Billion-dollar film producer Will Packer joins DC for a wide-ranging interview about the evolution of his filmmaking career, from moving to Atlanta to found his first production company, his relationship with comedy star Kevin Hart, giving DC his theatrical debut, and how one small tweak to the pitch for Stomp the Yard led to his first Number 1 movie.
0:00 Intro
0:23 That's what the AF stands for
2:40 How filmmaking has evolved in his career
4:25 Will puts DC on the big screen
5:20 Collaborating with Kevin Hart
6:45 The fortuitous "no"
7:47 Founding Rainforest Films in Atlanta
10:40 Making & pitching Stomp the Yard
11:37 New book Who Better Than You?
14:28 DC as an NBA owner
15:30 Legacy Will wants to leave
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
They said the DVD back back then, it's VHS. Okay,
VH of these people. Okay, you do know about VHS.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
America.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Once again, welcome to another episode of Hawks and Friends.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Man. Listen, Oh that's what the F stands. Yes, that's
what their friends. I thought it was.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Too, they said, DC Young Flyer was hosting a podcast
and it was called Hawks a F. I said, Oh,
they have let the nephew loose, not a second not
to Okay, all right, so we still want brands.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, we're still on advertised, we're still on brand, but
I got to give you the proper introduction.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yes, I'm sorry. Go ahead, man, because we know each
other right here, go ahead to let the people know. Okay,
now today's guests.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
All right, my O, g man, someone I could I
could call on, especially when I have you know what
I'm saying, advice when I need advice. He's a Hollywood icon, filmmaker, producer, director,
handling his business. Oh make some noise for will pack up? Yes, sir, yes, sir,
thank you for having to come on, come.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
On be here. How you feeling, man? You feel good? Yeah? Hawks,
they gave me a job. Yeah, you know I'm saying
that they told him come on back.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
So this is job number three thousand, seven hundred and
twenty thousand, seven hundred.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Crazy thing is that you lie to these people. Told
me you didn't have a job, and that's how you
got this one. And that's why I love you. But
you know what I did tell him. I tell him
I wanted to add the money to the tickets. Yes,
because the season tickets are expensive. They are tough. They tough.
How's it going, man? Listen, you know I'm still on
my Hollywood grind.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yes I am. I'm blessed. I cannot lie. I'm here
chilling with you. Hawk's gonna pull off a wind tonight,
feeling good.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I really am, Are you of course? What you mean? Oh,
I'm a longtime Hawks boardman. Oh oh yeah boardman. Hold on,
wait a minute, I don't even know there was different
uh level boards? Yeah? Are yes?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yes, So, like you got to say, so well on this,
I'm not gonna say that I have nothing to say
on the actual basketball operations.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
This is the philanthropic board. Now we get back to
the community and do all those things. And so mister
Tony Wrestling Jamie Girt is very good friend of mine.
Majority owners of the Hawks. They invited me to be
a part of the board, so I have been a
longtime member of the board and now they transitioning, so
I'm going and do some other stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
And I was proud of my time on the Hawks board.
You know, it's levels, DC, you know that level.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So I'm trying to get on the board next time. Well,
speaking for board easy, now, you've been on the Atlanta
board for for quite some time, especially in the in
the film industry, Like, how is it different from when
you first got into the game to what you see
filmmakers now today?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Oh, it's different.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Yeah, the game is constantly changing. And I tell people
that all the time. Right, if you want to get
into film, you know, I've had this conversation before. You
have to be malleable and you have to know your
audience because a lot of people are always trying to
get to folks like me and other Hollywood executives and
there's nothing wrong with that, but the major media companies
are looking for people. Honestly, DC, I would say this
(03:10):
whether you're here or not, but like you that have
a brand. So I'm telling people all the time, your
brand is very important, and so what that means is
that you got to be careful with what you're doing
all the time. Okay, just produce anything. You can't produce everything.
