Antoine Allen is Creating the First Female Boxing Franchise Movie, ′LOLA′ with ′LOLA 2′ Coming Out Summer of 2022
There are moments in your life when you will have to decide whether to sink or swim. To quit or keep going. To give in or fight. These moments help define what you’re made of despite what you go through.
Writer and director, Antoine Allen understood that very point. He had some personal struggles of his own and had to make a decision. Allen decided not to sink but to swim and fight, eventually turning his life around.
Later, he decided to write a movie because what he realized is that when it’s all said and done, each of us is connected through human experiences, and the need to feel appreciated, respected, and a sense of belonging. Having that understanding, Allen created a movie that displays the raw emotion and humiliation of a woman who was victimized. He wanted his story to move its viewers through compassion and empathy for the main character, Lola.
I had the privilege of reviewing the movie, LOLA, an Antoine Allen Films, and a True Vision Media Group Production. It’s a movie about a young woman who was dealing with personal, relationship, and family struggles, and in her most vulnerable state, she was raped. Feeling defeated and lost, Lola learned boxing as a way to defend herself; but after developing a liking for boxing and being trained, she becomes a champion. This movie tells her journey from self-doubt and brokenness to hope and empowerment. It’s a moving transformational and redemptive story that will have you feeling Lola’s pain, and then, cheering her on.
Allen desires to create a female version of the Rocky franchise and he is off to a great start with LOLA. His next installment is LOLA 2. It’s about the champion amateur boxer and lifelong fighter, Lola, falling in love and having a baby as she struggles to give up her championship and leave the ring with her career unfinished.
This is my conversation with Antoine Allen as he shares his story and talks about his movie, LOLA.
What obstacles did you face in your life that could have deterred you from your dreams?
Probably my upbringing. My family, we grew up poor. We grew up toxic and I was born and raised in the southside of Jamaica, Queens. When you grow up in that toxic environment, you’re in survival mode. But thank God that the older I got, I realized I wanted more out of life. So, I decided to turn my pain into purpose and realized that when you’re born in this world, you don’t have control but you do have control how you in this world. So, I know God made me special to see where I’m at now. So, yeah, that’s probably the biggest thing that could have deterred my upbringing.
How did you end up homeless, and what gave you the fortitude to fight your way through it and turn it around?
I wound up homeless because my mother at the time, she’s not alive no more…. God rest her soul; she was with this toxic boyfriend, and this is a story that happens a lot in the inner city when the mother chose the boyfriend over the son. It was a situation where they were fighting, he was beating her, I stepped in and beat him up, and she called the cops on me. And that’s when I made the decision, I can’t be in this house anymore. And I wound up being homeless for a good year in a half. And I got out of it because I realized that with anything, it’s temporary. I realized that we go through storms in life and if you stay true to your all and you don’t get lost, you will make it through the storm and that’s what I had to do. And now, I see sunsets, clouds, and water.
What would you say to someone struggling with homelessness right now?
Try your best because it’s not easy. Try to put together an exit plan. I think a lot of times when we go through hard times, we wind up sitting in the moment cause it’s so hard to get out of it. And ask yourself, do you want this to be temporary or do you want to live in this? You have to realize no one’s coming for you. You have to do it for yourself; you only get one life so you have to ask, “What’s your exit plan?” That’s what I would say to anyone going through anything, “You get one life.”
You come from the music industry, managing hip-hop artists. How did the idea to get into writing and directing movies come about, and how did you parlay your music experience into a film career?
That’s a great question. When I was in the music business, I was managing up-and-coming artists. I was directing music videos and at the time it wasn’t going as planned. When you’re a manager and you have clients that you’re relying on, if they don’t get up in the morning or if they get in trouble, your career stops. And I had this happen a few times with a few of the artists who got in trouble, they didn’t come, and I’m left in limbo.
So, I decided with nothing going as planned, you got two options, you can either reinvent yourself or you quit. I decided to reinvent myself. So, I did my first short film called, Split Decision. It’s a short version of what we have now, the LOLA franchise. I decided to better myself. I decided to stop putting my career and life into other people’s hands and that was one of the best decisions in the world.
So instead of me waiting for a seat at the table, “I am the table.” And I used my music career to parlay into my film career because, in the music career, we don’t wait for anybody. So, the reason why I have accomplished so much in a short amount of time is because the music career teaches you to be aggressive; you don’t have to wait for anybody.
