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00:00welcome back to the 2021 essence hollywood house okay let's keep it moving and get into the next
00:12chat and y'all i have to be honest i think this one might be my favorite you'll see why enjoy
00:17hello everyone and welcome back to the second annual essence hollywood house we're virtual
00:31this time as i'm sure you guys have all caught on to by now we're so glad to have everyone here with
00:36us i'm rachel davis senior editor for experiential here at essence and i'm so glad you guys are still
00:42tuned in because this next conversation is definitely one you would have been mad you missed
00:46so tonight we'll be talking about why it's so important to have black writers costume designers
00:52directors hairstylists and more behind the scenes in hollywood joining me to get the conversation
00:58started tonight is a singer songwriter and actress who landed her first role at just 12 years old
01:03she's appeared in films including 35 and ticking and into the dark and she currently stars on amazon's
01:10the wild which is in production for season two but you might recognize her from a little show
01:16called snowfall which is going absolutely crazy and she stars as melody on that breakout fx hit crime
01:22drama ladies and gentlemen please welcome miss rain edwards hey rain hi how are you um well how are you
01:31i'm good thank you for having me yeah thank you so much for being here with us tonight you know this
01:37is a super important topic and we're really excited to kind of get your perspective on this as an
01:42actress because i think you know we know that it's it's really important for sure for those who are in
01:48those positions and kind of taking up space in those spots to really have that agency and make sure
01:53that they advocate and make sure that we know as audiences and hollywood knows just how important it
01:59is to have black creatives behind the scenes but i did really want to get the perspective from you as
02:04well as an actress so i think we're ready to jump right in yeah let's do it so first things first i want to
02:11check in with you how is your 2021 been so far um we all know 2020 was crazy and i think you know we've
02:18all been looking forward to the fresh start that is 2021 and you know i mentioned snowfall i mentioned
02:24uh the wilds which are both killing it so it seems like you're having an amazing year but how have you
02:29been how is everything yeah i am super blessed i'm actually currently in australia um shooting season
02:36two of the wilds and i mean i can't complain i'm in australia great um and you know as you can tell
02:45it's nice and sunny outside um so i've been very blessed i'm very fortunate to be able to work
02:50during this uh difficult time so it's it's been going to get so far yeah and i know you guys are
02:56coming out of a time you know with 2020 where everybody kind of had to do a modified version of
03:02work um last year right so getting kind of back into the swing of things um as well so congratulations
03:09on everything and congratulations on having a great 2021 so far thank you so much so yeah jumping
03:15into our topic a little bit you know you have the opportunity to work in a few different capacities
03:21in hollywood um we've seen you on daytime television on the bold and the beautiful and as we mentioned
03:26in the wild also 35 and ticking which behind the scenes you had like hollywood like huge names like
03:34mike epps kim whitley even russ parr from radio um and now snowfall where you know we know the late
03:41john singleton is a producer on on that series so you've had a couple different experiences um i want
03:47to talk to you a little bit about how important it's been for you as an actress to have black creatives
03:53like that behind the scenes and some of the difference that it's made for you definitely
03:58um i'd say that the importance is there is just this understanding that happens um that there are
04:05some things that when a black creative is there that just naturally go into the work right which is
04:12really really beneficial for you know a black actress um or any black person in the industry
04:20it's uh and it helps us move the conversation forward where we can continue to show who we are
04:29as a people uh when we have all these black creatives that get to show the true side of ourselves rather
04:36than the stereotypical side that's been passed down from generation to generation in the tv and film
04:40industry yeah and so if if we're speaking specifics um you know up next we'll be hearing a little bit
04:47from some of the ladies who actually work behind the scenes in hollywood and what their experiences
04:52are and you know why they know that it's so important we don't have to ask them if we think
04:57that it's if they think it's important they know it's important um but what are there any specifics
05:03that you can remember where you've had a moment on set where you're like i'm so glad that there
05:07was this like hairstylist or this was costume designer or anything like that for sure right now
05:13i'm working i'm working uh they have a hairstylist that's brought here to do my hair that knows how
05:19to do textured hair and um she's amazing like she she got she making my products out of food like
05:27everything like that and just to have that understanding where where i don't have to be
05:32on set because it's happened before you know you go on set and no one knows how to do your hair
05:36you go on set you can't quite match your makeup you know and to be at a time where i can have someone
05:43that knows what to do um and when to do it and how to do it it helps me not have to worry about