You can't you can't tweet and post everything because it
is your brand.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
You're building a brand.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
But what you want to do is you want to
have an audience that connects with you. You want to
have an audience that will follow you wherever you go,
and then the media companies will come. So I'm telling
people all the time, don't think that you can only
get into Hollywood by going through gatekeepers like myself, because
there is a way, especially now this is the time
of what I like to call the democratization of media. Right,
(03:50):
if you're somebody has an amazing idea and amazing talent,
you can go out and take it directly to the people.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And so I encourage folks to do that. Then you
have build a brand.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Absolutely, media players like myself, we will come find you, right,
And so that's why I encourage people to do so.
I'm still out here. The game has definitely changed, but
I think in a good way. It's changed because there's
more opportunities. As tough as it is, it's still very tough.
This is an industry just like sports entertainment, very high
profile industries and a lot of people want to get into.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But the reality is that if you.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Are grinding and building your own brand and building your
own audience, folks will find.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You so speaking to building a brand.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Because you know, when we did Almost Christmas, Yes I
appreciated you. Yes, yes, yes, yeah, theatrical Yes, yes, yes,
DC on the big.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Screen to this day, man, I'm so grateful.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
If you haven't seen it yet, Almost Christmas, he's every Christmas.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
It is a statement.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Got a lot of people that tuned into that movie.
Every Christmas. DC steals the show. I appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
And I always tell you that because it doesn't matter
how far we get in the game. I think as
peers and you know what I'm saying, comrades, we always
got to tell each other the when we're appreciative and
we were thankful because that little boost is the boost
that I needed, or that little boost showed the world like, look,
he's on his way and it's on you.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
To continue to grind. Now you came for fam you, yes, sir, yes, sir.
There was ever any mistake, which that should never be the.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Journey from fam you to where you are now.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Like to stay consistent and stay hungry because you Inkev
like y'all, y'all don't play keV Hart, y'all don't play.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Me, and care for each other's most frequent collaborators.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Kevin Hart has never worked with another producer as me,
and I've never worked with another actor as many times
I've worked with him. You know what the commonality is
d the work ethic. Kevin Hart is going to work hard.
You're not going to outwork him, and you're not gonna
outwork Will Packer. And so if you're watching this podcast
right now, you're saying, well, I want to get to
where dc F.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I want to get to where Will Packer is.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
The answer is that you have to go out and
make sure that you're outworking all your peers. That's the
bottom line. People don't want to hear that. It's not
a magical formula that you can put together. And a
lot of times people think, because we are in age
social media, you can just put up a post and
hits in.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
And get a trillion views and now you're rich. We're
understand the hustle.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
They don't know what to find the grind. They think
that once somebody tells you no, it's over with. So
when you say outwork your peers, you have to consistently
take the yeses and the nose. You have to take
the nose as if it was a door saying you
might can't make enter this door, but there's a door
down the street.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Let me tell you why nose can be good. I
call them for tuitous nose. A no can actually cause
you to adjust what you're doing, to think about the
game differently.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Correct. I have been told no so many differences.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Man, it changes your perception because just because you got
told no doesn't mean that that dream, that endeavor, whatever
you're trying to do, is dead. It means you might
have to adjust it. You might have to go about
it differently, And in going about it differently, you can
actually make it better.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
That's the thing that I want people to know. I
didn't get to where I am because I just got
told yes a bunch of times. I got told no
so many times I was constantly falling on my face,
constantly failing.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
But I never accepted it as failure.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I never accepted somebody telling me what I couldn't do
as the final answer.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I got the final answer. You got the final answer.
You got the final answer. Right, Whatever you say is what.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Ultimately goes, not somebody else because they got some position
of power. So somebody telling you no, it's really just
an opportunity for you to tweak what you're doing, think
about it in a different way, and come out better.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And to speak on that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Back then, it was not too many black filmmakers or
film production companies. And when you came from FAM, you
you took your education and your knowledge and you said,
let me start to apply it.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yes, and you came out with Rainforest Fams. That's real.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Come on, yeah, yeah, So coming straight out of FAM,
you we made a little tiny movie while we were there,
it's called Chocolate City, and we sent the Hollywood and
Hollywood didn't care.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
They sent it back. They said, please, don't send us
nothing no more.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
They said the DVD back. They said, back then it
was VHS. Okay, stay with me, okay, okay, okay, h okay,
you do know about VHS. We would send the VHS
to Hollywood with this movie. We had worked so so
very hard on May independently.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Nobody would watch it, Nobody would respond to What it
did is it forced us to then go out and
make another movie independently without Hollywood. That was our first
movie we made after we moved right here to Atlanta,
and it was called Twah. Myself and my og player
partner to this very day, his name is Rob Hardy.
