September 17, 2024 • 31 mins
Hollywood film producer Scott Budnick, known for blockbusters like the Hangover Trilogy and Just Mercy, shares his journey from making hits to transforming lives through prison reform. What triggered a successful Hollywood producer to dedicate his life to mentoring incarcerated youth? Scott reveals the heart-wrenching encounters that steered him down this path and how his collaborations, including introducing Kim Kardashian to prison reform, have amplified his impact.
Education can change lives, even behind bars. Listen as Scott recounts his experiences teaching and mentoring in maximum-security prisons and the dramatic improvements they’ve observed. From the inmates’ newfound hope to the better work environment for correctional officers, these stories illustrate the ripple effect of knowledge and compassion. This chapter underscores the need for systemic change to support reintegration through education.
Wrapping up the episode are inspiring success stories, such as that of Ramon Escobar, who went from incarceration to founding a thriving security company employing people with similar pasts. Scott discusses legislative strides and initiatives like the Hollywood CPR program at West LA College, which opens the door to high-paying union jobs for its graduates. Ending on a hopeful note, Scott delves into his current efforts with One Community, crafting narratives that foster empathy and unity in major films and shows. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on redemption and the undeniable power of education and support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hi, I'm Eloy Ortiz-Oakley and welcome back to
the Rant Podcast, the podcastthat pulls back the curtain and
breaks down the people, thepolicies and the politics of our
higher education system.
Welcome back to the podcast.
In this episode I sit down withwell-known Hollywood film
producer and prison reformadvocate, scott Butnik.
(00:31):
Scott is known in Hollywood asa film producer of such films as
the Hangover Trilogy, project Xand Just Mercy.
His work in California tohighlight the challenges that
men and women face inCalifornia's correctional
facilities has got him theattention of politicians like
(00:51):
former to currently and formerincarcerated individuals and his
amazing experience introducingKim Kardashian to the California
correctional system.
(01:12):
If you enjoy this episode,don't forget to subscribe, hit
the like button and leave usyour comments.
Now.
I hope you enjoy myconversation with Scott Butt.
Scott, welcome to the Rant.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Podcast man.
I'm so happy to be here withyou, brother.
We have history.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
We have history.
It's been a long time.
Yes, yes, it's good to see you,thank you my man Appreciate it
I love the hat.
Thank you, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Representing Los Angeles.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So, scott, we've known each other for some time.
You've been doing great workaround prison reform, around
improving education forcurrently incarcerated
individuals.
You were doing this work when Iwas still at Long Beach City
College.
That's where we first met.
Yes, you were bringing some ofyour great young men to come
enroll at Long Beach CityCollege and we worked for
(02:02):
Governor Jerry Brown, did a lotof work around improving
education opportunities forcurrently incarcerated youth,
and then you were one of mybosses at the California
Community Colleges, appointed tothe California Community
College Board of Governors.
So it's great to be with youand we have a lot of history
around the work that you've donearound prison reform.
But you've also had this wholeother life in entertainment.
(02:25):
You're a movie producer, you'rea Hollywood staple.
So what motivated you?
What caused you, to a Hollywoodproducer like you, to get
involved in an area like prisonreform?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, I mean, I think it comes from probably a
similar place to place to you,man we, just like young people,
are the future and it's it'sincredible to be able to help,
guide, mentor, uh, or even getso much mentorship from them.
Right, and, and so I always wassomeone that wanted to help
young people.
When I was young, I had a lotof mentors, so it was just
(03:03):
something that always interestedme, and I did a movie called
Old School and met a friend onthat movie that asked me to come
down to a juvenile hall in theSan.
Fernando Valley.
On a Saturday morning I wentdown to a creative writing class
to be a guest speaker and I satdown at the table with about a
dozen kids 14, 15, 16 years oldall facing life sentences in
(03:23):
prison.
Wow, sat down with the firstyoung man that was next to me,
little tiny kid, 15 years old.
I said how was your week?
And he said it was a reallytough week.
I just got sentenced to 300years to life in prison and that
stopped me in my tracks.
I bet I said what happened andhe said I stood next to my
friend who shot the victim inthe butt and for standing next
(03:45):
to the guy with the gun I got300 years of life in prison.
And like it was that momentwhere I paused and thought like
if that was my kid he'd be outon bail so he'd be sleeping in
his own bed, he wouldn't be inthis cold, dark juvenile hall
and he'd probably have the bestlawyer in Los Angeles and would
probably get probation forstanding next to someone that
shot someone in the butt.
The victim was in and out ofthe hospital in a day, but David
(04:08):
was going to prison for 300years of life and that just
seemed fundamentally reallyunfair to me and as I went
around the table and heard thestories of them, you know,
everyone was a victim beforethey decided to be a victimizer.
Right, it was poverty, it wasfoster care, it was physical
abuse and sexual abuse andwitnessing domestic violence and
(04:29):
seeing violence at an early agefrom adults.
It was hurt, people hurt people.
And I said to those kids onthat day I said, if you guys are
willing to change and worktowards change, I'm willing to
come in here every week andstart teaching this class.
And I did.
I started teaching that classin 2004 and I still teach that
class today.
(04:50):
It's less creative writing,it's more just mentoring and
re-entry, et cetera, but that'swhat got me started.
And obviously the communitycollege system plays such an
enormous role in eitherpreventing people from coming
into the system or helping themstart over and start fresh and
start their life of success whenthey get out.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
That was certainly the story for me.
I mean, it was my probablythird chance to get back in.
I'd just gotten out of themilitary raising a family.
What service.
I was in the Army for years andI went to the Army because I
just had to leave town.
You know, right out of highschool I didn't go to college
and so those six months afterhigh school I found every place
(05:33):
I could get in trouble and Icould sniff it out.
So I had to get out.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Were you getting in trouble before you went to the
Army?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Yeah, I mean you know I was getting in trouble, but
at least I had.
You know, I had football, I hadsports.
I mean you know I was gettingin trouble, but at least I had.
You know, I had football, I hadsports, I had school, I had
(06:01):
something to to keep me fromjust running all over the place.
But but once that lifted and Ididn, good idea to leave an
18-year-old guy like me allalone.
But that's where I was.
So the Army created that familyfor me, created that structure
for me Structure yeah.
And I wouldn't be here but forthat decision.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I know this is not your interview, but after the
Army, what was your next?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
move.
So, after I spent four years inthe army, I came back.
I had a daughter along the wayand I felt I needed to come back
and be a father you know, notthe greatest father, but I was a
father.
