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Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Colleen Witt, and today we have very

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Speaker 1: special guests Enterprises forty under forty, TV producer, festival, co

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Speaker 1: founder in the Me Show Film Festival, which is the

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Speaker 1: fastest growing, most prestigious multicultural festival in the country.

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Speaker 2: So it's pretty impressive. Cording, Thank you, Thank you, It's.

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Speaker 1: An honor to have you. I love having people have

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Speaker 1: different backgrounds come on the show. So this is gonna

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Speaker 1: be a very eye opening experience. To go from TV

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Speaker 1: producer to creating your own festival is a lot. Yes,

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Speaker 1: it is a lot. But before we get into the

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Speaker 1: tea on your life, please tell me what you're gonna

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Speaker 1: what you were eating while you were broke.

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Speaker 2: Yes, So, my favorite favorite favorite dish to make is

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Speaker 2: a fried red pepper cabbage ate it while broke, eat

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Speaker 2: it now made it for Thanksgiving for the family. It's

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Speaker 2: like a go to staple in my life at this point. Really,

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Speaker 2: I'm excited about it.

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Speaker 1: I thought it was like cabbage soup, but I didn't

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Speaker 1: know what was going on. But there was no broth.

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Speaker 1: So this is going to be a learning lesson. I'm

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Speaker 1: hoping I can add it to my home dishes because

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Speaker 1: it's very affordable. I think this is like what like

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Speaker 1: a three dollar dish dish stretch.

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Speaker 2: It's so long, yes, and it's no meat, me, no me.

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Speaker 1: And I think I added an extra color of peppers,

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Speaker 1: so you can ignore the extra.

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Speaker 2: One that wasn't supposed to be get there. But go

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Speaker 2: ahead again the kitchen, Okay, let's do it. So essentially,

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Speaker 2: what we have here is we have our head of cabbage,

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Speaker 2: and so I'm just gonna chop up a little bit more.

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Speaker 2: Finally we have our peppers, and we have our onion,

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Speaker 2: and then you know we're black. So I like to

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Speaker 2: season everything up.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, what seasonings are you going with?

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Speaker 2: Starting with my Tony Shatterers or however you say it,

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Speaker 2: because no one ton Yeah, we just say Tony's exactly,

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Speaker 2: started with my Tony's. That's like the must have garlic powder,

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Speaker 2: onion powder, a little pep pepka, and then some red

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Speaker 2: pepper flakes to top it all off. So very simple meal,

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Speaker 2: pretty easy.

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Speaker 1: And then you're using olive oil, Yes, using olive oils.

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Speaker 2: I'm actually gonna get that poured in here now before

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Speaker 2: I start chopping.

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Speaker 1: And then I'm wondering with the olive oil. I would

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Speaker 1: assume when you say fry, it's gonna be like a

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Speaker 1: vegetable oil.

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Speaker 2: Why is it olive oil? It's more so fried just

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Speaker 2: because it's in an oil. I just cook with olive

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Speaker 2: oil because it's a little bit healthier. No real other Okay, yeah, significance, Okay,

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Speaker 2: let me turn this.

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Speaker 1: It makes you feel better. I barely use vegetable oil

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Speaker 1: until eating while broke.

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Speaker 2: Really, now I'm like, vegetable oil, that's the one you

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Speaker 2: use to fry. Yes, Like, if I'm frying hardcore, then

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Speaker 2: we'll definitely do the vegetable oil. But I try and

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Speaker 2: keep it minimal with just a little olive oil and

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Speaker 2: call it a day.

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Speaker 1: Now, is this gonna be like a stir fried type

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Speaker 1: of fee?

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Speaker 2: Maybe a little kind of, but no, really, like once

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Speaker 2: it cooks down, it really is just kind of like

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Speaker 2: a regular cabbage. And it's so funny because my parents

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Speaker 2: growing up, my dad always used to make like boiled cabbage.

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Speaker 2: And it wasn't until I was working out here in

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Speaker 2: LA and I went to a creole restaurant in mid

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Speaker 2: city that served this red pepper cabbage, and I was like,

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Speaker 2: this is not boiled cabbage like this cabbage and taught

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Speaker 2: myself how to make it and it was so good.

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Speaker 1: Well, we're about to see ac if you could tap them,

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Speaker 1: turn me, turn me, tell that frog cabbage eating pepper

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Speaker 1: eating person please, yes, food, yes, So while that's getting

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Speaker 1: nice and hot, can you tell me what was going

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Speaker 1: on in this air or the air of I don't

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Speaker 1: know if you're gonna take me all the way back

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Speaker 1: to boiled cabbage or just cab, but take me back.

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Speaker 2: Well, we'll start at We'll start at the fried cabbage era. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: what was going on at this point in time? I

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Speaker 2: was working for a pretty well known talk show at

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Speaker 2: the time, and you know, I was getting paid all right,

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Speaker 2: you know, I wasn't making that much money, but I

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Speaker 2: was really looking forward to getting promoted at that show.

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Speaker 2: At the time, I was an associate producer. I had

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Speaker 2: been working there for three years. Which show? Is it

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Speaker 2: for the Doctor Phil Show?

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Speaker 1: I thought you were gonna say that, Yeah, And this

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Speaker 1: is based in New York or it was here.

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Speaker 2: We actually shot at a Paramount Studios, So I was

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Speaker 2: working on the studio lot, which was amazing, you know,

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Speaker 2: dream come true type stuff. The first year because you know,

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Speaker 2: moved to La New Here. So that was the dream, right, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I have been working there for three years, up for

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Speaker 2: a promotion, and it was myself and two other white

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Speaker 2: girls who were up for a promotion. I'm sorry, I

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Speaker 2: don't mean to laugh. Just I could just foresee the

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Speaker 2: when go ahead, Sure can, and essentially they got promoted.

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Speaker 2: I didn't wow, and realized in that moment that Okay,

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Speaker 2: just because you guys don't see my value doesn't mean

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Speaker 2: that I don't have value. And at that point that

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Speaker 2: was when I was like, hey, I have to walk away. Yes,

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Speaker 2: so walked away from a very stable, solid, comfy job.

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Speaker 1: Because you said it started out lower.

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Speaker 2: The pay was decent. I mean, it was okay for

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Speaker 2: where I was at, but after three years, it's you

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Speaker 2: gotta elevate, like it's time to go up. You walked

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Speaker 2: without no back of plan.

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Speaker 1: I walked without any kind of backup plan.

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Speaker 2: But like, the only thing I knew was that that

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Speaker 2: wasn't gonna work for me. So was it like an

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Speaker 2: emotional walk off or was.

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Speaker 1: It like like, oh that's the move, I'm out and

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Speaker 1: you through stuff in a box. Or was it like

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Speaker 1: I went home, talked to my girlfriends. It still ended

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Speaker 1: at that conclusion.

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Speaker 2: No, it was I knew when I started having the

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Speaker 2: conversations with them about a promotion that if I wasn't

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Speaker 2: promoted that year, I would have to leave because for me,

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Speaker 2: not only was I there for three years, which I

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Speaker 2: don't believe in staying in any position longer than three

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Speaker 2: years without a title bomb I liked that, but I

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Speaker 2: also was doing the work of the role that I

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Speaker 2: wanted to be promoted to, and they knew that. So

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Speaker 2: for me, it's like you're having me do the work.