He and I started Rainforest Films. That was our production company.
(08:48):
We didn't want to go to New York. We didn't
want to go to LA because we felt like we
would be just another small fish in a big pond.
This is a testament to I don't care where you are,
right The magic is not the city.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
The magic is not the market, The magic is not
the industry. The magic is you.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
So we were able to be successful not being in
a major film market at that time.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
We moved right here to Atlanta. This is back when
trot your parameters.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Yes, where you can absolutely one. We moved here because
the music industry was popping. This back in the day
is of the face so so deaf, organized, noise, fresh start.
We came in like hey, and you know, we thought
we thought we were gonna come in and we were going
to be able to produce music videos for all the
new hip hop labels. That were coming up DC. We
came Atlanta, couldn't get one music video. No, nobody would
(09:35):
hire us. Now, all these people with my folks right
now right, Jermaine Dupre would not High Dallas, Austin. No,
none of them, the Face LA or baby Face, nobody
hired none of the none of the faces. We could
get one face to hire us. But that's that for
two of us. Know, they all told us no. And
what it was was that we were the new guys.
They knew the people, they had cats that were already
(09:55):
doing music videos for them. It made us then say,
all right, we can't depend on that industry. We're gonna
go out and make our own movie. And we shot
our own independent film that was Tware, which ended up
coming out and making a million dollars completely independent of Hollywood.
If we were able to go and do music videos,
if we got told yes instead of no, we never
would have went off and shot our own independent movies.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So that's why that's what was meant to be.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
So by y'all doing that gave y'all the you know
what I want to say, like the dream to say,
you know what, just continue to keep going Stumpy Yard.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, Now, you're getting.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
So now you gotta wake up to understand because like
you said, you are, but yes, for real, you are
the vision. It took those lessons for you to be
like to get to this point, no question, not stump
y'all the process.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Stumped the Yard was a movie that we dreamed of making,
a movie about black college life. We took it to
Hollywood and literally every studio told us no. Everybody you
name a movie student in Hollywood, they said, we are
not making this movie.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
But we didn't let that kill our dream. We are
just the way that.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
We pitched the movie and we said, you know what
we're gonna do. We've been selling it as a black
college movie. Now we're gonna go and we're gonna sell
it as a dance movie that happens to take place
at a black college.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
And the studios got you switch you get in the
same movie. That's what we did.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
We switched that pitch up. All you need is one yes.
I don't care if you get a thousand no's, you
don't need, but one yes. We got that one yes.
Stomp the Yard right, that was our very first number
one movie, number one of the box office.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Two weeks in a row absolutely, and nobody wanted.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
To make it, but we made it happy.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
What we do we do leave. Come on now, now
you got an amazing book? Yeah? Right now? Who's better
than you? Yes? Now? Yes? Tell us who better? Who
better than? Who better than? Yes? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Because the implication is that there is nobody better than you.
To achieve not medium level success, not good success, but
great success. But to do that you have to have
what I call healthy arrogance. The most successful people I
know have a supreme level of confidence, not just that
they could be successful, but that they are meant to
(12:05):
be successful. These are people that believe, no matter what
I am supposed, I am predestined for success. So what
I do in this book is I break down stories
and some stories I never told before. Over thirty years
in Hollywood, and I'm working around some of the most
high profile, most successful people in the world, and they
all have very similar traits. They have healthy erringas, and
(12:26):
they dream big. And so this book is me a
It's like a masterclass. It's like for somebody that's just
starting off or wants to transition into a new career,
or wants to figure out how to live a more
full life that I'm saying, you can do that, and
the way to do is by understanding that there's no
one better than you to do it.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
So the book is out right now.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yeah, man, And before we go play this game right
now against the Bucks, you know, because I gotta see this.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
New talent that the Holls got.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
What you think I think? I think it takes some
time for me to evaluate professional old sports opinion my
professional sports wrestling.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
I'm gonna go whatever you say, I'm taking it straight
to ownership. I had to sit down the thing. Do
you approve, sir?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You know I I don't approve of the players leaving,
okay now, but I do understand why they had to go,
and I understand the value that we got from Okay,
so if we traded DeAndre Hunter, yes, they gave us
two players and three second round picks. I'm like, okay,
(13:32):
so he was valuable enough for us to get a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
That's correct.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
So who's ever in control? Just utilize what we got.
