The Studio

Yo. Hey. What is so important?

Why couldn't you tell me whatever this is over the phone, huh?

'Cause I wanted to see your stupid face when I told you.

Okay. You know that teaser poster we released yesterday?

Yeah. The Kool-Aid one, yeah?

It has gotten more positive online engagement

than any teaser poster released by anyone in the last five fucking years!

It's fucking destroying.

- Wait, are you serious right now? - I am fucking dead serious.

- I'm fucking dead serious, man. Yeah. - Oh, my God.

How is this happening?

You know, I think it's just the perfect storm

of nostalgia, kitsch, irony and stupidity.

Fucking people are just loving

- the fucking Kool-Aid right now. - Oh, my God.

- Oh, yeah! - Oh, yeah!

- Yeah! Oh, yeah. - Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah!

- Oh, yeah. - Oh, yeah.

- Yeah! - We're gonna make a billion dollars!

We're gonna make a fucking billion dollars!

- Do you wanna make out right now? - We can't do that anymore.

- Are you sure? - We said we wouldn't.

- We're gonna be fucking rich! - We're gonna make a billion dollars!

- We're gonna be fucking rich! Yeah! - Yeah, motherfucker!

Okay.

All right, on the heels of the huge launch of our poster,

we are gonna be all up in Anaheim Comic-Con tomorrow

announcing this dope cast!

I got Nick Stoller to write a bit for Ice Cube to come out during the panel.

He's gonna, like, crash through the wall as Kool-Aid, "Oh, yeah!"

That's great. Stoller, he should actually write a joke for me

because I've decided I'm personally gonna introduce

Ice Cube as the Kool-Aid Man at Comic-Con.

Look who's hopping on the bandwagon now that it's got some heat.

Well, you know, I figured it's a, you know,

good moment for me to show confidence in the project.

Also really, like, rub it in everyone's fucking face who said this was gonna suck.

- I mean, we got Biel, we got Duhamel... - Yes.

- ...we got Oh, we got Cube. - Boom.

I mean, how could you not be excited about this cast?

Yeah. How could you not be excited?

I can't believe we got Ice Cube. He is better than Kevin Hart.

I still think Tracy Morgan would have been so funny.

"Who's thirsty?

Somebody gettin' pregnant!" You know, it would have been great.

Sal, can you hang back?

- Me too? - No, you, out.

- What happened? - What's up?

Okay, so, we are loving the enthusiasm in this room.

I'm just having, like... I'm starting to have like a...

a nagging concern that something is really fucking sus.

- Sus? Like bad? - Yeah.

This isn't sus at all. This is amazing.

- Yeah, no, there's no sus... - Are you kidding me?

Look, I know Josh Duhamel's not Mr. Comedy,

- but he is so good looking and cool. - He's funny enough.

Duhamel is the least of my concerns.

What is it? Just spit it out. What's going on here?

Okay, I'm starting to think

that maybe casting Ice Cube as the Kool-Aid Man

could potentially be problematic.

Why? You're the one who said we should cast Ice Cube in the first place.

You actually said for a musician, he's remarkably unproblematic.

- That's true. - Oh, God.

- Oh, my God. - You see it?

- Oh, no! Oh, fuck. - What? What do you see?

- What am I not seeing? What is happening? - I know.

- Okay. Fucking... - Okay, just...

What Maya is saying is that perhaps we're playing into some stereotypes

- because there might be... - Oh, my God.

...a group of people who historically enjoy Kool-Aid more than others.

- I think that's what you were saying. - Yeah, thank you.

Fuck... Everyone enjoys Kool-Aid.

I grew up drinking Kool-Aid. Who doesn't like Kool-Aid?

- I agree. It's fine. - Yeah.

- He doesn't see it, so we're-- - It's good.

- Okay, great, great. I'll... - Oh, no.

- He's Black. - Okay, you don't have to say it.

- To say that out loud. We get it. - Shit.

Is this racist? Did we do something racist?

- Yeah, kinda. - Okay, you guys,

- this could be a major marketing issue. - Oh, fuck.

This is exactly the kind of shit that social gets salty over.

They're gonna tear us new assholes.

That's gonna leave a stink on this whole, beautiful thing.

I always knew something like this would happen to me.

You know what, I'm the whitest motherfucker in this room.

Trust me, I will take the fall for this.

- I'm dead. - Are you kidding me?

I am personally getting up in front of thousands of people tomorrow

and announcing this hate crime.

Oh, God.

Look, maybe we're just spinning out. You know what I mean?

