WEBVTT - Ep1 - Kevin Hart Interview: The Making of a Mogul 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:10.040 Hello, and welcome to the first ever episode of Strictly Business, 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.160 a new podcast from the most authoritative brand in media 0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:17.000 and entertainment news, Variety. I'm the co editor in chief 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:19.840 at Variety, Andrew Wallenstein, and in just a minute you're 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:22.520 gonna hear me interview the very special guests of this 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:26.960 podcast premiere, Kevin Hart's, recorded on stage March twenty one, 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:31.880 the Variety's annual event, massive, the Entertainment Marketing Summit. But first, 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:33.600 I just wanted to tell you a little bit about 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.760 what you can expect from Strictly Business. The title says 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:40.400 it all, really, this podcast is squarely focused on the 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.680 biz part of show biz. Variety journalists, including myself and 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:48.240 our managing editor of Television, Cynthia Littleton, we'll sit down 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:52.120 with top decision makers from TV, film, digital and other 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.480 areas of the media world for interviews. They give insights 0:00:55.480 --> 0:00:58.160 into how they conduct their businesses and how they see 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.560 the trends shaping the industry at heart. Now you might 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:05.240 be asking yourself, sounds great, Wallenstein, but why on earth 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:08.320 does a comedian like Kevin Hart belong on a podcast 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:12.720 like this? He's just talent. But that's where you're wrong. 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:16.480 In addition to being a box office sensation, he's quietly 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:19.760 built at a growing range of businesses in Hollywood, and 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:22.600 as you're about to hear, Heart aspires to be a 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:26.680 bona fide mediamocal. So thanks for checking out this first 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.800 episode of Strictly Business, and make sure you subscribe to 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:35.119 this podcast after you're done listening to Kevin Hart. Thanks 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:38.240 for coming over. Kevin really appreciate it. No problem, out 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:40.600 of busy schedule, no problem. I like how you just 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:45.039 hop right into it. Hello, everybody, very very intimate room. 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:47.760 I like it. Good. Good. Now, Look, we all know 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:51.840 you Kevin Hart, the movie star, JUMANGI, the Riot Along 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.560 movies and all that, the big deal, the big well 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:57.720 you've got. You've got some big deals going on. On 0:01:57.760 --> 0:01:59.720 the side, we want to explore the side of you 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:03.320 as a businessman. You are doing so much in so 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:08.880 many places, from touring books, the laugh Out Loud Network, 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:14.120 Heartbeat Production Company. Serious, Yes, am I forgetting anything? And 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:18.080 uh yeah, you know, I getting a lot of stuff. 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:22.680 Um No. The brand of Kevin Hart, uh you know, 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:26.240 has become a larger one. You know, so from the 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:30.760 laugh Out Loud Network to having a laugh out Loud 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:35.920 channel serious like you said. Um, also you know the 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:40.280 Heartbeat Productions and the growth of my company now um 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:45.760 having Heartbeat Digital. Also underneath the Heartbeat Productions Umbrella New 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:51.320 Generations Promotion, which is a marketing company that I started. Um, 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:54.400 you know my touring which acts as a separate entity 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:58.120 because I own that as well. It's just I've I've 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:00.000 just put myself in a position to try to control 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.400 as much as I possibly can. And I want the 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:06.320 business side of Kevin Hart to catch up to the 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.040 actor and the comedian. And I think these are all 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:10.959 things that are putting me in position to do that. 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:14.160 And when they do, they all service one another. You know. 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:16.600 The goal is to have a complete circle that just 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:20.200 continues to go around and round health services each other. 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:23.680 Was this your vision and was it division from the 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.520 beginning or was it once you got to a certain 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.080 level of fame you said, Okay, I gotta capitalize on 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:33.240 those Um. You know you I don't think it was 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:35.840 an immediate vision of mine. I think it's something that 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:40.040 I discovered. You know, when you when you're working, you 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.960 realize that your work for hire. You know, you're you're contracted, 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:47.720 uh entertainer. You know you work when they need you 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:49.880 to work, or if something comes along and they feel 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:53.920 like you're the right person for it, then you're hired. Uh, 