Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Award-winning film producer, Aaliyah Williams, talks "Real Love," & reveals how she went from the mailroom to Hollywood!

Transcript

Award-winning film producer, Aaliyah Williams, talks "Real Love," & reveals how she went from the mailroom to Hollywood! · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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  Speaker 1: last time you took a time out. I'm Ev Rodsky,
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  Speaker 1: author of the New York Times bestseller A Fair Play
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  Speaker 1: Listen to Time Out, a fair play podcast on the
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  Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: your podcast. My guest today is a Leah Williams from
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Oklahoma and Arkansas. You know I had to say that
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: because I'm a Texas boy. I got to go let
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: everybody whenever somebody comes near Texas, I got little my
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  Speaker 1: up front. She is a graduate of Harvard University, Peabody
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  Speaker 1: Award nominated producer and founder of Just the Rebel, and
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  Speaker 1: television and film production company focuses on contemporary stories that
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  Speaker 1: center and celebrate Black women. I have six sisters, so
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: I appreciate that just the Rebels first look deal with
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: CBS Television Studios has been renewed for a second year.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: She's on the on the show to discuss her career,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: the journey, and the future of her production company, Just
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: the Rebble, Please work with the money making conversation for
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: the very first time, not the last time. A Leah Williams,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: how you doing, Lia? You know I'm doing all right
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: this morning. It's lovely to be here with you. Well.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: The beauty of this doing visual and doing video. I
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: can see this brilliant smile that you have is it
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  Speaker 1: has to be a blessing to be able to deliver
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: a smile like that, especially when you meet people. You
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  Speaker 1: your pitching ideas and your smile. It's sunshine, young ladies,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: sunshine tell us about that and tell you about my smile.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Absolutely come because you come on out, come on the live.
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  Speaker 1: This ain't the first time you've been complimented about this
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  Speaker 1: fantastic smile. This smile has been you to close deals.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: This smile has been you to get in building she's
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: not supposed to be in. I know this smiling, she's
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: gonna go smile you're talking about this person. Thank you
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: very much. But I have to give all that credit
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: to my mother's stay William thing that she would say
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: to me every day. Every morning, she would say this
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: to me and my sister Kia, smile and the world
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: will smile with you. And she would say she would
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: say that, and she always told us to close their
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: mouths and listen. I didn't always do that, but the
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: smile on the world will smile with you is um,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: something that I've always carried with me and um, you know,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: there are definitely situations where it is hard to smile,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: but I definitely try to bring that into all aspects
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: of my life, UM, and especially in the stories that
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: I want to tell. For black people, I think we
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: deserve joy. And you know, it's one of the reasons why,
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: uh my logo for my company, I've wanted to find
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: the brightest yellow possible show case that we deserve joy.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, even even the drama UM projects that
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: I have, there are some levity to them because I
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: do believe that, um, too many times black stories are
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: relegated to the trauma that we carry versus all of
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: the other amazing aspects that we are as a people. Well,
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: you know the reason I bring that up because when
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: you come on my show. I'm a guy. I'm a
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: very visual guy, and I noticed things and that's my
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: third eye. I can see things and as he blessings
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: and your smile is a blessing and a lot of
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: people don't realize that that's that just those simple gifts
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: that God give you can enable you to, you know,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: make your dreams come true, enable you to o well,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: create opportunities that wouldn't be available for ordinary people. And
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: it's it's important to take advantage of all these talents.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: That's one talent, your ability is that you're very articulate
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: and so and you you know, because when once you
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: say as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, you know, they always have
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: these stereotypes. And then when they throw this then you're black.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: That's even deeper stereotypes. And then you're throwing at the
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  Speaker 1: front of your resume Harvard graduate. Come on girl, come
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  Speaker 1: on now, yes, yes, no, I I'm very proud of
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: the opportunities that you know, my my parents pushed me
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  Speaker 1: towards and that I, um, you know, actively work towards.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: And um, I had a wonderful experience at Harvard. Um
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: you know, go go in there is an eighteen year
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: old after growing up in the South and the Midwest.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: UM was definitely a culture shock in a lot of
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: different ways. But it just opened me up to so
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: many incredible people, so many incredible experiences, UM, and UM
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  Speaker 1: really shaped who I am in a lot of different ways.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: And UM. You know, one thing that I will say
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: about a Harvard College education, like, it's not necessarily about
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: what you concentrated in, like what your major was. UM.