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Speaker 2: They even went as far as asking me to train

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Speaker 2: the other person they promoted. I said, absolutely not. I'm

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Speaker 2: not gonna do that. Y'all are crazy, you know, as

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Speaker 2: crazy as that I feel, I had to.

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Speaker 1: I actually experienced that once. And you're training someone that's

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Speaker 1: gonna be above you. Does just the irony of it, like.

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Speaker 2: How in the world does that make any sense? And

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Speaker 2: to who?

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Speaker 1: So did you train these two girls that were working

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Speaker 1: with you?

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Speaker 2: I did not, Okay, and that's when I walked away.

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Speaker 2: Did they ask you to Yeah, they asked me to train.

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Speaker 2: So it was kind of like a thing where essentially

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Speaker 2: what am I saying essentially like we were going on

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Speaker 2: a hiatus, so like every season, like we'll take the

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Speaker 2: summer off and then we'll come back in August and

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Speaker 2: the show starts back up again. So they were kind

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Speaker 2: of putting together all of who was going to be

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Speaker 2: in what position coming into the next season. And so

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Speaker 2: at that point before we went on hiatus, that was

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Speaker 2: when the conversations were happening about who was going to

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Speaker 2: be promoted, training all of that fun stuff, because we

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Speaker 2: knew at one point that one of the girls was

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Speaker 2: automatically going to be promoted, and that's the one that

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Speaker 2: they asked me to train. The other one kind of

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Speaker 2: came as a surprise. Why did they Why did we

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Speaker 2: know that the one was going to get promoted? She

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Speaker 2: had a little bit more time in the industry. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: which I get that. I totally understand that, But you

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Speaker 2: still had the trainer. I mean, I didn't train her,

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Speaker 2: But that's what I'm saying.

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Speaker 1: That was the request, That was the requests, And yeah,

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Speaker 1: they were saying when they say trainer, you mean trainer

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Speaker 1: on the workings of the Phil Show, or trainer.

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Speaker 2: On on that position that I was that we were

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Speaker 2: both looking to move into. Got it. Yeah, because again,

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Speaker 2: I was already doing the role. Yeah, without the pay,

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Speaker 2: without the title, you know, all that fun stuff.

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Speaker 1: But you still were saying that it was you understood

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Speaker 1: why they promoted her.

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Speaker 2: Though I understood why they promoted her. I didn't understand

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Speaker 2: why they promoted the other girl. Got it? Who was

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Speaker 2: who started after me in a lower position than me,

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Speaker 2: and somehow she got promoted before me. Yeah, so you

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Speaker 2: know you can you can do the math. You can

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Speaker 2: figure all that out on your own. So you walked away.

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Speaker 2: I walked away. I booked a trip to Europe and said,

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Speaker 2: I'll wait and see what the email comes back with.

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Speaker 2: If you guys send me an offer, amazing, If you don't, amazing.

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Speaker 1: Wait a minute, you sent them an email like or

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Speaker 1: what basically an ultimatum type of email.

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Speaker 2: No, no, no, not an ultimatum. But essentially I was

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Speaker 2: waiting to hear back if either of my contract was

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Speaker 2: going to be renewed at the same rate, or if

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Speaker 2: it was going to be renewed with a promotion. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: and so essentially, when I did get the email that

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Speaker 2: you know they were not going to promote me, but

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Speaker 2: they still wanted me to come back in the same position,

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Speaker 2: I said absolutely not. Good job, thank you, but no thanks. Now,

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Speaker 2: how broke? Were just where the dishones in? Listen? Listen? Absolutely?

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Speaker 2: So I told you I found that creole restaurant, loved it.

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Speaker 2: Did you get you're in Europe? I shared it that

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Speaker 2: shir did. Yep. I was like, but you know what,

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Speaker 2: It's fine. I'd rather be sad in Europe than said

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Speaker 2: at home.

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Speaker 1: Okay, how long were you in Europe for? It wasn't

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Speaker 1: enough to ruin the vacation, was it?

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Speaker 2: No? I wasn't letting that ruin anything. Job. I like

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Speaker 2: you at all. All right, I want to turn this

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Speaker 2: down a little bit because we're okay. So then you

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Speaker 2: come home. So I come home, Like I said, I

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Speaker 2: found that amazing creole restaurant. And at this point I'm jobless.

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Speaker 2: So I was like, I need to figure out how

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Speaker 2: to make this myself. You had you had savings, right,

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, I have some savings. I'm good hit

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Speaker 2: that money management.

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Speaker 1: Guys.

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Speaker 2: She didn't just walk with two dollars exactly. And I knew,

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Speaker 2: like again, just because they didn't see the value, I

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Speaker 2: knew that I was destined for greatness. I was going

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Speaker 2: to be able to get something else. Okay, So took

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Speaker 2: some time off started making my own red pepper cabbage

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Speaker 2: because I wasn't about to be paying a restaurant at

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Speaker 2: the time. So like the last couple of times you

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Speaker 2: ate to use like, I think I gotta do this. Listen.

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Speaker 2: It was one point I was like, you know what,

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Speaker 2: I think I can figure this out on my own.

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Speaker 2: I love this for you, thank you.

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Speaker 1: So then you you're eating red cabbage cabbage at home.

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Speaker 1: Now what's the next play while you eating this fry

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Speaker 1: cabbage watching your savings dwindor.

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Speaker 2: Yes. So at that point I had kind of made

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Speaker 2: up in my mind and said I have to be

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Speaker 2: promoted to this producer position by the end of the year.

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Speaker 2: So I told myself I'd be willing to take one

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Speaker 2: more position as an associate producer if I knew that

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Speaker 2: it was going to get me to where I wanted

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Speaker 2: to be. And so I actually kind of pivoted a

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Speaker 2: little bit out of TV production and I went into casting.

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Speaker 2: So I did one job as an associate producer for

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Speaker 2: a casting company that I was working with, and had

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Speaker 2: started just having the conversations with the boss like, hey, like,

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Speaker 2: I love working for you, but if you want to

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Speaker 2: bring me back next year. I have to come back

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Speaker 2: as a producer. Okay, and literally I showed out. I

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Speaker 2: did my work like head down was fantastic. The next season,

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Speaker 2: she promoted me to casting producer. Yeah, and that show

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Speaker 2: that I was a casting producer for was actually Love Island,

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Speaker 2: the first season of the US version here Okay, Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Now, do you think that the transparency up front of

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Speaker 1: like saying that helped you in that particular case versus

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Speaker 1: like just working and not saying anything.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, And that was one of the things that I

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Speaker 2: feel like I had kind of failed in on my

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Speaker 2: part with Doctor Phil was that I started having those

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Speaker 2: conversations too late, and I felt like I always thought

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Speaker 2: that if I just keep my head down and do

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Speaker 2: the work, the work will speak for me. Yeah, but

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Speaker 2: sometimes you gotta speak for yourself too.

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Speaker 1: I one hundred percent agree with that, because sometimes people

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Speaker 1: have so much going on they don't know even though

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Speaker 1: it does seem like there was a little bit of

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Speaker 1: unfair play going on. Yeah, but that's just a good

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Speaker 1: thing to know for everybody at home.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, but you got to speak up for yourself because

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Speaker 2: no one's gonna They're not just gonna give you a promotion,

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Speaker 2: they'll say, hey, great job, You're doing great work the end.

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Speaker 1: So then what happens after Love is Blind, Love Island Live,

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Speaker 1: Love Island Sorry?

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Speaker 2: After that, Love Isolence, I know, so so many shows.

