Couple produces touching film as they build their own family

LOS ANGELES -- "Soul Food," the first film by Edmonds Entertainment, is the touching tale of a Chicago family and the loss of its matriarch.

It also is the story of two highly accomplished musicians who build a family and nurture a marriage as they work.

Megahit record producers Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and wife Tracey E. Edmonds created their new movie company as a way to spend more time together and "Soul Food," which is playing nationwide, seemed to be the perfect debut project. Amid childbirth, cross-country travel and production meetings, they produced a film and found time for their new addition to the family.

"It was a very crazy time in our lives, but as a couple it was a great time," Ms. Edmonds said in a recent interview as her baby gurgled nearby. "It was really like a collective positive process for both of us. It was a great positive time. "

One-year-old Brandon Edmonds now flies around the country with his parents, plays with a nanny as they work and sleeps every night with the two producers. His parents were so eager, in fact, to get production of "Soul Food" under way, that they paused only briefly for his arrival on the scene.

"It was a really crazy time," said Ms. Edmonds, president and chief executive officer of Yab Yum Records. "I did not have a maternity leave. I still talked to people from my (hospital) bed."

Her Grammy Award-winning husband, who produced the soundtrack for "Waiting to Exhale," said the couple's similar opinions about film helped make the establishment of their new company and its first project go smoothly.

"I don't know how it would work if we didn't agree," Edmonds said. "If we do have differences of opinion, we kind of let it sit and say we agree to disagree. Both of us are willing to compromise for the other."

Edmonds, who heads LaFace Records, credits his wife's good business sense and in-depth study of filmmaking with preparing them for their first foray into motion pictures.

"She doesn't let things go by without her really knowing what a situation is about," he said. "She gets a history on something so she can make an educated decision. For myself, I go by my gut. You need both of those things and so... I think that works and we complement each other in that way."

Those personality differences are palpable. Ms. Edmonds exudes a high level of energy and ease, answering every question quickly and zealously. Edmonds is soft-spoken, shy and often hesitates before he responds in a slow, deliberate manner.

Neither of the Edmonds acted in the film written and directed by George Tillman Jr., although Babyface appeared as part of a fictitious band called Milestone in the film, performing with his brothers Melvin and Kevon of After 7. The band's first single, "I Care 'Bout You," is on the "Soul Food" soundtrack album.

Also on the album produced by Edmonds, Ms. Edmonds and Antonio "L.A." Reid are tracks by Blackstreet, Tony Toni Tone and Earth Wind & Fire, among others.

Edmonds and his wife both praised Boyz II Men for their ability to pour emotion into the soundtrack's first single, "A Song for Mama."

"It's a great song that talks about the importance our mothers have in our lives," she said.

The film released by 20th Century Fox revolves around a woman dubbed "Mother Jo" who brings the family together through weekly Sunday night dinners full of love and wisdom. She becomes ill, forcing her young grandson to try to keep the family together. The movie stars Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long and Michael Beach.

Photo by The Associated Press

Tracey E. Edmonds, producer of "Soul Food," her husband, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, its executive producer, and their 1-year-old son Brandon arrive at the world premiere of the movie in Los Angeles Sept. 18.