December 22, 2023 • 26 mins
This week, we're revisiting our interviews with Will Packer. In the final episode of our 3-part series with Will Packer, the renowned film producer delves into the topic of generational wealth. Packer shares his insights on the importance of building long-term financial security and provides practical advice for achieving it. He also offers valuable guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to break into the film industry, drawing on his own experiences and successes - including starting his own production company, Will Packer Productions. Don't miss this inspiring and informative episode, where you'll learn how to build generational wealth, succeed in the film industry, and even start your own production company.
Host IG:@itstanyatime
Guest IG: @willpowerpacker
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's not just about you, it's not just about where
(00:02):
you are today. Live a great life, love your life,
do the things that make you happy. Within one of
the things. There's nothing more fulfilling than knowing you're affecting
other people. That's within your own family, that's within your
own community. That's how you start to build generational wealth.
Thinking beyond just you and thinking beyond just today.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Money Moves powered by green Year, a
finance podcast dedicated to dropping all the knowledge and gems
from the world's leading celebrities, entrepreneurs and experts, and tech,
business and more. I'm your host, angel investor, technology enthusiasts,
and media personality Tanya Sam.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Each week, we talk with guests who.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Are making significant strides in their fields and learn how
they are making their money move.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
If you're someone who's looking to make your money move,
you're in the right place.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So open up your notes app and lock us in
because this podcast will give you the keys to the
kingdom of financial stability, wealth and abundance you so rightly deserve.
Before we start the episode, I'd like to remind you
to check us out at gogreenwood dot com and follow
us on social media at Greenwood and me on all
things social at It's TENUA. Time to stay locked into
(01:10):
new episodes. On this episode, we sit down with acclaimed
film producer Will Packer. So we built this team. Yeah,
making a little bit of money. Yeah, let's talk about
going out on your own. You started Will Packer Productions. Yes,
that's a huge feat. You're like, I'm going to do
this on my own. I'm going to create more of
these blockbuster movies. How are you structured different? How do
you feel your success has been different from the average
(01:33):
production house.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
It's a lot different. One is that it was.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It was built from the ground up with an audience
first mentality. So for me, because I started off making little,
tiny independent movies, you know, one at FAMU one. After
I graduated, I had to hustle and independently distribute those
films to the audience. I've always kept an eye on
who am I making the project for? Who do I
know is going to see this movie? I am somebody
(01:59):
that believes don't worry about making content for everybody, don't
worry about trying to be all things to all people,
but be everything to some people. That is my model.
That is a tenant of mine. I believe in that
I don't have to be all things with all people,
but I need to be everything to some people. And
that audience that I have had that has supported me
(02:20):
that I'm very, very thankful and grateful for. I have
continued to feed and serve that audience even as we
expand beyond it. That's one of the things that makes
us different from a lot of production companies out there.
The other thing is that I have set my company
up to be very malleable when it comes to how
we think about content and projects. So, for example, when
we get a pitch or a ip an article, a
(02:44):
book brought into us, we don't only think about it
in one particular way. We don't think, okay, this was
this was pitched to us as a movie. If it
doesn't work as a feature length movie, then we can't
do anything with it.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
It's the equivalent of if you and I we have
a shoe company, right, that's what we do, and or
we have a hat company. We make hats and somebody
bring us a great design for a shoe, We're gonna
try to stick the shoe on our head and say
it doesn't really work, right, But if we have a
company that is able to monetize and exploit across different mediums,
then you say, that's not a hat, but it's a
(03:16):
great shoe, and let's figure out a RaSE to go.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Versatility as versatility.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Do the same thing in my production company. If somebody
brings something in, we say, well, is it a doc,
is it limited series?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Is it a podcast? Is it a feature? Is it
a scripted series? Unscripted?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
And we have the ability to do all those things,
so now we're not pigeonholing ourselves. That's something that's very
very important, especially when you think about scaling of business.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
You know, that's really important, I think in this industry
and not the norm because obviously in a lot of
these legacy industries they're like, well, this film has to
be only made for this audience and it has to
be a romance. It can't have action in it. You know,
it's very like what is it and what does it
look like? So you can put it into a box.
So I can see how looking at your array of
products that you've put out from reality unscripted to some
(04:00):
of my favorites your TV series being Mary Jane to
East Too, you know they're really different, but you know
what you're going to get.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Yeah, yeah, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I always again try to keep that audience first, think
about who I'm making it for.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Make it for a number.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Back to the money part of this, make it and
put in resources that make sense based on the profit
potential of a project. Don't overextend, right, don't go out
and don't raise more money than you need. Spend what
you need to spend in order to have success. Don't
wait until you raise. Maybe you set a goal for X, right,
if you're never going to get to X, ins set
a date and say by the time I reach, you know,
(04:39):
a year from now, however much I raised, that's the
budget of my project. That's what I did with our
movie Twah, which was the movie we made right after
Chocolate City, just graduating. We had this dream of raising
a bunch of money and we could never get there,
and we said, you know what, we could spend the
rest of our lives trying to raise this money. So
what we're gonna do is, instead of having a financial goal,
we're going to set a date goal and every we're
(05:00):
able to raise by that particular date, that's the budget
of the movie, and that's exactly what we did.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I'm going to talk about movie budgeting because I think
this is interesting. Okay, how do you cut costs on
a production set like that? I think is the nitty
gritty that's really hard? Is it in the actors? It
is in wardrobe? There's so many pieces that go into
a successful film. How do you cut costs?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Nowadays?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
The answer is yes, all those eerrands, right.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Because in you can make a movie for any amount
of money. All right, you can make a movie for
five dollars, it's gonna look like a five dollars movie.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Come to me, Instagram, I'm making movies.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
But hey, you can make a movie with five hundred million.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yes, right, it's just about the story you're trying to
tell them the way that you tell it live.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
That's in the execution.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So when you think about budging a movie, you have
to think about where do I want to put the
majority of my resource. Resource allocation is so important in
any industry, but especially in the movie business. So if
there are certain stars that this movie does not work
without these stars, it doesn't work without it have to
have these stars.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
You gotta pay what you gotta pay to get those stars.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You got a concept that is, you know, a big,
high concept movie people relate to. It's kind of doesn't
have to have a big star in it. Then you
spend your money elsewhere. Maybe you put it on your director,
or your script or your wardrobe or other elements of it.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
It's always a balance.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
It's always figuring out what are the essential elements that
I need to make this movie.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
That's what I do every time. What do I have
to have in.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Order for this movie to be successful? You put your priority,
you prioritize the resources there. Then everything else you spend
what you have to, but no more than that if
it's a non essential element, which is hard sometimes because
you get people to say, well it's all essential, it's
all important.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Of course it is, but you still have to PRIORITYZ.
