Speaker 1: What's up, everybody. I'm Gammy and this is positively gam Now.
Speaker 1: Many of you know how much I love movies and TV,
Speaker 1: and often you'll see me shouting out different black artists
Speaker 1: and creative because I think it's important to uplift and
Speaker 1: celebrate the joy these people have brought to our community today.
Speaker 1: I have two incredible women joining me on this episode,
Speaker 1: both of whom I have a personal connection to um
Speaker 1: But I really want what I really wanted to emphasize
Speaker 1: in this conversation because when people go to the movies
Speaker 1: and when people think about the entertainment business, they really
Speaker 1: just think about actors and who they see in front
Speaker 1: of the camera. And I get that because that's who
Speaker 1: we see. But there's so much going on behind in
Speaker 1: the scenes, so many important people and careers, and that's
Speaker 1: kind of what I want to focus on. And these
Speaker 1: women are really killing it in the game right now.
Speaker 1: So my first guest is Sally Richardson Whitfield. She has
Speaker 1: over thirty years of experience as an actress, starring in
Speaker 1: movies like Low Down, Dirty Shame, where she was Jada's
Speaker 1: nemesis Angelo, one of my favorite movies. I must say, uh,
Speaker 1: and then you were in. I am legend with will
Speaker 1: and willow Um and so many It just goes. The
Speaker 1: list just goes on and on for you. Sally Antoine
Speaker 1: Fisher um the TV show Eureka. She is also a
Speaker 1: director and producer. Currently she's directing an executive producing The
Speaker 1: Guilded Age on HBO, which I love. And also you
Speaker 1: are directing some episodes of Winning Time. And then I
Speaker 1: have my special guest, Cidra Smith. She is an award
Speaker 1: winning producer and also serves as executive producer and co
Speaker 1: founder of Essence Studios, overseeing the fifty year old brands scripted,
Speaker 1: unscripted and feature film projects. And I really didn't know
Speaker 1: you were doing all of that. I really didn't now,
Speaker 1: and that's how Yeah, you were the producer for the
Speaker 1: Angela Davis film and you actually brought Jada in as
Speaker 1: a need RECTI producer. Yes, yeah, that was a great
Speaker 1: project too. That was a great project. So welcome to
Speaker 1: both of you. I thank you so much for taking
Speaker 1: the time to join me because I know how busy
Speaker 1: you guys are. But I want to start with you, Sidra,
Speaker 1: how did you get started in the entertainment industry? Did
Speaker 1: you start out as a model, you know I did, actually,
Speaker 1: league of course, and then realize, wait, and then realized
Speaker 1: I liked eating pasta more than modeling. Okay, literally when
Speaker 1: you know, it's funny because when Tasha and I moved
Speaker 1: to l A when we were like eighteen years old,
Speaker 1: we started off hanging out in comedy clubs and Tasha
Speaker 1: was pursuing her career as a comedian and I was
Speaker 1: modeling and hanging out in comedy clubs. And then one
Speaker 1: day I got a job in France, went there for
Speaker 1: three months, worked and then went to Italy and worked
Speaker 1: for almost two years, and decided that I just could
Speaker 1: not keep up with them skinny girls because I was
Speaker 1: trying to eat the pasta and drink the wine. So
Speaker 1: let me hold off for a minute, just with the listeners.
Speaker 1: Sidra has a twin sister, Tasha Smith, who I'm sure
Speaker 1: you guys will all no as an actress from many
Speaker 1: many movies. Yeah. Yeah, So I just realized that I
Speaker 1: just could not keep up with the skinny girls in Italy.
Speaker 1: Came back to l A and then started working in
Speaker 1: production from an assistant to a production assistant to a coordinator,
Speaker 1: and then started casting and then found my space as
Speaker 1: a producer. And uh, and it's been an amazing journey. Okay,
Speaker 1: so tell me exactly what producer's role is. What what
Speaker 1: does that mean to be a producer? You know, when
Speaker 1: someone has an idea, you know, everything starts with an idea,
Speaker 1: taking that idea to putting together the right development team,
Speaker 1: developing the script, finding the right director, finding the right writer, actor, cinematographer, sets,
Speaker 1: getting it shot, packaged and sold and then so and
Speaker 1: supporting and supporting the directors because if a director doesn't
Speaker 1: have a producer who's fully supporting their vision, then a
Speaker 1: lot of times it makes the director's you know, job difficult.
Speaker 1: So you know, it's just it's planting, is setting the
Speaker 1: stage for everything that needs to happen to bringing an
Speaker 1: idea to life. So, Sally, let me ask you, because
Speaker 1: you have such a career as an actress in front
Speaker 1: of the camera, what made you make this switch? Well, Um, honestly,
Speaker 1: it was I was doing Ava dubern as first film.
Speaker 1: You know, she had done documentaries at that point. Um,
Speaker 1: it was called I Will Follow And during that process
Speaker 1: I probably was just talking too much and give my
Speaker 1: ideas too much. But I'm like, um, but sometimes during
Speaker 1: that process. Ava looked at me and said, Sally, I
Speaker 1: think you're a director and you don't know it, and
Speaker 1: something about her just breathing that into me. I it's
Speaker 1: like my life flashed before me. And I was that
Speaker 1: person who sat at the sat there with a DP
Speaker 1: DP and asked questions about what's going on and paid attention,
Speaker 1: and also the one going well, I don't know that.