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Speaker 2: After that, I got my producer title and then I

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Speaker 2: just kept it pushing from there. I did a little

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Speaker 2: bit more casting and with casting. So with TV production,

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Speaker 2: you're working minimum twelve hour days. Yeah, minimum casting, it

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Speaker 2: is a solid nine to five. You have so much

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Speaker 2: free time, and I'm like, well, what do I do

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Speaker 2: with the rest of this time? And that's when my

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Speaker 2: co founder, Noel he is actually a filmmaker, and he

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Speaker 2: wanted to do this like short film screening where he

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Speaker 2: showed some of his films, and I was like, you

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Speaker 2: know what, I'll help you with that. I wanted to

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Speaker 2: get into more of like event planning anyway, so I

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Speaker 2: said I'll help with that, Like that's something I'd be

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Speaker 2: interested in. And fast forward. It now is an entire

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Speaker 2: huge film festival. How many years we are now at

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Speaker 2: year seven? Yes, geez, how was that first year? Oh? Man?

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Speaker 2: I mean it was great. The turnout was amazing. We

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Speaker 2: out sold it twice, and I say that it's essentially

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Speaker 2: it sold out. When people left, more people came in.

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Speaker 2: So it just like was amazing. And it got to

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Speaker 2: the point where that next the year after people kept

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Speaker 2: asking us, well, when's the next one? When's the next one?

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Speaker 2: I was like, all right, well, I guess then needs

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Speaker 2: to be a next one, Like clearly there's a demand here,

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Speaker 2: and that turned into the Me Show Film Festival as

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Speaker 2: we know it. It was crazy the first year. We

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Speaker 2: obviously we had to self finance it, but it was

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Speaker 2: a one day, like small, small event. But how many people?

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Speaker 2: How many was it about two hundred and fifty people?

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Speaker 2: That's that's it. Yeah, it's small, but that's that's still

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Speaker 2: a big fee. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I have a background and event planning, so I two

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Speaker 1: point fifty is especially if you can sell out and

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Speaker 1: you said you rotated, Now, yeah, that's a big fee,

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Speaker 1: especially because you have to market it and promote it

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Speaker 1: and the venue and the costs and all that exactly.

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Speaker 1: And that was a crash course. Now, did you end

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Speaker 1: up losing money on the first one or at least

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Speaker 1: breaking even?

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Speaker 2: No, Yeah, we didn't lose any money. We actually because

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Speaker 2: this was not planning to be like a whole business,

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Speaker 2: a whole festival. Whole company. We actually donated the proceeds

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Speaker 2: to a nonprofit. I love that, Yes, because we partner

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Speaker 2: with the nonprofit that focused on helping homeless youth, and

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Speaker 2: so we just donated the proceeds and then once it

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Speaker 2: kind of came back around the next year and people

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Speaker 2: were like, all right, let's let's get the snacks on

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Speaker 2: pop and we're like, all right, well, let's sell some tickets.

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Speaker 2: Let's like, if we're going to do it, let's do

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Speaker 2: it right. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, So when you engaged in the nonprofit, how

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Speaker 1: did that whole structure end up coming about?

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Speaker 2: Sorry, honest in the business. Honestly, we had a friend

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Speaker 2: who worked at the nonprofit and it just was a

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Speaker 2: very simple easy thing to do. We wanted some of

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Speaker 2: their youth that they served to come out and just

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Speaker 2: be able to you know, mix and mingle with the filmmakers,

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Speaker 2: watch the film, just kind of have a fun day out,

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Speaker 2: fun experience. But that's something that we have done quite

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Speaker 2: a few years of the festival with different nonprofits, different organizations,

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Speaker 2: just getting their youth activated, because it's important to know that,

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Speaker 2: you know, even though your circumstances might not be great

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Speaker 2: right now, like you can still achieve something, and it's

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Speaker 2: important to be able to see that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So are you still doing television production on the

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Speaker 2: side or over Listen, I do a little bit of

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Speaker 2: everything at this point. So essentially, let me see here

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Speaker 2: we did six Last year was our sixth year doing

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Speaker 2: the festival, and at this point I've kind of transitioned

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Speaker 2: away from running the day to day operations of the

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Speaker 2: festival and have transitioned back into more of like the

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Speaker 2: TV film side of things. You're on the creative side

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Speaker 2: the business, yes, okay, yeah, yeah, so, and I mean

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Speaker 2: that's funny.

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Speaker 1: Started as the creative right, yes, and then you were

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Speaker 1: the business and now you guys swamped.

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Speaker 2: Yes okay, well no, not not that we swabbed. More so,

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Speaker 2: I'm more focusing on TV and film development at this point. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Oh, you're focused on TV and development in general or

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Speaker 1: in general in regards to me, show in general in general. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: what are you doing on S side?

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm glad you asked. So essentially, I've been in

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Speaker 2: a transition period. I realized quite a few years ago

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Speaker 2: actually that I really wanted to start presuming pursuing the

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Speaker 2: executive track, which is developing shows and films and giving

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Speaker 2: notes to the creatives and packaging the projects. So that's

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Speaker 2: something that really really spoke to me, okay for and

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Speaker 2: it's so crazy because I've penciled on that's muscle.

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Speaker 1: But love how I wasn't even surprised hearing you say,

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Speaker 1: like you're already targeting executive You're very much this is

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Speaker 1: comfortable for one day, but I need to focus on

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Speaker 1: moving forward.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I am not at.

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Speaker 1: All surprised that you were saying the executive track. That's

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Speaker 1: very impressive, by thank you. I appreciate your personality is.

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Speaker 2: Like growth growth, Okay, stable growth. It said three years

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Speaker 2: right yep, so okay, yep exactly. But yeah, that was

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Speaker 2: something that like it just kept like pushing on me.

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Speaker 2: You know, at some point it's like, all right, I

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Speaker 2: gotta do this, Like I can't stay right, Like it's

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Speaker 2: time to move forward. So that's kind of what I've

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Speaker 2: been focusing on now. And obviously worst time in the

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Speaker 2: industry to even try to get a job to try

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Speaker 2: and pivot to the thing, but you know, God is good.

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Speaker 2: So right now I'm actually working at the Latino Film

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Speaker 2: Institute as their manager of Industry, and essentially I'm overseeing

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Speaker 2: their entire slate of productions through their fellowship programs, and

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Speaker 2: it is amazing. It's everything I could have asked for.

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Speaker 2: I'm watching cuts every day, I'm reading scripts every day,

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Speaker 2: I'm giving notes. It's so much work, but I enjoy

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Speaker 2: it so much. Is it like a twelve hour day? No,

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Speaker 2: it's not a twelve hour yeah? Yeah? No, thankfully?

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Speaker 1: Do you still now get to still plan trips to like?

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Speaker 1: I like how you were, Like I traveled to Europe,

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Speaker 1: and I sure do.

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Speaker 2: I love I love traveling. I love going out of town.

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Speaker 2: My mom, my, sister and I we went to Barcelona

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Speaker 2: last year. It was great. Wow, it was amazing. Guys

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Speaker 2: are family goals. I appreciate that. I just want to

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Speaker 2: see what it looks like. Okay, it's about ready, really, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: it's a nice, easy quick meal. Did you put the

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Speaker 2: peppers in already? Is that paying assention? I only put

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Speaker 2: a couple of them in there, though I did. It

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Speaker 2: smells good? Good.

