Moe Verneau, Creator of ‘Money & Violence,’ Reflects on Seasons 1 & 2

“I’m so happy that people were able to see past the mediocre production and give the show a chance.” – Moe Verneau

It’s no secret that Brooklyn-born web series Money & Violence is on a winning streak. After debuting on Youtube for its first season, success came by way of views. Seemingly immediately after, talks of working with Jay Z‘s subscription-based streaming service led to each episode of Season 2 to premiere exclusively through Tidal.

Now, with Seasons 1 and 2 of Money & Violence available for digital HD download on Amazon Prime, Google Play, LionsGate, and also all cable on-demand services, Respect Magazine had the privilege of talking with the show’s creator, Moe Verneau about the show’s continual progress, upcoming goals, and an idea of what it’s like to work with such a talented, drive cast.

RESPECT.: Congrats on Season Two and it’s success. Especially showing – well, I guess you guys were the first to do what you’ve done with Tidal, as far as pushing them creatively and also being able to hold down your day 1 crowd. How did that feeling change going into the filming of season 3?

Moe Verneau: Right now, at this very moment, I’m still a little bit in the dark because we’re going from – hopefully – the Internet to actual premium cable, because the goal was to get us on an HBO, Starz, Cinemax — a platform to that degree. The entire process with network television is kind of new to me, so I’m figuring it out as I go along.

RESPECT.: Very cool, very cool. Will you make sure that you retain everything like your Tidal deal? Like creative control?

No… My managers and the people that I’ve communicated with, they know that creative control is definitely something that is very important to me so even if I don’t have 100%, I will definitely have some type of creative control.

RESPECT.: With a premium cable platform as a goal, what are some of your influences outside of The Wire that inspired you?

Well, the funny thing is – My belief is that in order to be better, you have to be different. So, just like in the beginning when I thought of the entire concept my whole way of thinking is to just go left of everything I’ve ever seen on screen.

Also, you have to keep in mind that the motivation behind this project was because of the fact that I’ve never seen an authentic depiction and I feel that that’s what made this project special – and different. So, I definitely want to keep it different.

RESPECT.: Also, you guys seem to have a breeding ground of pure talent. Whether it’s acting, the writing, photography, cinematography and the authenticity that you guys keep and are able to showcase on those platforms. Are there any other ventures that you guys as a team will be pursuing?

Well, everyone is out doing their own thing. Like you said, Bleezy, his group DOD just dropped a new mixtape. Also Ray – who plays Miz – he has a role in the upcoming Tupac biopic “All Eyez on Me.” Choppa Zoe is doing his music thing. Everybody’s out there, because I encourage them to not just rely on this project, but to use this platform as a way to catapult themselves. So everybody’s out there, trying to push as far as possible.

RESPECT.: Very cool. Hey, can you explain your real life relationship with Choppa Zoe? Because on the show you make it look like you guys really hate each other.

[Laughs] Nah, man. Me and Choppa are actually good friends. Choppa’s older brother has actually been a good friend of mine for over 20 years, and I met Choppa through him.

So back when I used to rap, Choppa’s older brother was actually my producer.

The fact that we actually look like we hate each other — I would attest that to great acting.

RESPECT.: Yeah, the tension in you guys’ scenes looks thick. I don’t even think Marvel movies are as convincing when it comes to rivalries.

So what’s rare – but I like that you make sure you incorporate in Money & Violence – is the fact that, despite respectability politics, there are a lot of educated young brothers in similar situations day to day. And a good way to push forward and wake people up is education. Not necessarily the typical “I got straight A’s in school” type of education, but more of an acute awareness. What were some of your (literary?) influences coming up?