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:57.080 you're gonna hear a bunch of nose. Ultimately that gets 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.960 you to the one yes. But these things weren't consider 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:01.960 And I said, you know, I want to put myself 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:05.320 in a position where I can have consistency, and the 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:09.400 only way to do that is to control. So the start, 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:14.160 the starting, the starting conversation behind the production company is 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.320 one that I had with my team, my manager, and 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.240 I told him, I said, you know, I want to 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:20.000 be a partner. I don't I don't want to just 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:22.280 keep being the guide that they're hiring. I would love 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:24.680 to put myself in a position to be a partner 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.920 with these movie studios. How do I position myself as 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:30.159 a partner? How do I how do I have that 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:33.320 type of value? How can I bring that value? And 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:38.200 the conversation of development and creating um was one that 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:39.839 we had and I said, you know what, then I 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:43.159 can in a similar team that acts as my creative team, 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:46.039 and we do things unneath the heartbeat umbrella, and we 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.560 take these products and we sell them, but we sell 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.719 them in a way to where studios understand the partnership 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:55.839 behind whatever it is that I'm doing. Ultimately, as that grows, 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.599 production company grows and you know, you're doing movies with 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:01.840 it with Kevin hard in him. But I have an 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:04.760 opportunity to just use my star now to be the 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.880 driving force behind the movies that I'm selling, which is 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.920 making my company that much stronger. Now when we're talking 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:12.640 and driving force, I want, I want to get real 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.520 because I've talked to talent like yourself that have talked 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.440 about businesses, but from what I understand that they're not 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:20.960 really that involved. They've got guys who do that. What 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.760 I hear you are truly involved, hands hands on. So 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:27.200 what do you find the time because you're doing a lot, 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:29.160 You're on social media a lot. That's the whole other 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:30.839 thing we gotta get to. Oh I don't I definitely 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:32.440 don't have a time. I don't have time to take 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:38.039 a ship I uh. Um. You know what I've learned 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:42.560 is that you you prioritize, you know, and this and this. 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.960 Uh in this business, you make time for what's important. Um. 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.520 I don't want to be a guy that has these 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:53.360 things and not know what's going on. I don't want 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.760 people to run my my destiny. I don't want you 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:00.560 to come in and do all the world and then 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.400 tell me that this is X, Y and Z and 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:05.960 I I go and I wave and it looks like 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.760 I'm the guy when I'm really not the guy. Um. 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:14.520 I love knowing. I love being informed, I love being aware. 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.599 I love the fact that you know I have these 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:22.480 conversations with CEOs and presidents and I'm respected and looked 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:25.240 at the same way because I know what. I'm truly 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:28.839 doing the work. So when it comes to actually having 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:33.160 my hands in it, they're in it. You know. I'm 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:37.279 not just reading the scripts. I'm developing. I'm finding the writers. 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:39.719 I'm in the meeting with the writers to get the 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:42.280 script to where we wanted. I'm talking to the studio 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:46.440 about promising X, Y and Z, justifying what I need. 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:49.479 This is a budget versus this, telling them why we're 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:54.000 choosing side A versus Side B. I'm having those conversations 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:57.320 because the bigger the bigger that I get, the bigger 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:01.760 these conversations gets, and the bigger that the conversations get, 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:03.719 the easier it is for me to get things done 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:06.600 because the trust that goes along with the business and 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:09.600 the brand of who I am becomes an immediate trust, 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:11.880 you know. And I think within the relationships that I 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:14.680 have in partnerships, within the studios that I've worked with, 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:18.920 from Universal, from Sony to Warner Brothers, they now have 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:22.440 a trust that Kevin he does the work. You know, 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.160 he's he's going to do the work. He's he's such 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.600 a perfectionist that he's not going to bring anything back 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:33.160 half asked. So let's invest in him. Let's invest in 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.360 his company. So it sounds like you're kind of in 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:40.320 the middle of this journey in terms of the empire 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.600 that you're building. I mean, where does it go next 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:45.920 to there? Or what mountains are you looking to conquer? 