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  Speaker 1: It really was a curriculum that challenged you to think
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: and how do you um open up your perspective on
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: the world. UM. And so uh and you know, so
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  Speaker 1: many of the people that I met UM from that
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: time are still uh a huge part of my life
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: in a lot of different ways. UM. I you know,
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: I'm I'm a little sad this morning because this weekend
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: I lost one of my dearest friends who lost her
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: battle with cancer. Double Harvard graduate Christia Donaldson, who was
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: a big sister to me and also a beacon in
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: terms of her entrepreneurial journey UM as the founder of
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Thank God I'm Natural hair product line. UM. But anyway,
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  Speaker 1: Harvard was a wonderful experience and I'm super glad that
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: that's part of who I am, Well, you know, I'm
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: a cancer survivor. So when then in one I lose
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: a friend, use a caller, a friend and I don't
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: know her, but I know she fought the same battle.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: And I'm fighting all the time. Because just because you
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: surviving doesn't necessarily mean the cancer is not going to
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: come back. But what it does allow me to understand
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: that you have to live your life and your dreams
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: are possible as long as you planned them. So and
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: I see you as a planner, you know, because of
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: the fact that you have never let stereotype stereotype of
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: being an African American female, stereotype coming from the South,
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: coming from Oklahoma, orcanshol and then you went to Harvard,
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: you graduated, How did you migrate to Los Angeles? Leah,
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  Speaker 1: you know it was it was it was a fun,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: windy world. Um. I didn't necessarily, you know, coming from
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: having Southern black parents. After going to Harvard, they were like, Okay,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: you're going to meddle school. You going to in school?
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Like what graduate school are you doing? And I really
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: wasn't clear. Um. So I worked in financial services in
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: New York and Chicago and strategy. UM and I did
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  Speaker 1: like every you know, other good graduate of my class
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  Speaker 1: was preparing my applications to business school. UM and gratefully
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: I am an alum of the Ron Brown Scholar program.
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  Speaker 1: And they put on a conference. Um the first time
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: they put on a conference about the arts and entertainment industry.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: UM and UH, a wonderful man, Charles King, gave a
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: fireside chat about his life as a super agent, and
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: I was like, oh my god, this is so interesting.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: It was like the first time that I heard the
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: phrase like, you know, the intersection of art and commerce,
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: which was so interesting to me. UM. Malcolm d Lee
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: gave a talk about how he had, you know, put
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: together the best man and UM, I just connected with
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: a lot of different folks that showed me that there
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  Speaker 1: was this creative path that I didn't realize was a
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: real career. UM and so I was unfulfilled in what
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: I was doing. I was doing well, but it just
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: didn't completely feel all every aspect of who I am.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: And so UM, I took the leap. I quit my job.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I had friends out in l A who
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: were in very studies as a film school, and I
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: moved out to l A, drove across country from New
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: York and UM a week after I got here, after
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: having some informational UH coffees and conversations with literally anyone
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: that I could connect within my network, UM, I started
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: working in the mail room at Endeavor, one of the
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: major talent agencies which is now called w ME. But
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: UM I started in the mail room. After two weeks,
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: one of the partners put me in the motion picture
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: lit group, which was a great experience to really kind
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: of get to know the industry UM and hone my
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: my ability to you know, read scripts, understand different writers
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: and directors, get a sense of what my taste was
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: in a lot of different ways. And you know, from
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: that one year of working at the agency, UM one
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: of the agents connected me with my first job out
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: of the agency, working for an incredible producer, Effie Brown.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Let's go back to that mail room experience, because a
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: lot of people don't realize that that is how you
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: break into the big agency world is the mail room.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: And UH a lot oftentimes the mail room doesn't come
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: with pay, and your situation would and so a lot
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: of people don't know that. You know, so you work
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: in the middle. This did come with pay. Was a
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: lot of pay. Right, so it feels like no pay
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: don't I'm just feels like no pay coming from you know.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: I I was had a decent salary and four oh
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: one kme. So like my dad was like, so we wait.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: And this is the funny point about this conversation that
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: you're having with your parents, Like when I when I