05:51something that's not necessarily my job you know i can just go in and come do my work and go home
05:57now are there you you mentioned hair which you know i think for black women whether we on set
06:04in the bathroom at school at the mall like you know we have our hair together whether we're touching
06:09it you know and no matter who's touching it and so you mentioned hair are there kind of three um
06:16things are there any specific things that you look for when you go on set um or that you want to have
06:22um as a black actress and a black creative in hollywood um and anything that it immediately jumps
06:27out to you like i'm glad there's this so i'm glad there's that oh well definitely glad to have
06:32someone that knows how to do my hair you know um and makeup you know that's a big thing i think that
06:38there there's been conversations about it here and there but i think it still needs to put be put
06:43forward more about the lack of knowledge when it comes to black hair and black makeup on set so
06:49whenever i get that when someone knows what they're doing that's definitely a plus
06:52um i think also the understanding that if you know i am this black woman coming on set there are
07:03some things that a person may not have thought about that i've experienced you know that character
07:08storyline the way they be written might not be natural as a black woman to play so when someone
07:14has that understanding and you know asks me about it brings that up and is like is this okay or if i go up
07:20to them and and then they will have a conversation i think open conversation is really really key
07:26yeah and just having a collaborative effort and just being fun like you know i think sometimes it
07:33gets too like real heavy sometimes and um sometimes that's necessary for like heavy emotional days but i
07:40think just people that are really passionate and excited to do the work is definitely um a plus
07:46now i see on social media your ig page is super cute like you give us so many different i mean you're
07:54giving us hair you're giving us makeup you're giving us clothes everything is is lovely and cute you switch
08:00it up a lot which is dope and then we get to be as your character so it's it's super fun do you think
08:05you know i know that we as fans and um audiences kind of tuning in for these own tv shows we get
08:13conversations going a lot right about like you know exactly what we're talking about here the
08:17importance of black creatives behind the scenes in hollywood do you think that plays a role in or
08:22that is playing a role um in the increase that we are seeing and kind of um seeing more and more
08:28black creatives get opportunities behind the scenes in hollywood like do you think that conversation
08:32is helpful in moving things forward in that area in terms of yeah in in terms of so do you think
08:40the conversations that we have on social are helpful in like more black creatives showing up
08:46behind the scenes in hollywood for these projects oh yeah i think that um there's like this delicate
08:52balance with social media you know um because people can be real quick to get you for something
08:57you know i think for me personally speaking on my social media it's just about showing love and
09:04positivity yeah and seeing the beauty in my blackness you know telling you know black stories i'm really
09:12just blessed that i get to do that and get to show people that side on social media as well
09:16yeah and what what's your relationship that you've been happy to have and establish with your fans
09:23with being on these shows that are just like huge shows they're doing well everybody's loving them
09:28we're talking about them and you're showing up again as an actress and also of course as a black
09:34actress just really you know holding your own and killing it in your role so how has that been kind
09:39of developing that relationship with the fans as they have this appreciation for you in the space
09:44honestly it is hilarious people are funny like fans are hilarious like honestly i think one of my
09:50favorite things about fans is the memes they create yeah especially because i'm a person that has like
09:56so many facial expressions and you see that in every single one of my characters and just me
10:01and so people are so quick to make memes and stuff and then just be shocked about the different journeys
10:08my character goes on and it just makes me feel good because that means they're immersed in the story
10:12and they are paying attention to the story that was told um so it's it's been really cool to be able
10:18to connect with people in that way yeah and i mean i think a feeling that appreciation is always a
10:25reflection of the amazing job that you're doing on screen right like love to see you we love you know
10:31what you're doing we love what you're working on so definitely keep that up and keep that relationship
10:36going with your fans i know there's a lot of people that are rooting for you and just rooting to even see
10:40you know more more faces like yours and more people who um hold space the way that you do and show up
10:46you know authentically on screen thank you so much for sure now i don't want to get out of here
10:53without asking you what do you have coming up what should people look out for um and yeah what
10:59what's it's something that you want people to kind of keep a lookout for yeah definitely so like i said
11:06i'm shooting season two of the wild right now um you know y'all keep watching snowfall and i also have
11:11a movie that just finished post-production called love you anyway they're still working on getting that
11:17out but i'm really excited for that story it's about a girl um named mckenzie which is my character