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.600 Areas of content you haven't even gone to yet. Man, Well, 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:51.400 I mean, look, I'm I'm The goal of being a 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:54.080 mogul is a real one, you know. I want to 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.680 be a mogul. I want to be a billionaire. I 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:59.480 want to get to a point where you look back 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.160 and you go, damn, this is a little dirty kid 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:07.040 from Philadelphia that had no idea, uh you know, where 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:09.400 his life was going to go. And once I got 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:11.880 an inklet of what I could do, I made a 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.520 decision to give it a hundred percent, and you get 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:16.840 one life, you know, out there, one life. You can 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.400 make it mean something. You can be content with wherever 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:21.440 you are, or you can be the person that says, 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.440 I'm gonna maximize my time when it's earth and when 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:26.320 it's all said and done, I want a story. I 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:28.880 want people to tell an amazing story. I want to 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:30.680 be able to look back and go, holy sh it, 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:33.120 look at what I created. Look at the people that 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:37.920 are now really really affected by this creation. You know, 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:42.320 I I gotta I gotta forty people on staff right now. 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:45.080 You know when I look up and I'm responsible for 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.280 people's lives and livelihoods, And that's a That's a big 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:50.840 thing to me, the fact that I know that I'm 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:54.320 in position to do that and that these people believe 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:56.560 in this vision. These people are giving me a hundred 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:59.280 percent because they say we're gonna follow you, keV to 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.600 the wilds all off, because the passion behind your drive 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.720 and dream is real. To me, that's the biggest thing 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:08.080 in the world. So you know, when I when I 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:11.040 have these meetings with my team, with my staff, I'm 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:13.760 not just selling you on today's work. I'm selling you 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.600 on the future of what we can be. Heartbeat Productions 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:20.920 will be a big partner. Heartbeat Productions will do big 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:27.640 studio work. Heartbeat Productions will be tomorrow's future company when 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:32.320 it comes to development and and producing for for any 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:35.840 type of films from comedy to to you know your dramas. 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:37.760 I want to do it all. I can't sit back 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.840 and watch other people be successful and give me a 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.080 blueprint and not do it. I just can't. I have 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:47.120 too many relationships where they let me know how they 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:50.760 got there, from Oprah to Tyler to jay Z too, Ellen. 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.200 I have too many people in front of me that 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:57.400 are doing too many amazing things that say this is 0:09:57.400 --> 0:09:59.760 how I did it. For me not to do it. 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.120 I got tons of times. By the time I'm forty five, 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:07.440 you guys are gonna be telling a completely different story. 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:11.040 It's gonna be holy shit. You remember at the Variety thing, 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:12.480 he said he was gonna do it, and I'll be 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:18.559 damned if he didn't do it. He did it. H 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:24.240 sounds great. So let's see, We've talked about various pieces 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:25.880 of the puzzle. I want to get into it, and 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.520 starting with not to say it's the most important piece. 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.040 But social media does seem to be almost like the 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.959 hub that a lot of these different spokes that we're 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.599 talking about is connected to. That's where your brand is 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:40.160 in front of people every single day. You seem to 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.000 have really embraced that in a way that I think 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:48.200 most mainstream celebrities kind of came late to. Uh. Look, 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.160 there's a there's a gift in the curse behind it, 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:54.800 you know, and and that's expected. The gift behind social 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:59.920 media that I've realized a long time ago is it's access. 