Speaker 1: Why don't they just do this and this and this,
Speaker 1: and then we could do that, you know. And so
Speaker 1: I was on Eureka at the time. I called a
Speaker 1: friend of mine, Eric Lanaville, who is a director hundreds
Speaker 1: of hours of TV, and said, Eric, I think I
Speaker 1: want to give this a shot, but of course, you know,
Speaker 1: you have to do it the right way. I said,
Speaker 1: let me shadow you. Ava gave me some books. I
Speaker 1: found some other books, shadowed him on a few projects,
Speaker 1: then asked my show and they said yes. And after
Speaker 1: that first episode, or like literally within the first few hours,
Speaker 1: I went, oh, I understand this. I get this, and
Speaker 1: then I did another one. Then my kids were young,
Speaker 1: it wasn't the time to you know, it is like
Speaker 1: going back to say medical school or law school. All
Speaker 1: of a sudden, Um, you have to really immerse yourself
Speaker 1: in it, and it takes a lot of time away
Speaker 1: from your family. So they were older. Anyway, I just
Speaker 1: started then I UM. Then all of a sudden, Queen
Speaker 1: Sugar was happening. I had just found an agent. This
Speaker 1: is like a few years later, decided UM started shadowing
Speaker 1: people again, and my husband was on Queen Sugar. I
Speaker 1: went to visit him. I'm trying to make this a
Speaker 1: short story, and I run and I see you here
Speaker 1: for I UM because I had called aiban. I said, hey,
Speaker 1: I hear you doing the show down. He's only blah blah.
Speaker 1: I want to direct. She goes, oh my god, already
Speaker 1: cast you know, already hired all the directors. I didn't know.
Speaker 1: I go, fine, it's not the right thing. Then cut
Speaker 1: to visiting the set. First person I see getting out
Speaker 1: of the car with Dandre is Ava and she goes,
Speaker 1: oh my god, I can't believe you're here. Come talk
Speaker 1: to me. Sat down. She goes, I can't do my episodes.
Speaker 1: Do you want tom? I said, wow, But you know
Speaker 1: I was ready. I had been backs and had my agent.
Speaker 1: I was you know, it all has to can't be
Speaker 1: just you know, you just flying around has to all
Speaker 1: come together. That's a classic case of being in the
Speaker 1: right place at the right time and about meets opportunity,
Speaker 1: you know, and being ready and then all of that
Speaker 1: just and from there. Let me tell you Facebook work
Speaker 1: for me. And then I started posting that I was
Speaker 1: shooting that, and then other directors I had been working
Speaker 1: with who had direct did me and who had worked
Speaker 1: on Eureka, said hey, I see your directing again. UM
Speaker 1: I need someone for my show. Why don't you come
Speaker 1: over that with Shadow Hunters. He goes, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of visual effects. You started doing that on Eureka. Some
Speaker 1: of this stuff I can just walk you through. I
Speaker 1: know you'll get it. Went over there. Someone else saw
Speaker 1: I was directing. Hey, how she doing over there? She's
Speaker 1: doing great. You should hire her. Um. So it just
Speaker 1: kind of I didn't know I was giving up acting
Speaker 1: at the time, and then it just started. It was
Speaker 1: like an avalanche. Well how do you feel about that?
Speaker 1: Do you do? You do you feel like you're missing
Speaker 1: something or it sounds like you're you're really fulfilled by
Speaker 1: this directing position. I am. I absolutely love what I'm doing,
Speaker 1: though there are times because I'm very lucky to be
Speaker 1: working with like amazing, amazing caliber actors, um on work
Speaker 1: that is really good stuff. Where go I want to
Speaker 1: jump in there? Um? And I actually look at Tasha
Speaker 1: and Regina and I go, they found a way to
Speaker 1: do both for me, and I just felt like I
Speaker 1: had to kind of immerse myself in it. Um. But
Speaker 1: I don't think you know they're gonna be something for me? Uh,
Speaker 1: sidros with me in something and listen, Yes, the girl,
Speaker 1: you already know you already well, sid let me ask you.
Speaker 1: Let me jump back to you and ask you this question.
Speaker 1: How do you decide what projects you're gonna take on?
Speaker 1: You know you have to be passionate, Gammy, you know
Speaker 1: why this takes too much work? Like the days of
Speaker 1: just doing stuff unnecessarily are just over. Like if you're
Speaker 1: not passionate about a project, more than likely you won't
Speaker 1: see it through. So I really look at something and say,
Speaker 1: let me tell you. The first thing I say to
Speaker 1: myself is what I do this for free? Because it
Speaker 1: takes a long time sometimes to get things over the
Speaker 1: finish line. And if you feel like, whether I'm getting
Speaker 1: paid or not, I would do this project. It's something
Speaker 1: that you know, if it's something that really speaks to
Speaker 1: your soul, speaks to your legacy, things, speaks to things
Speaker 1: that you really believe in in the stories you want
Speaker 1: to leave behind for people to say, Wow, sich Smith
Speaker 1: did that or was a part of that? You know,
Speaker 1: I kind of start there. You know, did you have
Speaker 1: ever have any desire to be in front of the
Speaker 1: camera as an actress? Oh my god, let me tell
Speaker 1: you no, Although when you're a twin you know that no, no, no,
Speaker 1: And let me tell you I knew. I'll never forget.