And that's the same.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
I don't care if you're starting a rescue right, doesn't matter.
Prioritize what do you have to have, what's essential. Put
the majority of your resources there and the rest. Spend
what you need to, but no more than.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
You have to.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You know, we have a lot of really successful entrepreneurs
and founders, and I hear this a lot. I think
some of the most successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, bosses are able
to make really important decisions quickly, swiftly, and with certainty,
and that's what makes a good leader. Yes, and you
can cut through and read through all that stuff, not
vacillating on like oh should be you know, have this
(07:19):
car or this, and you can make rooves really fast.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Yes, yes, yes, no, you said it. You got to
cut through it, cut through it, get to what's important.
Don't spend a lot of time. Goes back to me saying,
keep the main thing, the main thing.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Don't spend a lot of time on things that are
not important, prioritized and by the way, one of the
most important resources that we all have. And I don't
care if you're you know, Tanya, Sam will Pack or
somebody that's just starting off trying to get to this level.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Time time time. You know it, and I know it
because it's the thing we have the least of.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Right, somebody asked me to come and be a part
of something, I would much rather cut a check. I'll
much really say can I donate? Because I can't come.
I can't tell you out la. Time is the most
important resource. And so even when you're just starting out,
protect your time.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Where are you're spending your time? Are you spending your time?
Speaker 1 (08:08):
You should be doing something every day towards trying to
reach your goal every day, even if it's small.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Make sure that you're progressing every day.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
My favorite word is onward, positive perpetual progression. No matter what, onward,
always be moving forward. So even if you're just starting off,
you're trying to figure out how to raise money, trying,
that's fine, but don't spend all your time on social
media or you know, hanging out doing things that aren't
progressed networking.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
It's busy work.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Don't do that now another world of networking, if it's
real networking, but if it's just happy hour every you know,
every day, because you know you're tired and and by
the way, I get it.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
And when you're first starting off, it's tough.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And you need like social releases, nothing wrong with that,
but make sure every day you're doing at least a
little something towards your goal.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Okay, I have a funny question for you.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Okay, you talked about, you know, knowing you need certain
actors to make certain movies. Yes, looking back at your
catalog of movies, Yes, tell me one movie where you
knew and you had to go after this specific actor
or actress, yep, to ensure the success of the movie Obsessed.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
And Beyonce, Okay, go, you can argue with that. You
asked it was, it was Obsessed, and that was a
project that she told us no multiple times. Yeah, and
you know, the scheduling was very tough, and you know
she wanted some changes to the script. But once I
knew she was at least open to a conversation, I
(09:37):
was like a dog with a bone. I said, I'm
going to do anything I have to do to get
her in that project.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
That project did not work without her.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I knew to have the profile and the level of
success that that project.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Needed to have, I needed her and it was only her.
She was the only one. So when she came back
and said, you know what I like.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Where you've got in the script, I would do it,
but I'm touring and I've got a makeup campaign and
I've got this and that.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
I said, you know what, you tell me when you
can do it. You tell me.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
What afternoon you got, what weekend you got? You tell
me and I will fit my schedule. You turned that
maybe into a yes, you like I'll make it happen. Okay, Now,
what's the opposite side. Tell me an actor that you
took a chance on that just blew you out of
the water and surprised you so much. Tiffany habits, oh easy.
Tiffany habits absolutely, And we knew it. When I say surprised,
(10:24):
it is a surprise, and that I hadn't seen her
do this on this level before like she did in
Girls Trip. She had done, you know, great work, but
she hadn't had that platform to take her to the
next level. So we didn't know until she came in
and every other actor that read for that role, which
there were many, they were reading that character and portraying
(10:45):
the character. Tivity came in and she was that.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
She honestly Girls Trip. I've saw it several times in
the theater. I just kept going back with more and
more girls. I left there in physical pain.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Like I think I.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Truly bologized that don't bust again.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
I actually think I toned my apps. But it was
the best, and I mean.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Comedy is hard, but you are right, she nailed it,
and really I think set her career on a just
different trajectory.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
I for you.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Yeah, I'm sure many congratulations with that movie was so funny.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Yeah, So I.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Want to go back and I want to you know,
be able to instill a little bit.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
More hope, okay into our audience.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
So you've been in the game for a couple of
years now, one maybe two decades, having this incredible catalog
three decades, and I'm proud of this. And you know,
the advice you might have received from your mentors back
in the day is probably a lot different than you
would advise young people going into the industry. We're seeing
a rise of streaming. People are making five minute movies
(11:48):
on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
So how would you.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Sort of shape the advice that you give out, Now,
that's a great question.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Back when I was starting off, it was very difficult
just to make a movie.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
You had to go and buy.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Film and editing equipment, and you know, have like film cameras.