And so that's what motivated meto come back, and I just
started working odd jobs,whatever I could find to figure
(06:41):
it out, wow.
And so, you know, one thing ledto another.
And you know, one day Ienrolled in community college.
And you know, you know whatother place in the world can you
just walk on campus and enrollin college?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And that was my story .
It's unbelievable and when Iwhen I moved to California in 99
, it was unbelievable to seelike the scale of what
California community collegeswere right Like 112 or probably
more now 116 now 116 communitycolleges, no barriers to entry,
whatever you want.
(07:15):
You want to go get your BA oneday and go that route, or if you
want to go hands-on and learn atrade, like it's just the most
brilliant system ever and it'slike game-changing.
And obviously my son is in acommunity college right now.
So whether you're the son of amovie producer or whether you're
a kid in a criminal justicesystem, it has something for
(07:35):
everybody and I'm obsessed.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well, I know this isn't a podcast about community
colleges, but just think aboutall the Hollywood royalty that
went to community college ArnoldSchwarzenegger, tom Hanks,
george Lucas.
You can go on and on and on.
Those are huge names.
So, scott, one of the projectsthat you lifted up was this
anti-recidivism coalition ARC.
(07:59):
It's done a lot of great workFor our listeners.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
describe what ARC is and what are some of the most
impactful things that have comeout of that project prison.
They were surrounded by a lotof positive energy and positive
(08:22):
individuals and people that were, and then it.
So it started out justbasically as a support network
family and then grew into likedirect services.
So we have five housingprograms at this point.
We have a huge mentorshipprogram.
We have college coordinatorsthat help enroll people and get
(08:42):
them situated on campus and withfinancial aid et cetera, and we
have job developers and careerdevelopers and career readiness,
which gets them kind of gearedtowards a career of their choice
.
We started the largestconstruction union
apprenticeship program forformerly incarcerated people
with the LA Federation of Laborand the Building Trade.
So someone gets out of prisonwithin 12 weeks of paid training
(09:02):
, they are in the union for lifeand we guarantee them their
first union job.
Um, we have.
Uh, before three years ago, ifyou got out of prison and you
were an incarcerated firefighter, you couldn't go into the
firefighting field because ofthe felony on your record.
With governor brown we wereable to build the ventura
training center and we changedthat and we've been able to pass
a bill to allow people toexpunge their records and now
(09:25):
anyone that risks their life tofight fire while they're
incarcerated can become a CalFire firefighter, even an LA
City County firefighterthroughout the state as well.
So lots of career and jobprograms, therapy obviously,
therapy and mental health is ahuge thing, right?
Trauma is real and overcomingthat and getting past it is real
.
And then we've done a lotaround policy change, right,
(09:45):
storytelling, having our memberstell their stories, tell their
successes, go to Sacramento,pass legislation.
So I think we've passed a lotof legislation to make the
system a fairer system.
And just have I literally couldstart listing off the success
stories from Long Beach CityCollege, those original kids
that I referred to you.
One of them is a case managerand social worker and going to
(10:09):
school to get his master's insocial work, working with young
people on a daily basis, helpingthem change their life.
My man, eric, went to thecommunity college and is now
works in the prisons and thejuvenile halls helping people.
Many others are now in the filmand television union.
The same kids I introduced youto when you were the president
of Long Beach City College aremaking $200,000 a year in the
(10:30):
film and television union.
So a lot of success storiesfrom those kids that you met.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
One of the things you just mentioned about an ARC
project.
You mentioned the VenturaTraining Center Fire.
Training Center.
And that rang a bell for mebecause I was involved with then
Nettie Sablehauser, who wastrying to coordinate that
program, and there were just somany obstacles in the way to get
that to happen.
What are some of the greatestobstacles that policymakers put
(10:55):
in your way that they shouldreally think about in terms of
how do they make it easier forcurrent and formerly
incarcerated individuals to getthe kind of opportunities that
you created?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
through ERC.
Quick shout out to Nettie, whois very easy at getting over
obstacles that bureaucrats putinto place.
You know, I feel like everyobstacle that's been put in our
place.
Through relationship andtransparent communication and
(11:27):
proximity, we've been able toget over them.
Bryan Stevenson, who wrote JustMercy, always talks about
proximity.
Right, when you bring peoplewho may not agree with you or
may not understand the issuecloser to the issue.
To meet people, to meet humanbeings, usually they change and
I found that they always doright.
There's no one I brought into aprison or met formerly
(11:48):
incarcerated people that didn'tchange the way they think when
they met human beings that werelike working their asses off for
a better life, right, who hadmade massive changes and
transformation in their lives.
So are there obstacles?
Yes, I mean government itselfcan be an obstacle.
Right, the culture of no isalways an obstacle.
Getting people on board is anobstacle, obviously, in this
(12:10):
issue, very, very conservativelaw enforcement, who don't even
recognize the fact that peoplecan change, can be an obstacle.
But I've been able to get someof the most conservative DAs,
sheriffs, police chiefs on boardjust by showing them respect,
making a relationship, breakingbread, having conversations,
(12:30):
introducing them to people, soit's been fun trying to navigate
that.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
In this current political environment.
I mean no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Well, I would say that 97% of them are going to be
your neighbor.
I don't know if they're going tobe happy about that Within the
next few years.
So who do you want coming outright, right?
Do you want someone who has acollege degree and is passionate
about a career or giving backand going to be in college and
working, living in yourcommunity?
Or do you want someone whoseissues have never been addressed
(13:26):
, who comes out just as bad, ifnot worse?
I think that doesn't seem to beliberal or conservative.
That just seems to be smart,right.
I think it's kind of why NewtGingrich supported a lot of
bills we worked on.
It's why Grover Norquistsupported a lot of bills.
It's why the most conservativewoman in the entire California
(13:46):
legislature, senator ShannonGrove of Bakersfield, is one of
my closest allies that when wehave people in a corrections
system, that it's ourresponsibility to help them and
give them the tools to correctwhatever was broken right.
We're dealing with a lot ofbroken people, a lot of people
(14:09):
that have been through hell andback, a lot of people that
navigated the worst of povertyand they allowed that to turn
them from victim to victimizerand so getting them back to that
I know, not religious, but likechild of God or the person that
they were born to be Right andfor them to see what they really
can achieve.
I think that's.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I think that's huge it is huge and, as you said,
education plays such a criticalrole.
I mean not just in their earlylife, before they go down a path
that leads them intoincarceration, but once they're
incarcerated.
There seems to be a movement toget more and better educational
opportunities to currentlyincarcerated individuals, and
(14:50):
you've been part of that.