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:07.480 You know, today's star in today's celebrity. Um, you're you're big, 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:11.079 and you become bigger when your fans feel like they 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:13.560 see behind the closed door. You know, there was a 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.480 there was a time where there was such a mysterious 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:20.240 mystique about you know, your stars. You only saw him 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:21.840 when it was time to see him. You saw him 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:24.320 on a billboard, and you saw him when they did 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:27.600 a talk show to promote whatever they had. Outside of that, 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:30.760 you didn't see him. That's when the pictures that were 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:33.960 taken by these magazines, that's why they were so they 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:37.320 were celebrated at the highest level. Oh my god, we 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:41.040 just saw camera Cameron Diaz at the coffee shop and 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:43.640 she's got a coffee and she's looking at you, and 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:47.040 everybody's like, oh my god, look at her doing regular 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.559 people's stuff. Look at this. Uh you know it was 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:54.040 those pictures were so that's what made that business so big. 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:58.280 It was who can capture a regular moment of a celebrity? 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:02.040 And I think and in our society, we've got to 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.880 these are people. Social media has allowed these stars to 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.920 show that there are people. Hence, when you do that, 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:12.920 you're following growths because the authenticity behind the person that 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:18.400 we're supporting, it's real. Yo, he's brushing his teeth on Snapchat. 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:21.320 Oh my god. Did you see the video of Kevin 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:25.280 with his kids and they're doing regular stuff. Oh my god, 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.600 look at Kevin playing with his dog. Do you see it. 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:32.000 It's it's showing that you're real. And that's why I 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:35.199 embrace it. I don't ever want there to be a disconnect. 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:38.120 I feel like, you know, these people have invested in me. 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:40.920 You've invested in my life. I've grown because you've grown 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:44.880 with me. So I do owe my fans are service 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:47.800 I I do. I want you to see I want 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:51.040 you to see the normalcy behind who I am. I 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.960 want you to see that I'm a grounded, real guy. 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:58.280 I love hard, I am about my family, and you know, 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:00.720 good and bad with problems. You put it out there. 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.200 You let people go through the problems with you, because 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:05.360 when you relate to it, you understand that we're all 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:10.840 human and it's one We all handle problems ultimately different, 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:16.320 but the same, good, bad, negative, positive. You're human. Social 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:18.240 media allows you to show that I like that I 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:21.240 can talk to my fans getting the media reaction. I 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.800 don't just want to take. It shouldn't be a take relationship. 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.760 It should be a give and take. So those moments 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.840 where I take ten minutes to do a video just 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:32.880 saying I'm so excited about X, Y and Z, I 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:34.800 just want to tell you guys to go out put 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.240 passion behind what you're doing. Have a level of excitement 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:39.400 about the way you approach your days. There's people that 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:42.040 watch that and go, fuck, yeah, I was I was 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:45.240 dragging the day. I didn't feel like doing this, but 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:47.679 I just saw Kevin do this little thing from the car. 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:51.800 He right There's you would be surprised at the effect 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:55.880 that this has on the generation. It really does. Man, 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:58.680 some people need to push some people need that motivation. 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:01.280 Social media allow me to give it to you, real, 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:06.640 raw and in your face every single day. And you 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:08.520 know those numbers don't lie. I'm I'm at like a 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:12.840 hundred and thirty million people attention to media. Yes, it's me, 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:16.079 it's me on there, me every day. Me. It's a 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.200 job every day. I wake up, good morning, I'm up 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:24.760 every day. I stayed true to it. You know, There's 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:27.440 been days where I didn't post and I would go 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:30.880 check my timeline and people think I'm dead? What the fun? Where? 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:35.360 Where's Kevin? Has anything? Like I've honestly checked and people 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:38.040 have like a certain did anybody is Kevin? Okay? He 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:41.520 hasn't posted anything like you feel. People feel a void. 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:43.800 So I make sure that I'm that I'm on it. 