You know, we were shooting on super sixteen millimeter film,
or if we really had a budget, we'd shoot on
thirty five millimeter film.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Now we're in a digital environment. Now, we're an environment where.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Social media is the way that you reach people and
the way that you can distribute content. So when I
was coming up, people told me, hey, just try to
get your movie made. It wasn't about, you know, necessarily
what the content was. It was just get it made.
If you can just get it made, then you're ahead
of the game.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So these days, when I'm talking to that next generation
of filmmakers, what I'm telling them is it's not enough
to just get your movie made. Now, you've got to
show that there's an audience for your project.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
You've got to go out and show.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Millions of views on YouTube or Instagram or TikTok, whatever
that platform is. You've got to show that you have
an ability to find that audience and accumulate that audience.
Because then you have people like myself and others that
will say, you know what if they were able to
do that shooting it on their iPhone and editing it
an iMovie, what would they.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Do with real resources?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Because I see they have the talent, and I see
they have the ability to find an audience.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
So that's very different advice.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
It's much more competitive now because it's an oversaturated content environment.
Everybody's making stuff, right. It's like you your podcast is
successful because it cuts through. There are a lot of
people with podcasts.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Out there, But your voice is unique, your subject matter
is unique, your guests are unique.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Like everything, you have to do something that's going to
stand out now because there is this oversaturation, But what
that means is that the cream will rise to the top,
as it always does. You just got to work harder
to make sure that you're one of those that stands
out in an environment where everybody.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
Is, you know, a mini movie maker.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Do you feel that this opens up more access and
a little bit more equality.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
These I do? I do? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
I think it's the democratization content creation that really really
do because now the barriers aren't there. When I was
first coming in, if you didn't have the money to
buy film and you didn't have a big studio to
distribute it, no one would ever know about it, No
one would There was not this you know, ability to
go and take your content straight to consumers like there
(14:18):
is now now if you've got a voice, and we
see this with all the influencers out there that are successful,
they're not using studios, big financiers to fund their stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
They're making it direct for their audience.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
They're turning down actually investment and equity deals because they're like, No,
I'm going to keep making this myself.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Many of them are folks like me.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Now are aligning with these folks, with folks that have
gone out and shown an ability to be able to create,
monetize and create content for an audience. I now need
to align with them. I'm putting those people in my movies.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Oh that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, So one thing on this show, I love to
talk about building generational wealth. Yes, and I think that
you know, for I'll speak for myself in my generation,
my experience, my years on this earth. I feel like
the messages I learned from my parents, which were first
generation to Canada, are so much different. How have you
approached generational wealth building the lessons that you impart on
(15:13):
your children?
Speaker 3 (15:14):
What's changed for you?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You know, if we are going to cycles work in
multiple ways, right. A cycle can be negative, a cycle
can be positive. We talk about negative cycles a lot,
especially in African American community. Understandable because we are up
against a lot and there are a lot of negative.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Cycles that we're trying to break.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
But if we're going to have positive cycles, then you
got to start with talking about wealth building. Yes, we're
going to talk about economic equity we're going to talk
about buildings, a legacy within your family, a legacy of
success and positivity. It only happens through generational wealth.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
I'm like you.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
I came from a two parent household. My parents definitely
instilled in me you gotta work home. You gotta work
work hard, outwork your peers, look to your left and
your right, be working harder than them.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Right. They definitely instill that in me.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I took that to task with my children now, who
are very privileged children because well, packers are dad. So
they're coming in a different position than I was when
I told them, I start the same way.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
You gotta work hard, but gotta work smart. You got
to make a dollar.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
What are you doing with that dollar? Don't make a dollar,
spend a dollar thinking I'm going to make another dollar,
or that makes another dollar for you. Dad, don't have
another dollar? Okay, Dad made discuss right. My kids produce
these movies, right, they know that. But they do have
access to my network, and they have the ability to
go out and not necessarily have to work a part
(16:45):
time job through high school like some people may have.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
So now what are you doing with that time?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
That resource we talked about and then what are you
doing when you do get your hands on a little
bit of money. So now I'm instilling in them things
like making sure that you invest, making sure that you're
thinking long term, not short term. One of the things
about our community, we are caught up in conspicuous consumption
and short term success, short term spending, short term gain. Yep,
when you don't have anything, short term feels like long
(17:13):
term rite a drug. You got nothing, then you get
something that feels like everything you need right now, let's
start thinking about the tomorrow after tomorrow, after tomorrow, and
let's start thinking about the generation after this one and
the one after this one. So what I'm trying to
do is instill not just my kids, but just people
I talk to. It's not just about you, It's not
just about.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
Where you are today.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Live a great life, love your life, do the things
that make you happy. But then one of the things,
there's nothing more fulfilling than knowing you're affecting other people.
That's within your own family, that's within your own community.
That's how you start to build generational wealth. Thinking beyond
just you and thinking beyond just today.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I would be remiss if I didn't say that you know,
you've been investing for a long time and you are,
you know, espousing what you believe in and you invest
in the network that we are currently airing on Bounce
TV along with the great ambassador Andrew Young as well
as Greenwood's founder Ryan Glover. Yes, so talk about your
mindset for investing. You had these colleagues, you decided to
(18:15):
write a check as you believed in them. Was that
the first investment that you had done into another black
owned business and just what was your mindset at that time.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah, it's a great question, you know, and I give
all props to Ryan Glover, I really really do, because
he's someone that saw this opportunity. He aligned with some
of the folks that were at Turner Broadcasting at the time.
I was doing my thing in a parallel track, but
I was not in the television space in a major
way at that time. Ryan called me with that opportunity.
Sometimes it's about recognizing the opportunity, right. I believe that
(18:45):
we all have the ability to take advantage of things,
and the question is do.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
You take advantage right? It's not about having a big
old bank account.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Sometimes sometimes it's just about Okay, there's an opportunity here
that I'm going to recognize and see long term benefits.
So when Ryan first approached me about Bounce, it wasn't
this Bounce that we're watching right now. It was a concept.