Do you feel like it's a good long term move?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
If?
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Because I'm thinking of it like right now, I'm like
if I was in the on the board, yep, yeah,
you know what I'm saying. Because I ain't on the board,
but if I was on the ball, If if I
was on the board, I say, don't.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Give up too much money up front. They have to
work for it.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So if that's saying quote unquote, if somebody signed a
bad contract, which means if the Hawks gave up too
much money upfront. Yeah, and now the player is starting
to develop on his fifty six years, Yeah, you done
gave him one fifty already.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Now he wants three hundred.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Yeah, when it's time to go on, it goes up, down,
go down, it goes you feel me, So it's like, okay,
give the new guy to fifty.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
The forty by the six year, one fifty sounds way
better than that forty.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
It would be a lot of NBA players that would
hate you as an owner because you don't mess around.
You would be a You would be stingy AF as
an owner, stingy DC Young Fly would be stingy.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
And friends as an owner.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
About it right now, like some players getting paid on
the pitch, I'm just saying, DC is a ticket.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
If they was a little cheaper, I wouldn't be trip.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
I can't wait they' making us pay like we come
to see I can't run, Michael Jordan, it's all in one.
Can't waiting you buy your team. I'm gonna be right there.
Listen when I got a lead. Listen, no stars on
your team. I got a youth. TA y'all playing a
youth T three. They're gonna be playing for compliments should
(15:14):
you did good.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
They're gonna be playing for way to go forward. They
ain't gonna have real names on the back of the
Jay's gonna say forward that what Alabama do?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
You gotta worka who black saving up here?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
It's eighty two.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
But no, o g man, we appreciate your your your presence,
your time, and everything that you've done for the game.
Now now before we go with your legacy. I don't
see it's stopping no time soon.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
It's just it's just too much going on out here,
and it's we need the real directors and the producers
in the game. Like you say, they can speak for us.
Like you said, Stump the yard was a success. You
knew it was a success because you are the people.
You're there, you're touching it. And like you said, I
want to do something new that ain't been done before.
They don't understand what I'm saying. Let me just readjust
(16:04):
the pitch ye to make it fit comfortable for them,
and we still get our across period. What do you
want the people to remember from your legs?
Speaker 2 (16:14):
You know what, It's very very simple. It's not what
I've done.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
It's not the billion dollars in the box office or
the ten number one moves. It's just that I don't
know get we have to talk game. I just figured
I would just give my status. You know what it
is though, real talk. It is the people have affected.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
You know, it's you.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
It's the next generation that looks at me and says,
you know what, O G I'm inspired by you.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
That's what I want to leave behind.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Right when we all leave this earth, we will be
remembered by the people that we touched and the people
that we affected.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
And so I am definitely at that stage right now.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
I'm trying to make sure that I'm leaving an impact,
that I'm making sure that others who encounter me are
better for it.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
And I try to be very very intentional about that. Man,
you did that, man, thank you, but we appreciate it.
Let it be your last time. I'm coming back when
that type drop another movie.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
If they let you keep the show, you over here
hating on the plays, overpaid.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
The last day. No, No, what I'm saying is I
see what they are doing. You know what.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
They love you because you're real, real and you speak,
you have always speaked, spoken the voice of the people.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
On the VOP bank, you walk out here with DC.
He can't even walk through seas like one of the players.
Everybody knows d C, d C what something that few younglove.