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:46.600 I'm very adamant about doing it. And that's just a 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:48.480 piece of the puzzle. In terms of what you're doing 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:51.640 in terms of digital content, talk about the Laugh Out 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.320 Loud Network, which you know we talked earlier about Heartbeat. 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:57.760 You could just be producing TV and film and making 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:00.680 some good money off that. What is it about going 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:04.400 to digital where monetization could be a little more difficult? Well, it. Uh, 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:06.840 it's very difficult. First and foremost. I mean, look, this 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.400 is a world where a lot of people have attempted 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:12.880 to find success and a lot of people have failed. Um, 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.440 which is which makes it even more intriguing for me. 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.120 You know, how can I do it correctly? I got 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.640 to see people crash and burn? What mistakes that they make? 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:24.840 What did they do? What didn't they do? Um? I 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.480 wanted to follow a blueprint that was more artists friendly, 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.280 I said. Right now, when it comes to laughter, there's 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:34.800 no one destination that people have to go that's just 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:40.440 for comedy, like multicultural all types of comedy. There's not 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.320 one hub, I said. I want to create a multi 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:48.560 cultural platform where we celebrate comedy. We celebrate uh, you know, 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:53.200 from from comedians to content creators to your future writers, 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:56.320 your future directors. This is a place where we can 0:15:56.400 --> 0:16:00.000 go and give opportunities to those people that don't get 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:03.120 them right now to go and shoot for the stars. 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.360 Is it's hard, you know, it's very far. A few 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.720 and in between people are gonna walk into HBO and 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:11.520 get deals at HBO. You know, there's there's a limited 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:14.760 access to get there. But when you look at the 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:18.000 Internet and you look at what drives the Internet, it's content. 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.400 So you have these people that are making content on 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:22.760 a day to day basis with their phone with a 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.480 little five D camera and they cut these videos up 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.120 themselves and they put it up, but it lives and 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.600 it goes. I said, what if I go get those people? 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.200 What if we're artists friendly? What if those people can 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:36.400 come here and we service them correctly, give them pieces 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.240 of ownership within the content, but they can grow. What 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.840 if laugh Allowed becomes a space where we grow with 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.360 the artists, almost like title. You know what jay Z 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.120 did his title. It was pretty amazing because he said, 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:49.600 everybody's taken from the artists. I want to give I 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:52.480 want to give something to the artist. Instantly, that made 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:54.920 artists say I want to go over there man, because 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:57.400 they're not trying to do what everyone else is doing. 0:16:57.760 --> 0:16:59.720 People try to wrap all this talent up and they 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:01.760 try to own you. I don't want to do that. 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.080 What if I'm giving a different opportunity and I make it. 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:07.240 I make it much more comfortable for these future comedians 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:09.840 of tomorrow to come here. But you know what, some 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:12.040 people look at what jay Z went through with title, 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:17.360 and it's not exactly a smooth road for him. Were 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:21.080 so when you look at doing digital content, were you 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.439 at all intimidated about like, how do we get this right? 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.280 Jay z is at his sered roll. But no, you're 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:27.680 gonna nothing's gonna be perfect. I mean, that's what separates 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:30.080 the greats from them that great. You know, it's not 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.840 going to be easy. You're gonna get some some cobble 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.360 stone that you gotta go over. It's how you maneuver 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:37.560 and how you handle it. You know, you take your 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:40.520 punches in the stomach and you learn how to defend 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:43.480 after that. Within this, I notice is a crowded space. 