It was an idea, but it was very smart. It
was a good one. And that was the first time
that I got involved with a media company that wasn't
(19:14):
my own. Since then now, I've been very fortunate. I've
bought several media companies I bought. One of the greatest
things that was said to me that I enjoyed was
Russell Simmons because I bought an agency that he owned
and I bought it. It was called Narrative. It was
run by an amazing sister named Tricia clark Stone. And
(19:35):
I bought this brand, marketing and advertising agency from Russell Simmons.
And as we were closing the deal, after it was
all done, I said, man, this was great. It was awesome,
and he said, you know what, the biggest thing about
this is is that a black man bought a media
company from another black man. Wow, you acquired something that
I built and now are going to take it to
the next level. That doesn't happen often enough. It doesn't
(19:56):
that stuff.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Often enough, and I would be remiss if I didn't
shout out at the fact that we're filming in the
gathering spot. Look at how this all interconnectedness of black
excellent happens. We're filming in the gathering spot from an
investment you know that you made into Bounce TV and
Ryan Glover who is now the co founder along with
Paul Judge at Greenwood Bank, And this is how we
build up together. This is how we create generational wealth
(20:19):
in the black community.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
That's that positive cycle. That's it. You're a part of it.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
I'm a part of somebody watching. What is your opportunity
to create your own cycle. You're absolutely right. This is
a full circle moment for me. That's why it's so
awesome and I'm so honored to be here.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
It is so awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
All right, last question for you. I want to talk
about a singular event when you got the wire, got
the bag, Which is the one that stands out in
your mind the most.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
It was Stomp the Yard.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Oh, that's right, that's that was the success of Stomp
the Yard.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
When Stomped the Yard. At that time, I had never.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Done a widely distributed theatrical movie.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
I had done independent movies and I was working my
way up.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
That was my first studio backed widely theatrical release movie.
Nobody expected anything from it. I didn't have a big budget,
but I had a vision for it, and it opened
number one.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
At the box office.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
And Hollywood, like most industries, we've got quantifiable metrics that
determined success, and how you open at the box office
is certainly one of them.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
And when that.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Movie opened number one, it changed the dynamics of myself,
my company, everything that I was doing.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
I got my calls returned. I know how that goes.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
I all of a sudden got a lot of incoming
calls because I had done things again in that quantifiable metric,
which is box office, which is making money that Hollywood
could not deny. It didn't matter who I was, when
they liked me, didn't like me, whether I was black, white.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
What didn't deny that they could not deny to keep screen. Well,
we are so appreciative of your time, and I feel
like you've really laid a roadmap for success for so
many people. But I want to give you the opportunity.
Is there another gem that you want to share with
our audience? Is there something that you want to leave
us with as we close out.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
You know, Tanye, you and I talk offline, and we've
talked about like how important it is to have these
exact conversations. Right, So, if there's anything that I would
kind of just say and leave the audience with, it's
that you have to be here, yes, and present and
consuming this right. The fact that you're here, you're watching this,
(22:35):
the fact that you and I as successful people are
sharing this moment.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
We don't have to share it. We could just be
like on a beach somewhere.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Right, you have to be somebody I'm talking to the
people watching this now who are saying, I'm going to
pay attention.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
I'm going to tune in, and then I'm going to.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Figure out how to take these gems and affect them,
manifest them in my life. Right, It's up to you
now to take that next step. You're already witting because
you're in the US. We've invited you to the room,
so you're in the room where a lot of things happen.
How do you now then go take this to the
next level.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
That's the key.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
The successful people I know are always learning, always open
to finding new ways to do things. They're not people
that sit back and say I know how to do it.
I don't need to pay attention. So if you're watching this,
you're open to a new way of doing things. The
most successful people I know then implement that, find a
way to implement that into their daily lives and into
their strategies.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
That's my challenge today.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
I love that, and I feel like you've left the
bread combs. You told people about KPIs you know, really
understanding how they can move the needle in their life.
And you've even touched on manifestation, which I really appreciate
because I think it's about visualizing and being intentional, but
doing the work to get to that piece. So well,
it has been our ultimate pleasure to have you here today.
Thank you so much. We look forward to sitting in
(23:51):
more theaters seeing what you have next on your plate.
Can you give us some teasers of what we should
be looking out for.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Absolutely, I've got a movie that is a gospel choir
competition movie, a lot of fun shot right here in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
You know, Chloe Bailey is in at Quevo.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Drew Ski we talked about influencer some amazing gospel stars.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
That is gonna be released in Easter.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
I've got a movie called Dashing through the Snow also
shot hear it Atlanta Christmas.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
You know, you know I love my Christmas movie. Shot off.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Everybody that's watched this Christmas are almost Christmas at least
five times a piece.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Off.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
You ain't watching five times a piece. You're not a
real thing every year.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Every year I need that. Yes, so I got a
new one and this one is going to introduce Black
Santa Claus. Oh sorry, giving us what we mean. Yes,
absolutely a great fun family film and it'll be out
in Christmas twenty three.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
So I'm excited. I'm excited about those projects.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Well, thank you so much. Will, thank you to your team, Shla. Everyone.
Can we tell the audience where they can find you
on social media?
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yes, absolutely easy, will power packer across all platforms because
you gotta have will power.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
We'll powerpack.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Thank you, Will and all right, Moneymovers.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
That's all the time we have for today, but make
sure to follow will Happen on all his social media handles.