Maybe it's like white guilt, you know, and it's not a big deal.

We should talk to Quinn.

- Let's ask her, you know? - Good idea.

- She's very young and with-it... - Yeah, she's got a cute bob.

- She's not white. - Don't say that. She's...

- She's different. She's the same. - She's not different! She's the same.

- And I think that is so great. - We're all the same.

- Let's just head out. - I think it's fucking great.

- Knock, knock, knock. Hi. - Hi.

- Hey, girl. - What's happening right now?

Am I being fired?

No, far from it. Yeah, you're actually of,

very particular use at the moment.

Great.

- Let me just ask you. - Yeah.

Do you think it's weird in any way, shape, or form

that the Kool-Aid Man is being voiced by a person of...

Ice Cube?

Why would that be weird?

Maybe it wouldn't. There you go.

- Thank you. Right, good. See? - I feel a little bit better.

Because Ice Cube's Black?

We did not call Ice Cube Black, just for the record.

None of us called him Black.

I mean, I guess I get your concern,

but I've never really viewed Kool-Aid as a Black person drink.

- Okay, great. - It's a poor person drink.

- I don't wanna hear it. - No.

- Don't say that, please. - That's a whole separate bad thing

- you just said. - People love Ice Cube, okay?

- Just stick with him. It's fine. - Okay.

Respectfully, I don't think Quinn is the spokesperson

- for all peoples if you know what I mean? - Yes, I never said I was.

- Honey, give us a sec. - Sal's right. Look,

we need a much more specific perspective on this.

- You know what I'm saying? Who? - Tyler.

- My Tyler. You know, who run... - Oh, yes, Tyler. Hard working, dedicated.

- Very specific. - Yes.

He's running the photo shoot for Ain't Yo Mama stage eight. Let's go.

- Thank you, Quinn. - Yeah, you're welcome.

Hey.

- I'm good with it. - Oh, my God.

Great. That's great news. Great news.

Honestly, when you think about it, if you didn't cast a Black man as Kool-Aid,

- that would be more racist. - Precisely, yes.

That's exactly why we cast him.

Thank you so much, Tyler.

We so value and appreciate you.

- Yes, thank you so much. - No. Come here.

I do not feel comfortable speaking for all Black people.

Oh, my God.

Can't you just, like, rubber-stamp it on their behalf for the time being?

Anaheim Comic-Con is tomorrow, dude.

No.

Why don't we ask Ziwe and Lil Rel?

Oh, yeah, great idea. Can you ask them for us, please?

No.

I love Ice Cube as the Kool-Aid Man.

- Great. Thank you. - Dope. Dope AF.

Okay, so, are y'all thinking Mrs. Kool could be like Gabby Union, or...

She is great, but no, it's not her.

Is it Keke Palmer?

- She slays, but no, it's not. - Yes.

No, it's not.

Mrs. Kool's Black too though, right?

Mrs. Kool is for sure a woman of color.

- Yes. - POC, hello. Yeah.

Is the color Black?

Her color is Korean.

Is that not...

- Is that bad? - Well...

Well, it's bad if you're implying that a Black woman,

is not good enough to be with a successful Black man like Kool.

No.

Hey. No, I'm not implying that.

I'm not. Look, I'm not implying... Look...

Let me just make one thing clear.

We are in no way saying that a Black woman is not,

good enough to be with a successful Black man like the Kool-Aid Man.

I think, if anything, I never viewed the Kool-Aid Man

as a successful Black man. I didn't view him as a ma...

He's a CGI glass jug filled with red liquid.

- He's not real, you know what I mean? - It's all pretend.

Sure. Look, I...

All of that makes sense, but really, when you think about it,

if Kool-Aid is voiced by a Black man, you know what that means.

- Yes. - That's...

The thing is I very much don't know what that means.

Wake the fuck up.

- Okay. - Okay?

Now I'll tell you what it means.

It means that the Kool-Aid man has the soul of a Black man...

Yes.

...and he has the soul of a Black man

because Ice Cube is voicing that Black man.

So Kool-Aid is Black.

Kool-Aid is a Black man.

The Kool-Aid man is...

Black.

- I feel that. Black man, yeah. - Yeah, that makes sense now.

- Thank you, guys. - Thank you.

- So, Sandra Oh is out as Mrs. Kool. - Very informative.

- Fucking fired. Done. Gone. - Goddamn it.

All right, I got it. Are you ready for this shit?

Here we go.

- Regina King as Mrs. Kool. - Okay, great.

- I like that, yeah. - Love her. Obsessed.