man, which opened number one at the box office and signaled to Hollywood that Kevin Hart was ready to break out. Ride Along was our next film together and the stakes were high. Where Think Like a Man was an ensemble comedy, Ride Along was a clear two-hander with Kev being the sole comedic driver opposite OG legend and consummate straight man Ice Cube. This was a chance to show that Think Like a Man wasn’t a fluke and that Kevin really was a box-office draw. Also the Ride Along budget was more than twice that of Think Like a Man, so of course that brought added pressure. This movie was a big deal and a huge opportunity. All eyes were on us—both of us—to see if we could deliver at this level.

We were a couple weeks into shooting and things were going well. Kev and Cube had amazing chemistry, and the early scenes we shot were hilarious. Kev called me to his trailer one day at wrap and casually informed me that he had an upcoming show to do out of town the following Friday night.

“Well, we shoot next Friday, Kev,” I said simply.

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you now. I just need to wrap early so I can make the show.”

I sighed that irritated sigh you give when one of your kids asks, “How much did that vase cost that used to sit on the shelf in the living room?”

I quickly pulled out the schedule so I could see what it would take to wrap early. That’s when I realized the following Friday was the absolute worst day for Kev to have a show. Not because of what we were shooting Friday but because we had a rare Saturday shoot the next day. And not just any scene but a crucial scene in the movie where his character gets tricked by Ice Cube, which leads to a reveal of Cube’s character’s intentions that the whole plot centered on. Also, as fate would have it, we were shooting at a unique location in a big Atlanta marketplace that was very difficult to secure and was only available on this one particular Saturday. It had been a nightmare to get the location, and we had spent a significant portion of our budget on site fees, production design, and so on to make it happen. We had to shoot that scene. On that day. At that location. Caught up in the throes of production, I had forgotten that scene was the following Saturday, but something told me Kev had not. I looked up from the schedule and stared at him.

“Dude, you know we shoot next Saturday.”

“Do we?” Genuine dismay.

“Bruh, for such a good actor you’re a bad actor.”

“Okay, maybe I saw that Saturday shoot, but it’s fine. I’ll fly out Friday and come right back after the show.”

“Dude. You are killing me.” Pure exasperation. “That’s way too risky. This is a big scene. Too many things can go wrong. You gotta reschedule the show.”

Kevin Hart replied with two words: “I can’t.”

The tone of his voice was a mix of gravely serious and apologetic. It told me this was non-negotiable for some reason. This was going to be a problem. Now, to be fair, I am pretty good at solving problems. It’s kind of my job. So, when I did the mental calculation I figured that, while less than ideal, he could fly down to wherever his little laugh-laugh gig was happening, sleep on the plane, and be ready for work the following day. I was more annoyed by the fact that Kev didn’t mention this to me sooner. Because I’m his go-to guy who always manages to figure things out, he waited until a week before to spring this on me so I would have no choice but to work it out. He could see the frustration on my face.

“Look, Pack, you know I don’t ask you for much . . .”

Pause. Whenever somebody says they don’t ask for much, they are lying. That’s the hallmark of somebody that asks for shit all the time. Kev is no exception.

“. . . but, this is the biggest show of my life. I’m taping my new comedy special next Friday night at Madison Square Garden!”

[Narrator: So you know the scene in a movie where everything freezes and time stands still? Well, that’s what happened next, except the only thing that stood still was Will. Will froze in that moment.]

“Did you hear what I said?” Kev asked.

“You’re filming a comedy special? In New York?! In between two of our shooting days?! On the biggest movie of our careers?! And you’re just now telling me?!” I exploded.

“You know I don’t ask you for much,” he repeated.

It took everything I had not to jump on this man and choke him in his own trailer.

Before we continue, I would like to explain that for the most part I resist using foul language and expletives in this book. However, it would be impossible for you to understand the internal dynamics of my relationship with Mr. Hart if I didn’t make it clear that on that day I dropped enough bleeps and bombs to make Samuel L. Jackson proud.

“Pack, it’ll be fine. If you can just figure out how to wrap a little early on Friday, then we’ll take a jet and fly to New York that night, then turn right around, and be back on set the next morning.”

We? Did he just say we?

He continued, “This is a big night for me. I want you and Tim to be there. I’ve got room on the jet. You can even bring the wives. Plus, that way you’ll be there so you can see to it yourself that everything goes according to plan.”

This guy is good. He knew by offering to fly director Tim Story and I up with him I would feel more comfortable. He knew I’d take solace in the fact that I would be there to personally ensure he got back on time. And he even threw in that we could bring our wives. I told you, he’s good. So is the devil.

The fateful Friday arrived, and we wrapped filming early according to plan. Tim and I jumped on the jet with Kev and our wives, Heather and Vicky. Everyone was in a great mood. Excited to see our guy rock MSG on his big night. Kev did not disappoint.

We landed in New York without event, and the show was fantastic. His performance was spectacular, and everyone was there. All the New York celebs—from Jay-Z to Seinfeld and Dave Chappelle to J.Lo—showed up for Kev. And they loved it. We had great seats in the second row, and it was incredible to watch a master perform at the top of his game in the same venue where Mike put up a double nickel, Ali defeated Frazier, and Jadakiss destroyed the entire Dipset posse with one freestyle. True Kevin Hart fans will realize this was his Let Me Explain stand-up special, and if you look carefully you can see my wife Heather and me baring all our teeth as we fall out laughing in the audience.

When the show ended, we all went backstage where Kev received a hero’s welcome from all his celebrity friends. The green room was packed with well-wishers giving pats on the back and taking selfies and shots with the man of the hour. I didn’t love that he was drinking, but it wasn’t excessive and this was his moment so I didn’t say anything. After a little bit I turned to Tim and said, “All right, we should start getting ready to head out.” He nodded in agreement. We were a large group, so I knew it would take a second to wrangle everyone. As I started going around the room saying “Let’s get ready to roll, guys,” a young lady came up to me and asked, “Are you guys going to the afterparty now?”

Ummm, excuse me? Another one of Kev’s crew overheard her and said, “Yep, we’re headed over right now!”

This was not part of the plan. I had done all the permutations for how the night needed to go in order to make it back on time and knew we needed to get off the ground by 3:17 A.M. at the absolute latest, which meant we needed to leave for Teterboro by 2:38 A.M. If we were even five minutes late, not only would we lose our return flight window, we’d be forced to find new pilots. An afterparty put that plan in serious jeopardy.

I immediately started looking around for Kev. I found him in the corner talking to Jay-Z. I walked right up to them. “Excuse me, Jay. Mr. Z. Sorry to interrupt. Just need Kevin for a quick second. By the way, Blueprint 2 is a criminally underrated album.” I couldn’t tell if Jay-Z was amused or not. [Narrator: Jay-Z was not amused.]