As 41 million people tuned into the 82nd Academy Awards, a segment of viewers wondered whether history would be made that star-studded night. Lee Daniels, who helmed Precious, the brutally honest film about an emotionally scarred, sexually abused black teenager, was among the nominees for best director–a win would have made him the first African American to capture the coveted prize. When the envelope was opened, however, Kathryn Bigelow would achieve a milestone as the first woman to receive the honor for directing The Hurt Locker. (Geoffrey Fletcher, who wrote the film adaptation for Precious, would become the first African American to win an Oscar in the screenwriting category.)
An Academy Award is not the only accolade that eludes black filmmakers. Getting a film produced and distributed has become a rare event as well. Of the 558 feature films that were released in 2009, only eight were filmed by black directors. Two of them were creations from multifaceted powerhouse Tyler Perry.
Moreover, while blacks comprise roughly 13% of the U.S. population, the Director’s Guild of America reports that just 4% of its members are black. This scene is acting itself out at a time when Hollywood has produced an impressive performance: Despite the recession and a decline in DVD sales, 2009 box office receipts topped a record $10.6 billion in the U.S. and Canada, an increase of more than 10.1% compared with 2008.
While there have been some advances for blacks behind the scenes in Hollywood over the past decade, many still confront persistent barriers including a studio hierarchy in which no African American executive has power to green-light a film; the assumption that films featuring African Americans will not sell overseas; and the constant battle with major motion picture studios over production budgets, marketing dollars, and expansive distribution. “One of the biggest challenges is that there are not enough people inside the studio system that champion the stories black filmmakers want to tell,†says Zola Mashariki, senior vice president of production at Fox Searchlight Pictures, who advocates hiring more people of color in studio management positions.
Others argue African Americans must create their own means of distribution. “We need more African Americans with significant financial resources to partner with filmmakers in the marketing and distribution of independent black films,†asserts Jeff Friday, founder of the American Black Film Festival, which has provided a showcase for independent directors. In fact, Film Life, his distribution company, is launching the Pro Hollywood Initiative to help more independent filmmakers secure financing to release films. His goal: Create a capital pipeline by introducing 20 professional athletes to 20 filmmakers.
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Foreign distribution, an area major studios use in their calculus to determine a given film’s profit potential, is another beachhead for black filmmakers to conquer. “Hollywood is often shortsighted in thinking that our issues would not be globally embraced,†says Marvet Britto, founder of the entertainment public relations firm The Britto Agency. “Black movies sell poorly overseas because they aren’t marketed well not because the filmmakers or the stars are black.â€
Despite such challenges, a number of black directors refuse to sit on the cinematic sidelines. On the following pages, you’ll discover a group of uncompromising filmmakers–some of whom have gained access to major studios while others have employed guerilla tactics in acquiring financing and distribution. All are determined to get their vision on the big screen by any means necessary.
THE GLOBETROTTER Sylvain White
French-born director Sylvain
White, 35, believes the notion in Hollywood that foreign audiences will not be attracted to black-oriented films or movies with black lead actors “is the most ridiculous thing ever.†In fact, he has made it his mission to reverse the trend by developing projects with universal appeal, even if a segment of the audience is located on another continent. “As an African American filmmaker one of my agendas is to prove that point wrong. Movies can connect people from different walks of life, different cultures, and have them share a similar emotional experience,†he says. “From the minute I was attached to the project I was determined to open the movie up to a general audience.â€
At press time, White was preparing for the April opening of The Losers, his latest action adventure movie adapted from a graphic novel of the same name. White believes the movie–with its multicultural cast and featuring three black actors, including Idris Elba–will appeal to overseas audiences.
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THE INDEPENDENT Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels, who was Oscar nominated for directing Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, has been described as a celluloid revolutionary. It’s surprising to many that his dark dramas have been so widely heralded and, in the case of Precious, financially profitable. “I think that safe is always better from a studio perspective and safe equals comedy and safe equals action in regards to [black] people,†says Daniels. “If you are real and honest and making a true story it is hard to penetrate white America.â€
Daniels, 50, avoids innocuous fare and still profits. Produced on a $10 million budget, Precious grossed $60 million worldwide, $47 million at domestic box offices and $13 million in foreign receipts–a blockbuster performance for an independent film. The movie outperformed The Hurt Locker, which won this year’s Oscar for best picture and grossed $40 million worldwide. Daniels was also able to gain support from industry heavyweights such as Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry as executive producers. And he tapped celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, and Mo’Nique, who won an Academy Award for best supporting actress, to join the cast.