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: told my mom and dad, you know, I go to
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: your age and get a math degree, mind and sociology
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: and then I go work for IBM, and I tell
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: them I'm equit to be a stand up comedian. So
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: that's the extreme. Okay, that's what I told my parents,
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: all right, and they went, okay, we love you, but humble.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: So you go from Oklahoma, Texas, go to Harvard, right,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: got this great job in New York, drive across the country,
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: and you're working in the mayor room for way less money.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: Talk about that conversation, because that's where a lot of
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: people don't understand that you have to sacrifice and then
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: also time you got to take a step back to
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: take it, to take some steps. I don't know if
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: that's a step back though, you know, when you when
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: I hear people say that, because that's part of the
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: process because you said going out on faith. When you're
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: going out on faith, that means that there's a plan
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: in process, and you know, like you know, and I know.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: If you want to get in the big agency, you
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: gotta get in that mail room. And when you're the
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: able mayor room, you have to be humble on top
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: of your job. You keep walking around there with no attitude.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: You get to see all the top game you get
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: to see stars come through those wars. You can mega
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: producers and directors that you read about in the entertainment magazines.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: So you can't be oh my god, and so you
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: have to be professional all the time. So when I
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: don't really see as a step backwards when I hear
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: people say that, because you said it from the beginning,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: rachae I went on faith, Faith is a plan. I
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: would tell people you have to have a plan when
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: you do something on faith. I'm sorry. And then, but
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: what did your parents say when they told you you
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: told him he was in the mail room. That's the funny,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: but that's the part of the conversation I want to
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: hear a little. My dad was like, wait a minute,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: so you're telling me that you went to Harvard and
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: now you're basically a goper. Like and I was like, okay, Dad,
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: I want you to read this book the mail room.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: Like he was trying. He was just you know, he
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: was trying to work with Try to work with your doughter.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: You're trying. He's like, I don't understand. But like they
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: were super supportive. I was like, listen, and I'm giving
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: myself two years to figure this out. Um. And I
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: you know, I worked there was a company that I
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: had studied for the g MAP with that thankfully allowed
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: me to start working for them. And so I while
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: I was working for you know, all my jobs, working
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: for different people as an assistant, I was also tutoring
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: for the GMAT on the side. You would have different
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: clients and teaching classes virtually, so that supplemented my income. Also,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: you know, writing coverage scripts to add add money. So
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: you just do what you gotta do. And then, um,
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: you know, my path was always working for other people
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: while also making content on my own with different writers
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: and directors in my network, um and building that way. Um.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: And so you know, most of the times I would
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: work with people who were very supportive of that. Sometimes
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: that conflicted and you had to kind of I had
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: to kind of navigate that UM. But as my career
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: went on, you know, it all merged and so my
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: jobs at UM, like when I got to working at Macro, UM,
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: that was my job was to make content. And I
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: always told Charles it was my dream job at the time,
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: which was wonderful because I got to learn from him
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: and people like Poppy Hanks and Can Roth and UM
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: really had a lot of UM I'd say, license to
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: not just do short form content, but also to explore
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: and learn about long phone content. And so you know,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: one of the first digital projects that I brought up
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: in UM became the television show Hint to Side that
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: is now in its second season on Netflix. UM and
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: I was the one that brought in the movie Really Love,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: written by Felicia Pride and directed by Angel Christie Williams,
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: who also co wrote the script, and UM, you know,
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: after after making that movie, we'll be right back with
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: more money making conversation with television and film producer Leoh Williams,
• 14:58
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  Speaker 1: and the AD Council. This is ra Sean McDonald. Welcome
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  Speaker 1: back to money making conversations as I continue my conversations
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  Speaker 1: with television and field producer Leah William Let's pump, Let's
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  Speaker 1: pump the brakes now right now? Oh really, low, okay,
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  Speaker 1: really look now, that's that's what we're gonna talk a
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  Speaker 1: little detail about this because you know, as soon as
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  Speaker 1: I read that, it said iconic love story a k A.
