00:00You know, Hollywood for a very long time has ignored stories about marginalized communities and minority communities of all types.
00:08And I want to use my voice to make movies that are not just for black audiences, but that are for all audiences and telling universal stories through a black lens.
00:16And this clearly is one of those stories. It's steeped in the church, black church, praise teams, gospel music, all of that.
00:23But it's a film that has universal themes of overcoming challenges, teamwork, finding your voice, finding your faith.
00:32Break every chain, break every chain.
00:36This song needs life up a hill.
00:37Sam can help.
00:38She writes songs.
00:39The chorus is the strongest part.
00:40If we lose the rest and tie the loose ends, it could be really special.
00:43Lose the rest?
00:45Every team has their lane.
00:46And our lane is real church music.
00:48How about you learn an actual gospel song first?
00:53What's up, brother?
00:55What's going on, my man?
00:56How you doing today?
00:56I'm feeling pretty great, man.
00:58I'm here.
00:59It's the premiere of my movie tonight.
01:01I'm at a press junket live in person.
01:03I get to talk to you about this film.
01:05I'm proud of this film.
01:06I'm feeling pretty good.
01:07So how was it like working on a film of this magnitude?
01:10You know, a film like this, you got to remember that because you have so many performance moments and set pieces in the film,
01:16that you have to balance that with telling the story.
01:19So we wanted it to be really energetic.
01:21We wanted it to be fun and we want the music to really bang, like just hit you in the face as soon as you come into this movie.
01:30But we also wanted to make a movie that did not forget that it is about a young woman's journey to find her own faith.
01:38And so the mix-up, the mash-up, I should say, of that kind of mirrors the mash-ups that we did in the music where you have traditional gospel songs
01:46and gospel production and gospel tracks with secular music, like our Savage, you know, Meg and Beyonce mash-up with our gospel music.
01:56Like, that kind of really embodies what this movie wants to be and I think what we accomplished.
02:01And with all the films you've been attached to in your career, you know, specifically this one as well, too,
02:06why do you feel it's so important to highlight these black stories and tell people about black culture?
02:11Yes, there's not enough of them.
02:12You know, Hollywood for a very long time has ignored stories about marginalized communities and minority communities of all types.
02:20And I want to use my voice to make movies that are not just for black audiences but that are for all audiences
02:27and telling universal stories through a black lens.
02:29And this clearly is one of those stories.
02:31It's steeped in the church, black church, praise teams, gospel music, all of that.
02:36But it's a film that has universal themes of overcoming challenges, teamwork, finding your voice, finding your faith.
02:45So you're a willpower packer.
02:47Yes, sir.
02:48You know, so how do you decide at this point in your career what projects to attach yourself to, what to say yes to, what to say no to?
02:54Like, how is that process like for you?
02:56Yeah, it's a great question.
02:57You know, for me, it's about instinct and whether or not a project speaks to me.
03:02And also, I'm always thinking about my audience, right, the consumer that is ultimately going to see, watch this film or television or whatever it is I'm creating.
03:11I think about them and I think about is this something that is going to, in a world where they got all the choices in the world,
03:18they got all kinds of things they want to see, is this going to stand out and is it going to say something?
03:23Because I always want a willpower project to make you feel something.
03:26It can make you laugh, make you mad, make you cry.
03:28I want you to feel something when you see one of my projects.
03:31Mr. Packer, thank you, sir.
03:33I appreciate you.
03:34Well done, brother.
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