- 11 hours ago
The screenwriter and director of films such as 'Love & Basketball,' 'The Secret Life Of Bees' and 'The Woman King' gets real about fighting for your creative work in Hollywood.
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00:00It's a stunning thing to have to fight for your worth, especially after all this time.
00:08And it's such a basic, fundamental thing.
00:10We're fighting for our equitable share in what we create.
00:14And it's really hard to see the paychecks of those at the very top.
00:24And that we're fighting for just a 2% increase.
00:28And yet you hear from them that they have no money.
00:33Clearly you have money.
00:35And you're getting that, not just big paycheck, that enormous yearly paycheck because of the content that we're creating.
00:58Well, hello, Gina Prince-Bythwood.
01:06How are you?
01:08I'm pretty good.
01:08It's a little surreal right now, but hanging in.
01:11It is.
01:12We were just talking about sort of surreal times.
01:15And it feels like we just, I miss the precedented times.
01:19That's what people say, right?
01:20Because they're all unprecedented now.
01:22And yes, I know we're rocking and rolling.
01:26But I just wanted to also introduce myself to you formally.
01:29I'm so excited.
01:30I'm Chief Content Officer of Essence Ventures.
01:35And I'm so just excited to take on this role because of exactly what we're doing today.
01:40I've spent my career making sure that I amplify voices of folks who need to be heard as a Black woman.
01:48I can't even tell you how much it means to me now to be able to do this at such a legendary institution like Essence.
01:53And, you know, I think I was about, I'm about 60 days in, but at about, you know, just a few days in.
02:02And as I was transitioning over, you know, the WGA went on strike.
02:06And I just knew it was something that was so important to me to make sure that we carved out a space specifically for Black women to be able to talk about how this is affecting them, what is happening.
02:18And then, of course, joined later with SAG-AFTRA and actors and actresses who are continuing on the strike.
02:26So I wanted to make sure that we could do that.
02:28We're so excited and welcome you to our From the Frontline series, which is all about sort of providing that space.
02:34As a director and a screenwriter, you know, what unique insights do you feel that you really bring and can spotlight and highlight to this sort of ongoing strike with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA?
02:50You know, considering there's so many various perspectives of people who are affected by this as it's happening.
02:55I think the most striking thing, no pun intended, but being a director and a writer, having so many folk as actors, you truly understand that in this moment, even though we all have some slightly different things that are specific and important to us,
03:17because at its core, we are all fighting for the same thing, and we need each other deeply, one, to win this fight, two, to change the industry in the way that it needs to be changed.
03:30We need each other's support, and you're really starting to feel that, which has been really a beautiful thing.
03:37I mean, obviously, we all work together, but this is, like, really the recognition that we need each other and that, as a collective, we can really affect change.
03:49I love that, that sort of sense of community, right?
03:53Why this matters and also how, in times of need, we lift each other up.
03:58I think that's really, really interesting.
03:59And I'm, you know, as someone who's in media, but on the outside, it's been so exciting to sort of see and affirming, to see us sort of rally around each other.
04:10And I'm glad to see that, and I love that point.
04:13You know, I know you had recently posted on Instagram showing your actual participation in the strike.
04:19I know that's something some folks feel like they can help in different ways.
04:23You have been on the front lines.
04:25This is from the front lines.
04:26Gina has been on the front lines.
04:28You know, can you share sort of your personal experience with actively being involved on the forefront?
04:35What does that feel like?
04:37What does it mean to you?
04:38I mean, I think, yes, there are many ways that you can be involved, but there's nothing more meaningful than being out there with each other in the heat.
04:51Just marching and chanting.
04:54But what you also get is that sense of community.
04:58I mean, I was involved in the first strike in 2007.
05:02And the difference now, and we talk about it, there's so much more of us out there, and you forget because we're so often the only ones in the room.
05:12So now to suddenly be able to see each other, realize that there are more of us, realize the power that we have as a collective, the fellowship, the just helping each other through it.
05:24Because it's, we just know we get hit harder in these strikes than anyone.
05:30And there are things that we are fighting for as part of the guild, but there are things that we need the guild to fight for us.
05:36And so being vocal about that, but also just really being there for each other, because it's a tough time for everyone.
05:45But just being out there, having your face on, it doesn't matter what level you're at.
05:49It's important for all of us to show up and show each other that this fight is important enough to get out there.
05:55I love that.
05:56And I know a lot, you know, there's so many different, when you're talking to the public and the consumers, right?
06:01They love the content, they love the movie, they love the film, the shows.
06:05I often think people don't sometimes understand all of the different parts and the roles and the talent that goes into how they create them.
06:14Can you offer sort of some insights into that sort of intrinsic value that you and your peers really bring to your work in the industry,
06:23into bringing these creations to life so that we can all enjoy them?