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  Speaker 1: Love Jones, you know. Okay, you know, and they got
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  Speaker 1: my titcher right there. They got my titcher right there,
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: love Chum, that's my movie right there. Okay, Nia long
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: come on now smoking word. Well it's funny because so
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: I you know, when I first found out about the script, Um,
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: I had been following Angel for a while. I really
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: loved her short films. Um, you have become very friendly
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: and brand in the same you know, black filmmaker circles.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: And she was on the set of a project that
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: I produced, Collamer Park Um. She is also on BT
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: Plus right now. Park is right in uh don't preach
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: y'all right, Beautiful Area, Grateful, wonderful digital series created by
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: this wonderful women, and she happened to be on set
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: supporting her friend Mel Jones and Um, she came up
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: to me when I was going I was gonna go
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: offset to go grab like some Jamaican patties as a
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: treat for the crew and everybody, and she's like, you know,
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: I really want to talk to you. I was like, well,
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: you don't enroll me while I don't get these patties.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: It was like yeah, So she's like, you know, I
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: really wanted to talk to you because I think I
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: finally found the script that's gonna be my future my
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: first future film that I'm going to direct. And I
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: was like, oh, really, tell me about it. And she's like, well,
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: it's it's basically I feel like it could be the
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: next Love Jones. And I was like, Angel, you cannot
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: say that. Come on, come on, come on, come on
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: down right. It's like it's like Angel, those are fighting words.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: It was not true. So um, but I was very
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: intrigued and she was really excited. And Angel is you know,
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: she's very particular, and I knew if it was something
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: that was that special to her that I wanted to
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: read it and see um. And so she gave me
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: the script and I remember that weekend I was just
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: gonna like take a little peek at it, but I
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: couldn't stop reading it, and UM, I called her immediately,
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: and I remember, you know, the first time I sat
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: down with her and Felicia, I knew that I needed
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: to bring this into macro and um and yeah, and
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: then from there we developed it UM and producing that
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: with Charles and mel Jones, who had reduced all of
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: Angel shorts prior prior to this. UM, it was just
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: a really um incredible process. And UM, it's a story
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: that you know, I don't I wouldn't say that it
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: is like love Jones. I think it has you know,
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: this kind of like lasting style and it makes this
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: impression on you that definitely like let's just talk about
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: it because so you know, like, uh, Netflix, I love
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: what they're doing with h for African American culture and
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: naturally international culture African African Americans and Africans period. Being
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: able to to launch their projects in a hundred and
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: ninety countries, you're not being restricted to a domestic audience,
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: and so your brand is being a showcase worldwide, you know. Uh,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: you know, I've been able to learn about wine on Netflix,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: you know, and then so that so I I I've
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: seen this in the art work. Now art my boy
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Michael Eally, who you know he did think like a
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: man and think like a man to that executive produced
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: with Steve Harvey, started caring art and my boy Will Packers.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: So I know Michael Eliot, so I saw him in that,
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: so okay as my boy. So it started picking up
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: speed really fast with your boy here, you know what
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: I'm saying. And I got to watch it, and I
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: got to watch a really um you know, I would
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: think that I always say that movies should entertain and educate, yes,
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: and then when you do when you when it does that,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: then it makes an emotional impact on you. You know,
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: because it doesn't entertain you, you you you out, it
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: doesn't educate you, then what are you watching? You know
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: you have to walk away with. I don't know what
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: I watched it. It It was what okay? So so this
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: movie gave me the three things that I needed. It
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: entertained me, it educated me, and it pulled an emotion
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: and emotion was tied to art. And like you have
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: a beautiful you if you see this, if you're on
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: my podcast audio wise, just as beautiful African art behind her,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: and it just happens to be women and uh, as
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: we all know, you know, you know, her company just
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: a rebel works on project that brings the voices of