When it came to financing, Daniels was able to acquire capital from hip-hop impresario turned movie financier Damon Dash for two film productions, including Monster’s Ball, which starred Halle Berry in her Oscar-winning role. He has also found inexpensive, inventive ways to market his films. Since Precious didn’t have a huge marketing budget, the enterprising filmmaker was able to spread the word using themes from the movie to rally support groups within the HIV, incest, and literacy communities.
THE INNOVATOR Ava DuVernay
Spreading news and building brands within the entertainment industry is Ava DuVernay’s forte. For more than 15 years, she has handled the marketing and publicity for more than 80 films, including such hits as Dreamgirls, Collateral, and Invictus. So when DuVernay, 36, decided to cut her teeth as a filmmaker, she applied her insider knowledge of the motion picture industry and digital technology to take control of distribution.
Most independent filmmakers produce a motion picture and then seek out a studio for the production’s release. When DuVernay hit the film festival circuit with This is the Life, her documentary about West Coast underground hip-hop, she was offered distribution deals from studios, but she declined them all except for a limited license with Showtime Networks Inc. It turned out to be a profitable decision. Not a single deal came close to the revenue she eventually gained through self-distribution–and she hasn’t stopped receiving checks.
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Here’s how she profited from her do-it-yourself model: the movie had a limited theatrical release in a Los Angeles theater, aired on cable television through Showtime Networks Inc., can be rented at Netflix, downloaded on iTunes, and found on DVD via the film’s Website and retail vendors. Through these various channels, DuVernay’s film, budgeted at $50,000, generated three times that amount in revenues–without a studio partner.
She expects to increase sales through international distribution company Bitterbeat, to release the film in Japan, a part of the world where underground hip-hop is hugely popular.
The film, nominated for a Black Reel Award, has been well received by her targeted audience. DuVernay is using profits from the documentary to make her next film, I Will Follow, a narrative drama starring Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Tracie Thoms, and Blair Underwood.
“Indie filmmakers can effectively distribute their own movies with more agility and precision than studios,†says DuVernay, who teaches a class on self-distribution and is in discussions with Agate Publishing to write a book on the subject. “Do-it-yourself film distribution–that is the new era. Digital allows directors to create films without studio funding, and digital distribution helps us control how our films reach the public once they’re made.â€
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THE IMPRESARIOS Will Packer & Rob Hardy
Producer Will Packer, 36, and director/ producer Rob Hardy, 37, have produced a string of hits over the past decade based on one simple premise: knowing what studios want and how to give it to them without compromising their vision.
The two launched Rainforest Films while attending Florida A&M University in the mid-1990s. They shot their first low-budget movie, Chocolate City, for fun but landed a home video distribution deal. That initial success encouraged them to raise money from friends, family, and investors to produce and distribute another film, Trois, in 2000, which landed them a distribution deal with Sony’s Screen Gems for $1 million. As they further developed their filmmaking prowess, they got the opportunity to produce more movies for Sony, which led to the production of several studio films, including 2007’s This Christmas, a family drama with singer Chris Brown and Regina King that grossed about $50 million worldwide, and 2009’s Obsessed, a thriller directed by white filmmaker Steve Shill and starring superstar Beyoncé Knowles. It grossed about $74 million worldwide.
Packer and Hardy have managed to design a successful blueprint for directing, producing, and distributing profitable movies. They’ve also managed to effectively communicate their strategy to major Hollywood studios. “What Rob and I have done is [show research to studios on] how we can produce a film at a price point that helps to minimize the chances of failure,†says Packer, who has produced films with an average budget of $14 million. “We show them how similar themes with a similar cast have done [at the box office].â€
Although a movie is basically a filmmaker’s concept, the duo advises a strategic review of all elements, including casting and subject matter. “Make your film for whoever you want to make it for. I think that is a filmmaker’s right,†says Packer. “Just understand if you plan to operate under the studio system, know that if you are able to make your film appeal to a broader audience, the business model for your film stands to be more successful.â€
THE ICONOCLAST Sanaa Hamri
Sanaa Hamri, 35, wants to break down the walls of exclusion in Hollywood. Her plan: tell stories that anyone can relate to.
For years, Tinseltown has embraced movies about relationships with all-white leads such as Sex and the City. She wants to make room for a greater multicultural representation in mainstream fare. “There should not be any reason why we can’t have Sex and the City with either an all-African American cast or different ethnicities that represent the cross section of America. We are no longer the ‘minority.’ In fact we are the majority. There is not enough material that is really representing what is going on in this country,†says Hamri, who was raised in Morocco and came to the United States to attend Sarah Lawrence College when she was 17. “We need to have more scripts that talk about people of color in different, relatable situations, especially in the 21st century and now that we have Obama in office.â€
One such film was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Hamri’s 2008 movie showcased a multicultural cast including Latina actress America Ferrera and three leading white actresses, grossing $44 million worldwide, making her the leader in box office receipts among black female directors.
