Kevin Hart and Bryan Smiley on re-creating history in ‘Fight Night’

>>> WE'RE BACK NOW WITH A COMEDY POWERHOUSE. IN ADDITION TO HIS STANDUP, KEVIN HART STARRED IN HITS LIKE "THINK LIKE A MAN" AND "NIGHT SCHOOL" STARRING ALONG TIFFANY HADDISH. >> NOW KEVIN IS BACK IN HIS NEWEST PROJECT CALLED "FIGHT NIGHT." THIS IS WHAT HE STARS IN AND PRODUCED. >> KEVIN IS A HUSTLER THAT HOSTS A PARTY THAT NIGHT OF MOHAMED ALLY'S 1970 COMEBACK FIGHT. WE HAVE A WHO'S WHO OF CHARACTERS SHOWING UP. THE NIGHT ENDS UP WITH A HISTORIC HEIST. >> I'M YOUR MAN. >> WHO ARE YOU? >> YOU ARE OUR PARTY HOST? >> YES, SIR. >> MR. CHICKEN MAN? >> GUILTY AS CHARGED. >> YEAH. >> I HALF EXPECTED YOU TO CLUCK. >> OH, KEVIN HART AND BRYAN SMILEY, GOOD MORNING. YOU HAVE SAMUEL L. JACKSON, TARAJI P. HENSON, DON CHEADLE. THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. FOR YOU, KEVIN, THIS ROLE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU PLAYED. YOU REALLY STEPPED UP. WAS THE CALIBER OF THE CAST SOMETHING THAT HELPED YOU RAISE YOUR GAME? >> ALWAYS. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE SHARP AS IRON SO YOU PUT YOURSELF AROUND BETTER IRON, YOU WILL JUST CONTINUE TO GET BETTER. IN THIS CASE, I THINK THE BIGGEST CHANGE WAS NOT ONLY THE PERIOD PIECE BUT REALLY ATTACHING MYSELF TO A TRUE STORY AND A STORY WE FELT HAD TO BE TOLD. THE CITY OF ATLANTA IS BASICALLY LIKE TURNED INTO SUCH A GREAT, GREAT BACKDROP IN ENTERTAINMENT. AND, YOU KNOW, A VIABLE ASSET JUST BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH THE CITY HAS GROWN AND HOW MUCH WE ARE RIGHT NOW ABLE TO DO IN THE CITY. SO A TRUE STORY ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND THE CHANGE AND THE REASON FOR ENTERTAINMENT COMING AND STARTING. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT IT. AND CHICKEN MAN, HIS ENERGY AND EFFORT TO THAT CITY WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT ONLY INTRIGUING FOR ME AS AN ARTIST, BUT SOMETHING THAT I FELT THE REST OF THE CAST LOVED AS WELL. AS A BAND, WE GOT TOGETHER AND WE SAID HOW WE BEST TELL THIS STORY AND SHOWCASE IT. I THINK WE DID A GOOD JOB OF IT. >> CERTAINLY DID. BRYAN, AS A PRODUCER, HOW DO TELL A STORY IN A NEW WAY? >> I MEAN, WE WERE REALLY EXCITED. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WE HAD SO MANY DIFFERENT STORIES. THIS IS INSPIRED BY SOME PHENOMENAL EVENTS. IT WAS REALLY ATLANTA'S COMING-OUT STORY. WE SAID WE HAD TO DO THIS. IT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS YOU COULDN'T START LISTENING TO AND READING ABOUT, AND HERE WE ARE. >> IT IS ALSO A PERIOD PIECE THAT TAKES PLACE IN THE '70s. ONE OF THE THINGS I ENJOY THERE, YOU CAN HEAR THE MUSIC, YOU NAILED THE FASHION, NAILED THE LINGO. BUT YOU'RE NOT THAT OLD. YOU WEREN'T A CHILD IN THE '70s. HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT NAILING THE LINGO? HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT LEARNING ALL THAT, THE CHICKEN MAN? >> I WILL