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: black women in their black stories. So this is appropriate
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: this conversation. We haven't. And so when you tell a
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: story that's important, especially in any relationship, you're defining the
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: voice of a woman. What's the key I guess language
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: are angle that you're looking for to make sure that
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: the message of empowerment and proper decision making is put
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: out there correctly. Well, I will say, UM, one of
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: the things that drew me to it. Uh, you know,
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: just even from the initial script, I know that UM,
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Celicia Pride, the writer who had you know, had been
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: working on the story for a while. Her mangle was
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: to show black women, and you know, young black people
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: as themselves, you know, loving, loving each other, striving together,
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: striving for their aspirations and UM, and showing that in
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: a real way where you you you fail, you you
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: make mistakes. So UM, I think the empowerment comes from
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: just being able to see yourself as a real whole human. UM.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't necessarily go into projects saying Okay,
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: how can I show the most positive UM, portrayal of
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: a character. I really go into them thinking, you know,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: is this authentic? Is this interesting? Um? Are they're compelling
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: stakes for this character? And you know whether there's a
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: comedic ask tone to it or a more serious and
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: dramatic tone to it. Um. I just wanted to feel,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: um real and thoughtful. Well you're thinking this movie touched
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: me uh in a lot of ways emotionally because of
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: the fact that Suzanne Douglas. Uh. One of my first
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: writing projects I did in eight five was with Robert
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: Townsend's Parenthood and she's one of the co stars in
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: that series and and so and I'm Blair I Underwood,
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: who I know as well. But seeing Suzanne and she
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: was just one of her last projects that she did
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: before she passed away. But that was I was just
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: you know, just seeing her the gifts her talent radio
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: on that screen like that. It really just lets me
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: know the blessings of seeing people like you who are
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: now able to tell the voices and all out talents
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: like like a Blair, like Suzanne, like so many others
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: that I'm being able to interview on my show. Now,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: just a rebel is just doing what it's supposed to
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: do you you flipping the table? You tell me our stories?
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: You know, let me so, I really love is a
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: project that um I did when I was working in Macro.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: And know I know all that, but I'm not understanding.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: I'm not I heard that Macro. That's my boys. I
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: just want to make that I got that. You know
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: they messed up this interview. I'm talking about you. You okay,
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: you she she want to get those little B patties
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: with you, Okay, the Jamaican B patties and ches you
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: and told you her next project. You said, girl, tell
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: me about it, okay you yeah, yeah, just rel That's
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: when I read up there amplifying voices and tries our
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: best and sure she is showcased an accurate depicting of
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: black stories. That's you. Yeah you was at Macro. Now
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: you're just a rebble. Now you gotta first look deal
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: with CBA Television Studios and being renewed for a second year.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: Tell us about those projects. I know how to bring
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: it back a leah. I love well. Before we do that,
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: I just do want to say the experience of working
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: with Sudan Douglas was absolutely incredible. I mean, she was
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: just a light on set every single time. And I
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: remember like when she her first day that she came
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: to set, um uh prety some partner Mel Jones, and
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: I went to read her and she just like grabbed
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: our faces and she was like, you two are the producers,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: beautiful baby girls. And it's just but it wasn't any
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: type of like you know, um, there was nothing um,
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: you know, negative to what she was saying. She was
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: just saying it was so much love and so much affirmation.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: And she just every time, um, every time I saw
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: her on set, she would always pant with the side
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: and just and just tell me, like keep going, like
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: you have to do what you're doing. It's just so
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: wonderful to see you as a young black woman producing
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: and um being in charge. And that was just so wonderful. Well,
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: the the CBS television studios think you're wonderful too, just
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: like a rebel. Yes, no, they are wonderful partners there.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: I love to just tell you this, just like Ms.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Douglas said, do you and this is not condescending. You're