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:45.520 I know it is the one thing that I have 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:49.159 within my digital platform is Kevin hard Kevin Harker is 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.199 stand in front of it, and I can say I 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:55.000 stand behind it. I can say I'm involved. I'm putting 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.840 a personal stamp on this business. I'm putting a personal 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.760 stamp on deliver bring some of the best comedy that 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.080 I feel that you can find on the internet. Why 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:07.239 can't I say that? Because right now I sit as 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:09.199 the number one comedy star in the world. So I 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:11.400 think that I have a little bit of I think 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.399 I have a background where people are gonna go I 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:15.320 believe him. I think people are gonna say, I'm gonna 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:16.879 follow him, I'm gonna go on, I'm gonna watch it. 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:19.840 But the way that this works is you have to 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.439 get a partner that believes you. You need somebody to 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:24.880 see a vision as clear as you do. John Felt 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.840 Harmer at lions Gate saw the vision. He said, do 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:29.560 you want to do this? I said, I want to 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.320 run it. Sitt fifty with me. Let me be a 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.600 real CEO. Let me approve the budgets, let me do this. 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.520 If anything goes against crazy, we meet and we discuss 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:42.200 it as businessmen. Let me show that I'm more than 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.000 capable of putting a team together, structuring what I feel 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:48.200 a digital network should be and should look like, delivering 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:52.359 funny daily and not only delivering funny, talking about it, engaging, 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:54.719 being authentic behind it. And after I get to a 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:57.160 certain point where we're happy, and right now we are. 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.680 I mean, we have over eight hundred thousand active users 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:03.199 on our platform. When we do flip the switch and 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.520 go subscription, you'll see that those users will be happy 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:08.840 because we'll go premium with our content. I'm following a band. 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:12.399 I'm following a brand that's been proven. You know what 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:16.000 is considered premium, what premium works, what doesn't work, what's 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.320 quality over quantity? What can I do that can be 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.520 a clear example for what we can deliver. Having those meetings, 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:24.880 having those conversations, getting the understanding I got it now, 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:26.960 I'm doing it. Once I do it, and I do 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:28.959 it at a high level, you'll see that people will 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:31.440 continue to come aboard. And when they do, you'll look 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:34.159 up and go, holy sh it. We started off is 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.000 just a small idea. It's now a big brand, a 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:39.840 big business. Kevin Hart sits at the head of it. Well, 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:41.080 not only you sit at the head of it. The 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:42.720 thing I was amazed by when I looked at laugh 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:45.840 At Network is you're on a lot of these shows. 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:48.920 You are really putting yourself in it. Is there a 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.119 risk there though, where people come to associate with you 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:54.160 and then when they see people who are not you, 0:19:54.160 --> 0:19:56.479 you've let them down. Well you have to you have 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:58.960 to learn balance. You know, right now, you don't see 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.879 me on TV. I'm not on the TV show. I 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:03.600 don't have a TV show. I haven't had one for 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:06.680 years outside of Hub's Hollywood when that was on I 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:10.240 haven't done TV, but what you're able to do on 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:15.240 the Internet is is do different content, but be real 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:19.240 within the content. You know, I keep I keep pushing authenticity. 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:22.399 A talk show with Kevin Hart is an amazing talk show. 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:26.520 Coldest Balls. I mean, we didn't describe what Coldest Balls is. 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:31.920 Just nobody thought I was talking about my balls. Good y'alls. Sorry, Uh, 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:36.520 Coldest Balls is a talk show that was created for me, 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:41.960 Um and whoever it is that's my guests to do 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:45.760 an interview while sitting in a cold tub. Um, the 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:49.560 whole interview with us in the cold tub, and I 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:52.080 get to I get to ask questions that nobody else 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:55.000 would ask. Its center around me and athletes and the show. 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:57.000 We did it, and we just wanted to do it. 0:20:57.080 --> 0:20:59.040 Where we did six, We do six, and we got 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:01.119 some people that we know will want to watch. But 0:21:01.160 --> 0:21:04.320 I wanted to see the response Um overall. I mean 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:07.720 they probably had like two hundred million views between the six. 0:21:07.960 --> 0:21:11.600 We beat television, you know, within our viewership and within 0:21:11.640 --> 0:21:13.640 the numbers. And what I got to see was there's 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:17.240 a want to see me and these other entertainers. There's 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:20.840 a want to see Kevin have a conversation. So this 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:23.560