We now even have the federalgovernment weighing in, saying
that we can make the Pellprogram available to currently
incarcerated.
It is huge.
So and it's a recognition ofwhat you just mentioned you know
why not invest in them?
Because once they come out,it's much more likely that
they're going to stay out.
So what do you see the role ofhigher education playing going
(15:13):
forward in reducing recidivism?
And if there are educators outthere watching who want to get
involved with currentlyincarcerated individuals, what's
the best advice you can givethem?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Get proximate.
I have a bunch of friends whowere professors on campus that
decided to roll the dice and goteach on the inside, and 100% of
them every one of them say thisis so much easier.
Guess what doesn't exist on theinside Cell phones.
(15:48):
Guess what exists on the insideA captive audience, that's for
sure.
There's a lack of freedom ofmovement, right, you really
can't just skip class, right?
And people that want to changetheir life are going to be
coming towards those classes.
People that don't care are notgoing to be coming towards those
(16:10):
classes no one's forcing themto be there who are not
distracted by their phonesthey're not distracted by so
much of what we're distracted byout here and they take it so
serious.
Every single professor I'vetalked to said this is way
easier than teaching on campus.
These people want it more.
(16:31):
They're hungrier, they workharder, they all do their work.
It's unbelievable, and I'lltell you what's interesting.
Eloy is, I have a friend who'sa correctional officer.
He was a correctional officerat Kern Valley State Prison, a
level four maximum securityprison, where every week there
were stabbings, there weremurders, there were fights,
there were riots, there weredrugs.
(16:52):
Horrible place right.
Right.
And an incredible professor fromBakersfield College decided
that he was going to come inthere His name was Brian
Hirayama and be the firstprofessor I think statewide
before we opened it up to everycommunity college in the state
and every prison to kind ofpilot this.
And he comes onto this veryviolent yard and he starts his
(17:13):
first class in the school area.
And my friend, jeff Irvin, wasan officer and was not that
happy coming to work, whichmeant he wasn't so happy when he
came home.
Maybe he wasn't the best father, et cetera.
And at first I think allcorrectional officers are taught
to resist these types ofpositive things you have a lot
of officers that would saythings like well, my kids don't
(17:34):
get a free education, why dothey get a free education?
Which is so insane, which isnot true.
And I watched Officer Irvin getcompletely transformed.
Being in the building with allthe Bakersfield College students
, he became the biggestproponent of Bakersfield College
.
He then got promoted tosergeant.
Now he's a lieutenant.
He's about to become a captain,but I watched the college
(17:54):
program transform him.
I watched Bakersfield expand tolike a dozen classes on that
yard all in the same semester,then expand to like four or five
other prisons in their area andI think they might be one of
the biggest providers in theentire state at a bunch of
prisons in the Central Valley,with like dozens and dozens of
professors coming in to teachinside who all will tell you
(18:17):
better than my classes on theoutside.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Yeah, I know Bakersfield is a great example
Chaffey College and Rancho.
Paloma is another great example, they do just amazing work.
Yeah, so, scott, you talk aboutgetting proximate.
You get proximate all the time.
You're in these correctionfacilities all the time, and
recently I noticed that youwalked in with Kim Kardashian.
I got to watch it on the latestepisode of Keeping Up with the
(18:41):
Kardashians.
Tell me about that experience.
What was that like and what wasit like walking in with Kim
Kardashian?
Good to know that you watchedthe Kardashians.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Absolutely, and Kim's always welcome to come on the
podcast Tell the world there yougo.
So when I left the moviebusiness and I was just running
ARC, I got a line text from anumber I didn't recognize and it
said hi, scott, this is KimKardashian West.
Someone referred me to you andI've been watching you and
reading about you and I'mthinking about going to law
school and I want you to be mymentor.
(19:08):
And that was a wild text to get.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
So I called her and it really was her and asked her
if she wanted to come to awomen's prison the following
week.
And the next week she canceledeverything, drove two hours in
110 degree weather and came tothe California Institution of
Women in Corona, california, andspent four hours inside with
the women, was super empathetic,was deep, just like a really
real person, and that led us tojust a great relationship over
(19:38):
the last five years where we'veworked on campaigns to free
innocent people.
Right together.
We visited lancaster prison andsan quentin and pelican bay,
all the way up at the oregonborder shout out to college of
the redwoods doing incrediblecollege programs in pelican bay.
And this is the first time that, like I thought, cdcr would
actually let us film, and so Iasked her if we could bring the
(20:02):
cameras inside and shoot anepisode of the Kardashians.
She loved it.
I asked CDCR, they loved it.
So we went in and it was a wildexperience.
I mean, it's always wild whenshe goes inside, but now, with
four cameras going andmicrophones and everything, it
was a big experience.
It was awesome watching thecorrectional officers take their
(20:23):
masks off and just like smileand laugh and get all giddy that
Kim Kardashian was there andKhloe Kardashian both of them.
They were both just wonderfulwith all the correction staff,
wonderful with the guys inside.
They visited a dog program, adog training program in the
prison.
They met with a lot of thecollege students there, both who
are getting their communitycollege degrees from Merced as
(20:45):
well, as there's a Fresno Statebachelor's program there Right,
which is awesome.
Then we went over to thewomen's prison and got to sit
with the women at Chowchilla andthat was awesome and it just
came out Right and obviously,having tens of millions of
people see it.
Obviously her audience is notthe number one audience that
knows this issue, so being ableto tell these stories to a
(21:07):
different kind of audience evokeempathy and a different
demographic.
It's the number one show onHulu, so it was an awesome
experience and she promoted iton her social media.
I mean, she has 350 millionpeople.
I think that's more than thepopulation in the.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
United States A few more than I have.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Yeah, exactly so.
Like there is like real powerin being able to communicate to
that many people and the factthat no other celebrities with
that type of following doanything to make the world a
better place Like she, on aweekly basis, is posting up
things to help people, and Ireally admire that about her.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well, it was a great episode.
I mean, it was really a movingepisode and really highlighted
the work that you've been doingfor so many years.
So congratulations to you forbeing able to highlight that in
front of so many people.
Thank you Don't being able tohighlight that in front of so
many people who don't get achance to go inside a
correctional facility on anygiven day.
So, given all your experiencein prison reform, what are some
(22:09):
of the biggest changes that weneed to make right now in order
to improve the opportunitiesthat these individuals have when
they come out of prison?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I think, if we talk about extreme sentencing, to me
getting rid of the sentence oflife without parole is a big
priority for me.