TELL YOU ONE THING THAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT IT. LIKE HAVING SAMUEL L. JACKSON BE A PART OF THE CAST WAS SUCH A BONUS BECAUSE SAM WAS THERE FOR THE ACTUAL EVENT. SAM REMEMBERED THAT. >> I DIDN'T KNOW THAT. >> THAT HAPPENED HERE. THIS STREET RIGHT HERE, ME AND MY WIFE GOT MARRIED HERE. I REMEMBER WHEN THE PARTY WAS GOING DOWN, WE COULDN'T AFFORD TO GO SO WE WERE AROUND HERE. SAMUEL L. JACKSON, WHEN HE CAME ON TO THE PROJECT AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE STORY, HE ELEVATED THINGS WITH A LOT OF TRUTH. SO THE LINGO AND THE LANGUAGE, WE MADE SURE THAT ONSET, WE HAD DIALECT COACHES TO BE THERE TO HELP US WITH THE TWANG WHEN AND WHERE WE NEEDED IT TO. BUT YOU ARE MESSING WITH PROFESSIONALS. SO BETWEEN ALL OF US, PEOPLE SHOWED UP ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, NOT ONLY PREPARED BUT READY TO ADD AND DO MORE. AND OUR DIRECTOR, WE HAD A SLEW OF GREAT ONES. AND OUR TEAM OF WRITERS, EVERYBODY DID WHAT THEY HAD TO DO TO HELP US ELEVATE THE MATERIAL. SO IT IS A GROUP EFFORT. IT IS NOT JUST INDIVIDUALS. >> BRIAN, HOW DO YOU NAIL SOMETHING LIKE THAT BESIDES THE PERFORMANCES? BUT YOU HAVE COSTUMES AND CARS AND ALL THIS OTHER PERIPHERAL STUFF THAT MAKES THIS -- YOU ARE LIKE, I'M LOOKING AT THIS TIME CAPSULE. >> THAT'S THE GREAT PART OF THIS SHOW. FROM THE WARDROBE DESIGNERS TO THE COSTUME DESIGNERS, WE REALLY HAD PEOPLE THAT UNDERSTOOD THE MISSION, AND THEY BROUGHT THE '70s BACK TO LIFE. IT IS LIKE WE'RE BEING TRANSPORTED BACK TO 1970 AND THE SHOW FEELS GOOD BECAUSE OF THAT. >> I'LL TELL YOU WHAT WE DO REALLY WELL. YOU UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION, AND YOU DON'T JUST HAVE TO BE ONE, ONE ENTITY, ONE STUDIO. SO OUR PARTNERS FROM PEACOCK, FROM WILL PACKER AND HIS PRODUCTION COMPANY, YOU KNOW, SITTING AT A TABLE AND HAVING EVERYBODY GRASP THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DO WE MAKE SOMETHING GREAT? WE ALL KNOW AND FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT OUR ROLES THAT WE PLAYED IN IT. THAT LEVEL OF THINKING, IT ONLY PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MORE SUCCESS. I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER BEAUTY FOR THE PROJECT COMING OUT AT THE LEVEL THAT IT DID, ALL THE TALENT COMING AND UNDERSTANDING IT IS ABOUT US MAKING EACH OTHER LOOK GOOD, THE WRITERS UNDERSTANDING HOW DO WE MAKE EACH OTHER LOOK GOOD. >> EVERYBODY IS SO GOOD AT THEIR INDIVIDUAL JOB. >> EVERYBODY CAME IN. AND WE ALL EXECUTE AND HAVE OUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME ELEVATE OTHERS, WE'LL HAVE A PIECE OF GOLD. PEOPLE WILL WALK AWAY WITH A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING FOR ATLANTA AND WHY IT IS WHY IT IS TODAY. >> IT SURE IS. CONGRATULATIONS. >> THANK YOU, MAN. CHICKEN MAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY CUE. >> I WAS THERE. NOT IN ATLANTA, BUT I WAS -- YES. I LIKE THAT. CALL ME CHICKEN. >> KEN,