Everybody knows you. Everybody loves you. Don't ever change keep
it just like.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Listen, We're gonna keep God first. Absolutely, He's all we got.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
We're gonna stay grateful, ye because like you know, we
we came from the bottom, period. And once you realize
when you was at the bottom, you still had the
same tunes you got now.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
You just waited for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
You waited for when it was your time, and when
your time came, like you said, you took the yeses
with the nose and you just stayed going.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Period. That's the only way to win, period.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
So we appreciate you. Hey a t ym America Hawks
and friends. We'll be back
They said the DVD back back then, it's VHS. Okay,
VH of these people. Okay, you do know about VHS.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
America.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Once again, welcome to another episode of Hawks and Friends.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Man. Listen, Oh that's what the F stands. Yes, that's
what their friends. I thought it was.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Too, they said, DC Young Flyer was hosting a podcast
and it was called Hawks a F. I said, Oh,
they have let the nephew loose, not a second not
to Okay, all right, so we still want brands.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, we're still on advertised, we're still on brand, but
I got to give you the proper introduction.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yes, I'm sorry. Go ahead, man, because we know each
other right here, go ahead to let the people know. Okay,
now today's guests.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
All right, my O, g man, someone I could I
could call on, especially when I have you know what
I'm saying, advice when I need advice. He's a Hollywood icon, filmmaker, producer, director,
handling his business. Oh make some noise for will pack up? Yes, sir, yes, sir,
thank you for having to come on, come.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
On be here. How you feeling, man? You feel good? Yeah? Hawks,
they gave me a job. Yeah, you know I'm saying
that they told him come on back.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
So this is job number three thousand, seven hundred and
twenty thousand, seven hundred.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Crazy thing is that you lie to these people. Told
me you didn't have a job, and that's how you
got this one. And that's why I love you. But
you know what I did tell him. I tell him
I wanted to add the money to the tickets. Yes,
because the season tickets are expensive. They are tough. They tough.
How's it going, man? Listen, you know I'm still on
my Hollywood grind.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yes I am. I'm blessed. I cannot lie. I'm here
chilling with you. Hawk's gonna pull off a wind tonight,
feeling good.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I really am, Are you of course? What you mean? Oh,
I'm a longtime Hawks boardman. Oh oh yeah boardman. Hold on,
wait a minute, I don't even know there was different
uh level boards? Yeah? Are yes?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yes, So, like you got to say, so well on this,
I'm not gonna say that I have nothing to say
on the actual basketball operations.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
This is the philanthropic board. Now we get back to
the community and do all those things. And so mister
Tony Wrestling Jamie Girt is very good friend of mine.
Majority owners of the Hawks. They invited me to be
a part of the board, so I have been a
longtime member of the board and now they transitioning, so
I'm going and do some other stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
And I was proud of my time on the Hawks board.
You know, it's levels, DC, you know that level.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So I'm trying to get on the board next time. Well,
speaking for board easy, now, you've been on the Atlanta
board for for quite some time, especially in the in
the film industry, Like, how is it different from when
you first got into the game to what you see
filmmakers now today?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Oh, it's different.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Yeah, the game is constantly changing. And I tell people
that all the time. Right, if you want to get
into film, you know, I've had this conversation before. You
have to be malleable and you have to know your
audience because a lot of people are always trying to
get to folks like me and other Hollywood executives and
there's nothing wrong with that, but the major media companies
are looking for people. Honestly, DC, I would say this
(03:10):
whether you're here or not, but like you that have
a brand. So I'm telling people all the time, your
brand is very important, and so what that means is
that you got to be careful with what you're doing
all the time. Okay, just produce anything. You can't produce everything.
You can't you can't tweet and post everything because it
is your brand.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
You're building a brand.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
But what you want to do is you want to
have an audience that connects with you. You want to
have an audience that will follow you wherever you go,
and then the media companies will come. So I'm telling
people all the time, don't think that you can only
get into Hollywood by going through gatekeepers like myself, because
there is a way, especially now this is the time
of what I like to call the democratization of media. Right,
(03:50):
if you're somebody has an amazing idea and amazing talent,
you can go out and take it directly to the people.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And so I encourage folks to do that. Then you
have build a brand.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Absolutely, media players like myself, we will come find you, right,
And so that's why I encourage people to do so.