I think telling someone,especially someone very, very
young, that they're going to diein prison and nothing they do
to redeem themselves is evergoing to be good enough and they
have no capacity to change.
(22:39):
You're going to be judged basedon this horrible act you
committed as a young person forthe next 50, 60, 70 years.
That's just a hopelesssituation and I'm hopeful that
that law changes.
I think, in terms of preparingpeople, obviously we need more
education, right.
But, as you know running havingrun the entire California
(23:01):
community college system it'snot just about the education
right.
It's about all the supportservices that exist around it.
It's about having a therapistif you need one, right.
It's about having counselorsthat counsel you and can help
navigate you through verycomplex academic pathways.
It's financial aid offices andhow difficult just filling out a
(23:24):
FAFSA form is right.
It's having someone hold yourhand while you're enrolling.
I still don't think theCalifornia community college
system has figured out how tonot make it insanely frustrating
to enroll in school or even geta canvas or log into canvas, et
cetera.
It's like the other day I wastrying to help a young person
(23:46):
enroll in school for their firsttime and both of us got so
frustrated that, like, wait asecond, if I wasn't there he
would have never continued intocollege.
It's like to get into canvasfor your temporary password.
It's got to be into Canvas foryour temporary password.
It's gotta be this letter andthis number, and this has to be
uppercase, this has to belowercase.
And then they're telling usthat's wrong.
It was just insane.
(24:07):
So, just like to help someonenavigate so they don't give up.
That alone is important, right?
So I think all of that togetherneeds to come.
It's not just the education,but it's all the support around
it that leads someone to thefinish line.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
So, scott, you're a storyteller.
You've been involved instorytelling for a long time.
What's one of your favoritestories about an individual that
you saw turn their life aroundbecause of the work that's been
happening in correctionfacilities?
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Well, I mean, one of the first young men I worked
with was a young man namedProphet Walker.
He was oh, I remember Prophet.
Remember Prophet yes 17 yearsold, in juvenile hall, picked up
for a robbery that he andanother person committed on a
train, got sentenced to about adecade in prison, went to
Ironwood Prison and, through avery rural community college in
(24:59):
Blythe, Palo Verde College, gothis AA degree and then went to
Norco Community College.
When he went to Norco Prisonand then, while he was still
incarcerated, applied to theLoyola Marymount School of
Science and Engineering and gothis acceptance letter in the
prison dorm and was able to getout and go into LMU School of
(25:20):
Science and Engineering,graduated, had an incredible job
as an engineer.
He built the Ace Hotel indowntown LA and now he owns a
incredible real estate companycalled Treehouse, is doing a lot
of low-income housing anddevelopment around Leimert Park
and other areas, revitalizingareas, listening to the
community, becoming fullyintegrated within the community,
(25:42):
and he's in the LA Times todayfor a new project that he's
doing.
I'm just so proud of him.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Well, I imagine, as those stories multiply, they
turn around and help otherindividuals and you just build a
whole community that way.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
So many people that I mentored in the prison system
actually work for profit now,wow.
And I have another young personnamed Ramon Escobar who started
a film and television securitycompany and he's hired a hundred
people that came out of jail,prison, juvenile hall to work
security on movie sets andcommercials and TV shows and
(26:18):
he's paid it forward.
And then, like I can't tell you,the hundreds of people that
went through the Hollywood CPRfilm and TV program at West LA
College and are now in the filmand TV union Right, like I've
never seen a program in thecountry that pretty much
guarantees you, if you completeit over 18 months, you're going
(26:40):
to be making six figures for therest of your life.
An 18 month program at acommunity college that walks you
into the union and your nextday of work you're making five
to $600 a day, not five to 600 aweek.
Five to 600 a day, not $500 to$600 a week.
$500 to $600 a day.
You're making $125,000,$150,000 a year if you're
(27:01):
willing to put your head down,make sacrifices, work hard, show
up early, stay late, et cetera.
And so, just like to me, likeall of these success stories are
possible because of programsthat exist at the community
colleges.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
So we talked about the college side, the education
side.
I got to imagine it's alsotough, even when they get that
education, to get an employer toput them to work.
What do you say to employersabout the kind of individuals
that come out of these programs?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I mean, they're going to work harder.
They're going to show upearlier.
They're going to stay laterEvery day.
They're going to work harder.
They're going to show upearlier.
They're going to stay laterEvery day.
They're going to come withgratitude because no one just
handed them a job, because whothey were related to, they had
to work for it.
They have such appreciation forsomeone that's there to help
them change their lives andthey're a better employee.
(27:53):
I know in our construction unionprogram I was talking to the
guy that runs the laborers unionand our guys go into the
laborers bootcamp with 30 othernormal people off the streets
and out hustle everyone.
No one taps out.
They usually lose like 30% ofthe people that start.
Never do we have anyone thattaps out.
(28:15):
And it's the same thing with myfriends at the LA Chamber of
Commerce who have their businessleaders at UPS and Amazon
hiring our guys and saying theseguys come and crush and have
great attitudes.
We've also been able to changea lot of laws right.
Got kind of the ban the boxstuff so they don't have to
check the felony box For thefirefighters.
we were able to pass anexpungement bill with
(28:37):
Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes ofSan Bernardino that allows
people that risk their lives tobe inmate firefighters to fully
expunge their record when theyget out and have no criminal
record.
So a lot's been done.
That's great to hear.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
So, scott, let me ask you one last question as we
begin to wrap up.
We've talked a lot about thework that you've been doing.
What's on the horizon for ScottButton?
What should we be looking outfor?
What kind of projects are youworking on these days?
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yeah, I mean through my film and TV company, one
Community, I've been able totake the storytelling we did at
ARC and kind of scale it on abig way.
So figure out how to tell thesestories in major movies, tv
shows, documentaries, doc serieswith the Warner Brothers and
Universals and Netflixes andAmazons and Apples of the world
(29:25):
distributing them.
Our first film we made rightbefore the pandemic was Just
Mercy with Warner Brothers andhaving Warner Brothers finance a
huge movie with Michael BJordan and Jamie Foxx about the
criminal justice system and thenspend tens of millions of
dollars to market it to tens ofmillions of people around the
world.
Being able to scale thosethings are meaningful.
We just made a movie that wesold at Sundance called Winter
(29:51):
that will be out soon familiesand celebrates mothers and
grandmothers and is a big familycomedy, drama, just joyous
story that's going to be comingout soon.
It's a beautiful film.
So just expect more like filmand tv content that that bring
people up, that unite people,that create empathy and that
bring joy to the world welllisten, scott.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I really appreciate you taking the time to come onto
the podcast and, moreimportantly, I really appreciate
the work that you do.