11:22and you see her life through time up until well i don't want to give away the ending but you see
11:30you see her life and she's battling um depression and you see her life story about how she's going
11:38through that and how it affects her her friends and family and i'm just really excited to have that
11:43story my character in the wild has a form of a mental illness and it's um awesome to kind of
11:48bring that to the forefront with this character and also with the movie love you anyway in this
11:53character just bringing that conversation um up in the black community again oh that sounds like
11:59something we definitely want to want to keep tabs on and and make sure we know when that is is coming
12:04so we'll definitely be keeping up with that and i saw you you sing as well right you do i do
12:09yeah yeah yeah so how is how are you i mean i know i would imagine your acting is at the forefront
12:16right now but i've seen that youtube page girl it was hey thank you so much you sing for real you
12:21sing for real you know you have a beautiful voice so how do you balance you know that and and how is
12:27it going kind of juggling um being a multi-hyphenate black creative at that thank you um yeah it's it's
12:34definitely a juggling act you know and the thing is i i have like songs recorded and things like
12:39that i'm still working on that but my biggest thing is i don't want to let out something and
12:43not be able to be consistent yeah so when i do let out something i want it to be a whole project that
12:48people can listen to for a minute you know but i'm i'll be jumping around country to country which
12:53i'm really grateful for but um it's definitely something that i i i foresee myself doing
12:58but right now i'm just you know um i try and sing on instagram and stuff so people remember that i can
13:04do it um you know you gotta keep it fresh yeah gotta keep it fresh gotta let people know um yeah and i
13:11just i just really enjoy it it is something i've been passionate about since i was little that's
13:16actually why i got into acting which is really funny oh cool okay okay well yeah so we'll definitely
13:22keep up with that and keep up with everything else that you have going on and just again
13:26congratulations on everything and thank you for the example that you're setting for you know this
13:30next wave coming up and even those who are going to come after you and kind of get to see you know
13:35what it looks like to to see someone shining you know in these big roles and these big films and tv
13:41shows and you know even in the music space so congratulations and thank you for being here
13:46thank you so much all right so let's get into part two of this conversation where we'll be hearing
13:51from a few amazing ladies who work behind the scenes in hollywood and why their jobs their
13:57positions and just their presence in those spaces are so important charisma take it away
14:02thank you rachel hi everyone my name is charisma deberry and i'm the director of social media
14:09here at essence i'm so glad that you are still with us because this is a conversation you do not
14:15want to miss we are chatting with two talented ladies who are making major moves behind the scene
14:22in hollywood here with me tonight is a filmmaker who is a proud graduate of ucla and columbia
14:29university she is the director and producer of the upcoming documentary dreamland the burning of black
14:36wall street executive produced by lebron james maverick carter and jamel henderson of the spring hill
14:42company the project will center on the 100th anniversary of the tulsa massacre please welcome
14:50selena karoma also joining us is a costume designer and image consultant whose work over the past decade
14:57has established her as one of the most important costume designers in the business she has lent her
15:04talent as a costume designer to a host of films and television shows including the inevitable defeat
15:11of mr and pete vincent and roxy and raising dion most recently she led costume design for the oscar
15:20nominated film judas and the black messiah please welcome charlise antoinex welcome ladies we're so glad
15:28to have you here tonight i think we're ready to get started y'all ready yeah let's do it let's go so to
15:35start i want to take advantage of the fact that we have you talented women here who are holding such
15:41different spaces can you tell me what does your average busy day look like charlise we'll start
15:47with you well um my day sometimes starts at like 4 42 in the morning um i have to be there if we're
15:57doing a early morning daylight dependent shot i have to be there to get the actors ready be on set
16:04for first light so sometimes my call time is as early as 4 42 in the morning i spend the morning
16:09you know um talking to my actors if their change has never been seen on camera before um we're
16:15talking i'm talking them through the look and making sure that you know continuity is correct
16:19you know with my team if the look has already been established and then you know from that point on i
16:25could either be on set establishing all day or i could be out in the world pulling shopping and doing
16:31fittings with you know our next round of day players and actors and background and working
16:36with my team because i have two teams i have a team that's on set and i have a team that's in the
16:39office so i'm constantly ping-ponging back and forth throughout the day it's very very busy and no two
16:45days are this exactly the same and that's what i love about it yeah so salima can you tell us what
16:51it's like on the producing end same i uh actually you're right uh no two days are the same right