I'm still out here. The game has definitely changed, but
I think in a good way. It's changed because there's
more opportunities. As tough as it is, it's still very tough.
This is an industry just like sports entertainment, very high
profile industries and a lot of people want to get into.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But the reality is that if you.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Are grinding and building your own brand and building your
own audience, folks will find.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You so speaking to building a brand.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Because you know, when we did Almost Christmas, Yes I
appreciated you. Yes, yes, yes, yeah, theatrical Yes, yes, yes,
DC on the big.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Screen to this day, man, I'm so grateful.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
If you haven't seen it yet, Almost Christmas, he's every Christmas.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
It is a statement.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Got a lot of people that tuned into that movie.
Every Christmas. DC steals the show. I appreciate the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
And I always tell you that because it doesn't matter
how far we get in the game. I think as
peers and you know what I'm saying, comrades, we always
got to tell each other the when we're appreciative and
we were thankful because that little boost is the boost
that I needed, or that little boost showed the world like, look,
he's on his way and it's on you.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
To continue to grind. Now you came for fam you, yes, sir, yes, sir.
There was ever any mistake, which that should never be the.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Journey from fam you to where you are now.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Like to stay consistent and stay hungry because you Inkev
like y'all, y'all don't play keV Hart, y'all don't play.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Me, and care for each other's most frequent collaborators.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Kevin Hart has never worked with another producer as me,
and I've never worked with another actor as many times
I've worked with him. You know what the commonality is
d the work ethic. Kevin Hart is going to work hard.
You're not going to outwork him, and you're not gonna
outwork Will Packer. And so if you're watching this podcast
right now, you're saying, well, I want to get to
where dc F.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I want to get to where Will Packer is.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
The answer is that you have to go out and
make sure that you're outworking all your peers. That's the
bottom line. People don't want to hear that. It's not
a magical formula that you can put together. And a
lot of times people think, because we are in age
social media, you can just put up a post and
hits in.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
And get a trillion views and now you're rich. We're
understand the hustle.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
They don't know what to find the grind. They think
that once somebody tells you no, it's over with. So
when you say outwork your peers, you have to consistently
take the yeses and the nose. You have to take
the nose as if it was a door saying you
might can't make enter this door, but there's a door
down the street.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Let me tell you why nose can be good. I
call them for tuitous nose. A no can actually cause
you to adjust what you're doing, to think about the
game differently.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Correct. I have been told no so many differences.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Man, it changes your perception because just because you got
told no doesn't mean that that dream, that endeavor, whatever
you're trying to do, is dead. It means you might
have to adjust it. You might have to go about
it differently, And in going about it differently, you can
actually make it better.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
That's the thing that I want people to know. I
didn't get to where I am because I just got
told yes a bunch of times. I got told no
so many times I was constantly falling on my face,
constantly failing.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
But I never accepted it as failure.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I never accepted somebody telling me what I couldn't do
as the final answer.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
I got the final answer. You got the final answer.
You got the final answer. Right, Whatever you say is what.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Ultimately goes, not somebody else because they got some position
of power. So somebody telling you no, it's really just
an opportunity for you to tweak what you're doing, think
about it in a different way, and come out better.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And to speak on that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Back then, it was not too many black filmmakers or
film production companies. And when you came from FAM, you
you took your education and your knowledge and you said,
let me start to apply it.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yes, and you came out with Rainforest Fams. That's real.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Come on, yeah, yeah, So coming straight out of FAM,
you we made a little tiny movie while we were there,
it's called Chocolate City, and we sent the Hollywood and
Hollywood didn't care.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
They sent it back. They said, please, don't send us
nothing no more.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
They said the DVD back. They said, back then it
was VHS. Okay, stay with me, okay, okay, okay, h okay,
you do know about VHS. We would send the VHS
to Hollywood with this movie. We had worked so so
very hard on May independently.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Nobody would watch it, Nobody would respond to What it
did is it forced us to then go out and
make another movie independently without Hollywood. That was our first
movie we made after we moved right here to Atlanta,
and it was called Twah. Myself and my og player
partner to this very day, his name is Rob Hardy.
He and I started Rainforest Films. That was our production company.