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: special because I'm gonna jay this. I've been in rules
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: pitching projects. You know, you have to have a gift
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: to give against people to give you money to be
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: creative in this world. Okay, they're not just passing out
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: checks that they don't because I've been trying to get
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: a few of them. And people like to believe I'm
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: really talent, and people like to believe I'm really successful.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: So when I meet a talent like you who come
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: along and was able to tell our stories, you know,
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: and this is just one example. Really, love is just
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: one of examples. That gentifier is just one example. Well,
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: she's gonna go with her voice and her control and
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: the ability to be able to communicate, whether it's sitcom,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: h it's dramas, or whether it's film or whether it's docuseries.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: That's your craft. And you know the fact that you
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: decided one day in New York City said this is
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: This is fine for somebody else, but this is not
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: fine for Leah Williams. That's the blessing of who you
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: are today. Okay, that's the blessing when you saw Malcolm Lee,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: you know throughout some names early interview Macom Lee, Charles Kane,
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: you know, you know, you know, you know, I haven't
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: dropped the Mike Earl in this interview with Leah Charles Kane.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: You know, I heard him Michael Lee. That's why I
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: was blessed to hear them speak and share their experience. UM.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: I was really blessed to connect with James White, who
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: wrote the movie Ray that had come out the year before,
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: and UM, you know, in our conversations, UM, we you know,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: we exchanged information and he asked me like, have you
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: ever read a professional script before? Like no, but I
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: haven't actually, and he was like, tell me about the
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: type of movies that you like and so. And he
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: had asked for my address, and I remember like a
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: week or so later, I got this package, UM that
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: had all these printed out scripts uh closer, UM, Thomas
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: Crown Affair after Sunset, some other some other things. Because
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: he wanted to meet her. You know, we read a
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: range of scripts and he was like, and if you
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: ever want to talk about them, let's talk about um.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: And because at the time I had a former classmate
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: who had a script that she wanted me to produce.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: And I was like, I don't how do you give notes?
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: And James White walked me through that. UM, And obviously
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: I learned some more. Once I came to l A
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: and started working for a lot of the wonderful folks
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: that I've had the opportunity to work for and taking
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: classes with Film Independent and all of that good stuff. Um,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: but it was it all started with that amazing conference
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: from the Ron Brown Scholar Program. I'm speaking with the
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: leoh Williams. She's the rebel of Just the Rebel production
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: company focuses on television and film that shifts the culture forward.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: Their home to the fearlessly creative, those who are on
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: a bashed specific ethic coloration that we all can relate to,
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: that will tell our stories that we feel that us
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: so important to us. I want to thank you for
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: coming on money making Conversations. I am a fan, okay,
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: I'm a fan of you. You know, you know, don't
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: don't don't don't throw that sweet out there. This is
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: all about professionalism, okay, Just like I'm saying, it's just
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: like when remember Susan Dugtas grabbed your face and go, girl,
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: I'm so happy to see you because I'm You're younger
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: than me, so you know, I know, like I said,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: I met Susanne nineteen five. Robert Townsond gave me my Really,
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: I always tell him he saved my writing career as
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: a sitcom writer. If he didn't give me that job,
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: then I wouldn't be interviewing you today. So we all
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: have these these mentors, these these angels who coming to
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: our lives, who keep us moving forward. And you're an angel,
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: and I want you to continue to share these creative
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: blessings with us on the screen, long form, short form,
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: big screen, small screen, digital, social media, YouTube, whatever you
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: got out there, you keep dealing and I keep watching. Okay,
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: thank you so very much, thank you for coming on
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: my show. Mrs Leiah Williams. You have a bless absolutely.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: If you want to see any my interviews on Monty
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: Making Conversations, please go to Money Making Conversation dot com.
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: I am rou Sean McDonald. I am your host. In
• 31:29
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