Thanks for listening to today's episode. If we helped you
make your money move, please share it with your community,
subscribe and leave.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Us a review. On iHeartRadio and Apple podcasts.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Follow us on social media at Greenwood and visit us
at Gogreenwood dot com for more financial tips and remember,
money Movers.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
If this were easy, everyone would do it.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
So take the lessons you've learned from this episode and
apply it to your life until next time. Money Moves
is an iHeartRadio podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by
Sunwise Media. Am For more podcasts on iHeartRadio, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Make sure to tune in Monday, Wednesday and Friday and
(25:49):
subscribe to the Money Moves podcast powered by Greenwood, so
that you too can have the keys to financial freedom
you so rightly deserve
It's not just about you, it's not just about where
(00:02):
you are today. Live a great life, love your life,
do the things that make you happy. Within one of
the things. There's nothing more fulfilling than knowing you're affecting
other people. That's within your own family, that's within your
own community. That's how you start to build generational wealth.
Thinking beyond just you and thinking beyond just today.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Money Moves powered by green Year, a
finance podcast dedicated to dropping all the knowledge and gems
from the world's leading celebrities, entrepreneurs and experts, and tech,
business and more. I'm your host, angel investor, technology enthusiasts,
and media personality Tanya Sam.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Each week, we talk with guests who.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Are making significant strides in their fields and learn how
they are making their money move.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
If you're someone who's looking to make your money move,
you're in the right place.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
So open up your notes app and lock us in
because this podcast will give you the keys to the
kingdom of financial stability, wealth and abundance you so rightly deserve.
Before we start the episode, I'd like to remind you
to check us out at gogreenwood dot com and follow
us on social media at Greenwood and me on all
things social at It's TENUA. Time to stay locked into
(01:10):
new episodes. On this episode, we sit down with acclaimed
film producer Will Packer. So we built this team. Yeah,
making a little bit of money. Yeah, let's talk about
going out on your own. You started Will Packer Productions. Yes,
that's a huge feat. You're like, I'm going to do
this on my own. I'm going to create more of
these blockbuster movies. How are you structured different? How do
you feel your success has been different from the average
(01:33):
production house.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
It's a lot different. One is that it was.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It was built from the ground up with an audience
first mentality. So for me, because I started off making little,
tiny independent movies, you know, one at FAMU one. After
I graduated, I had to hustle and independently distribute those
films to the audience. I've always kept an eye on
who am I making the project for? Who do I
know is going to see this movie? I am somebody
(01:59):
that believes don't worry about making content for everybody, don't
worry about trying to be all things to all people,
but be everything to some people. That is my model.
That is a tenant of mine. I believe in that
I don't have to be all things with all people,
but I need to be everything to some people. And
that audience that I have had that has supported me
(02:20):
that I'm very, very thankful and grateful for. I have
continued to feed and serve that audience even as we
expand beyond it. That's one of the things that makes
us different from a lot of production companies out there.
The other thing is that I have set my company
up to be very malleable when it comes to how
we think about content and projects. So, for example, when
we get a pitch or a ip an article, a
(02:44):
book brought into us, we don't only think about it
in one particular way. We don't think, okay, this was
this was pitched to us as a movie. If it
doesn't work as a feature length movie, then we can't
do anything with it.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
It's the equivalent of if you and I we have
a shoe company, right, that's what we do, and or
we have a hat company. We make hats and somebody
bring us a great design for a shoe, We're gonna
try to stick the shoe on our head and say
it doesn't really work, right, But if we have a
company that is able to monetize and exploit across different mediums,
then you say, that's not a hat, but it's a
(03:16):
great shoe, and let's figure out a RaSE to go.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Versatility as versatility.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Do the same thing in my production company. If somebody
brings something in, we say, well, is it a doc,
is it limited series?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Is it a podcast? Is it a feature? Is it
a scripted series? Unscripted?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
And we have the ability to do all those things,
so now we're not pigeonholing ourselves. That's something that's very
very important, especially when you think about scaling of business.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
You know, that's really important, I think in this industry
and not the norm because obviously in a lot of
these legacy industries they're like, well, this film has to
be only made for this audience and it has to
be a romance. It can't have action in it. You know,
it's very like what is it and what does it
look like? So you can put it into a box.
So I can see how looking at your array of
products that you've put out from reality unscripted to some
(04:00):
of my favorites your TV series being Mary Jane to
East Too, you know they're really different, but you know
what you're going to get.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Yeah, yeah, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I always again try to keep that audience first, think
about who I'm making it for.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Make it for a number.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Back to the money part of this, make it and
put in resources that make sense based on the profit
potential of a project. Don't overextend, right, don't go out
and don't raise more money than you need. Spend what
you need to spend in order to have success. Don't
wait until you raise. Maybe you set a goal for X, right,
if you're never going to get to X, ins set
a date and say by the time I reach, you know,
(04:39):
a year from now, however much I raised, that's the
budget of my project. That's what I did with our
movie Twah, which was the movie we made right after
Chocolate City, just graduating. We had this dream of raising
a bunch of money and we could never get there,
and we said, you know what, we could spend the
rest of our lives trying to raise this money. So
what we're gonna do is, instead of having a financial goal,
we're going to set a date goal and every we're
(05:00):
able to raise by that particular date, that's the budget
of the movie, and that's exactly what we did.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I'm going to talk about movie budgeting because I think
this is interesting. Okay, how do you cut costs on
a production set like that? I think is the nitty
gritty that's really hard? Is it in the actors? It
is in wardrobe? There's so many pieces that go into
a successful film. How do you cut costs?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Nowadays?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
The answer is yes, all those eerrands, right.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Because in you can make a movie for any amount
of money. All right, you can make a movie for
five dollars, it's gonna look like a five dollars movie.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Come to me, Instagram, I'm making movies.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
But hey, you can make a movie with five hundred million.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yes, right, it's just about the story you're trying to
tell them the way that you tell it live.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
That's in the execution.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So when you think about budging a movie, you have
to think about where do I want to put the
majority of my resource. Resource allocation is so important in
any industry, but especially in the movie business. So if
there are certain stars that this movie does not work
without these stars, it doesn't work without it have to
have these stars.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
You gotta pay what you gotta pay to get those stars.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
You got a concept that is, you know, a big,
high concept movie people relate to. It's kind of doesn't
have to have a big star in it. Then you
spend your money elsewhere. Maybe you put it on your director,
or your script or your wardrobe or other elements of it.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
It's always a balance.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
It's always figuring out what are the essential elements that
I need to make this movie.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
That's what I do every time. What do I have
to have in.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Order for this movie to be successful? You put your priority,
you prioritize the resources there. Then everything else you spend
what you have to, but no more than that if
it's a non essential element, which is hard sometimes because
you get people to say, well it's all essential, it's
all important.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Of course it is, but you still have to PRIORITYZ.