16:58so uh normally my days start the night before right i'm thinking about what i have to do the
17:04next day if i'm if i'm if we're talking about production shooting on the ground not editing
17:09that's a different uh sort of thing but if i'm producing or you know in production uh i'm thinking
17:15who are we interviewing what are the questions that we're that we got what are the sort of what parts
17:21of the story does this uh person need to be telling um and like who are they who's their mother
17:26and their dog and their grandmother um and then the next and then the next day i like to wake up
17:32around like 4 4 30 and that's the time that nobody's going to be talking to me i can do i can
17:37read i can play video games i chill um you know that is my time because i know that the rest of the
17:43day is going to be not for me it'll be a bunch of questions some i don't know the answer to some i
17:48do most i don't know the answer to so uh it is a day of of that and sort of a lot of people
17:55relying on you uh to have answers to things so that's that's my day
17:59again both of you guys are so busy i mean yes your days may look different but one thing that
18:08is the same it's a lot of hard work going on in some early mornings and some late nights
18:12i think we can agree right yeah absolutely so i'm going to switch gears a little bit salima
18:18and i know that you've seen lately that there is a lot of talk around black trauma in film
18:26and constantly showing devastating images of black people in film and television how important do you
18:34feel like it is for black people to be behind the scenes to tell those stories because they still need
18:39to be told and i know even for your film we're celebrating we're not celebrating but we are honoring
18:45the 100th anniversary of the tulsa massacre so how do you step into that conversation to make it
18:51different than just trauma i think that's a great question and i think um without getting too deep
18:59into like how the industry works i don't know i'm just still still learning right um but i think that
19:05sometimes um when when black people when when we want to tell stories as black people um sometimes
19:13there's stories that we want to tell because we want to tell them and sometimes there's stories
19:18that we want to tell because we know that the gatekeepers are going to be interested the gatekeepers
19:22are sort of like hmm this is kind of something that we haven't heard about before maybe right
19:27sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes that's a bad thing i think the bad part comes when you start
19:31trying sort of pandering to the gatekeepers rather than sort of uh doing what you think is in a
19:37legitimate authentic kind of story so with black wall street with uh dreamland the burning of black
19:43wall street um uh you know i think there is a risk of going more towards the trauma but when i first
19:52thought about black wall street i didn't think about the massacre although i did and that is important
19:57i thought about what black people were in greenwood in tulsa at the time it was like the great gatsby
20:05and you never hear stories about black people as the great gatsby you know at the parties and the
20:12dresses and the schools and the church and all that kind of stuff you know we look bomb and it's the
20:19same sort of idea that when we when we went to go watch uh black panther and we're like whoa this is
20:25what black people could be or you know it's like no that's what we were so you know rather than the
20:30trauma and i think the trauma is important to get into also what was the beauty
20:35in that i think that for me is important and maybe something that the gatekeepers don't see until i say
20:41it absolutely and charlise i seen your eyes lighten up because you were like i would love maybe maybe
20:47do a fictional version so i could put some costumes in there oh yeah no absolutely i i completely agree
20:53with you we don't get to see you know how what what we don't get to see is like the reasons why
21:00our communities were so threatening you know and that was because of the prosperity because of the
21:05joy because of the beauty because we were free you know and for so long we were subjugated and
21:10for so long um you know these white poor communities felt like we were taking from them
21:18taking their jobs you know similar to how you know people who are immigrants get treated particularly
21:22from mexico right it's like the same mindset that keeps happening over and over and over again so i think
21:26it is important to um document that and i applaud you and i'm so glad that this is coming out because
21:32people need to understand these cycles thank you you're welcome absolutely and you are a part of
21:39another powerful film first of all this year can we just say 2021 and 2020 with black films just
21:47phenomenal yeah just unbelievable we're taking over all of the awards as we should um and you were a part
21:55of charlice you were a part of judas and the black messiah a film that i mean we are all holding our
22:02breath right for the academy awards and we've seen it um have so much celebration this past year but in
22:082019 you took it upon yourself to create a resource for black designers to get together and be able to work
22:16on projects and and shoot you know different work to each other how important do you think that that is
22:22and where did that inspiration come from to create that resource yeah so um a little clarification
22:28on the resource so what i'm doing specifically with the black designer database is i it's it's a way for
22:34me to hold my industry accountable right so i have this tool now you know if you want to diversify the