I mean.
I wish more people would havethe commitment.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
You're one of my heroes.
Well, you know likewiselikewise.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
I mean, you give and give and give and you've never
stopped giving.
So thank you, brother,appreciate it.
It's been great to be here, man, thank you.
Thanks for joining us everyonehere on the Rant Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed myconversation with Scott Budnick.
Please continue to follow us onthis YouTube channel or
wherever you get your favoritepodcasts hit, subscribe and
leave us your comments.
Take care, everyone, and I hopeto see you all again soon here
(30:49):
on the Rant Podcast.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Eloy Ortiz-Oakley and welcome back to
the Rant Podcast, the podcastthat pulls back the curtain and
breaks down the people, thepolicies and the politics of our
higher education system.
Welcome back to the podcast.
In this episode I sit down withwell-known Hollywood film
producer and prison reformadvocate, scott Butnik.
(00:31):
Scott is known in Hollywood asa film producer of such films as
the Hangover Trilogy, project Xand Just Mercy.
His work in California tohighlight the challenges that
men and women face inCalifornia's correctional
facilities has got him theattention of politicians like
(00:51):
former to currently and formerincarcerated individuals and his
amazing experience introducingKim Kardashian to the California
correctional system.
(01:12):
If you enjoy this episode,don't forget to subscribe, hit
the like button and leave usyour comments.
Now.
I hope you enjoy myconversation with Scott Butt.
Scott, welcome to the Rant.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Podcast man.
I'm so happy to be here withyou, brother.
We have history.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
We have history.
It's been a long time.
Yes, yes, it's good to see you,thank you my man Appreciate it
I love the hat.
Thank you, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Representing Los Angeles.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So, scott, we've known each other for some time.
You've been doing great workaround prison reform, around
improving education forcurrently incarcerated
individuals.
You were doing this work when Iwas still at Long Beach City
College.
That's where we first met.
Yes, you were bringing some ofyour great young men to come
enroll at Long Beach CityCollege and we worked for
(02:02):
Governor Jerry Brown, did a lotof work around improving
education opportunities forcurrently incarcerated youth,
and then you were one of mybosses at the California
Community Colleges, appointed tothe California Community
College Board of Governors.
So it's great to be with youand we have a lot of history
around the work that you've donearound prison reform.
But you've also had this wholeother life in entertainment.
(02:25):
You're a movie producer, you'rea Hollywood staple.
So what motivated you?
What caused you, to a Hollywoodproducer like you, to get
involved in an area like prisonreform?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, I mean, I think it comes from probably a
similar place to place to you,man we, just like young people,
are the future and it's it'sincredible to be able to help,
guide, mentor, uh, or even getso much mentorship from them.
Right, and, and so I always wassomeone that wanted to help
young people.
When I was young, I had a lotof mentors, so it was just
(03:03):
something that always interestedme, and I did a movie called
Old School and met a friend onthat movie that asked me to come
down to a juvenile hall in theSan.
Fernando Valley.
On a Saturday morning I wentdown to a creative writing class
to be a guest speaker and I satdown at the table with about a
dozen kids 14, 15, 16 years oldall facing life sentences in
(03:23):
prison.
Wow, sat down with the firstyoung man that was next to me,
little tiny kid, 15 years old.
I said how was your week?
And he said it was a reallytough week.
I just got sentenced to 300years to life in prison and that
stopped me in my tracks.
I bet I said what happened andhe said I stood next to my
friend who shot the victim inthe butt and for standing next
(03:45):
to the guy with the gun I got300 years of life in prison.
And like it was that momentwhere I paused and thought like
if that was my kid he'd be outon bail so he'd be sleeping in
his own bed, he wouldn't be inthis cold, dark juvenile hall
and he'd probably have the bestlawyer in Los Angeles and would
probably get probation forstanding next to someone that
shot someone in the butt.
The victim was in and out ofthe hospital in a day, but David
(04:08):
was going to prison for 300years of life and that just
seemed fundamentally reallyunfair to me and as I went
around the table and heard thestories of them, you know,
everyone was a victim beforethey decided to be a victimizer.
Right, it was poverty, it wasfoster care, it was physical
abuse and sexual abuse andwitnessing domestic violence and
(04:29):
seeing violence at an early agefrom adults.
It was hurt, people hurt people.
And I said to those kids onthat day I said, if you guys are
willing to change and worktowards change, I'm willing to
come in here every week andstart teaching this class.
And I did.
I started teaching that classin 2004 and I still teach that
class today.
(04:50):
It's less creative writing,it's more just mentoring and
re-entry, et cetera, but that'swhat got me started.
And obviously the communitycollege system plays such an
enormous role in eitherpreventing people from coming
into the system or helping themstart over and start fresh and
start their life of success whenthey get out.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
That was certainly the story for me.
I mean, it was my probablythird chance to get back in.
I'd just gotten out of themilitary raising a family.
What service.
I was in the Army for years andI went to the Army because I
just had to leave town.
You know, right out of highschool I didn't go to college
and so those six months afterhigh school I found every place
(05:33):
I could get in trouble and Icould sniff it out.
So I had to get out.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Were you getting in trouble before you went to the
Army?
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Yeah, I mean you know I was getting in trouble, but
at least I had.
You know, I had football, I hadsports.
I mean you know I was gettingin trouble, but at least I had.
You know, I had football, I hadsports, I had school, I had
(06:01):
something to to keep me fromjust running all over the place.
But but once that lifted and Ididn, good idea to leave an
18-year-old guy like me allalone.
But that's where I was.
So the Army created that familyfor me, created that structure
for me Structure yeah.
And I wouldn't be here but forthat decision.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I know this is not your interview, but after the
Army, what was your next?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
move.
So, after I spent four years inthe army, I came back.
I had a daughter along the wayand I felt I needed to come back
and be a father you know, notthe greatest father, but I was a
father.
And so that's what motivated meto come back, and I just
started working odd jobs,whatever I could find to figure
(06:41):
it out, wow.
And so, you know, one thing ledto another.
And you know, one day Ienrolled in community college.
And you know, you know whatother place in the world can you
just walk on campus and enrollin college?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And that was my story .
It's unbelievable and when Iwhen I moved to California in 99
, it was unbelievable to seelike the scale of what
California community collegeswere right Like 112 or probably
more now 116 now 116 communitycolleges, no barriers to entry,
whatever you want.
(07:15):
You want to go get your BA oneday and go that route, or if you
want to go hands-on and learn atrade, like it's just the most
brilliant system ever and it'slike game-changing.