Speaker 1: Tasha and I were like nineteen no, not like eighteen
Speaker 1: like when we first because it was before Italy. We
Speaker 1: were living in l A. Someone cast us in a
Speaker 1: McDonald's commercial and I was like, this was taken too long.
Speaker 1: I'm like, wait a minute. It was going into like overtime.
Speaker 1: And I was on my way to see Luther andros
Speaker 1: in Vegas and I was like, the car was outside.
Speaker 1: I said, guess what I'm out, Les said, and Tasha
Speaker 1: was his. She was like, you were not. I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm out, I'm not doing this. I'll never forget. The
Speaker 1: casting director was this guy named Peter Wise. Y'all know,
Speaker 1: Peter was like Peter was like, you know, he never
Speaker 1: cast me in another And I was like, Na, this
Speaker 1: isn't for me. What about you, Sally, How do you
Speaker 1: decide what projects? Because you there's so much diversity with
Speaker 1: what you've done, like the Guilded Age. I know, well,
Speaker 1: in the beginning, I took everything, and I mean and
Speaker 1: when I say everything, not everything. I wanted to conquer,
Speaker 1: like every different kind of genre that came to me. Um, okay,
Speaker 1: so it's sci fi, it's an action show. Oh, this
Speaker 1: is pure drama. This is half hour comedy. This is
Speaker 1: our comedy. Um. Because I didn't want anyone to ever
Speaker 1: when I'm now that I've moved up the ranks, um
Speaker 1: as I'm pretty bigger projects. I didn't want you to
Speaker 1: ever be able to say, yeah, but does she know
Speaker 1: how to do this? Has she done this? Yes? There's
Speaker 1: nothing you can throw at me now that I haven't
Speaker 1: in some way directed so. But now, of course I'm
Speaker 1: very particular about what I'm doing. Um. I am uh
Speaker 1: developing my own show and in like in like um
Speaker 1: Sidrius saying I have to live with it. If I'm
Speaker 1: going to be at the Gilded Age, that's a thank you.
Speaker 1: It's a year or two of my life, and and
Speaker 1: away from your family and away from I mean it
Speaker 1: was during COVID. It was nine months in New York.
Speaker 1: I barely got to see them because I couldn't go
Speaker 1: back and forth. So it was, you know, I have
Speaker 1: to really love it and and want to see my
Speaker 1: name on it and want to be proud of it,
Speaker 1: the same as my acting. I have to live with
Speaker 1: this forever, and I want and I only want to
Speaker 1: do quality work. I just, um get very picky about
Speaker 1: what I think is good. I don't think much is good. Yeah,
Speaker 1: a lot of things giggle or like that was good.
Speaker 1: I'm like, but was it you got a different scale? Yes? Well,
Speaker 1: talking about judging, what were you both seeing model for
Speaker 1: you as black women working in the entertainment business, Sally,
Speaker 1: was was there a particular person that you were looking to?
Speaker 1: Who were your role models? I have to tell you,
Speaker 1: I don't know really if there was for me. You know,
Speaker 1: I had to think about this question a lot because
Speaker 1: people have always asked this, and then I started making
Speaker 1: up people because I'm like, I'm supposed to have an
Speaker 1: answer because you think you're supposed to and and I
Speaker 1: and I didn't. I just um, this is what I
Speaker 1: wanted to do. I went to l A. Obviously, as
Speaker 1: I was watching you know, a Different World on TV
Speaker 1: right around the time I was moving to California, I was,
Speaker 1: you know, watching the Cosovy Show. So there were you know,
Speaker 1: there was you know, um, the Jefferson's growing up. You know,
Speaker 1: there were things for me to to see and focus on,
Speaker 1: but not necessarily where I completely saw myself. And I
Speaker 1: have no idea why my parents were both educators. I
Speaker 1: have no idea why I thought this was something I
Speaker 1: should be doing, but it was the only thing I
Speaker 1: was great at and I just went for it. So
Speaker 1: um so no, I just I didn't and I'm hoping
Speaker 1: to be that person now for other people. Yes, I
Speaker 1: feel you, Sally. You know what's interesting about that question.
Speaker 1: I feel like I was like I feel like my crew.
Speaker 1: You know when you think about it, Sally, We've been
Speaker 1: like our crew over the last thirty years and just
Speaker 1: all the fun we had, you know, from twenty one,
Speaker 1: just I was so inspired by our crew. Just gave
Speaker 1: me inspiration, I think I think about I think you're
Speaker 1: right because until I go to l A and found
Speaker 1: this small little community, it's I mean, we all came
Speaker 1: up together. It's Jada um like we used to have
Speaker 1: so much fun playing a lot of babies. Uh yeah,
Speaker 1: playing a lot of space. Um. But he did all
Speaker 1: come up together. We all came up together. And it's
Speaker 1: amazing that that our little group that everyone has done something.