22:41kinds of designers that you're using on your projects like a lot of the complaints are like they can't find
22:45black designers you know it's it's the same complaint you know over and over again particularly when it comes to
22:50like below the line people as well so this was my way of like bridging that gap and being like hey
22:56i have this resource if you are really you know serious about you know utilizing black designers and
23:02black talent you know to collaborate with as a costume designer here it is you know you can buy from
23:07them i can give you their all their contact information if you want to collaborate like just
23:11trying to make it easy and bridge the gap and what it came out of was just my own personal um conviction
23:19every time i did a project it didn't matter who was the lead i would try my best to get you know
23:25black designers on screen whether it be on a day player on or on a lead actor or actress i mean when
23:31i did see you yesterday i spent the majority of my budget on black designers and i got promo from big
23:36brands they sent me stuff for free and i had a tiny budget for that movie and i tried to utilize the
23:41majority of that budget you know on buying and purchasing from black designers and collaborating with
23:46black designers to create custom pieces so that it felt like brooklyn you know what i mean so um that
23:53is where it came from it's just what i was doing all along and i realized like this is a need you know
23:58this is a way to like bridge the gap and there's been there's other um you know online stores and
24:02services and things like that that have popped up like that as well but it's like consumer facing
24:06i'm specifically trying to get you know the people in my industry and costume design to utilize this
24:12resource because people need their designs on camera it does such good for them to have their
24:17designs on celebrities to go viral to be in a movie and you know a lot of times black designers can't
24:23afford the pr you know so this is like a way to help both parties out absolutely so can you talk about
24:31a time either one of you can you talk about a time when you realize your worth in hollywood
24:36how did you get the courage to speak up for yourself and i know particularly as a director
24:43in this business as a black woman what what is that like for you and when did can you bring us
24:51to a moment when you had to step up and say listen i'm the director i'm here listen to me um
24:57can you tell us a story yeah you want me to go through the the past traumas the trauma
25:03it's me bringing the trauma uh i know right uh honestly i i would say this i will say it is an
25:13everyday struggle it is a daily constant thing because you're dealing with different people every
25:19day who you have to reprove yourself to you you know you you know you have to um show that you know
25:27what you're doing um and uh i think it's not just something that i that i've experienced
25:32is something that other black women that i've spoken with in many different industries not just
25:37hollywood have dealt with and that is you know people doubting you uh and in turn i mean you're
25:43already doubting yourself as a creative you doubt yourself every once in a while and sometimes you
25:47need a bit of validation uh and if you don't have if you don't know exactly what you want i think this
25:54is my experience if i don't know exactly what i want a lot of times i feel worried to to ask
25:58because it's a sign of it's a bit of a sign of weakness something that i don't get i don't get
26:03that sort of privilege to to sort of not know what i'm doing right i don't have that privilege um and
26:10so it is tough it's an everyday thing it's something that i think i'm going to go through for a while
26:16until you know my name is attached with some sort of reputation of she knows what she's doing
26:22um but um how did i know that my work had that i had some sort of value or worth in this industry
26:31i would say uh um again it's a ever it's a process it's an ever going process like there's one time i
26:42did a story i kept pitching this story about a gamer right um and like nobody understood what i was
26:48talking about you know it's this thing in my head and once i started doing it like i could have been
26:55discouraged and i was discouraged right once i started doing it i was like i know what i know
27:00what i'm talking about like i know what i'm doing and it ended up being like one of the my most
27:05successful story um one of the best stories and one i'm most proud of and i think that like it's an
27:12everyday struggle to remind yourself like you are the ish you are the ish you got this you got this
27:18you're here for a reason right you're here for a reason so absolutely yeah i i just want to step in
27:25and it's so funny that you say that you're like once i'll have value and i'll know that people
27:31um have more respect for me essentially when more projects come out but even that is not a given right
27:38because we see somebody like shonda rhimes who said that after having grades anatomy and all of
27:44these successful shows on this particular network they still didn't see the value in her so she had
27:50to pick up her talent after years of making hundreds of millions of dollars um and take it to somewhere
27:55where she felt like she could be respected so black women aren't even given that it's not even our worth
28:00that they or you know you can prove your worth even through dollars since whatever entertainment value
28:06but sometimes we still have to stand up for ourselves and i think that that was a great example that she gave