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Speaker 1: What I want to backcheck because I kind of have

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Speaker 1: an idea of where you are at today. Can you

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Speaker 1: tell me a little bit of your your upbringing and

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Speaker 1: how TV ended up crossing past as like a priority

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Speaker 1: for you.

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Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely so. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. My

385
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Speaker 2: dad is a pastor. My mom is a court reporter.

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Speaker 2: She also preaches at times as well, but she's a

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Speaker 2: court reporter. I mean we had I had a great upbringing,

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Speaker 2: like I yeah, upper middle class. Yeah, he was also

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Speaker 2: a professor. My dad is a hustler. He's from Harlem,

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Speaker 2: like he listen, my work ethic comes from that man.

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Speaker 2: But my mom is where I get my love of

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Speaker 2: TV and film from. I just remember it was always

393
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Speaker 2: a thing growing up. We will always just watch TV together,

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Speaker 2: Like you know, back then it was appointment television. If

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Speaker 2: you missed it, you missed it. There wasn't anything else

396
00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:58,919
Speaker 2: you can right. My mom watched a soap opera. Yeah

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Speaker 2: it was serious, right, so you didn't miss that that show,

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Speaker 2: Like you planned your schedule arounds like, oh, this new

399
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,800
Speaker 2: season's coming on, like we're gonna be in front of

400
00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:12,840
Speaker 2: the TV. Damn, I got about the right. It's so nice.

401
00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,000
Speaker 2: But I think it just helps like create a little

402
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Speaker 2: element of community, like you know, we're all watching the

403
00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:23,840
Speaker 2: same thing on our own schedules apart, right, exactly. My

404
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Speaker 2: mom's always loved just great movies. She's always loved the classics,

405
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Speaker 2: so she started watching those with me from a very

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Speaker 2: early age. And then as I got older, then we

407
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,560
Speaker 2: started watching the R rated stuff, and like she took

408
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,480
Speaker 2: pride and introducing me to like the great films. Yeah,

409
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,560
Speaker 2: so I'm still together. They are yep, shout outs to

410
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Speaker 2: marry folk made it. Yes, they sure did.

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Speaker 1: But now you said your mom and your your sister

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Speaker 1: travel with you. Your dad wasn't a part of the.

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Speaker 2: No, my dad's not getting on a flight that long.

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00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,040
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, he likes to travel, but he likes to

415
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Speaker 2: be on the beach and that's it. Okay, So what

416
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Speaker 2: he has like a five hour minimum pretty much? Oh

417
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Speaker 2: not even ten hours? You get him about five. Him

418
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Speaker 2: and my mom went to Paris one time for the anniversary.

419
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Speaker 2: He was like, cool, did it done? He's probably like

420
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Speaker 2: if it ain't first class on a five or more flight,

421
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Speaker 2: I'm not Melissa, And he's like, I'm not doing it.

422
00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:19,120
Speaker 2: So I'm not mad at him. I'm not mad at him.

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Speaker 2: So okay, So you start falling in love with film

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Speaker 2: because of this bonding situation with your mom, and then

425
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Speaker 2: you decide you're going to go off to college. Well, so, actually,

426
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,600
Speaker 2: my story really kind of starts in high school. So

427
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,879
Speaker 2: my senior year of high school, I was talking to

428
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Speaker 2: well before my senior ye of high school, like the

429
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:41,919
Speaker 2: summer leading into it, talking to a friend, and she

430
00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:44,520
Speaker 2: was telling me about how she was taking a broadcasting

431
00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,000
Speaker 2: class at her school and I was like, man, that

432
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,879
Speaker 2: sounds great. I wish my school offered that. And I

433
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Speaker 2: don't remember all of the pieces of how it happened,

434
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,840
Speaker 2: but long story short, I ended up switching high school

435
00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,320
Speaker 2: specifically to take a broadcasting class. You did the elevator,

436
00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:03,480
Speaker 2: Mom and Dad, that's been one he Honestly, I was like, hey, guys,

437
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,679
Speaker 2: like it was going into my senior year. So my

438
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,040
Speaker 2: last year of high school, I did. I did. I

439
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,119
Speaker 2: was like, I feel like this is the class that

440
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,200
Speaker 2: I have to take, Like I want this. That was Yeah,

441
00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,120
Speaker 2: it wasn't hard. It wasn't too hard. Yeah, yeah at all.

442
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,320
Speaker 2: And it was like another school that was within our district,

443
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,760
Speaker 2: like it just it made sense. And it also was

444
00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:25,600
Speaker 2: a bigger school. So I was like, I feel like

445
00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,879
Speaker 2: it's going to be a good kind of like prep

446
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,679
Speaker 2: into college. So I mean, they they went with it.

447
00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:32,800
Speaker 2: We went to the orientation. Next thing, I know, I'm

448
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,359
Speaker 2: in I'm in school and I am taking this broadcasting class.

449
00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:44,199
Speaker 2: I do my best, you know, forget my friends. So

450
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,639
Speaker 2: I took that class, started learning, like just someone like

451
00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,800
Speaker 2: the basics of I wouldn't even call it filmmaking because

452
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,480
Speaker 2: at that point it was I would call it content creating,

453
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,400
Speaker 2: I guess, but started learning those basics, fell in love

454
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,760
Speaker 2: with it even more. And then yeah, I went to

455
00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:03,960
Speaker 2: college at Georgia State University and majored in broadcasts journalism,

456
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,359
Speaker 2: And I mean, it's it's been up ever since, like

457
00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,080
Speaker 2: it's been something that I if I didn't work in

458
00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:12,159
Speaker 2: the industry, I genuinely don't know what I would do.

459
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,600
Speaker 1: So what was your first job in because I know

460
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:15,880
Speaker 1: you went to New York for a bit.

461
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:17,640
Speaker 2: I did. I went to New York for a little bit.

462
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,640
Speaker 2: So my first first job was actually working at the CW.

463
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:23,679
Speaker 2: It was also my first internship and I was a

464
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 2: part of their promotions team. But we also got to

465
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,919
Speaker 2: got to go to a lot of different events like

466
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,760
Speaker 2: sports games. We got to do a lot of like

467
00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,760
Speaker 2: editing and reels and things like that for the company.

468
00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:37,520
Speaker 2: So that was my first like real kind of taste

469
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,679
Speaker 2: of things. But from there I really kind of started

470
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,159
Speaker 2: getting my footing in the industry when I moved to

471
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,720
Speaker 2: New York and I moved there for a talk show initially,

472
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:50,960
Speaker 2: but that was a very short contract, and then I

473
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:54,119
Speaker 2: started working with CBS this morning. I also had done

474
00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:57,080
Speaker 2: a fellowship with them back in my like interning days.

475
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,280
Speaker 2: Very quickly realized news was not my jam and I

476
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:03,119
Speaker 2: needed a little bit more commotion. Yeah, now what's news?

477
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,199
Speaker 2: Was it like a fast turnover that made it not

478
00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:09,320
Speaker 2: your thing? No, it was just a little monotonous for me,

479
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,240
Speaker 2: Like it's just kind of like the same formula every day.

480
00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:16,479
Speaker 2: And it didn't help that I was working overnights, Like

481
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,320
Speaker 2: I came in at midnight. It's not a fun shift.

482
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,400
Speaker 2: And my and then like what time did you go home?

483
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,639
Speaker 2: Like about ten ten in the morning.