And that's the same.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
I don't care if you're starting a rescue right, doesn't matter.
Prioritize what do you have to have, what's essential. Put
the majority of your resources there and the rest. Spend
what you need to, but no more than.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
You have to.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You know, we have a lot of really successful entrepreneurs
and founders, and I hear this a lot. I think
some of the most successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, bosses are able
to make really important decisions quickly, swiftly, and with certainty,
and that's what makes a good leader. Yes, and you
can cut through and read through all that stuff, not
vacillating on like oh should be you know, have this
(07:19):
car or this, and you can make rooves really fast.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Yes, yes, yes, no, you said it. You got to
cut through it, cut through it, get to what's important.
Don't spend a lot of time. Goes back to me saying,
keep the main thing, the main thing.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Don't spend a lot of time on things that are
not important, prioritized and by the way, one of the
most important resources that we all have. And I don't
care if you're you know, Tanya, Sam will Pack or
somebody that's just starting off trying to get to this level.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Time time time. You know it, and I know it
because it's the thing we have the least of.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Right, somebody asked me to come and be a part
of something, I would much rather cut a check. I'll
much really say can I donate? Because I can't come.
I can't tell you out la. Time is the most
important resource. And so even when you're just starting out,
protect your time.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Where are you're spending your time? Are you spending your time?
Speaker 1 (08:08):
You should be doing something every day towards trying to
reach your goal every day, even if it's small.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Make sure that you're progressing every day.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
My favorite word is onward, positive perpetual progression. No matter what, onward,
always be moving forward. So even if you're just starting off,
you're trying to figure out how to raise money, trying,
that's fine, but don't spend all your time on social
media or you know, hanging out doing things that aren't
progressed networking.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
It's busy work.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Don't do that now another world of networking, if it's
real networking, but if it's just happy hour every you know,
every day, because you know you're tired and and by
the way, I get it.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
And when you're first starting off, it's tough.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And you need like social releases, nothing wrong with that,
but make sure every day you're doing at least a
little something towards your goal.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Okay, I have a funny question for you.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Okay, you talked about, you know, knowing you need certain
actors to make certain movies. Yes, looking back at your
catalog of movies, Yes, tell me one movie where you
knew and you had to go after this specific actor
or actress, yep, to ensure the success of the movie Obsessed.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
And Beyonce, Okay, go, you can argue with that. You
asked it was, it was Obsessed, and that was a
project that she told us no multiple times. Yeah, and
you know, the scheduling was very tough, and you know
she wanted some changes to the script. But once I
knew she was at least open to a conversation, I
(09:37):
was like a dog with a bone. I said, I'm
going to do anything I have to do to get
her in that project.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
That project did not work without her.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I knew to have the profile and the level of
success that that project.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Needed to have, I needed her and it was only her.
She was the only one. So when she came back
and said, you know what I like.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Where you've got in the script, I would do it,
but I'm touring and I've got a makeup campaign and
I've got this and that.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
I said, you know what, you tell me when you
can do it. You tell me.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
What afternoon you got, what weekend you got? You tell
me and I will fit my schedule. You turned that
maybe into a yes, you like I'll make it happen. Okay, Now,
what's the opposite side. Tell me an actor that you
took a chance on that just blew you out of
the water and surprised you so much. Tiffany habits, oh easy.
Tiffany habits absolutely, And we knew it. When I say surprised,
(10:24):
it is a surprise, and that I hadn't seen her
do this on this level before like she did in
Girls Trip. She had done, you know, great work, but
she hadn't had that platform to take her to the
next level. So we didn't know until she came in
and every other actor that read for that role, which
there were many, they were reading that character and portraying
(10:45):
the character. Tivity came in and she was that.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
She honestly Girls Trip. I've saw it several times in
the theater. I just kept going back with more and
more girls. I left there in physical pain.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Like I think I.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Truly bologized that don't bust again.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
I actually think I toned my apps. But it was
the best, and I mean.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Comedy is hard, but you are right, she nailed it,
and really I think set her career on a just
different trajectory.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
I for you.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Yeah, I'm sure many congratulations with that movie was so funny.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Yeah, So I.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Want to go back and I want to you know,
be able to instill a little bit.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
More hope, okay into our audience.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
So you've been in the game for a couple of
years now, one maybe two decades, having this incredible catalog
three decades, and I'm proud of this. And you know,
the advice you might have received from your mentors back
in the day is probably a lot different than you
would advise young people going into the industry. We're seeing
a rise of streaming. People are making five minute movies
(11:48):
on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
So how would you.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Sort of shape the advice that you give out, Now,
that's a great question.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Back when I was starting off, it was very difficult
just to make a movie.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
You had to go and buy.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Film and editing equipment, and you know, have like film cameras.
You know, we were shooting on super sixteen millimeter film,
or if we really had a budget, we'd shoot on
thirty five millimeter film.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Now we're in a digital environment. Now, we're an environment where.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Social media is the way that you reach people and
the way that you can distribute content. So when I
was coming up, people told me, hey, just try to
get your movie made. It wasn't about, you know, necessarily
what the content was. It was just get it made.