I always tell people that you may stumble across knowledge, but you have to seek wisdom. I’ve read everything from The 48 Laws of Power to The Autobiography of Malcolm X to Mein Kampf – which is the autobiography of Adolf Hitler. But, a lot of my wisdom just comes from experience, man. You know, there’s no greater teacher than experience and I can say that I’ve lived a pretty interesting life and I’ve gone through a lot of interesting experiences. Through those experiences, I always step back from them, asking myself: What did I contribute to make this happen? I’m not always the one looking to cast blame, because at the end of the day I’m looking to better myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I read a lot, but at the same time, I can’t attest [wisdom] to books. Information can be presented to you, but it’s all about how you process [it]. We each can take something different from something that we read. So it’s experience plus whatever knowledge or pain from what I’ve read; learning from others’ experiences.

RESPECT.: In the promotional run for Season 2’s debut on Tidal, you guys mentioned that there would be a select few “celebrity” cameos. You’ve, since, introduced Uncle Murda’s character “Bars”, one who sees every opportunity as a come up; you had T.I. towards the end of the season with a hilarious send out, by the way; and Maino has also had a recurring role. Any more celebrities we can expect to see?

At this point, anything is possible because we do have a lot of people that reach out or are interested in playing a role or having a cameo. But, its always well thought out and strategically done only because I don’t ever want to put a celebrity in for the simple fact that they’re a celebrity.

When I casted Uncle Murda – People don’t even know – the Bars character that he played, I had that character created since the third episode of the first season. I had that script, the storyline of Shane’s older brother coming home from jail. Every time I had someone come and shoot the scene, they just could not pull it off. And my thing is: either we do it perfect or we don’t do it at all. But in the back of my mind, I’d always thought that Uncle Murda could kill this role, but we were up-and-coming during the first season, and I wasn’t able to get to him. But, by the time – with the anticipation of the second season, and he having a long-lasting relationship with my manager, I asked my manager if he thought Unlce Murda would do it and he said he was interested and would definitely do it. And as you can see, he killed it! He nailed it. Spot on.

So there’s definitely a possibility of having more celebrity cameos, but it just has to be done right.

RESPECT.: Exactly. So at the end of Season 2, in the final episode, it’s a serious situation going but T.I.’s character provides humor and in some scenes even Uncle Murda does.

So with the severity of each scene and the subtle comic relief provided by each actor, do you guys have a lot of bloopers or do you guys stay locked in?

Nah, of course [laughs]. You can’t have [T.I.] saying “Man, you guys need to go to Memphis, don’t come to Atlanta,” without somebody busting out laughing. And the lines are delivered so well, just done so effortless.

And shout out to T.I., man. Like, he flew from Atlanta to New York just to shoot those scenes and he definitely showed us a great deal of love. So, for someone like himself who’s been in blockbuster films to come all the way to New York to shoot a couple of scenes for a web series is just amazing.

RESPECT.: Speaking of adlibs, how tight are you on your script? Does the core cast tend to adlib as well or stay focused on the words.

Yeah the script is pretty much word-for word. But, I often give up some leverage so that they can make it their own. But, for the most part it’s word-for-word.

RESPECT.: Last season viewers saw a change in Rafe’s demeanor: less cool, less calm, less collected into his more calculated but slightly violent past. Can we expect more of that for Season 3?

Well it all depends on the situation. Rafe said something to Kane in Season 1, ”You don’t do what you want, as a man. You do what you have to.” Like you said, he’s a very calculated and analytical person, so he’s going to step up and do whatever the situation calls for.

At the end of the season, I did the whole Jessica thing because throughout the second season, Rafe was a little calmer. Whether it was because he wasn’t doing the robberies anymore, now he’s selling drugs, so he’s trying to stay on the low. But, I wanted to remind the audience of how cold he is. How emotionally detached he is. How once he needs to survive and something needs to be done, all emotion is out the window. He’s just gonna do it.

So with Season 3, everything is up in the air – with Victor the plug having been killed, Jessica being killed. Who knows how Choppa is looking to react. Rafe is definitely going to be put in a position to make a decision.

Just know that as we go along, we always look to improve. With Season 2, we upped the production and we included police interaction. Stepping away from Season 2, we’re looking to make Season 3 way better. Keeping the same essence and grit, but making improvements

Season 1 & 2 is available for digital HD download on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Sony, and also all cable on-demand.