28:11to us where she was like you know if you don't respect me i'm out even this might be happening
28:17yeah i'm done but you guys that's shonda rhimes though you this is shonda rhimes you know me i mean
28:23even oprah you know oprah's gone through stuff like this and it's like jeez how long is this gonna last
28:30when is it gonna end you know so that's not the greatest that's not the good but it is good to know
28:35that there are other women that you can talk to about the other black women who've been through the same
28:38thing that you can sort of lean on and talk when i see charlise when i see you like nodding your head
28:42i'm like yes she gets it she gets it so you have no idea like tell us about it oh i mean how much time
28:53do we have um you know i it comes at me from so many different directions you know it comes at me
29:03from like you know my agents in the past my current agent is awesome but in the past i had agents
29:10telling me you know i don't have enough work and i don't have this and i and i they can't pitch me
29:16they can't sell me and i'm just like what are you talking about you know like i know my worth i know
29:22my work is good and i have you know white homegirls and peers who have done less than me and they're
29:28getting these giant budget films so i can only deduce it has to do with one their network and
29:34two race and i've been in situations and so many situations where like i've had to like prove myself
29:43and it wasn't until almost the end of the project where they were like wow actually i you know yeah
29:50like you're really talented and wow and you know like they're they're surprised and they're shocked
29:55you know um like you know they're just you just end up in these situations where like people just
30:00count you out from the beginning because they just don't trust you you know they don't believe you
30:05can do it they don't trust you and it's an inherent bias you know and it's like there's nothing that
30:09i can say to anyone to prove to them that they're doing it but they are you know and it's so obvious
30:16because i see and it's it's also it's very much a black thing and a gender thing you know because
30:23i do have peers who aren't black who are like but that's a woman thing and i'm like yeah but
30:27imagine like the blackness on top of that like it's it's what you experience times a hundred you
30:33know what i'm saying so if you can empathize for you know from being a woman then imagine how much
30:39more severe it is being a black woman right and this is why like everyone needs to we all need to
30:45like band together like right now my guild is like doing this whole pay equity fight because it's a
30:49problem and it's like it's a problem for all women in this industry but particularly black women
30:56because i found myself struggling and fighting to like get on a major's project you and and when
31:03you're on a major's project that that affects your income like like no other right and so you know i
31:11and i would see again peers who might not have had as many credits or whatever just like moving on up
31:18right and i just was like i guess i just gotta like wait i gotta wait and the thing is it's like
31:24how do you get there if no one gives you the opportunity and they're like well you don't have
31:29it on your resume well how do you get it on your resume how do you get there right and it really
31:34took you know the director of judas fighting for me because they didn't want to they didn't want me
31:38to have the job i had to go through like mad interviews because they're like she has no studio
31:42experience she hasn't done a movie this big of a budget and he even said to them but how does
31:47she get there you know so it takes someone believing in you and advocating for you um and because they're
31:53not gonna just hire us because like it's just it's a different it's just a different level of comfort
32:00you know that i've noticed that people in power who are not black you know have with their own people
32:08and i'm just gonna put it like that yeah absolutely and just like you said i mean judas and the black
32:15messiah is making history because of the level of black representation it has behind camp behind the
32:20scenes you have a black director a black producer um well two black producers like that makes a huge
32:28difference and black writers and they're nominated for an academy award so in those moments guess who
32:33was standing up for you right like and that does make such a huge difference and lastly i really want
32:39to talk about the people who are watching today they're looking at you and they're aspiring right
32:46they they want to be in your shoes in some way shape or another what advice can you give to them
32:52and how can you tell them and encourage them to keep going if they do want to work in hollywood and they
32:56see all of the hurdles but they want to be behind the scenes and they want to represent that next wave of
33:01diversity so so salima i'm coming to you first um i mean my first probably big piece of advice is
33:09going to be the most cliche thing and probably nobody's going to believe me but it is be yourself
33:15right i genuinely believe that because i think from your one from yourself comes like good pitches
33:22you know and if you care about the thing that you're doing and it's coming from self it's coming
33:29from a project that you want to do or something that you're excited by um i think that you can go
33:36if you're making i think if you're coming up with ideas doc ideas or whatever pitches because you think
33:41that people are going to like it or because you think that that's what people want and then you don't