Speaker 1: Everyone has grown and changed and different had taken different
Speaker 1: lanes maybe, but everyone has done probably different more than
Speaker 1: they thought they were going to do. I'm telling you
Speaker 1: I was thinking the same thing, and when I saw
Speaker 1: Sally was a part of this, I was thinking to myself,
Speaker 1: does Sally have any idea that she would be this kick? Asked?
Speaker 1: Can I say? Asked director? Because because that was that's
Speaker 1: my next question? What what are some of the challenges
Speaker 1: that both of you have come up again? As H
Speaker 1: B I C S And then change that B B
Speaker 1: C Right, I'm gonna like to send you you go first,
Speaker 1: You go first, and I'll jump in you. You know what,
Speaker 1: I would say, some of the early challenges were in
Speaker 1: terms of just as a producer, financing. You know, you're
Speaker 1: always looking for that financing in order to get that
Speaker 1: project done right, and that I would be exhausting. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but you know what I realized what I'm happy I
Speaker 1: realized is that it's okay for people to say no,
Speaker 1: right because everyone's not gonna like your project. And the
Speaker 1: idea is is to find that person who does, because
Speaker 1: you want that person to want to do it, to
Speaker 1: believe in and you want that whether financing or studio,
Speaker 1: you know, you want them to believe in the project
Speaker 1: because that's the only way it's gonna happen in a
Speaker 1: beautiful way. So whenever I hit a know or it
Speaker 1: took a little bit longer, there was always a reason
Speaker 1: it made the project better, stronger. It's all about timing,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. It's all about timing. But
Speaker 1: early on, I would say financing was the biggest struggle.
Speaker 1: Like I look at these young people these days. It's
Speaker 1: like the opportunity there is now with all these streamers
Speaker 1: and studios, and it's just like wow, it's amazing. I well,
Speaker 1: I look at the duction. I know that you have
Speaker 1: had to navigate this mostly white, male dominant world the
Speaker 1: same way I do, which is you know, um, you
Speaker 1: have to you have to pull on all of your
Speaker 1: communication skills and righting bob be through this and get
Speaker 1: what you want without being too angry, without but being firm,
Speaker 1: being the boss, But how do I how do you
Speaker 1: love me when we leave here? Even though I have
Speaker 1: to put my foot down sometime. So it's been that
Speaker 1: is the roller coaster ride and the that I have
Speaker 1: to deal with. And then you know, in the beginning,
Speaker 1: if they know you're a little green the question and
Speaker 1: you're a black woman on the set, which most of
Speaker 1: them have never worked with, uh, you get more questions.
Speaker 1: And I, luckily early on the DP of my first
Speaker 1: DP on Eureka was just like, listen, most of the time,
Speaker 1: they're gonna be messing with you, telling you they can't
Speaker 1: do something that you want them to do. Just tell them,
Speaker 1: just act like you know more than you know, and
Speaker 1: they will find and they'll do it. You know, Like listen,
Speaker 1: I can't listen. I can't because sometimes I don't know
Speaker 1: how you can do that. I just know it can
Speaker 1: be done. And I've also learned at this point in
Speaker 1: my life, if I can dream it, you can do it.
Speaker 1: I don't know how, I don't know what figure it out.
Speaker 1: I don't know what tool you're gonna do to do it,
Speaker 1: but we're doing it. So and as long as we
Speaker 1: have the time to do it. I know how to
Speaker 1: you know, I am a producer too. I know, Okay,
Speaker 1: we got these few hours, but I'm pretty sure we
Speaker 1: can figure this out. But most of mine, I would say,
Speaker 1: it's been having to navigate this world of men be
Speaker 1: in charge and but still have a good time. I
Speaker 1: want to have a good time. I love what I do.
Speaker 1: I'm a pretty nice person unless you really be messing
Speaker 1: with me. I'm really cool. So let's have from Chicago. Yes,
Speaker 1: I'm liking that. There's been a few people who have
Speaker 1: found out like, oh, who who is this? I'm like, well,
Speaker 1: I kept giving you the look and you kept going
Speaker 1: now you. I mean, there's definitely been times on set
Speaker 1: where I'm like, okay, you feel that comfortable to disrespect
Speaker 1: me here? Now it's on. You're about to get it
Speaker 1: in front of everybody too. I bet you. Nobody else doesn't.
Speaker 1: I tell you okay, and I know I sound amazing,
Speaker 1: but but how do you know? But that always comes late?
Speaker 1: Like by then, everyone knows me, they know my temperament,
Speaker 1: and they know whoever that person was must have really
Speaker 1: pushed her, because that is not who I am. I
Speaker 1: want a team, and I want us all to have
Speaker 1: a great time and create something amazing. Well, let me
Speaker 1: ask you, what what was it that drew you, um
Speaker 1: sally to the guilded age? You talked about having conquered
Speaker 1: some of the other genres, So was it just doing
Speaker 1: a period piece? I think it was the challenge. I mean,
Speaker 1: I didn't love these kinds of films. I think that
Speaker 1: a lot of people do a lot of people with
Speaker 1: color do they think we don't? But I love it
Speaker 1: like a dangerous love it. And then it's Julian Fellows
Speaker 1: and then as HBO, So what am I gonna say
Speaker 1: no to that? And it's the challenge of such a
Speaker 1: huge project and and having so now being put in
Speaker 1: the position of now becoming the executive producer of that.