For a new writer or director who wanted to get into the industry, what tips can you give them to help navigate their way?
The biggest tip is to trust yourself. If you’re a writer, actor, singer―trust your ideas and invest in your ideas. A lot of time we have talent and instead of us building our foundation, and building our resume, we’re so quick to run to somebody to get validation from the person we want to help us. So, build yourself up. The reality is when you go to those people or studios to help you, they’re going to look at you and ask. “What have you done for yourself?” And if all you have is talent, we’re in a different generation now, it’s not enough no more. If you have talent, that’s a bonus.
I tell people all the time, “You can’t be a one-trick pony. You gotta do more for yourself.” That’s something that I realize and that I do. You know like, if you’re a writer do so much for yourself that when you do walk in the room, they are not telling you what they’re going to do for you, it’s a negotiation.
Tell everyone about your company and your movie, LOLA. Where did the idea to write about a female boxer come from?
So, Antoine Allen Films is a company I started because I didn’t want to wait for nobody. One thing about me, I hate waiting. You could either build your own house or tip-toe in someone else’s house waiting for an opportunity. So that’s where Antoine Films was sparked from.
LOLA is my female version of the Rocky franchise. As an African American filmmaker, we always see different images of us but we have never seen a female boxing franchise. It’s never been done before, I’m the first one. And I cast an amazing, incredible, talented, not actress but partner, Taja V. Simpson. We worked together on the project, we produce it together and you can watch it right now. It’s available on Tubi TV. We just wrapped up LOLA 2 last year, so the franchise will be out later this year, around this summer of 2022.
And that’s where the idea comes from, just use your imagination. You know I come from a broken foundation but I don’t have to show that. I can show us doing different things. If I have a conversation with somebody and I tell them I did a female boxing franchise, that’s like a dinosaur, they’re like what is that. So, it’s always good to use your imagination and the film is amazing. It’s about an underdog who turned her pain into purpose and she found a love for boxing that she never knew she had. It’s a beautiful story.
How do you hope LOLA and LOLA 2 will impact people when they see them?
The LOLA franchise, LOLA 1 impacted a lot of people, especially young, and women period. I have a little story, “I did a premiere for LOLA 1 in New York City at the AMC Movie theater in March in Times Square, and this was the day before New York shut down because of Covid. And usually, I get a lot of people to come up to me for Q & A’s when the movie is over telling me I did a great job but this one individual woman came up to me, she looked kind of sad, and I didn’t understand why but I know the film is kind of heavy.
And she told me because of the movie and because she talked to me after she watch the film that she’s going to go to the cops because she got sexually assaulted by one of her co-workers the week of me having the premiere. So, because of me and the movie, she went to the cops. She said if she had never went to the premiere or met me, she probably would have suffered in silence. And that’s when you tell stories and you don’t know who you’re touching. So, because of the movie, she got her power back, went to the cops, and the guy got arrested. We still keep in touch. That’s the power of telling stories like this.
What’s something you would want people to know about you that they don’t know?
Probably that, a lot of people see me doing a lot of interviews and a lot of brand stuff, but I’m really an introvert. But I realized early on in life that you have to be your own cheerleader. No one’s coming for you. You have to go after your dream and set the groundwork because a lot of times we waiting for an opportunity; we waiting to be picked. So, I decided to build my own table. Build my own projects, build my own with my team because I don’t want to be an old man full of regrets. So, I decided to better myself, keep it pushing, better myself, and know that I’m enough.
What do you want your legacy to be?
Me touching people and giving back. I do a lot of mentorships. I do a lot of helping people find their way because I didn’t have no one to help me. So, I’m big on giving back and touching the community to let them know that there is a way out. And just because you start bad don’t mean you can’t turn it around. I’m walking proof of that. Anything is possible, I was homeless and I was a Special-ED student. You know, if someone looked at my life growing up, I should have been in jail or dead. But God turned all that around because He made me special and I reprogrammed myself because I wanted more out of life.
What upcoming projects do you have?
I’m actually in pre-production on a faith-based film called, Driving Force. We start filming this summer in ATL. I have a few Christmas projects. I have a lot of projects that’s coming up but right now, I’m in pre-production for Driving Force and it’s about forgiveness. I can’t wait for everybody to see it.
You can follow Antoine Allen and learn about his movies by clicking these links:
Photography by: Leon Peart
Writer, Debbie Stokes is a contributing writer. You can follow her on Instagram @iamdebbiestokes
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