If you can just get it made, then you're ahead
of the game.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So these days, when I'm talking to that next generation
of filmmakers, what I'm telling them is it's not enough
to just get your movie made. Now, you've got to
show that there's an audience for your project.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
You've got to go out and show.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Millions of views on YouTube or Instagram or TikTok, whatever
that platform is. You've got to show that you have
an ability to find that audience and accumulate that audience.
Because then you have people like myself and others that
will say, you know what if they were able to
do that shooting it on their iPhone and editing it
an iMovie, what would they.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Do with real resources?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Because I see they have the talent, and I see
they have the ability to find an audience.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
So that's very different advice.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
It's much more competitive now because it's an oversaturated content environment.
Everybody's making stuff, right. It's like you your podcast is
successful because it cuts through. There are a lot of
people with podcasts.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Out there, But your voice is unique, your subject matter
is unique, your guests are unique.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Like everything, you have to do something that's going to
stand out now because there is this oversaturation, But what
that means is that the cream will rise to the top,
as it always does. You just got to work harder
to make sure that you're one of those that stands
out in an environment where everybody.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
Is, you know, a mini movie maker.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Do you feel that this opens up more access and
a little bit more equality.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
These I do? I do? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
I think it's the democratization content creation that really really
do because now the barriers aren't there. When I was
first coming in, if you didn't have the money to
buy film and you didn't have a big studio to
distribute it, no one would ever know about it, No
one would There was not this you know, ability to
go and take your content straight to consumers like there
(14:18):
is now now if you've got a voice, and we
see this with all the influencers out there that are successful,
they're not using studios, big financiers to fund their stuff.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
They're making it direct for their audience.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
They're turning down actually investment and equity deals because they're like, No,
I'm going to keep making this myself.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Many of them are folks like me.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Now are aligning with these folks, with folks that have
gone out and shown an ability to be able to create,
monetize and create content for an audience. I now need
to align with them. I'm putting those people in my movies.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Oh that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, So one thing on this show, I love to
talk about building generational wealth. Yes, and I think that
you know, for I'll speak for myself in my generation,
my experience, my years on this earth. I feel like
the messages I learned from my parents, which were first
generation to Canada, are so much different. How have you
approached generational wealth building the lessons that you impart on
(15:13):
your children?
Speaker 3 (15:14):
What's changed for you?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You know, if we are going to cycles work in
multiple ways, right. A cycle can be negative, a cycle
can be positive. We talk about negative cycles a lot,
especially in African American community. Understandable because we are up
against a lot and there are a lot of negative.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Cycles that we're trying to break.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
But if we're going to have positive cycles, then you
got to start with talking about wealth building. Yes, we're
going to talk about economic equity we're going to talk
about buildings, a legacy within your family, a legacy of
success and positivity. It only happens through generational wealth.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
I'm like you.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
I came from a two parent household. My parents definitely
instilled in me you gotta work home. You gotta work
work hard, outwork your peers, look to your left and
your right, be working harder than them.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Right. They definitely instill that in me.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
I took that to task with my children now, who
are very privileged children because well, packers are dad. So
they're coming in a different position than I was when
I told them, I start the same way.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
You gotta work hard, but gotta work smart. You got
to make a dollar.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
What are you doing with that dollar? Don't make a dollar,
spend a dollar thinking I'm going to make another dollar,
or that makes another dollar for you. Dad, don't have
another dollar? Okay, Dad made discuss right. My kids produce
these movies, right, they know that. But they do have
access to my network, and they have the ability to
go out and not necessarily have to work a part
(16:45):
time job through high school like some people may have.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
So now what are you doing with that time?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
That resource we talked about and then what are you
doing when you do get your hands on a little
bit of money. So now I'm instilling in them things
like making sure that you invest, making sure that you're
thinking long term, not short term. One of the things
about our community, we are caught up in conspicuous consumption
and short term success, short term spending, short term gain. Yep,
when you don't have anything, short term feels like long
(17:13):
term rite a drug. You got nothing, then you get
something that feels like everything you need right now, let's
start thinking about the tomorrow after tomorrow, after tomorrow, and
let's start thinking about the generation after this one and
the one after this one. So what I'm trying to
do is instill not just my kids, but just people
I talk to. It's not just about you, It's not
just about.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
Where you are today.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Live a great life, love your life, do the things
that make you happy. But then one of the things,
there's nothing more fulfilling than knowing you're affecting other people.
That's within your own family, that's within your own community.
That's how you start to build generational wealth. Thinking beyond
just you and thinking beyond just today.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I would be remiss if I didn't say that you know,
you've been investing for a long time and you are,
you know, espousing what you believe in and you invest
in the network that we are currently airing on Bounce
TV along with the great ambassador Andrew Young as well
as Greenwood's founder Ryan Glover. Yes, so talk about your
mindset for investing. You had these colleagues, you decided to
(18:15):
write a check as you believed in them. Was that
the first investment that you had done into another black
owned business and just what was your mindset at that time.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah, it's a great question, you know, and I give
all props to Ryan Glover, I really really do, because
he's someone that saw this opportunity. He aligned with some
of the folks that were at Turner Broadcasting at the time.
I was doing my thing in a parallel track, but
I was not in the television space in a major
way at that time. Ryan called me with that opportunity.
Sometimes it's about recognizing the opportunity, right. I believe that
(18:45):
we all have the ability to take advantage of things,
and the question is do.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
You take advantage right? It's not about having a big
old bank account.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Sometimes sometimes it's just about Okay, there's an opportunity here
that I'm going to recognize and see long term benefits.
So when Ryan first approached me about Bounce, it wasn't
this Bounce that we're watching right now. It was a concept.
It was an idea, but it was very smart. It
was a good one. And that was the first time
that I got involved with a media company that wasn't
(19:14):
my own. Since then now, I've been very fortunate. I've
bought several media companies I bought. One of the greatest
things that was said to me that I enjoyed was
Russell Simmons because I bought an agency that he owned
and I bought it. It was called Narrative. It was
run by an amazing sister named Tricia clark Stone. And
(19:35):
I bought this brand, marketing and advertising agency from Russell Simmons.