06:27And how that is absolutely integral to, you know, having this industry and having it be successful?
06:36I mean, we're literally the content creators, you know, it's like what you're watching.
06:41Someone writes that, someone edits that, someone directs that, someone acts in that.
06:47I think a lot of times most people focus on the actors like, oh, I know them and I'm enjoying them.
06:52But someone is giving them words, someone's creating the world around them.
06:58And it's just a, it's a stunning thing to have to fight for your worth, especially after all this time.
07:08And it's such a basic fundamental thing.
07:10We're fighting for our equitable share in what we create.
07:14And it's really hard to see the, the paychecks of those at the very top.
07:25And that we're fighting for just a 2% increase.
07:29And yet you, you hear from them that they have no money.
07:33Clearly you have money and, and you're getting that, not just big paycheck,
07:40that enormous yearly paycheck because of the content that we're creating without, you don't get that.
07:48And so why not share in that?
07:51Again, I respect that some people are great at business and running big studios yet.
07:58Right.
07:58None of it matters if you don't have content.
08:00None of it matters if you don't have good content.
08:02So pay those equitably for what we're creating.
08:07The, the industry is shrinking so much and studios, they want more, they want more work for less money.
08:19And they want more work with less people, which means fewer people are one, getting the opportunities,
08:26but two, you know, instead of having a writer's room where you have eight, 10 people who are writing for a season,
08:33oftentimes they're pushing you to only have three or four.
08:36So you're literally killing yourselves all nighters.
08:40Right.
08:41And struggling in seven days a week just to get the content out.
08:45It's just not a healthy way to, to live.
08:48It's not good for our industry.
08:50You want everyone to be able to do their best work.
08:52You want people to be able to come into the industry and learn and grow under people who are established.
08:58But when those positions are just being excised, it's really hard to create that farm system that we need so badly.
09:05And the system that helps people like us.
09:10There used to be programs that helped.
09:12I came through the writer's apprentice program.
09:15That's how I started on a different world.
09:17Mara Brock Akil, she started in the same type of program.
09:20My husband, Reggie Rock Bythewood, he started in the Disney program.
09:24These programs work.
09:25They, they help us break in.
09:27And then it's on us, of course, to do the work and, um, and be able to continue to work and get hired.
09:34But these programs are just disappearing.
09:36And we need, we need these programs back.
09:39We need the guild to fight for those programs as well.
09:41And we need the studios to understand the importance of that.
09:44I think you just made so many points that I feel are just, even just, you know, bulleted lists.
09:51They're astounding, right?
09:53So, to think about when I saw the 2%, it was almost like, how can you have an entity that says, you know, I don't know.
10:00I think that's a little bit too much that, you know, writers and actors and actresses are asking for 2% of these humongous profits.
10:09Um, and then again, as you mentioned, to see some of the studio heads who are just the, the amount, uh, that they're making daily, daily, in some instances, is, is more than people sometimes bringing in a year.
10:25Um, and so I think that those are just such important points.
10:27And I'm, I'm also really glad that you made the point about those programs because it's, it's a, it's sort of a collective respect, right?
10:36And investment, uh, into that talent as you were naming, you know, very familiar, of course, and thinking about not just the people you named, like your husband, you know, like Mara, but those shows, like a different world changed my life.
10:51It made me decide to go to an HBCU, you know, even at eight years old, I never let it go.
10:56And it went to Clark Atlanta.
10:57And so these are, these are just really important things.
11:00And also we've got swagger on pause downstairs.
11:03I told my husband, don't, don't shout out to that because my daughter and I love it.
11:07So I was like, don't, don't play it till I get back.
11:09I got to run up to Dan.
11:10So these are, you know, again, my 11 year old is watching that show right now.
11:14That feels very real to her about these young black kids.
11:17These are important pieces.
11:18And I think that that point is that you made is so important that people understand that this is a holistic investment.
11:25That is not happening.
11:27That affects us even culturally.
11:29And with that said, I think about, you know, your films, you know, you reflect constantly this commitment to telling meaningful stories.
11:37You know, within that impact, I would love to hear sort of your thoughts on how, you know, just thinking about the role of storytelling is reshaping these cultural narratives.
11:47If I just gave my own personal experiences, but I'd love sort of your thoughts on how this is impacting this because these stories are so important.
11:55I mean, well, I mean, you really started the conversation when you talked about what different world did for you.
12:02When I was on that show, we were told that the enrollment in HBCUs went up dramatically.
12:08That's the power of what we do.
12:10Like being able to see ourselves reflected on screen.
12:16It's how I got started in this business because I felt invisible growing up.
12:20And then the first time seeing myself reflected on the big screen and wanting to give that feeling to others, wanting to give it to myself.
12:29It's it's everything. Film, television is so, so powerful.