484
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, I'm just like I don't know about this,

485
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:32,040
Speaker 1: And can you talk to more of the internship because

486
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,359
Speaker 1: I feel like we're in a culture where everybody's fast

487
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:36,880
Speaker 1: paced and then they hear like, you know, I think

488
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,680
Speaker 1: in the entertainment industry, you definitely go through a nice

489
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,919
Speaker 1: period of paying your dues. I have a feeling your

490
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 1: dudes was only three years, but can you talk more

491
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:45,920
Speaker 1: about that?

492
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,280
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I think, especially within the entertainment industry,

493
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,600
Speaker 2: internships are so important because this is one of the

494
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,800
Speaker 2: few industries where experience is more important than education. Like,

495
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 2: of course you should be educated. Of course, get your degree,

496
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,760
Speaker 2: especially for US black people, like that's important, but you

497
00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,280
Speaker 2: also have to get that hands on experience so that

498
00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:08,800
Speaker 2: when you do get a job, you're not starting from scratch,

499
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:10,879
Speaker 2: you're not starting from zero. You at least have a

500
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,760
Speaker 2: little bit of an idea of what's going on and

501
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 2: how to do things. And for me, kind of same mentality.

502
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,359
Speaker 2: I did my two unpaid internships and after that I

503
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:22,920
Speaker 2: was like, all right, now I need to pay an internship.

504
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,800
Speaker 2: I'm not working for free no more. I knew. I

505
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,040
Speaker 2: knew that was coming with you. Yep, He's like, let's

506
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,640
Speaker 2: move up the ladder. I tried. I tried it fun

507
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:37,119
Speaker 2: long enough. It is FEUs. Oh yes, do it. I

508
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:39,159
Speaker 2: actually need to taste tests because I've put my little

509
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,000
Speaker 2: seasons in here. But it smells good, so I'm gonna

510
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,320
Speaker 2: believe it's all right. Okay, let me get that.

511
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,560
Speaker 1: You can't mess this up. It's gonna be the new

512
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,200
Speaker 1: go to. Yes, I should have paid attention more, but.

513
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,199
Speaker 2: I'll sing you the recipe. It's real easy. You just

514
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,480
Speaker 2: seasoned a bunch of vegetables. Yeah, exactly.

515
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,320
Speaker 1: Honestly, you didn't use that many onions either.

516
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,600
Speaker 2: I did that. I didn't want to overwhelm too much.

517
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:12,439
Speaker 2: Smells good, good, smells really good. I can't wait to

518
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:13,040
Speaker 2: try you.

519
00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:15,280
Speaker 1: Now.

520
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,520
Speaker 2: You eat this without anything else, usually out parrot with

521
00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:19,400
Speaker 2: some type of protein.

522
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,879
Speaker 1: Like when you order at the restaurant, what do they

523
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:22,359
Speaker 1: serve it with?

524
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 2: Oh? Girl, they served it with fry track. So good.

525
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,360
Speaker 2: So that's how you do it. Okay, that's what they do.

526
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,360
Speaker 2: Oh my god. Yeah, mm hmmm.

527
00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:44,040
Speaker 1: Mm hmm.

528
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:50,199
Speaker 2: That is amazingly delicious. Oh thank you. Yeah, this is

529
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:59,639
Speaker 2: this is one of my favorites. You only did the

530
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:03,119
Speaker 2: reddin I did only do the red. I forgot to

531
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 2: put in the orange ones. I usually do red and green.

532
00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,480
Speaker 2: This is outstandingly delicious, and you're right. With some strip

533
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,320
Speaker 2: it would have been great. Huh. You had to follow

534
00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:20,919
Speaker 2: all the rules of eating want broken. Listen when you

535
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,400
Speaker 2: broke it a you know you can't afford the shrimp sometimes.

536
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:26,399
Speaker 2: Have you made this for your dad? I have? And

537
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,200
Speaker 2: what did he say? I made it for my family

538
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,040
Speaker 2: for Christmas? This past year. They all raved about it.

539
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,760
Speaker 2: They loved it. I had to send my mind yep,

540
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:37,360
Speaker 2: like girls in it. Mm hmm.

541
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,760
Speaker 1: The seasoning on this, guys, remember garlic powder, onion powder,

542
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,159
Speaker 1: red pepper, paprika.

543
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,320
Speaker 2: And Tony's Tony's always. I did the shout out for

544
00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:53,439
Speaker 2: you guys, so you can make this at home. She

545
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:59,800
Speaker 2: was just, you know, spinning it in the pot. Did

546
00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:01,440
Speaker 2: you You didn't even put the butter. I didn't even

547
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:03,560
Speaker 2: put butter in there. Would the butter have made it

548
00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:05,919
Speaker 2: that much death better? Yeah? The butter just adds a

549
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:11,199
Speaker 2: little extra. Yeah, this is delicious. Thank you. I'm so

550
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,960
Speaker 2: glad you like it a whole. I'm mad.

551
00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:17,639
Speaker 1: Out of all the guests, you're the only one that

552
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,640
Speaker 1: follows the serving rule.

553
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:25,800
Speaker 2: Yep. And the one time, the whole the whole batch.

554
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:27,920
Speaker 2: We had the rest of this cabbage. So we can

555
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:29,719
Speaker 2: work something out. We're gonna we're gonna do it right

556
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:30,240
Speaker 2: when we walk.

557
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,400
Speaker 1: I can see why you would get get out from

558
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:37,159
Speaker 1: Europe and be like, I can't be eating at this

559
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,400
Speaker 1: restaurant every day that at some point did you ask

560
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:42,000
Speaker 1: one of them like, what seasoning is it?

561
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,640
Speaker 2: No? I just figured out figured it out myself. That's hilarious.

562
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:47,760
Speaker 2: Can do that. Sometimes I feel to the restaurant and be like,

563
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,440
Speaker 2: do this do that with short rip. I'm gonna have

564
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,200
Speaker 2: a good short rip. I promise you. It's a challenge

565
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,760
Speaker 2: for me. I'm like, I, no, no, I can do

566
00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:00,760
Speaker 2: it better. I made some bomb. Oh my gosh, Yeah,

567
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,000
Speaker 2: that's what I need. If I make a guy short rip,

568
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,680
Speaker 2: that's how you know. I'm I'm trying to.

569
00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:10,880
Speaker 1: Really show you what I could do right right, And

570
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:12,960
Speaker 1: I played it real well, oh it's a rep.

571
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,440
Speaker 2: Yeah.

572
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:20,640
Speaker 1: So you're doing these internships and where does it end

573
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,320
Speaker 1: up coming in from New York to Los Angeles.

574
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I was doing just like little gigs in

575
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:31,040
Speaker 2: New York. Once I hit the news path, I was like, yeah,

576
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,280
Speaker 2: this isn't for me. I got to figure something else out.

577
00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,200
Speaker 2: That's when I kind of bounced back into more of

578
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,360
Speaker 2: like the talk show will not bounced back well, yeah,

579
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,720
Speaker 2: my first show was in talk and then bounced back

580
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:42,520
Speaker 2: to like the talk show genre, did some Court TV

581
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,960
Speaker 2: and the job that I was working at the Court show.

582
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,600
Speaker 2: It actually landed me back in Atlanta, which was cool

583
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,080
Speaker 2: for a summer to be home with my family. And

584
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,680
Speaker 2: these are all contracts? Mm hmm. Is that a little

585
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:57,640
Speaker 2: bit freelance once you kind of well, back in the

586
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,720
Speaker 2: day when I started, things are very different now. But

587
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,440
Speaker 2: when I started, once you kind of started getting your

588
00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:08,120
Speaker 2: feet wet, the jobs kind of started coming.