And as we were closing the deal, after it was
all done, I said, man, this was great. It was awesome,
and he said, you know what, the biggest thing about
this is is that a black man bought a media
company from another black man. Wow, you acquired something that
I built and now are going to take it to
the next level. That doesn't happen often enough. It doesn't
(19:56):
that stuff.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Often enough, and I would be remiss if I didn't
shout out at the fact that we're filming in the
gathering spot. Look at how this all interconnectedness of black
excellent happens. We're filming in the gathering spot from an
investment you know that you made into Bounce TV and
Ryan Glover who is now the co founder along with
Paul Judge at Greenwood Bank, And this is how we
build up together. This is how we create generational wealth
(20:19):
in the black community.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
That's that positive cycle. That's it. You're a part of it.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
I'm a part of somebody watching. What is your opportunity
to create your own cycle. You're absolutely right. This is
a full circle moment for me. That's why it's so
awesome and I'm so honored to be here.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
It is so awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
All right, last question for you. I want to talk
about a singular event when you got the wire, got
the bag, Which is the one that stands out in
your mind the most.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
It was Stomp the Yard.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Oh, that's right, that's that was the success of Stomp
the Yard.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
When Stomped the Yard. At that time, I had never.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Done a widely distributed theatrical movie.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
I had done independent movies and I was working my
way up.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
That was my first studio backed widely theatrical release movie.
Nobody expected anything from it. I didn't have a big budget,
but I had a vision for it, and it opened
number one.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
At the box office.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
And Hollywood, like most industries, we've got quantifiable metrics that
determined success, and how you open at the box office
is certainly one of them.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
And when that.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Movie opened number one, it changed the dynamics of myself,
my company, everything that I was doing.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
I got my calls returned. I know how that goes.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
I all of a sudden got a lot of incoming
calls because I had done things again in that quantifiable metric,
which is box office, which is making money that Hollywood
could not deny. It didn't matter who I was, when
they liked me, didn't like me, whether I was black, white.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
What didn't deny that they could not deny to keep screen. Well,
we are so appreciative of your time, and I feel
like you've really laid a roadmap for success for so
many people. But I want to give you the opportunity.
Is there another gem that you want to share with
our audience? Is there something that you want to leave
us with as we close out.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
You know, Tanye, you and I talk offline, and we've
talked about like how important it is to have these
exact conversations. Right, So, if there's anything that I would
kind of just say and leave the audience with, it's
that you have to be here, yes, and present and
consuming this right. The fact that you're here, you're watching this,
(22:35):
the fact that you and I as successful people are
sharing this moment.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
We don't have to share it. We could just be
like on a beach somewhere.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Right, you have to be somebody I'm talking to the
people watching this now who are saying, I'm going to
pay attention.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
I'm going to tune in, and then I'm going to.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Figure out how to take these gems and affect them,
manifest them in my life. Right, It's up to you
now to take that next step. You're already witting because
you're in the US. We've invited you to the room,
so you're in the room where a lot of things happen.
How do you now then go take this to the
next level.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
That's the key.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
The successful people I know are always learning, always open
to finding new ways to do things. They're not people
that sit back and say I know how to do it.
I don't need to pay attention. So if you're watching this,
you're open to a new way of doing things. The
most successful people I know then implement that, find a
way to implement that into their daily lives and into
their strategies.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
That's my challenge today.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
I love that, and I feel like you've left the
bread combs. You told people about KPIs you know, really
understanding how they can move the needle in their life.
And you've even touched on manifestation, which I really appreciate
because I think it's about visualizing and being intentional, but
doing the work to get to that piece. So well,
it has been our ultimate pleasure to have you here today.
Thank you so much. We look forward to sitting in
(23:51):
more theaters seeing what you have next on your plate.
Can you give us some teasers of what we should
be looking out for.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Absolutely, I've got a movie that is a gospel choir
competition movie, a lot of fun shot right here in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
You know, Chloe Bailey is in at Quevo.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Drew Ski we talked about influencer some amazing gospel stars.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
That is gonna be released in Easter.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
I've got a movie called Dashing through the Snow also
shot hear it Atlanta Christmas.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
You know, you know I love my Christmas movie. Shot off.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Everybody that's watched this Christmas are almost Christmas at least
five times a piece.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Off.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
You ain't watching five times a piece. You're not a
real thing every year.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Every year I need that. Yes, so I got a
new one and this one is going to introduce Black
Santa Claus. Oh sorry, giving us what we mean. Yes,
absolutely a great fun family film and it'll be out
in Christmas twenty three.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
So I'm excited. I'm excited about those projects.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Well, thank you so much. Will, thank you to your team, Shla. Everyone.
Can we tell the audience where they can find you
on social media?
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yes, absolutely easy, will power packer across all platforms because
you gotta have will power.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
We'll powerpack.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Thank you, Will and all right, Moneymovers.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
That's all the time we have for today, but make
sure to follow will Happen on all his social media handles.
Thanks for listening to today's episode. If we helped you
make your money move, please share it with your community,
subscribe and leave.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Us a review. On iHeartRadio and Apple podcasts.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Follow us on social media at Greenwood and visit us
at Gogreenwood dot com for more financial tips and remember,
money Movers.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
If this were easy, everyone would do it.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
So take the lessons you've learned from this episode and
apply it to your life until next time. Money Moves
is an iHeartRadio podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by
Sunwise Media. Am For more podcasts on iHeartRadio, visit the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Make sure to tune in Monday, Wednesday and Friday and
(25:49):
subscribe to the Money Moves podcast powered by Greenwood, so
that you too can have the keys to financial freedom
you so rightly deserve
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