(08:48):
We didn't want to go to New York. We didn't
want to go to LA because we felt like we
would be just another small fish in a big pond.
This is a testament to I don't care where you are,
right The magic is not the city.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
The magic is not the market, The magic is not
the industry. The magic is you.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
So we were able to be successful not being in
a major film market at that time.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
We moved right here to Atlanta. This is back when
trot your parameters.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Yes, where you can absolutely one. We moved here because
the music industry was popping. This back in the day
is of the face so so deaf, organized, noise, fresh start.
We came in like hey, and you know, we thought
we thought we were gonna come in and we were going
to be able to produce music videos for all the
new hip hop labels. That were coming up DC. We
came Atlanta, couldn't get one music video. No, nobody would
(09:35):
hire us. Now, all these people with my folks right
now right, Jermaine Dupre would not High Dallas, Austin. No,
none of them, the Face LA or baby Face, nobody
hired none of the none of the faces. We could
get one face to hire us. But that's that for
two of us. Know, they all told us no. And
what it was was that we were the new guys.
They knew the people, they had cats that were already
(09:55):
doing music videos for them. It made us then say,
all right, we can't depend on that industry. We're gonna
go out and make our own movie. And we shot
our own independent film that was Tware, which ended up
coming out and making a million dollars completely independent of Hollywood.
If we were able to go and do music videos,
if we got told yes instead of no, we never
would have went off and shot our own independent movies.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So that's why that's what was meant to be.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
So by y'all doing that gave y'all the you know
what I want to say, like the dream to say,
you know what, just continue to keep going Stumpy Yard.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, Now, you're getting.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
So now you gotta wake up to understand because like
you said, you are, but yes, for real, you are
the vision. It took those lessons for you to be
like to get to this point, no question, not stump
y'all the process.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Stumped the Yard was a movie that we dreamed of making,
a movie about black college life. We took it to
Hollywood and literally every studio told us no. Everybody you
name a movie student in Hollywood, they said, we are
not making this movie.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
But we didn't let that kill our dream. We are
just the way that.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
We pitched the movie and we said, you know what
we're gonna do. We've been selling it as a black
college movie. Now we're gonna go and we're gonna sell
it as a dance movie that happens to take place
at a black college.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
And the studios got you switch you get in the
same movie. That's what we did.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
We switched that pitch up. All you need is one yes.
I don't care if you get a thousand no's, you
don't need, but one yes. We got that one yes.
Stomp the Yard right, that was our very first number
one movie, number one of the box office.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Two weeks in a row absolutely, and nobody wanted.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
To make it, but we made it happy.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
What we do we do leave. Come on now, now
you got an amazing book? Yeah? Right now? Who's better
than you? Yes? Now? Yes? Tell us who better? Who
better than? Who better than? Yes? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Because the implication is that there is nobody better than you.
To achieve not medium level success, not good success, but
great success. But to do that you have to have
what I call healthy arrogance. The most successful people I
know have a supreme level of confidence, not just that
they could be successful, but that they are meant to
(12:05):
be successful. These are people that believe, no matter what
I am supposed, I am predestined for success. So what
I do in this book is I break down stories
and some stories I never told before. Over thirty years
in Hollywood, and I'm working around some of the most
high profile, most successful people in the world, and they
all have very similar traits. They have healthy erringas, and
(12:26):
they dream big. And so this book is me a
It's like a masterclass. It's like for somebody that's just
starting off or wants to transition into a new career,
or wants to figure out how to live a more
full life that I'm saying, you can do that, and
the way to do is by understanding that there's no
one better than you to do it.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
So the book is out right now.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yeah, man, And before we go play this game right
now against the Bucks, you know, because I gotta see this.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
New talent that the Holls got.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
What you think I think? I think it takes some
time for me to evaluate professional old sports opinion my
professional sports wrestling.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
I'm gonna go whatever you say, I'm taking it straight
to ownership. I had to sit down the thing. Do
you approve, sir?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You know I I don't approve of the players leaving,
okay now, but I do understand why they had to go,
and I understand the value that we got from Okay,
so if we traded DeAndre Hunter, yes, they gave us
two players and three second round picks. I'm like, okay,
(13:32):
so he was valuable enough for us to get a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
That's correct.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
So who's ever in control? Just utilize what we got.