589
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:08,720
Speaker 1: Yeah.

590
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:13,200
Speaker 2: So I never was unemployed longer than I wanted to be,

591
00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,240
Speaker 2: really at any time until I left doctor Phil. So

592
00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,000
Speaker 2: for the most part, I was Okay. I would take

593
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:21,760
Speaker 2: like a two week break off and then the phone

594
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:23,520
Speaker 2: would ring and I'd have another job.

595
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,160
Speaker 1: How are you managing money on contract? So, knowing that

596
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:31,200
Speaker 1: that's how it is, did you make you have like

597
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,520
Speaker 1: a rule on like how much you save and spend?

598
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:38,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm a good saver, so I was always kind

599
00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,840
Speaker 2: of doing that. But I also know how to live

600
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,800
Speaker 2: within my means, so I was very intentional about that. Okay. Yeah,

601
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,200
Speaker 2: So no splurgeon on a shop and spreaing on a

602
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,640
Speaker 2: random one. No, not too much, not too much. I

603
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:52,960
Speaker 2: could only splurge when I was able to slurge. Do

604
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,280
Speaker 2: you think doing what you love helps in that area? Absolutely?

605
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 2: This is one of those industries you have to you

606
00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:01,400
Speaker 2: have to love what you're doing. Is when you start off,

607
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,360
Speaker 2: it doesn't pay that well. The hours are insane. Sometimes

608
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 2: the people you're working with are crazy, not just like

609
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:12,120
Speaker 2: the people in your office, but also like the talent sometimes.

610
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,920
Speaker 2: So you have to absolutely love what you're doing out

611
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:21,400
Speaker 2: of TV production, festival producing, and casting.

612
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,400
Speaker 1: Which what are some of the things that you liked

613
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:26,080
Speaker 1: about each particular position?

614
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:31,240
Speaker 2: Ooh, that's a great question. TV producing. My favorite part

615
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:33,880
Speaker 2: was the writing. There's a lot of writing involved. I

616
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,360
Speaker 2: was definitely one of the best writers when it came

617
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:38,640
Speaker 2: to being on the Doctor Phil Show. What do you

618
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,760
Speaker 2: do when you say you wrote? So for example, like

619
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:45,360
Speaker 2: if we book someone on the show, we have sometimes

620
00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:47,560
Speaker 2: up to an hour two hour long conversations with them

621
00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:51,280
Speaker 2: to get their story, and so you're writing almost verbade

622
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 2: them exactly what they're telling you about their story, and

623
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,440
Speaker 2: then you have to kind of go in organize it,

624
00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:58,239
Speaker 2: clean it all up, make sure it makes sense, make

625
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,000
Speaker 2: sure it's an actual story that's un fun that can

626
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,960
Speaker 2: then be sent to the host, which Doctor Phil, and

627
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:06,160
Speaker 2: kind of go from there. So you're writing a ton

628
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,320
Speaker 2: of information. Then we also have what we call our book,

629
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:13,040
Speaker 2: which basically just puts together all of the different elements

630
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,800
Speaker 2: that he needs to do the show, which is obviously

631
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,720
Speaker 2: like the story, the pre interview that we do in

632
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,280
Speaker 2: addition to like, let's say they have some type of

633
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,080
Speaker 2: like receipts or like proof of something. You want to

634
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,200
Speaker 2: put all of that together, you want to transcribe it.

635
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,240
Speaker 2: So it's a lot of writing involved.

636
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,160
Speaker 1: So before he goes on, he kind of knows the beginning,

637
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,320
Speaker 1: in the middle, and the end before during.

638
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,720
Speaker 2: The whole he knows everything, and it's just a matter

639
00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,440
Speaker 2: of us producing how the story's going to unfold. And

640
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:45,200
Speaker 2: then do you guys also like prepare his questions or

641
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:49,160
Speaker 2: less like. So we'll prepare the questions and then he'll

642
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,560
Speaker 2: of course kind of do his own thing and ask

643
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 2: additional things like that and do his doctor phil thing. Okay,

644
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,400
Speaker 2: so you like the writing on that m hm. Okay.

645
00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:01,400
Speaker 2: What about casting casting? Honestly, it's gonna sound terrible, but

646
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 2: I liked how easy casting was. Casting was just a

647
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,920
Speaker 2: piece of cake after coming out of television production. It

648
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,640
Speaker 2: was only that first part of talking to people, getting

649
00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,440
Speaker 2: their story and then submitting it to the network.

650
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,040
Speaker 1: Oh, I wasn't too sure if you get to pick

651
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:21,400
Speaker 1: the person m hm. So for reality TV, I have

652
00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,240
Speaker 1: this theory that they always try to pick the crazies.

653
00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,400
Speaker 2: Right that we can't make them too crazy because they

654
00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:30,000
Speaker 2: have to go through a psyche valve. They have to

655
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,640
Speaker 2: be cleared by you guys, do do it? So you

656
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,200
Speaker 2: picked the borderline the ones that would happen, like, I mean,

657
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:38,320
Speaker 2: you got to make people who have the personalities. You

658
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,320
Speaker 2: gotta have the people who are gonna have a little spice,

659
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 2: you know, Mike start the pot a little bit, you know,

660
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,040
Speaker 2: you gotta have all of those people. How far they

661
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,440
Speaker 2: border is? You know, so you are kind of looking

662
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,640
Speaker 2: for the crazies though right, I wouldn't say the craziest.

663
00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:51,960
Speaker 2: I think it also depends on the show. It depends

664
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,160
Speaker 2: on the network. For Love Island, it was very straight laced.

665
00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,080
Speaker 2: It was very it wass you have to be hot

666
00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:01,680
Speaker 2: or something definitely definitely and young, like if you said

667
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:06,000
Speaker 2: you were thirty, there's no automatic. No what if it

668
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:10,439
Speaker 2: was like a really hot you know, any race but white.

669
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:15,359
Speaker 2: Obviously it would have to be in order for.

670
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,719
Speaker 1: They couldn't even lie about it, huh, because you exactly exactly.

671
00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:23,320
Speaker 2: I mean you could probably get a really really really

672
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:27,440
Speaker 2: hot thirty year old doctor. That's probably it. Like it

673
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:32,080
Speaker 2: has to hit all of these exactly, so it's not happening.

674
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:37,399
Speaker 1: Basically, if you're over the age of thirty, it's stock plummets.

675
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,719
Speaker 2: Unfortunately for reality TV. Yeah, unfortunately, which is why I

676
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,040
Speaker 2: love shows that now kind of like cater to like

677
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:46,319
Speaker 2: an older audience, to like the one on own Ready

678
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,920
Speaker 2: to Love. Everyone on that show is thirty forties, fifties.

679
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,680
Speaker 2: Oh oh you know what I watched that show? Yeah,

680
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:53,680
Speaker 2: where the older people.

681
00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:56,720
Speaker 1: But you started to realize, Man, when you get older,

682
00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:59,560
Speaker 1: you stuck in your way. Yes for real, Yes that

683
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:03,240
Speaker 1: they are that they are just be single and according

684
00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:04,760
Speaker 1: right exactly.

685
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,960
Speaker 2: I would do that. I would totally do that. So okay,

686
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,440
Speaker 2: so casting that I could see what that's fun and

687
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:13,560
Speaker 2: it's the shorter hours, right much shorter? Okay? Yeah.