Speaker 1: I had a lot to say, I had a lot
Speaker 1: of I was walking the footsteps of a lot of
Speaker 1: the stuff that Sidra does. You know, it's a little
Speaker 1: different in TV, but UM learned a lot and um,
Speaker 1: but it was my best experience in my life. Awesome. UM, So,
Speaker 1: compared to the beginning of your careers, both of you,
Speaker 1: now that you're in a higher leadership positions on set,
Speaker 1: how has that shifted your perceptive your perspective around inclusivity.
Speaker 1: Let's start with you, Sidra Y. It's so interesting because
Speaker 1: you know, the one beautiful thing about out, you know,
Speaker 1: leading a leading the film and TV vertical within a
Speaker 1: brand who is here to serve black women deeply and
Speaker 1: people of color deeply. It is like a blessing, you know,
Speaker 1: because you get to hire black people who don't always
Speaker 1: have the opportunity, you know. I mean, it's like and
Speaker 1: it's funny. And this started off early for me. You know.
Speaker 1: The first film that I did was in N seven,
Speaker 1: and I made sure that my entire crew were women.
Speaker 1: They weren't all black women at the time, but they
Speaker 1: were they were women, you know what I mean. And
Speaker 1: but being in this position, you know, look, there are
Speaker 1: times where you might have to hire a person because
Speaker 1: they're good at what they do. But when I start,
Speaker 1: you know, putting a team together, I'm really looking for
Speaker 1: black women, queer women, trans women, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: Black men too, you know, to to to give these
Speaker 1: opportunities to because we just don't have them all the time.
Speaker 1: What about you, Sally, did you find it difficult finding
Speaker 1: um diversity in the crew for the guilded Age? Well,
Speaker 1: most of the shows that that is you know, we've
Speaker 1: been so focused, um as an entertainment business on black
Speaker 1: people in front of the camera. Behind the camera is
Speaker 1: really where there's a lack of opportunity. And so I'm
Speaker 1: kind of working. I'm working within the system that's already there.
Speaker 1: So what I what I'm trying to do when I'm
Speaker 1: there is open people's eyes to looking around, going, um,
Speaker 1: this makes no sense. How do we get more people
Speaker 1: in here? And And because I can do that, now,
Speaker 1: I can say, hey, we need to hire here, here,
Speaker 1: and here. Um. And I've been very lucky in particularly
Speaker 1: learn on on the Gilded Age because after the first season,
Speaker 1: I was able to go, Okay, guys, you have me,
Speaker 1: you have the other writer who's working with Julian and you.
Speaker 1: We have this black historian. I said, And and when
Speaker 1: we've done the Black Family, now we got to do
Speaker 1: better in the office here. Now we have to do
Speaker 1: better with different departments throughout the set, in hair and makeup,
Speaker 1: we got to have some black people in here. And
Speaker 1: what's been so wonderful is that in in besides HBO,
Speaker 1: but with you know, because then you have your onset producers.
Speaker 1: They were like just so open to everything. And then
Speaker 1: when I came into production for this new season, I
Speaker 1: go in the office, I see two three little black
Speaker 1: people were you walk around and I'm like, all right,
Speaker 1: Like I felt her, I didn't have to keep bringing
Speaker 1: it up. We had a conversation and it was done
Speaker 1: and they understood. And because I do believe now this
Speaker 1: isn't with everyone, but in particular the people that I
Speaker 1: was working with on The Gilded Age, because I really
Speaker 1: love them. We've worked together on other shows too. It's
Speaker 1: almost it's like they're hiring the people they know, they're
Speaker 1: hiring people they worked with before, and they're not necessarily
Speaker 1: thinking that way, but when it's pointed out, they're like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you're right, it wasn't done with any like malice. Now
Speaker 1: we're gonna help. Now, we are going to be conscious
Speaker 1: about our choices. And so I am I kind of
Speaker 1: work and more like, I'm a quiet person who works
Speaker 1: her way to doing certain things and adding adding that diversity.
Speaker 1: And you know one thing I want to answer that
Speaker 1: Gammian and Sally, It is really shocking all the time
Speaker 1: how many black people don't know young black people who
Speaker 1: want to be in this business, who don't know all
Speaker 1: of the opportunities that exist behind the cam. This is
Speaker 1: what I'm talking about, what I'm talking about exactly, and
Speaker 1: this is I mean, even just doing this podcast, I
Speaker 1: wanted a black producer. I have a black producer like
Speaker 1: that was that was a must. I I went recently,
Speaker 1: I went back to my hometown where I'm doing a
Speaker 1: huge project UM in Camden, New Jersey. I visited our
Speaker 1: high school, which has an amazing performing arts department, and
Speaker 1: in the department, people really all the kids like we're
Speaker 1: trying to be in front of the camera. I asked
Speaker 1: a question. I said, how many of you like to cook?