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Hamri’s goal as the director of the newly released Just Wright, a romantic comedy starring Queen Latifah and rapper-actor Common, was to tell a universal story of love that happens to star black people. She says that creating such stories will require directors, studios, and producers to work together to ensure that tone, language, and themes of scripts are inclusive but still unique to cultural expression. And Hamri is just the filmmaker to bring those elements together–and produce an efficient profit.
THE AUTEUR Rick Famuyiwa
Rick Famuyiwa, 37, director of Our Family Wedding, understands that the recipe for success in Hollywood is learning how to balance art and commerce. Famuyiwa got his start while working on a screenplay for The Wood in the writers and directors lab at Sundance, the famous film festival for independent movies. All of his movies received the green light from a major motion picture studio, providing him with resources to produce, distribute, and market his movies. Famuyiwa credits his continued employment in Hollywood to his ability to write and develop screenplays on his own and advises other young directors to pave their own way.
But becoming a part of the studio system doesn’t keep you there. And he concedes that he’s had to deal with limited material for black actors, miniscule budgets, and theatrical releases restricted to minority communities. “It occurred to me that when scripts get written the assumption is that these characters are white … and the filmmakers involved will be white,†says the Nigerian-born Famuyiwa. “Because I write, I can come in and put my spin on [a screenplay] and bring my vision to the project.â€
While his films have not been box office smashes, they have
been profitable because he keeps production budgets tight. Over the past decade, Famuyiwa has directed such films as The Wood and Brown Sugar, and he wrote the screenplay for the movie Talk to Me, starring Don Cheadle. The average budget for his movies has been $8.8 million, while the average gross receipts have been $24 million per picture. Despite his proven track record, Famuyiwa has not been given the opportunity to showcase his skills on a big-budget film. “It is harder to penetrate these mainstream films when you are an African American filmmaker and writer,†says Famuyiwa. “Even though I work in the Hollywood system, the budget levels I am at, the schedules I am given, the margins that I have to work within, still feel very much like independent cinema.â€(Continued on page 7)
Another problem is that African American films are distributed on limited screens but expected to perform as well as mainstream movies that have wider releases. For example, Our Family Wedding, which stars Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker and America Ferrera of Ugly Betty fame, opened at 1,605 theaters but 27 Dresses, another wedding genre movie was released on 3,057 screens. Our Family Wedding grossed $7.6 million in its opening weekend, less than three times as much as 27 Dresses at the box office.
“I think that is part of the dynamic that makes it more challenging to compete,†Famuyiwa says. “If your film doesn’t make the amount of money that people think it should, it makes it harder to get the next film made,†he says.
But Famuyiwa continues to prove that he can generate an audience and box office receipts for his works.
The Veteran John Singleton on Financing Films
John Singleton is one of the few directors whose name can sell a movie. Since becoming the first African American and youngest filmmaker nominated for a best director Oscar for his poignant 1991 film Boyz N the Hood, he has developed a range of movies from mainstream blockbusters to small independent films. Depending on the project, Singleton can command a hefty budget from a studio and has demonstrated his credibility with impressive returns at the box office. For example, his 2003 hit 2 Fast 2 Furious produced worldwide box office receipts of more than $236 million. With a full slate of projects that will keep him busy over the next few years, he was recently granted a budget of close to $40 million from Lionsgate to direct the anticipated blockbuster Abduction.
Even the seasoned Singleton, 42, admits to situations in which he has faced resistance in gaining studio financing. “If I aspire to make movies with mostly African Americans in them, it is harder to get studios to finance them,†says Singleton. “For those kinds of movies you have to find the money and go do them.â€
Instead of bemoaning the studio system, Singleton decided to become the bank for young aspiring filmmakers, producing films he wanted to see on the silver screen.
For example, through his New Deal Productions company, he financed the widely acclaimed, Oscar-nominated motion picture Hustle and Flow with $5 million of his own money in 2005. His return: $18.6 million from a worldwide gross of more than $23.6 million.
Asserts Singleton: “Fewer black films reduce the chances of finding new stars. We need more black filmmakers to do movies with new talent. We are going to need more black entrepreneurs investing in films with [black] filmmakers.â€