And obviously my son is in acommunity college right now.
So whether you're the son of amovie producer or whether you're
a kid in a criminal justicesystem, it has something for
(07:35):
everybody and I'm obsessed.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Well, I know this isn't a podcast about community
colleges, but just think aboutall the Hollywood royalty that
went to community college ArnoldSchwarzenegger, tom Hanks,
george Lucas.
You can go on and on and on.
Those are huge names.
So, scott, one of the projectsthat you lifted up was this
anti-recidivism coalition ARC.
(07:59):
It's done a lot of great workFor our listeners.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
describe what ARC is and what are some of the most
impactful things that have comeout of that project prison.
They were surrounded by a lotof positive energy and positive
(08:22):
individuals and people that were, and then it.
So it started out justbasically as a support network
family and then grew into likedirect services.
So we have five housingprograms at this point.
We have a huge mentorshipprogram.
We have college coordinatorsthat help enroll people and get
(08:42):
them situated on campus and withfinancial aid et cetera, and we
have job developers and careerdevelopers and career readiness,
which gets them kind of gearedtowards a career of their choice
.
We started the largestconstruction union
apprenticeship program forformerly incarcerated people
with the LA Federation of Laborand the Building Trade.
So someone gets out of prisonwithin 12 weeks of paid training
(09:02):
, they are in the union for lifeand we guarantee them their
first union job.
Um, we have.
Uh, before three years ago, ifyou got out of prison and you
were an incarcerated firefighter, you couldn't go into the
firefighting field because ofthe felony on your record.
With governor brown we wereable to build the ventura
training center and we changedthat and we've been able to pass
a bill to allow people toexpunge their records and now
(09:25):
anyone that risks their life tofight fire while they're
incarcerated can become a CalFire firefighter, even an LA
City County firefighterthroughout the state as well.
So lots of career and jobprograms, therapy obviously,
therapy and mental health is ahuge thing, right?
Trauma is real and overcomingthat and getting past it is real
.
And then we've done a lotaround policy change, right,
(09:45):
storytelling, having our memberstell their stories, tell their
successes, go to Sacramento,pass legislation.
So I think we've passed a lotof legislation to make the
system a fairer system.
And just have I literally couldstart listing off the success
stories from Long Beach CityCollege, those original kids
that I referred to you.
One of them is a case managerand social worker and going to
(10:09):
school to get his master's insocial work, working with young
people on a daily basis, helpingthem change their life.
My man, eric, went to thecommunity college and is now
works in the prisons and thejuvenile halls helping people.
Many others are now in the filmand television union.
The same kids I introduced youto when you were the president
of Long Beach City College aremaking $200,000 a year in the
(10:30):
film and television union.
So a lot of success storiesfrom those kids that you met.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
One of the things you just mentioned about an ARC
project.
You mentioned the VenturaTraining Center Fire.
Training Center.
And that rang a bell for mebecause I was involved with then
Nettie Sablehauser, who wastrying to coordinate that
program, and there were just somany obstacles in the way to get
that to happen.
What are some of the greatestobstacles that policymakers put
(10:55):
in your way that they shouldreally think about in terms of
how do they make it easier forcurrent and formerly
incarcerated individuals to getthe kind of opportunities that
you created?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
through ERC.
Quick shout out to Nettie, whois very easy at getting over
obstacles that bureaucrats putinto place.
You know, I feel like everyobstacle that's been put in our
place.
Through relationship andtransparent communication and
(11:27):
proximity, we've been able toget over them.
Bryan Stevenson, who wrote JustMercy, always talks about
proximity.
Right, when you bring peoplewho may not agree with you or
may not understand the issuecloser to the issue.
To meet people, to meet humanbeings, usually they change and
I found that they always doright.
There's no one I brought into aprison or met formerly
(11:48):
incarcerated people that didn'tchange the way they think when
they met human beings that werelike working their asses off for
a better life, right, who hadmade massive changes and
transformation in their lives.
So are there obstacles?
Yes, I mean government itselfcan be an obstacle.
Right, the culture of no isalways an obstacle.
Getting people on board is anobstacle, obviously, in this
(12:10):
issue, very, very conservativelaw enforcement, who don't even
recognize the fact that peoplecan change, can be an obstacle.
But I've been able to get someof the most conservative DAs,
sheriffs, police chiefs on boardjust by showing them respect,
making a relationship, breakingbread, having conversations,
(12:30):
introducing them to people, soit's been fun trying to navigate
that.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
In this current political environment.
I mean no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Well, I would say that 97% of them are going to be
your neighbor.
I don't know if they're going tobe happy about that Within the
next few years.
So who do you want coming outright, right?
Do you want someone who has acollege degree and is passionate
about a career or giving backand going to be in college and
working, living in yourcommunity?
Or do you want someone whoseissues have never been addressed
(13:26):
, who comes out just as bad, ifnot worse?
I think that doesn't seem to beliberal or conservative.
That just seems to be smart,right.
I think it's kind of why NewtGingrich supported a lot of
bills we worked on.
It's why Grover Norquistsupported a lot of bills.
It's why the most conservativewoman in the entire California
(13:46):
legislature, senator ShannonGrove of Bakersfield, is one of
my closest allies that when wehave people in a corrections
system, that it's ourresponsibility to help them and
give them the tools to correctwhatever was broken right.
We're dealing with a lot ofbroken people, a lot of people
(14:09):
that have been through hell andback, a lot of people that
navigated the worst of povertyand they allowed that to turn
them from victim to victimizerand so getting them back to that
I know, not religious, but likechild of God or the person that
they were born to be Right andfor them to see what they really
can achieve.
I think that's.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I think that's huge it is huge and, as you said,
education plays such a criticalrole.
I mean not just in their earlylife, before they go down a path
that leads them intoincarceration, but once they're
incarcerated.
There seems to be a movement toget more and better educational
opportunities to currentlyincarcerated individuals, and
(14:50):
you've been part of that.
We now even have the federalgovernment weighing in, saying
that we can make the Pellprogram available to currently
incarcerated.
It is huge.
So and it's a recognition ofwhat you just mentioned you know
why not invest in them?
Because once they come out,it's much more likely that
they're going to stay out.
So what do you see the role ofhigher education playing going
(15:13):
forward in reducing recidivism?
And if there are educators outthere watching who want to get
involved with currentlyincarcerated individuals, what's
the best advice you can givethem?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Get proximate.
I have a bunch of friends whowere professors on campus that
decided to roll the dice and goteach on the inside, and 100% of
them every one of them say thisis so much easier.
