Tamara Bass On Movie 'If Not Now, When?': 'We Don't Get Enough Stories That Address Issues That Touch All Women'

(CBS Local)-- Loyola Marymount alumna Tamara Bass has been in the entertainment game for a minute, but big things are starting to happen for the actor and director. Bass wrote, directed and acted in a new movie called "If Not Now, When?" with her friend Meagan Good and has another new film called "Don't Waste Your Pretty" on the way.

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While many remember Bass for her role in the film "Baby Boy" as Penut from the late John Singleton, the actor and director is making a big splash with her latest movie that features four Black women exploring the complexities of life and challenges that come along the way.

"One of the reasons I wrote the movie is we don't get enough of these stories," said Bass, in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "We don't get enough of these stories that address issues that touch all women, no matter what your socioeconomic background is or what your ethnicity is. I wanted to write one that centered around Black women. Getting to write it and actually see it come to fruition is a shift in the narrative and it's allowing me to open more doors."

While it was cool for Bass to see her name on the call sheet as a writer, director and actor, what was even better than all that was doing the movie with her friend Good. The two have been friends for over 20 years and experienced many of the highs and lows of Hollywood together.

"We are two young Black women getting to call the shots," said Bass. "We get to say yes or no when the decisions are made and it was final between us. Right under us was another Black woman, our second in command, Joyce Washington. The three of us were solely responsible for getting this movie to come to the screen the way it did. I'm proud of that and I'm proud to be a part of that shift."

While Bass has had a lot of great experiences in her career, one of the best was working with the late Singleton. The actor and director will never forget her time with the legendary director on the movie "Baby Boy."

"What's crazy is I went to see Higher Learning when I was about to go to college and when I came out of the theater I was balling," said Bass. "The movie affected me so much and I said I want to work with John Singleton. Flash forward four or five years later and I'm on set with John Singleton. In my auditions for Baby Boy, I met with John and he said 'you're dope and you don't even know that you're dope.'"

"If Not Now, When" is available now on digital and VOD. Watch all of DJ Sixsmith's interviews from "The Sit-Down" series here.