00:00I think if somebody were to look at me and the way I do things, it's so much like seeing Gina because that's what I learned from and that's what I watched from.
00:13It is such an incredible thing to see where Lena is right now and knowing how far she's gonna go.
00:21You could just tell that Lena saw greatness in herself early on.
00:26Lena, you knew she was gonna be somebody. It's not just a talent that she has, it's the hustle and the personality.
00:34People want to help her because she's so genuine and authentic and warm and cool.
00:44I always think of this story when people talk about advice because Gina is a little shy.
00:49I won't say standoffish, I'll say shy.
00:51It was my job as her assistant and Gina gets a lot of these requests and you probably continue to get them to come to panels and things like that.
00:58There was this one time where I was like, can you go to this panel?
01:01And she was like, what am I gonna say? Like, what advice am I gonna give?
01:04And I was like, I don't know. There's probably some young black female director that wants to hear your story and what you have to say.
01:11And I said, what advice would you give, you know, to that director? She said, be great. Be great.
01:17And I was like, that's it? That's all you would say?
01:19And I just remember remembering that and now when I was on some panel, I remember telling that story and I remember thinking,
01:28it's actually the best advice, you know, one can give because especially if you're someone who is othered,
01:36who's marginalized, who people don't expect greatness from, that's the only choice you have.
01:42And I think that those two words continue to resonate inside of me or whenever I'm talking to people.
01:48I'm like, if you're great, somebody's gonna take notice. If you're okay, you'll sort of be like everybody else.
01:53Lena, once she stopped working for me, she wanted to be a writer. That was her dream.
02:06And she sent me a script that she was working on and it's so nerve-wracking to get that first thing
02:12because it's like, what if it sucked? But it was really good. I was like, oh my God, I see this.
02:16And it was such a great story and such a great character and the lead character was gay.
02:22And there was a moment where I said to her, this is so good. The relationship that this woman has with this other woman is so dope.
02:30But it would be easier if you made it, you know, a guy and a girl. And what do you think about that?
02:36She didn't have anything yet, like no deals, no opportunities yet to be a writer.
02:42And she was like, this is the story I want to tell. And it's important to me.
02:46And the fact that she hung on to that and was strong way back then just says volumes about her.
02:52And that's what you need. You need to have that belief in yourself that your story deserves to be told.
02:57And also the belief that you're the one that's going to tell the story.
03:00And I've just never forgotten that. And that, I think, is why I choose who she is today.
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