VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Jeffersons’ Star Marla Gibbs & Kim Calloway Reflect On Making ‘Mildred 4 A Million’

Comedic actress Marla Gibbs, known for her iconic role as the sassy housekeeper on the 70s sitcom The Jeffersons, and filmmaker Kim Calloway sat down to discuss their new short film, Mildred 4 A Million, in their new uInterview.

Mildred 4 a Million follows a 93-year-old great-grandmother as she tries to form a relationship with her screen-obsessed, seven-year-old great-granddaughter. As part of her quest to connect, Mildred (Gibbs) sets out to get a million TikTok followers.

Calloway, who wrote the film based on observation of her own family, explained the casting for the short. “I reached out via our amazing casting directors when it came time to look for Mildred,” she tol uInterview founder Erik Meers. “And I read an article that Marla was just as sharp and energetic as ever and that she wanted to work. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I grew up watching her on television, I wonder if she’d want to do this!'”

Calloway added, “I’m just so lucky that she loved the script, and we met not longer after.”

Gibbs spoke about what drew her to the role. “It’s really about communication and connection,” she said. “And I have a great-granddaughter that I always want to connect with, and she’s so busy – she’s an actress, she’s a singer, and above all, she has a lot of friends who love her – and, of course, all that takes precedence over great grandmothers. My daughter is her grandmother, so she already has that kind of connection that you always want to have with your grandmother. So I’m always trying to get in there.”

Gibbs joked, “So this was about me trying to get in there with a seven-year who only wants a charger, she doesn’t want to talk about nothing, just, ‘Do you have a charger?’”

Reflecting on the inspiration for the film, Calloway shared, “I kind of had the idea floating around in my head for a few years. I think I initially was calling it ‘Mildred the Millennial.’ And then I realized how old that makes me sound – because we’re already two generations past millennials, there’s Gen Z and then Gen Alpha. I kind of had [the story] shaking around in there, and last February or March, I sat down and was like, ‘Let’s do this.'”

Calloway detailed a deeper theme of the story: “I missed the times that we weren’t so beholden to anybody that wanted to ping us at any time, and get to us, you know? I miss the days of being a little more present and in the moment.”

Mildred 4 A Million‘s Oscar-qualifying theatrical run began at the Royal in Los Angeles on September 27, with daily screenings.