Guess what doesn't exist on theinside Cell phones.
(15:48):
Guess what exists on the insideA captive audience, that's for
sure.
There's a lack of freedom ofmovement, right, you really
can't just skip class, right?
And people that want to changetheir life are going to be
coming towards those classes.
People that don't care are notgoing to be coming towards those
(16:10):
classes no one's forcing themto be there who are not
distracted by their phonesthey're not distracted by so
much of what we're distracted byout here and they take it so
serious.
Every single professor I'vetalked to said this is way
easier than teaching on campus.
These people want it more.
(16:31):
They're hungrier, they workharder, they all do their work.
It's unbelievable, and I'lltell you what's interesting.
Eloy is, I have a friend who'sa correctional officer.
He was a correctional officerat Kern Valley State Prison, a
level four maximum securityprison, where every week there
were stabbings, there weremurders, there were fights,
there were riots, there weredrugs.
(16:52):
Horrible place right.
Right.
And an incredible professor fromBakersfield College decided
that he was going to come inthere His name was Brian
Hirayama and be the firstprofessor I think statewide
before we opened it up to everycommunity college in the state
and every prison to kind ofpilot this.
And he comes onto this veryviolent yard and he starts his
(17:13):
first class in the school area.
And my friend, jeff Irvin, wasan officer and was not that
happy coming to work, whichmeant he wasn't so happy when he
came home.
Maybe he wasn't the best father, et cetera.
And at first I think allcorrectional officers are taught
to resist these types ofpositive things you have a lot
of officers that would saythings like well, my kids don't
(17:34):
get a free education, why dothey get a free education?
Which is so insane, which isnot true.
And I watched Officer Irvin getcompletely transformed.
Being in the building with allthe Bakersfield College students
, he became the biggestproponent of Bakersfield College
.
He then got promoted tosergeant.
Now he's a lieutenant.
He's about to become a captain,but I watched the college
(17:54):
program transform him.
I watched Bakersfield expand tolike a dozen classes on that
yard all in the same semester,then expand to like four or five
other prisons in their area andI think they might be one of
the biggest providers in theentire state at a bunch of
prisons in the Central Valley,with like dozens and dozens of
professors coming in to teachinside who all will tell you
(18:17):
better than my classes on theoutside.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Yeah, I know Bakersfield is a great example
Chaffey College and Rancho.
Paloma is another great example, they do just amazing work.
Yeah, so, scott, you talk aboutgetting proximate.
You get proximate all the time.
You're in these correctionfacilities all the time, and
recently I noticed that youwalked in with Kim Kardashian.
I got to watch it on the latestepisode of Keeping Up with the
(18:41):
Kardashians.
Tell me about that experience.
What was that like and what wasit like walking in with Kim
Kardashian?
Good to know that you watchedthe Kardashians.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Absolutely, and Kim's always welcome to come on the
podcast Tell the world there yougo.
So when I left the moviebusiness and I was just running
ARC, I got a line text from anumber I didn't recognize and it
said hi, scott, this is KimKardashian West.
Someone referred me to you andI've been watching you and
reading about you and I'mthinking about going to law
school and I want you to be mymentor.
(19:08):
And that was a wild text to get.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
So I called her and it really was her and asked her
if she wanted to come to awomen's prison the following
week.
And the next week she canceledeverything, drove two hours in
110 degree weather and came tothe California Institution of
Women in Corona, california, andspent four hours inside with
the women, was super empathetic,was deep, just like a really
real person, and that led us tojust a great relationship over
(19:38):
the last five years where we'veworked on campaigns to free
innocent people.
Right together.
We visited lancaster prison andsan quentin and pelican bay,
all the way up at the oregonborder shout out to college of
the redwoods doing incrediblecollege programs in pelican bay.
And this is the first time that, like I thought, cdcr would
actually let us film, and so Iasked her if we could bring the
(20:02):
cameras inside and shoot anepisode of the Kardashians.
She loved it.
I asked CDCR, they loved it.
So we went in and it was a wildexperience.
I mean, it's always wild whenshe goes inside, but now, with
four cameras going andmicrophones and everything, it
was a big experience.
It was awesome watching thecorrectional officers take their
(20:23):
masks off and just like smileand laugh and get all giddy that
Kim Kardashian was there andKhloe Kardashian both of them.
They were both just wonderfulwith all the correction staff,
wonderful with the guys inside.
They visited a dog program, adog training program in the
prison.
They met with a lot of thecollege students there, both who
are getting their communitycollege degrees from Merced as
(20:45):
well, as there's a Fresno Statebachelor's program there Right,
which is awesome.
Then we went over to thewomen's prison and got to sit
with the women at Chowchilla andthat was awesome and it just
came out Right and obviously,having tens of millions of
people see it.
Obviously her audience is notthe number one audience that
knows this issue, so being ableto tell these stories to a
(21:07):
different kind of audience evokeempathy and a different
demographic.
It's the number one show onHulu, so it was an awesome
experience and she promoted iton her social media.
I mean, she has 350 millionpeople.
I think that's more than thepopulation in the.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
United States A few more than I have.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Yeah, exactly so.
Like there is like real powerin being able to communicate to
that many people and the factthat no other celebrities with
that type of following doanything to make the world a
better place Like she, on aweekly basis, is posting up
things to help people, and Ireally admire that about her.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well, it was a great episode.
I mean, it was really a movingepisode and really highlighted
the work that you've been doingfor so many years.
So congratulations to you forbeing able to highlight that in
front of so many people.
Thank you Don't being able tohighlight that in front of so
many people who don't get achance to go inside a
correctional facility on anygiven day.
So, given all your experiencein prison reform, what are some
(22:09):
of the biggest changes that weneed to make right now in order
to improve the opportunitiesthat these individuals have when
they come out of prison?
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I think, if we talk about extreme sentencing, to me
getting rid of the sentence oflife without parole is a big
priority for me.
I think telling someone,especially someone very, very
young, that they're going to diein prison and nothing they do
to redeem themselves is evergoing to be good enough and they
have no capacity to change.
(22:39):
You're going to be judged basedon this horrible act you
committed as a young person forthe next 50, 60, 70 years.
That's just a hopelesssituation and I'm hopeful that
that law changes.
I think, in terms of preparingpeople, obviously we need more
education, right.
But, as you know running havingrun the entire California
(23:01):
community college system it'snot just about the education
right.
It's about all the supportservices that exist around it.
It's about having a therapistif you need one, right.
It's about having counselorsthat counsel you and can help
navigate you through verycomplex academic pathways.