Speaker 1: So many hands went up. How many of you like
Speaker 1: to do hair? How many of you like to do
Speaker 1: make up? How many of you want to be a stylist?
Speaker 1: I mean, I asked the and then I separated them
Speaker 1: in those categories, and I'm like, do you realize even driving,
Speaker 1: how many of you like to drive? I separated them
Speaker 1: into categories and I talked to them about how much
Speaker 1: money they could make in those categories. They were in shock.
Speaker 1: And I think that we need to encourage more young
Speaker 1: people to pursue careers behind the scenes in this space,
Speaker 1: because you can make two or three hundred tho dollars
Speaker 1: a year just driving. Listen. I mean, this is so important,
Speaker 1: This is so important, and this is exactly why I
Speaker 1: wanted to have the conversation because people don't think about
Speaker 1: all of this all the all they see is in
Speaker 1: front of the camera. But then and they're thinking that big, big,
Speaker 1: big money, and not everybody is gonna get that, not
Speaker 1: even the act exactly exactly, exactly exactly. Yeah, but I'm
Speaker 1: but I it's something that I really think is important,
Speaker 1: you know, for us to encourage people, you know, young
Speaker 1: people to just consider you know, so that we can
Speaker 1: see more of us. Yeah, exactly, and so that I
Speaker 1: mean honestly, so you don't get to the point. There
Speaker 1: are times on a show like Gilded, which is such
Speaker 1: a big machine, if you're not giving those small opportunities
Speaker 1: and smaller jobs. When I'm looking for someone who's ready,
Speaker 1: I can't just bring you in if you're not ready,
Speaker 1: and that show, it's a big show. So I'm calling
Speaker 1: all sorts of people to go who is ready for
Speaker 1: this opportunity because I can't mess it up. I can't
Speaker 1: bring you in and it's not right because they won't
Speaker 1: give you another shot. No, you got that right, and
Speaker 1: that par sally, So I get. What I'm hearing is
Speaker 1: that you should not be discouraged when you have to
Speaker 1: start out at the what you guys call below the
Speaker 1: line positions like pas and things like that, and you
Speaker 1: can have to kind of work your way up to
Speaker 1: the quote unquote above the line positions will be executive producers.
Speaker 1: And that nowadays people don't uh, they just want to
Speaker 1: jump boom. They there, They don't want the steps right,
Speaker 1: because I didn't have so many situations when these young
Speaker 1: people think that they can they can do it, like
Speaker 1: I got it, I got it, I got it. I'd
Speaker 1: be like, but you don't got it. You don't know it,
Speaker 1: and you have no idea. And I'm just getting there.
Speaker 1: I'm in my PA and I still and every step
Speaker 1: I go, I go, oh god, I don't know how
Speaker 1: to do this part. I hope I can do this part,
Speaker 1: you know, and I just go anyway. You know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's interesting. So where do you hope to entertainment industry
Speaker 1: goes from here? Um? Shoot, that's a hard that's a
Speaker 1: hard question, I think, and it's a very broad question too.
Speaker 1: I think this I think this time for us, you know,
Speaker 1: there's always been these little waves of black people are
Speaker 1: working a lot. We're doing all these shows, and then
Speaker 1: we disappear and then we have to find our way
Speaker 1: back up. I feel like because of the amount of
Speaker 1: people who are behind the camera now, who are creating
Speaker 1: their own shows, black writers and producers, UM, where we're
Speaker 1: doing our own content. I feel like it we're not
Speaker 1: going away this time. I feel like we're there to
Speaker 1: stay and um that's all. That's all. I would you know,
Speaker 1: I ain't trying to go there and I'm trying to
Speaker 1: bring more people with me. Yeah, absolutely, And I agree
Speaker 1: with you. I kind of feel like we need more, um,
Speaker 1: definitely need more more people behind the scenes than in
Speaker 1: front of the camera. I feel like we need a lot,
Speaker 1: we need more more writers. I agree, I agree, but
Speaker 1: you know, let me go. I'm so I'm so removed
Speaker 1: from from all of this, really, I mean, I just
Speaker 1: I think that we have so many stories to tell,
Speaker 1: you know, and so much content that is not being created.
Speaker 1: I think we need creators. And I think that's what
Speaker 1: Sidra is. I think, honestly that's what Sidra Um has
Speaker 1: been there at the forefront of this um and she
Speaker 1: is really a pioneer doing these things behind the scenes
Speaker 1: that people don't know about. And um, and there's more
Speaker 1: and more um there, there are more and more people
Speaker 1: that are understanding that producing and the power of the pen.
Speaker 1: I wish I could write and the power of the
Speaker 1: pen is where the power of the pen. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: let me tell you I agree with them with needing
Speaker 1: more writers. And I feel like for the people who
Speaker 1: are really ready to do the work, Like I'm constantly
Speaker 1: looking for writers who are good but whatever may have
Speaker 1: had that opportunity. But there is a pool, like I'm seeing.