33:46know what to do once you start you know doing the project you don't actually care you don't want to
33:50spend a year doing it then i would say don't do it so my advice is like you can't lie to yourself
33:56in this you can't you have to be true to yourself it's the only way to be and then also like we're
34:02all doing all these like zoom interviews or doing these we're all on zoom and like nobody wants to
34:07hear you say the same thing that everybody else is saying they want to hear you be yourself because
34:12that's what's interesting that's what's i don't know i think that's i think that's my my big piece of
34:18advice and then probably more practically like if you say you want to do a story write it down
34:24make the deck do the research read the book do the thing don't just say you want to do it don't just
34:30say i have this idea don't just keep talking about the idea actually write down the idea and do it like
34:36do the deck for it right do the script for it do the first five pages for it that's my advice
34:43absolutely charlise um i would say um find community because um you know when you are trying
34:55to um establish yourself in this business it's really hard to do it alone um this business is
35:01all about um your network and and and your network organically not like trying to force relationships
35:10with people because you think you need to have a relationship with them maybe you don't vibe maybe
35:15you won't work well together it's all about like your organic network and about coming up together
35:21and building together and supporting each other and like you know what this person needs an ad
35:26and i'm gonna ad for them and i'm you know like doing that kind of work with each other
35:30and helping each other and then um i would also say um like work as much as you can
35:38in the beginning don't say no and when you get to a point where you can say no say no um but like in
35:45the beginning definitely just do whatever do whatever you know because i know in my situation
35:52i didn't have any connections in this industry i didn't like like a lot of my peers have family
35:56members or just had any connection to the industry you know whatsoever um i had nothing i didn't go to
36:03film school so i didn't have a network for my film school i just wanted to do this and so i did
36:09everything you know if someone wanted me to to get coffee i got coffee you know i drove i i drove
36:15costume designers around for you know a couple years and that was my job was to drive them around while
36:21they shopped and guess what i learned so much i learned where to get mad shit you know like because
36:26i paid attention and they would teach me things so nothing should be beneath you you know this is really
36:32what you want to do like nothing should be beneath you and even you know up until i shot judas i was
36:37still assisting other costume designers because you learn so much by being around other people and
36:43seeing how they work so that would be my two main pieces of advice awesome before we go let everybody
36:51know what they can expect what upcoming projects you have coming up because after this conversation i know
36:57that everyone tuning in and googling you're brilliant so let them know right now um i'll go
37:04first um where you can find me i am at lima cake l-i-m-a cake on twitter and instagram uh and what am i
37:12working on right now i'm working on um you know other documentaries i want to do stories about the internet
37:17and the history on the internet uh and how people uh um interacted on it the evolution of how we
37:25interacted on the internet uh so i'm working on a documentary about that right now which is just
37:29so excited about it and um and other stuff too let's see wish me luck root for you girl you know
37:36yeah you got this black planet on there i was just talking oh yeah an oral history of black planet
37:43would be dope oh my god that's such a that's such a great idea thank you you're welcome charlie
37:50um i am working on work-life balance um i was a bit burnt out and the pandemic really showed me how
38:00burnt out i was that is like my number one task uh and then i have so many ideas and um i will be
38:10working on them one by one i don't want to like put too much of it out there but um i have tons of
38:16amazing ideas and then i'm working on you know black designer database like really building it out
38:22you know um to include more services for the designers and to be its own platform hopefully in the
38:28future and i'm interviewing for a bunch of movies and i'm sure if you follow me you'll hear which
38:35one i get when i get it because you know this is the time where everyone is looking so it's really
38:40exciting to read all these new fun scripts um and yeah just trying to like be positive and you know
38:47mentor people and help as many people of color get into the union it's a game for me and i love it
38:53absolutely and everyone once again the academy awards we know for a fact um we are going to be
39:01rooting for judas and the black messiah because that can change everything for our girl charlise
39:05listen big bank is coming so yeah we will be rooting for that and for nothing else so that you can have
39:12that notch under your belt as well i want to thank you ladies so much for joining us today and for
39:18sharing your experiences thank you thank you thank you we wish you the best of luck and we know that
39:23you're going to do amazing things thank you thank you such an important conversation and great advice
39:30do you know a woman of work who's doing beautiful things in her community nominate her today to be a
39:36l'oreal pair's woman of work go to woman of work.com now
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