It's financial aid offices andhow difficult just filling out a
(23:24):
FAFSA form is right.
It's having someone hold yourhand while you're enrolling.
I still don't think theCalifornia community college
system has figured out how tonot make it insanely frustrating
to enroll in school or even geta canvas or log into canvas, et
cetera.
It's like the other day I wastrying to help a young person
(23:46):
enroll in school for their firsttime and both of us got so
frustrated that, like, wait asecond, if I wasn't there he
would have never continued intocollege.
It's like to get into canvasfor your temporary password.
It's got to be into Canvas foryour temporary password.
It's gotta be this letter andthis number, and this has to be
uppercase, this has to belowercase.
And then they're telling usthat's wrong.
It was just insane.
(24:07):
So, just like to help someonenavigate so they don't give up.
That alone is important, right?
So I think all of that togetherneeds to come.
It's not just the education,but it's all the support around
it that leads someone to thefinish line.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
So, scott, you're a storyteller.
You've been involved instorytelling for a long time.
What's one of your favoritestories about an individual that
you saw turn their life aroundbecause of the work that's been
happening in correctionfacilities?
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Well, I mean, one of the first young men I worked
with was a young man namedProphet Walker.
He was oh, I remember Prophet.
Remember Prophet yes 17 yearsold, in juvenile hall, picked up
for a robbery that he andanother person committed on a
train, got sentenced to about adecade in prison, went to
Ironwood Prison and, through avery rural community college in
(24:59):
Blythe, Palo Verde College, gothis AA degree and then went to
Norco Community College.
When he went to Norco Prisonand then, while he was still
incarcerated, applied to theLoyola Marymount School of
Science and Engineering and gothis acceptance letter in the
prison dorm and was able to getout and go into LMU School of
(25:20):
Science and Engineering,graduated, had an incredible job
as an engineer.
He built the Ace Hotel indowntown LA and now he owns a
incredible real estate companycalled Treehouse, is doing a lot
of low-income housing anddevelopment around Leimert Park
and other areas, revitalizingareas, listening to the
community, becoming fullyintegrated within the community,
(25:42):
and he's in the LA Times todayfor a new project that he's
doing.
I'm just so proud of him.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Well, I imagine, as those stories multiply, they
turn around and help otherindividuals and you just build a
whole community that way.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
So many people that I mentored in the prison system
actually work for profit now,wow.
And I have another young personnamed Ramon Escobar who started
a film and television securitycompany and he's hired a hundred
people that came out of jail,prison, juvenile hall to work
security on movie sets andcommercials and TV shows and
(26:18):
he's paid it forward.
And then, like I can't tell you,the hundreds of people that
went through the Hollywood CPRfilm and TV program at West LA
College and are now in the filmand TV union Right, like I've
never seen a program in thecountry that pretty much
guarantees you, if you completeit over 18 months, you're going
(26:40):
to be making six figures for therest of your life.
An 18 month program at acommunity college that walks you
into the union and your nextday of work you're making five
to $600 a day, not five to 600 aweek.
Five to 600 a day, not $500 to$600 a week.
$500 to $600 a day.
You're making $125,000,$150,000 a year if you're
(27:01):
willing to put your head down,make sacrifices, work hard, show
up early, stay late, et cetera.
And so, just like to me, likeall of these success stories are
possible because of programsthat exist at the community
colleges.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
So we talked about the college side, the education
side.
I got to imagine it's alsotough, even when they get that
education, to get an employer toput them to work.
What do you say to employersabout the kind of individuals
that come out of these programs?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I mean, they're going to work harder.
They're going to show upearlier.
They're going to stay laterEvery day.
They're going to work harder.
They're going to show upearlier.
They're going to stay laterEvery day.
They're going to come withgratitude because no one just
handed them a job, because whothey were related to, they had
to work for it.
They have such appreciation forsomeone that's there to help
them change their lives andthey're a better employee.
(27:53):
I know in our construction unionprogram I was talking to the
guy that runs the laborers unionand our guys go into the
laborers bootcamp with 30 othernormal people off the streets
and out hustle everyone.
No one taps out.
They usually lose like 30% ofthe people that start.
Never do we have anyone thattaps out.
(28:15):
And it's the same thing with myfriends at the LA Chamber of
Commerce who have their businessleaders at UPS and Amazon
hiring our guys and saying theseguys come and crush and have
great attitudes.
We've also been able to changea lot of laws right.
Got kind of the ban the boxstuff so they don't have to
check the felony box For thefirefighters.
we were able to pass anexpungement bill with
(28:37):
Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes ofSan Bernardino that allows
people that risk their lives tobe inmate firefighters to fully
expunge their record when theyget out and have no criminal
record.
So a lot's been done.
That's great to hear.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
So, scott, let me ask you one last question as we
begin to wrap up.
We've talked a lot about thework that you've been doing.
What's on the horizon for ScottButton?
What should we be looking outfor?
What kind of projects are youworking on these days?
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yeah, I mean through my film and TV company, one
Community, I've been able totake the storytelling we did at
ARC and kind of scale it on abig way.
So figure out how to tell thesestories in major movies, tv
shows, documentaries, doc serieswith the Warner Brothers and
Universals and Netflixes andAmazons and Apples of the world
(29:25):
distributing them.
Our first film we made rightbefore the pandemic was Just
Mercy with Warner Brothers andhaving Warner Brothers finance a
huge movie with Michael BJordan and Jamie Foxx about the
criminal justice system and thenspend tens of millions of
dollars to market it to tens ofmillions of people around the
world.
Being able to scale thosethings are meaningful.
We just made a movie that wesold at Sundance called Winter
(29:51):
that will be out soon familiesand celebrates mothers and
grandmothers and is a big familycomedy, drama, just joyous
story that's going to be comingout soon.
It's a beautiful film.
So just expect more like filmand tv content that that bring
people up, that unite people,that create empathy and that
bring joy to the world welllisten, scott.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I really appreciate you taking the time to come onto
the podcast and, moreimportantly, I really appreciate
the work that you do.
I mean.
I wish more people would havethe commitment.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
You're one of my heroes.
Well, you know likewiselikewise.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
I mean, you give and give and give and you've never
stopped giving.
So thank you, brother,appreciate it.
It's been great to be here, man, thank you.
Thanks for joining us everyonehere on the Rant Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed myconversation with Scott Budnick.
Please continue to follow us onthis YouTube channel or
wherever you get your favoritepodcasts hit, subscribe and
leave us your comments.
Take care, everyone, and I hopeto see you all again soon here
(30:49):
on the Rant Podcast.
Thank you.
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