Speaker 1: I feel like some stuff is about to happen because
Speaker 1: a lot of these young black female writers in particular
Speaker 1: that I've come across are hungry and focused and not playing.
Speaker 1: I just I just put a couple of young black
Speaker 1: female writers on the team to get some stuff done.
Speaker 1: And I'm like, super, super, super, I will do I mean,
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, I have this deal at HBO, and um,
Speaker 1: you know, we've sold two projects. But I'm looking and
Speaker 1: looking and and and then you want to give it
Speaker 1: to black writers, like you said, you have to get
Speaker 1: you have to be given those small steps to be
Speaker 1: able to do the big stuff. But I find and
Speaker 1: I find this with a lot of writers, it's not great.
Speaker 1: Just like there's not a lot of great actors. There's
Speaker 1: not a lot of great writers, and there's not a
Speaker 1: lot of great actors who understand nuance, and there's not
Speaker 1: a lot of great writers who understand. Like I read
Speaker 1: stuff and I'm like, this is being made and I'm like,
Speaker 1: to me, I'm like that about then you are offering.
Speaker 1: But I hear that all the time. I hear that
Speaker 1: all the time, just listening into Jada and Will. They're like,
Speaker 1: you know what, we want to do this, but the
Speaker 1: writing it's just it's just not right right, it's not
Speaker 1: good enough yet. And what drives me crazy sometimes about
Speaker 1: these studios that I'm noticing is that they'll see a
Speaker 1: show right that a writer may have done a really
Speaker 1: good job, but they wrote it. They've been with that
Speaker 1: particular thing. To me, sometimes writers who come up with
Speaker 1: their own ideas aren't always the writers to execute someone
Speaker 1: else elves idea absolutely do you know what I'm saying?
Speaker 1: And then they'll say, oh, just because that movie was successful,
Speaker 1: let's use that person. But then it's like what they
Speaker 1: wrote is like completely different. It's their first thing. It's like,
Speaker 1: don't be afraid and don't be afraid to to meet
Speaker 1: with and get pictures from people who ain't never done nothing,
Speaker 1: you know, instead of just going to that person who's
Speaker 1: hot at the time, who write you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: And a lot of people who are hot at the time,
Speaker 1: ain't that good time has passed? Like you're like fair moved, Sally,
Speaker 1: don't even get me. I'm behind I'm behind the scenes now,
Speaker 1: so I know what's happening. That's all I got. And
Speaker 1: let me just say to what the audience really needs
Speaker 1: to understand is how much power there is behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: And that's why I wanted to have you two ladies
Speaker 1: on here, because there's power behind here. You have you
Speaker 1: have influence and a lot of things and how things
Speaker 1: move and how things work and how things go. So
Speaker 1: more than I had. I'm still working of some more, alright,
Speaker 1: so for each of you, and we'll start with you, Sally,
Speaker 1: what are you currently working on? I am I'm not
Speaker 1: where I'm still I'm producing obviously on the Gilded Age. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't think I'm allowed to say right now, but
Speaker 1: I am going to be another producer and director on
Speaker 1: another one. Of their shows, but I can't say yes, um,
Speaker 1: but it's good. Well, I mean, you know, and yeah,
Speaker 1: and so that's giving me busy and shows that we're
Speaker 1: you know, I'm developing over there on HBO. So you're
Speaker 1: focusing on your deal with HBO and you're still focusing
Speaker 1: right now on your producing and directing. Yes, and what
Speaker 1: about you, Sidra, I Love and Selling Girl. So I'm
Speaker 1: just like, I'm loving all it is. Wow. You know,
Speaker 1: it's funny. You know, we have one of one of them.
Speaker 1: One of the shows that I developed is on b
Speaker 1: ET Plus. It's called I Love Tell Yes, and I'm
Speaker 1: working on season two. So I'm like working through the
Speaker 1: development of that, you know, literally a couple of projects
Speaker 1: in development over with Essen Studios and just excited about it.
Speaker 1: We're launching our first Essence Film Festival. That's happening. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's launching at Essence Festival this year, and so I'm
Speaker 1: really excited to see what kind of new emerging artists
Speaker 1: that we come across and um, and just constantly developing
Speaker 1: and producing and supporting projects that I believe in. So
Speaker 1: I'm excited, you know. And the bio pick the Angela
Speaker 1: Davis biopick. You know, we got that over at lions Gate,
Speaker 1: So trying to get that in a good place when
Speaker 1: I'm putting this in your in your mind, so you
Speaker 1: need to get out listening. They need to do a
Speaker 1: cover with all the women behind the camera, all the
Speaker 1: beautiful you ain't never lied, ye that out there, ye listen,
Speaker 1: we'll pitch that today. How about that? Absolutely? How about
Speaker 1: and you can can do it on my own. But
Speaker 1: I'm gonna ask you, I know, you know somebody over there.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get on that now. Okay, I got I
Speaker 1: got one final question for you guys, and it's kind
Speaker 1: of a no brainer. I probably don't even need to
Speaker 1: ask it, but I'm gonna asking anyway. Why do you
Speaker 1: think diversity is so important in front of the camera
Speaker 1: and behind the camera. Just different perspectives on life. Yeah,
Speaker 1: my perspective is different than yours, Gammy, and then yours, Sidra.