688
00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:17,440
Speaker 1: So now the hardest feet, which I think is very impressive,

689
00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,680
Speaker 1: is the Me Show Festival. Okay, so what is the

690
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:22,799
Speaker 1: pros and cons of that?

691
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:26,600
Speaker 2: Man? I mean the best part for me was that

692
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:31,560
Speaker 2: it allowed me to watch so much content and just new,

693
00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:35,480
Speaker 2: original stuff and just seeing how innovative and creative people are.

694
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,480
Speaker 2: That was my favorite part. I also loved just being

695
00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:42,799
Speaker 2: able to curate how the screenings were going to go

696
00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,200
Speaker 2: and making them kind of flow and being able to

697
00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:48,040
Speaker 2: kind of like almost like play with people's emotions based

698
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:51,839
Speaker 2: on what project was airing at the time. So that

699
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:54,640
Speaker 2: part I really enjoyed. I enjoyed the curation process of

700
00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:57,840
Speaker 2: that cons I think with being entrepreneurs like you have

701
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:00,040
Speaker 2: to do everything, so that was definitely one of the

702
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:03,080
Speaker 2: harder parts of running the festival. Yeah, I was gonna say,

703
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:07,359
Speaker 2: that's your first real entrepreneurship, which, by the way, for

704
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,880
Speaker 2: your first time, that's impressive, thank you. I think event

705
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:14,759
Speaker 2: management is definitely like a loose cannon. I have a

706
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:17,400
Speaker 2: rule by the time the day of the event happens,

707
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:22,759
Speaker 2: we should have no jobs due and still arrive at

708
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,520
Speaker 2: the crack of dog yeah early, because we already know

709
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,160
Speaker 2: that a fire needs to be put out on site.

710
00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:33,479
Speaker 2: And no matter how hard you prepare, always, no matter

711
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:36,520
Speaker 2: how hard you prepare, and one little thing can just

712
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,840
Speaker 2: trickle down to everything. I remember this past year we

713
00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:43,560
Speaker 2: had something where like the printer messed up, and because

714
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,560
Speaker 2: the printer messed up, we didn't have what we needed

715
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:50,400
Speaker 2: for the opening day, So then one of our leads

716
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,560
Speaker 2: had to go run to the printer of the opening day,

717
00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:55,279
Speaker 2: so we're down a person. I'm just and it just

718
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:58,279
Speaker 2: it affects everything. It's such a domino effect. So it's like, yeah,

719
00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:00,880
Speaker 2: that that event production, you never know what's gonna happen.

720
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:02,680
Speaker 2: The only thing you know is that nothing's gonna go

721
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:03,440
Speaker 2: all the way right.

722
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:06,000
Speaker 1: Ye ever, yeah, nothing's gonna go all the way right.

723
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:10,000
Speaker 1: And then that pre execution has to be above beyond,

724
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,799
Speaker 1: Like you can never be like everything's done, everything's done,

725
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:14,480
Speaker 1: We're gonna show up two hours in the morning. We're

726
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:15,480
Speaker 1: gonna have our hair and make up done.

727
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:20,160
Speaker 2: If everything's done, something's wrong. It's not gonna.

728
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:23,240
Speaker 1: Happen right, You're gonna get the poster boards or something

729
00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:27,120
Speaker 1: is gonna have something wrong or whatever.

730
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,920
Speaker 2: But that's all interesting. Now, where do you see yourself

731
00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:35,279
Speaker 2: going from here? From here? Now, I feel like I

732
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:40,880
Speaker 2: am kind of in the space of like passion meeting

733
00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,360
Speaker 2: purpose and I felt that a lot while working with

734
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:45,879
Speaker 2: the festival as well, but now I feel like it's

735
00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:49,880
Speaker 2: it's a deeper space of that. So from here, like

736
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,520
Speaker 2: I said, right now, I'm managing a slate of productions

737
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,480
Speaker 2: with Latino Film Institute, and I think in a few

738
00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:57,440
Speaker 2: years my goal would be to be working at a

739
00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:01,160
Speaker 2: traditional studio or streamer and really being able to have

740
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:05,040
Speaker 2: the power to green light projects, green light original projects,

741
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:07,399
Speaker 2: green light projects from people of color, and make sure

742
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,839
Speaker 2: that we're all represented in this industry. I love that.

743
00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:15,120
Speaker 1: And when you say it, I believe it's going to say

744
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:16,640
Speaker 1: thank you.

745
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:21,120
Speaker 2: I'm not joking at all. Believe it. Yeah, you believe

746
00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:24,600
Speaker 2: it too. Absolutely, You've proven to yourself time and time again.

747
00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:28,200
Speaker 2: You hit the mark. Yeah right, yeah, and I mean listen,

748
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:32,279
Speaker 2: daughter of pastors. So with God, all things are possible. Like, yes,

749
00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,759
Speaker 2: I work very hard, but the Lord we like this,

750
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,000
Speaker 2: like he yeah, yeah, he works overtime for me. Do

751
00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:40,680
Speaker 2: you believe when you pray you have to pray a

752
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:41,400
Speaker 2: certain way?

753
00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:41,640
Speaker 1: No?

754
00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:46,160
Speaker 2: Okay, so random. I was just curious. I did a

755
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:50,680
Speaker 2: lot of I feel like I've manifested or spoken it

756
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:52,680
Speaker 2: into existence, as we like to say in church, a

757
00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:56,480
Speaker 2: lot of my life right now. Like I said, when

758
00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:58,919
Speaker 2: I was trying to transition into what I'm doing now,

759
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,000
Speaker 2: one of the worst times in the industry, people weren't

760
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:03,239
Speaker 2: hiring and I would reach out to people and say, hey, like,

761
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:05,480
Speaker 2: I'm really trying to work in development, and they would

762
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,680
Speaker 2: just say, oh, there's no jobs in that while I'm

763
00:39:07,719 --> 00:39:10,319
Speaker 2: working in it. Yeah, and I mean it took. It

764
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,360
Speaker 2: took some time, but there was never a single point

765
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,120
Speaker 2: where I thought it wasn't going to happen. I just

766
00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:18,840
Speaker 2: I knew that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

767
00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:22,439
Speaker 2: Something will come out, something will happen, and it did.

768
00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:26,279
Speaker 1: Yeah, what advice would you give to someone out there

769
00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 1: trying to get into the TV production side, or even

770
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:32,799
Speaker 1: the film festival side, or trying to get their film

771
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:35,799
Speaker 1: in the Me Show Festival. And by the way, we

772
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:37,239
Speaker 1: got to spell it out for you guys, because I

773
00:39:37,239 --> 00:39:40,080
Speaker 1: don't want you googling it the way I'm saying it

774
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:45,560
Speaker 1: mad at me because it's spelled a little fun Yeah, respectfully, Yes, yes,

775
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:46,760
Speaker 1: go ahead, we could spell.

776
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:48,680
Speaker 2: It out, so I'll spell it. And it's based off

777
00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:52,120
Speaker 2: of Oscar Michell, who was the first black filmmaker in

778
00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:55,799
Speaker 2: the US. So he produced over forty four feature length

779
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,520
Speaker 2: projects from the nineteen twenty to the nineteen forties, which

780
00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:02,759
Speaker 2: is incredible today's standard, but like way back then, I

781
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:04,520
Speaker 2: have no idea how he did it. But it's the

782
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:07,239
Speaker 2: ME Show Films Festival and it's spelled m I C

783
00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 2: H E A U X so a little French in there.