Do you feel like it's a good long term move?
Speaker 2 (13:44):
If?
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Because I'm thinking of it like right now, I'm like
if I was in the on the board, yep, yeah,
you know what I'm saying. Because I ain't on the board,
but if I was on the ball, If if I
was on the board, I say, don't.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Give up too much money up front. They have to
work for it.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
So if that's saying quote unquote, if somebody signed a
bad contract, which means if the Hawks gave up too
much money upfront. Yeah, and now the player is starting
to develop on his fifty six years, Yeah, you done
gave him one fifty already.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Now he wants three hundred.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Yeah, when it's time to go on, it goes up, down,
go down, it goes you feel me, So it's like, okay,
give the new guy to fifty.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
The forty by the six year, one fifty sounds way
better than that forty.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
It would be a lot of NBA players that would
hate you as an owner because you don't mess around.
You would be a You would be stingy AF as
an owner, stingy DC Young Fly would be stingy.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
And friends as an owner.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
About it right now, like some players getting paid on
the pitch, I'm just saying, DC is a ticket.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
If they was a little cheaper, I wouldn't be trip.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
I can't wait they' making us pay like we come
to see I can't run, Michael Jordan, it's all in one.
Can't waiting you buy your team. I'm gonna be right there.
Listen when I got a lead. Listen, no stars on
your team. I got a youth. TA y'all playing a
youth T three. They're gonna be playing for compliments should
(15:14):
you did good.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
They're gonna be playing for way to go forward. They
ain't gonna have real names on the back of the
Jay's gonna say forward that what Alabama do?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
You gotta worka who black saving up here?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
It's eighty two.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
But no, o g man, we appreciate your your your presence,
your time, and everything that you've done for the game.
Now now before we go with your legacy. I don't
see it's stopping no time soon.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
It's just it's just too much going on out here,
and it's we need the real directors and the producers
in the game. Like you say, they can speak for us.
Like you said, Stump the yard was a success. You
knew it was a success because you are the people.
You're there, you're touching it. And like you said, I
want to do something new that ain't been done before.
They don't understand what I'm saying. Let me just readjust
(16:04):
the pitch ye to make it fit comfortable for them,
and we still get our across period. What do you
want the people to remember from your legs?
Speaker 2 (16:14):
You know what, It's very very simple. It's not what
I've done.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
It's not the billion dollars in the box office or
the ten number one moves. It's just that I don't
know get we have to talk game. I just figured
I would just give my status. You know what it
is though, real talk. It is the people have affected.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
You know, it's you.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
It's the next generation that looks at me and says,
you know what, O G I'm inspired by you.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
That's what I want to leave behind.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Right when we all leave this earth, we will be
remembered by the people that we touched and the people
that we affected.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
And so I am definitely at that stage right now.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
I'm trying to make sure that I'm leaving an impact,
that I'm making sure that others who encounter me are
better for it.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
And I try to be very very intentional about that. Man,
you did that, man, thank you, but we appreciate it.
Let it be your last time. I'm coming back when
that type drop another movie.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
If they let you keep the show, you over here
hating on the plays, overpaid.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
The last day. No, No, what I'm saying is I
see what they are doing. You know what.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
They love you because you're real, real and you speak,
you have always speaked, spoken the voice of the people.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
On the VOP bank, you walk out here with DC.
He can't even walk through seas like one of the players.
Everybody knows d C, d C what something that few younglove.
Everybody knows you. Everybody loves you. Don't ever change keep
it just like.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Listen, We're gonna keep God first. Absolutely, He's all we got.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
We're gonna stay grateful, ye because like you know, we
we came from the bottom, period. And once you realize
when you was at the bottom, you still had the
same tunes you got now.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
You just waited for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
You waited for when it was your time, and when
your time came, like you said, you took the yeses
with the nose and you just stayed going.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Period. That's the only way to win, period.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
So we appreciate you. Hey a t ym America Hawks
and friends. We'll be back
Host
Shannon Sharpe
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