Speaker 1: So we need we all, we need a million different
Speaker 1: voices for us to understand each other. Um as people,
Speaker 1: I'm got it. Yeah. And for me, you know, what
Speaker 1: I just think about is just us controlling just us
Speaker 1: as as people of color, controlling our narratives. And that's
Speaker 1: why it's so important to support our stories and that
Speaker 1: we be in the front of that so that a
Speaker 1: hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, when
Speaker 1: people are seeing stories about people of color, we know
Speaker 1: that we help drive some of those narratives. You know
Speaker 1: what I mean, because the way black people tell black
Speaker 1: stories is different from how white people tell black stories.
Speaker 1: So absolutely all right, as we wrap up, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: have a few rapid fire questions for you guys. Oh
Speaker 1: they're easy, don't worry about it. What book are you
Speaker 1: currently reading? And we'll start with you, Sidra. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm reading. I'm checking out this book called Gray Boy,
Speaker 1: about this kid that is kind of a black kid
Speaker 1: navigating himself through a white world. And it's funny. I
Speaker 1: picked it up because y'are Shahiti just watching the book.
Speaker 1: It's like they're turning it into a series, so I'm
Speaker 1: curious to see the before and but it's pretty good.
Speaker 1: A young writer. Yeah, okay, okay, what about you, Sally
Speaker 1: my my, this is how I'm trying to be a mother.
Speaker 1: It's called How to Make Your Kids, Uh Money genius?
Speaker 1: I love it. Can I get that book? I listen?
Speaker 1: I listened on audible because I am not. You know,
Speaker 1: I have to hire people to do all this stuff
Speaker 1: because you could explain to me all day. I'll just
Speaker 1: be like, huh, So i'd my kids like, Okay, what
Speaker 1: do I have to teach you so that you know
Speaker 1: how to invest and know how to do all this
Speaker 1: stuff without me? So that's I love that. What's one
Speaker 1: thing that you want to get off your chest? Sally
Speaker 1: um to tell people to stop getting stuff off their
Speaker 1: chest and shut up. If you want to get something
Speaker 1: off your chest, tell your friends at home, and don't
Speaker 1: tell it on any thing in social media. Shut up,
Speaker 1: shut up, shut up, just shut up. I love it.
Speaker 1: I was going to I think this has been my
Speaker 1: favorite about the Wait wait, I'm gonna I'm gonna add
Speaker 1: to with Sally just said. What I want to get
Speaker 1: off my chest is for people to mind it. Go
Speaker 1: down and shut up, right, mind your business and shut up. Okay,
Speaker 1: what's the bottle that you live by? CenTra? Mind your business? Period?
Speaker 1: Done that. I mean that for people, and I even
Speaker 1: mean that for myself because you know, sometimes you'll see
Speaker 1: some ship happening and it's like, mind your business. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you ain't got nothing to do. With that, ain't got
Speaker 1: nothing to do. Mind your business, and I think that
Speaker 1: that's my that's my model, mind your business. I mena
Speaker 1: get her. I'm manna give her two more because I
Speaker 1: know this is her too. Be earlier all the time
Speaker 1: and work harder than everyone else. There are a lot
Speaker 1: of people. I'm sure they could be more talented than me,
Speaker 1: but they ain't gonna work as hard as me. So
Speaker 1: there you go, and guess what Now, I got one more. Okay,
Speaker 1: it ain't about your business and shut up. Yeah, there
Speaker 1: you get off with y'all. I'm getting off with d
Speaker 1: Tell people where they can find you on social media,
Speaker 1: salar um, it's uh. Instagram is at Sally rich Witt,
Speaker 1: and I think on Twitter it's just Sally richardson center.
Speaker 1: Where can we find you on social media? You can
Speaker 1: find me at Cidra Smith Official on Instagram, and so
Speaker 1: that's at Sidra Smith Official on Instagram. Man, I love you, guys,
Speaker 1: I swear to you. This has been my favorite conversation.
Speaker 1: And here are my takeaways from Sally. Be ready so
Speaker 1: you don't have to get ready because you never know
Speaker 1: when that opportunity is going to present itself. From Sidra
Speaker 1: there's so many opportunities for careers behind the camera. You
Speaker 1: do not have to be in front of the camera
Speaker 1: to have a successful career in entertainment. Do your research.
Speaker 1: There's something out there for you, and that's our show
Speaker 1: for today. You can follow me online at gammy. Nari's
Speaker 1: also help us out by leaving a five star review
Speaker 1: on Apple Podcast and by hitting the follow button on
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Stay grateful, y'all. I had fun. I
Speaker 1: hope you did too. Positivity gam is used by Red
Speaker 1: Table Talk podcast and I Heart Radio. Executive producers are
Speaker 1: Adrian Vanfield, Naris Balin, Jethro and Jada Pinkett Smith. Our
Speaker 1: audio engineer is Calvin Baylor, and our associate producer is
Speaker 1: Irene Bischoff Burger. Our theme song is produced by d Beats.