12:36And we have to respect that power, embrace that power and put out narratives and stories and characters that we ourselves can be, you know, inspired by and inspired to be.
12:47But also the world, the world needs to see our humanity.
12:49And if you see daily, we are not given that grace and it's because of so much negativity that's put out.
13:01So the more that we can just put out different images that people can embrace and again, see our humanity.
13:07That's what we love about swagger so much in terms of seeing black teenagers in a different light, see the sweetness of a first love.
13:15It really can change the game and change culture and shift culture.
13:20And so it's why we fight so hard to tell the stories that we want to tell.
13:24I love that. I mean, love and basketball was just pivotal for me.
13:28You know what I mean? And then, you know, I had the opportunity in the previous role to interview the cast of The Woman King and what you did, you know, with that film.
13:36It's it's remarkable. And I think you just really hit the nail on the head with talk.
13:41We cannot lose this from our lives.
13:44And I think specifically as a black woman, we cannot lose this.
13:48I am so grateful to have a show with young black love to show my 11 year old, you know, to to to look at a young woman who said you can have a career and love and, you know, and love and basketball.
14:02That was really important for me as a high schooler, you know, thinking about what is life going to be for me.
14:06So I just I I love that point of sort of what what is at stake here.
14:11It is it is the livelihoods of so many amazingly talented people, but also this sort of cultural impact.
14:19You know, I know that they often say that innovation sort of emerges right during times of upheaval.
14:24I think some big innovation even came up during the last strike.
14:29But as a director and a screenwriter, you know, how do you see this period sort of creating new avenues for collaboration within the industry?
14:38Do you see something new sort of coming up out of what is a really difficult time right now?
14:43I wish I could say I did.
14:46I have not yet.
14:48I mean, absolutely.
14:50There has been a really great sense of community among us because during a strike again, as I said, people remember what happened after 2007 when so many people's deals got cut that so many people lost their jobs.
15:05We know as a collective, those of us who are creating shows and running shows, who are making films, we're the ones hiring each other.
15:17People aren't hiring us.
15:19So our success is really important.
15:21And in this time where we kind of have to band together to survive, more and more people are understanding that the importance of really succeeding so that we can bring others up with us.
15:34You know, we, as I said, we are all in on the guilds, absolutely.
15:41But we do need them to understand that there are things that are really important to us, that they have to address, that things that were put off on the last strike and we were told to wait and be patient.
15:55We're not patient anymore.
15:57We need these things that help bring us, sustain us so that our stories can be told.
16:03I mean, there's such a frightening statistic.
16:05The Annenberg study came out a little while ago and from 2007 to 2022, the percentage of, they say, you know, women of color, female directors was 1.3% of all the films, all the directors, 1.3%.
16:31Like, how is that possible?
16:33So that means that what's getting put out in the world, the, the, it's just our, our voices are not being heard.
16:43And, uh, I know it has opened up a bit.
16:48We are seeing more diversity of content.
16:51We're seeing more films, but it's hard to get excited when you see the hard numbers.
16:57Um, I know how hard it is to center us in our own stories.
17:00And certainly for black women, it's the hardest films to get made.
17:04Um, but we have to keep fighting.
17:07It's exhausting.
17:08But also when we see these younger, uh, folks coming up, you know, A.B. Rockwell with 1001 and Savannah Leaf with Earth Mama, these films that just came out this year.
17:19We got to go out.
17:20We got to support.
17:21Um, it's just, it's too important.
17:26I love that.
17:27Well, I, I do just want to say this on behalf, you know, as media changes and, and as you said, we don't know what the future is going to bring.
17:36And it is hard to, to get excited and see a new path, although they do arise, you know, at essence, we are always a partner and a supporter to you as constant changes and what those mediums look like.
17:48We will always be here to make sure that you can tell those stories, have your voice heard.
17:53And as we, as we evolve, we don't be here no matter what it is, because it's very important to us.
17:59And we're so grateful to you, um, and your peers, and we are standing with you.
18:03I, I feel that something good will come out of it, but I know it's going to be tough.
18:09No, it will.
18:11It will.
18:11It's, it's, it's, it's, it's really tough right now.
18:15We just hit a hundred days on the strike.
18:18Um, it's hurting a lot of people.
18:20And so something good has to come out of this and it needs to end soon, but we can't have gone through all of this without getting what we've asked for from the beginning that should have been given from the beginning.
18:32So, um, I just wanted us all to stay strong and we're so appreciative essence throughout all of it, throughout all the struggles and all the years, you guys have been a constant and it's a beautiful thing.
18:44And I'm so glad you're shining a light on what's going on with the strike because as I said, so often we're invisible and on the sidelines and you guys always put us in the spotlight.
18:55So thank you.
18:55We will be speaking again on some better, on better terms about new projects and about how you got what you deserve because that's what we want.
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