784
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:13,879
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, now we know the history so we can

785
00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:14,640
Speaker 1: also google.

786
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:19,480
Speaker 2: Yes. Great, great planning on that one. So was Mike.

787
00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:24,200
Speaker 2: I'm just saying, oh, advice, advice, Yan. Yeah, I'm not

788
00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:26,160
Speaker 2: gonna lie. I'm not the person's going to sugarcoat. It's

789
00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:29,400
Speaker 2: hard right now, it's very hard to break into the industry.

790
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:33,600
Speaker 2: There are less show shooting, there are less jobs available,

791
00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:36,759
Speaker 2: but that doesn't mean it's not possible. I was at

792
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:41,359
Speaker 2: a screening where Uzzo a Duba I want to say

793
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:44,800
Speaker 2: it's her last name. She said something that really stuck

794
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,400
Speaker 2: with me, and she said, just because it's hard doesn't

795
00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:51,000
Speaker 2: mean it's impossible. And I feel like that is the

796
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:53,239
Speaker 2: advice that I have for people trying to break into

797
00:40:53,239 --> 00:40:55,759
Speaker 2: the industry. Yeah, it's gonna be tough. It's always been

798
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:59,000
Speaker 2: a hard industry and now it's even harder. But if

799
00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:02,120
Speaker 2: this is something that you feel your call to, then

800
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:04,279
Speaker 2: get out there and make it happen. Because you can

801
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,160
Speaker 2: open doors, it can happen. And then also, you gotta

802
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:09,520
Speaker 2: love it. You gotta love it. It's too difficult not

803
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:11,319
Speaker 2: to love it. And if you don't love it, you

804
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:12,160
Speaker 2: won't succeed.

805
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:16,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then how important are relationships? Would you say

806
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:18,960
Speaker 1: to this because I feel like relationships are everything.

807
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:23,239
Speaker 2: They are everything, one hundred percent. It's so funny. When

808
00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:25,560
Speaker 2: I was actually applying for jobs, I just felt like

809
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:27,239
Speaker 2: I was applying into the void, and I was like,

810
00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:29,680
Speaker 2: I've never gotten a single job that I just clicked

811
00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:32,759
Speaker 2: apply for. It's always been someone calling my phone or

812
00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:36,400
Speaker 2: me calling someone's phone and saying, Hey, I'm looking for work.

813
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:40,520
Speaker 2: So I think having those relationships are so important. Hollywood

814
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:43,399
Speaker 2: runs on relationships, Like if you don't know people, if

815
00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:45,240
Speaker 2: people don't know you, if they don't know the quality

816
00:41:45,239 --> 00:41:47,440
Speaker 2: of your work, it just makes it that much harder.

817
00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:52,880
Speaker 2: And I think also just capitalizing on those relationships, like

818
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:55,239
Speaker 2: you have to tell people what you're looking for. You

819
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,560
Speaker 2: have to be specific and direct. There's so many times

820
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:01,040
Speaker 2: people are like, hey, do you know of any jobs

821
00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:04,400
Speaker 2: hiring for what? Like, what are you looking for? What

822
00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,319
Speaker 2: do you want to do? So I always just try

823
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:09,719
Speaker 2: to tell people just be specific about your ask, be

824
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:11,840
Speaker 2: direct about your ass so that people know how to

825
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:13,480
Speaker 2: help you, because if you don't own your mouth, they

826
00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:15,000
Speaker 2: won't know. Yeah.

827
00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:17,920
Speaker 1: And then one other thing I noticed even speaking to you,

828
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:19,839
Speaker 1: and I'm sure you could shed a lot of light

829
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:21,640
Speaker 1: on this is Courtney L.

830
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:22,280
Speaker 2: Branch.

831
00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:27,400
Speaker 1: Even in this conversation you're speaking of your personal brand.

832
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 1: You're talking about I have to grow. I have to grow.

833
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:34,239
Speaker 1: I have to grow. I'm pursuing what I'm into. But

834
00:42:34,280 --> 00:42:36,880
Speaker 1: I think that when you're developing relationships in the industry,

835
00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:39,960
Speaker 1: people forget that personal brand touch. So if people go

836
00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,360
Speaker 1: if they get Courtney L. Branch is looking for this,

837
00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,759
Speaker 1: or Courtney L. Branch is looking for that, or Courtney L.

838
00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:49,520
Speaker 1: Branch wants to move in this direction, Courtney has a

839
00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:50,440
Speaker 1: personal brand.

840
00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,839
Speaker 2: Can you speak to some of that. Absolutely. I mean,

841
00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:56,799
Speaker 2: I think what my personal brand is is just how

842
00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:59,680
Speaker 2: I like to show up when it comes to working.

843
00:42:59,719 --> 00:43:01,600
Speaker 2: I think people know that I have a strong work ethic.

844
00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:04,040
Speaker 2: I think they also know that I'm kind, and I

845
00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:07,600
Speaker 2: think that goes a long way, especially when preserving relationships.

846
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:12,680
Speaker 2: And I think they know that I do quality work

847
00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:15,200
Speaker 2: and that I like to be excellent. So they know

848
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:18,680
Speaker 2: that if COURTNEYL. Branch is hiring, then you know it's

849
00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:21,560
Speaker 2: it's a top tier it's a quality project. Or if

850
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:24,279
Speaker 2: Courtney's working on something she's looking for writers, then you

851
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,000
Speaker 2: already know there's a certain standard just because of how

852
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:30,279
Speaker 2: I show up myself and I would never expect. I

853
00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:33,080
Speaker 2: would never expect people to show up any less than

854
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:36,719
Speaker 2: how I would show up. Yeah, I agree. Well, you're

855
00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:39,279
Speaker 2: a beautiful person. It makes beautiful food.

856
00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,120
Speaker 1: And I'm gonna I'm gonna save your number my phone

857
00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:47,160
Speaker 1: because I know, probably less than a year two or three,

858
00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:51,719
Speaker 1: m Max, you don't have the opportunity to green light things.

859
00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:52,320
Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am.

860
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:55,480
Speaker 1: You guys heard it here first, right, okay? And then

861
00:43:55,480 --> 00:43:57,680
Speaker 1: where can everybody keep up with Courtney L.

862
00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:03,000
Speaker 2: Branch? Yes, you can find me on Instagram and threads

863
00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:06,000
Speaker 2: at court produced it very simple and you can also

864
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Speaker 2: follow the Me Show Film Festival on all platforms at

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Speaker 2: me Show Film Fest and that's m I c h

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Speaker 2: E A u X Film Fest and submissions are open.

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Speaker 2: Passes are on sale. The festival is in October the

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Speaker 2: twenty third through the twenty sixth, So you know.

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Speaker 1: When does the when does the film submissions close?

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Speaker 2: Yes? So they are open through June for short form

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Speaker 2: and July for long form and was considered long form.

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Speaker 2: Long form is anything over fifty five minutes. Short form

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Speaker 2: is under twenty six minutes.

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Speaker 1: Okay, you guys heard it here first. Okay, heard it

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Speaker 1: here first, Jared, you heard it here first.

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Speaker 2: Okay, Jared does a lot of film productionsips. All right,

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Speaker 2: thank you guys for tuning in. Peace out, Peace

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Speaker 1: For more, eating while broke from iHeartRadio and The Black Effect,

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00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:02,520
Speaker 1: Visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever

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Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.