With Christmas steadily creeping towards us and the idea of hitting the mall again looming over like a childhood nightmare, we can always look forward to the obligatory slew of Christmas films.

This year, the mastermind behind the original “Friday” resurrects our favorite characters to bring us Christmas in the ‘hood in “Friday After Next” (opening this Friday). Stars Ice Cube and Mike Epps sat down to talk about the future, the color barrier in Hollywood, and our favorite day of the week Friday.

Sarah Thomas: Is this the last “Friday?”

Ice Cube: Maybe, it’s all about the audience, what people want.

Mike Epps: We might get old and have Craig and Day-Day start doing Sunday movies.

Sarah Thomas: It’s been a while since your last album, six or seven years-

Ice Cube: Yeah it’s been a while (laughs). The rap game is like the NFL, it’s really a young man’s game. The older you get, the less and less…

Mike Epps: The more injuries you get.

Ice Cube: With my new album I’m about to do, I’m signing with Aftermath, which is Dre’s company. My new album could be my best one; we’re going to start working on it in January, it should come out in the summer.

Sarah Thomas: Will you tour?

Ice Cube: Yeah, we’re going to, he’s going to do his album after I do mine, then we will put a tour together.

Sarah Thomas: If rap is like the NFL, what is stand-up like?

Mike Epps: Stand-up comedians really can’t wear out; I’ve seen stand-up comics get cold and warm. I’ve seen Chris Rock fall off and come back. Stand-up is like; if you’re stupid enough you can get a dollar. Stupid fresh…funny.

Sarah Thomas: Do you think there is still a color barrier in Hollywood?

Ice Cube: Not from the audience, but from the people who are making the movies. The studios are the ones with the blinders on. They are the one’s who don’t understand: advertise to everyone, let everybody know it’s out there and the people that want to see it go see it.

Sarah Thomas: Did you ever expect Friday to become the cult classic that it is?

Ice Cube: Not really, it’s just like doing music with NWA, we figured only our friends would like it, only a few people who would understand the world of Craig and Smokie. Everybody did, everybody loved it, and it is a cult classic. What makes me proud is that people see it over and over and over, it’s not just one of those movies you look at once and it stays on the shelf.

Sarah Thomas: If you could pick one black actor to be the first black Santa Claus, who would it be?

Ice Cube: Dead or alive? Redd Fox.

Mike Epps: I’m with that!

Sarah Thomas: Who has the best barbecue in Los Angeles?

Ice Cube: Oh, my daddy.

Both: Barbecue so good, make you want to smack your mama in the mouth.