Latest / BTG For President / That’s Life Ft. Jason Taylor

Transcript

That’s Life Ft. Jason Taylor · BTG For President

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Go out to la.
• 0:02
  Speaker B: Comin from the city where no pity is. Shell.
• 0:04
  Speaker A: Shell.
• 0:04
  Speaker B: Somebody need to do a song for la.
• 0:06
  Speaker A: Straight up. Hello, my name is Elaine and I'll be your tour guide through South Central Los Angeles. Look, count my nose. Smoke up. I'm from California.
• 0:22
  Speaker B: Where you from? So what?
• 0:24
  Speaker A: I'm from California. Cal. California. California.
• 0:29
  Speaker B: This is Los Angeles.
• 0:30
  Speaker A: Well, where work?
• 0:32
  Speaker B: Mic check, Mic check, mic check. 1212. Mr. Jason Taylor, welcome to the BTG for President podcast. And we here to talk about something special today, aren't we?
• 0:47
  Speaker A: We sure are. Man, it's, it's great to be here. This is the second time I've been here.
• 0:51
  Speaker B: Second time. Right, right, right, right, right, right.
• 0:53
  Speaker A: Second time I've been here.
• 0:55
  Speaker B: But it's, but it's been a while, though. It's been a while.
• 0:57
  Speaker A: It has been a while.
• 0:58
  Speaker B: It's been a while. And in between both episodes, a lot has been going on. So you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta bring us up to speed. First of all, let me, let me reintroduce this gentleman. I have won a championship.
• 1:17
  Speaker A: Yes, you have.
• 1:18
  Speaker B: And his man building. Okay, now look, I'm 43 years old, okay? I do know that I won a championship. I won it with you or against you?
• 1:31
  Speaker A: You won one with me and then won against me.
• 1:34
  Speaker B: We are true rivals and teammates at the same time. Yeah, there was some of the most competitive battles in his league. And I'm talking about, of course, if you guys ever come and visit la, we have some classic vintage leagues out here from the Drew League, the Venice Beach League. You know, we got some historical leagues out here. Right. But this man put together a league. And also the dope thing about it, the neighborhood kids were involved. You know, some of these, A lot of these neighborhood kids that surround the area where the park was at, very talented, and they picked up a lot of their talent. From watching us. Yeah, from watching us. From watching us. And from watching us to playing against us, to playing with us. It was, it was a, it was a dope thing. He didn't realize. Well, I can't say, I can't speak for him, but I didn't realize that the different backgrounds that this man was bringing together just with the basketball in a gym.
• 2:48
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 2:49
  Speaker B: You know what I mean?
• 2:49
  Speaker A: I didn't truly get to know what that was going to look like because when I put that together, it wasn't with an intention to get certain types of people. It just ended up becoming that after
• 3:01
  Speaker B: a while, it was just basketball. It was just us. That's What? Tell them, man. That's what we do out here. If there's anything that we gonna play some basketball until our knees go out.
• 3:11
  Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And for some of us, it already has.
• 3:15
  Speaker B: Exactly. Exactly. The other thing is, what I didn't know until after. After those days, I started playing basketball a long time ago. Competitively, anyway. I might get some shots up here and there, but JT had just went off. I don't know where he went. I mean, we all. That's what we do. We grow, we get older, and we just. We spread out through. Some people move out of state. Some people may have moved out of the country, but we moved away, raised families, get married, relationships, different jobs, whatever the case may be. Life was life in a good way and in, you know, not so good way.
• 3:56
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 3:57
  Speaker B: And in between that time, JT decided that he was going to be an inspiring film director, producer, actor, talent searcher. Like the whole. The same thing that he's done with basketball, he's brought it over to the film world. And when I first seen it, it caught me off guard. It caught me off guard. Cause I'm also. I'm motivated, and I'm just. I told him when he called me the other night, I said, man, I'm happy. I'm proud of you. Cause something that I witnessed you do or found out that you did, that you're still doing outside of what you've already dominated, which was basketball, raising these kids in the streets, and then you go off and hit the cinematic stages and stuff like that. And I'm like, you know, the first thing that we all say, where's my part at? What's my role? You know what I mean? That's the first thing we say. Because it's like he took the chance. And I mean, I didn't even know it was a passion of his at all. You know, I'm so used to him starting a fast break, you know what I mean? I didn't realize that he was press and record and directing films and. And. And et cetera. And then. Not only that, he has a very, very unique way of just finding people talking. He talks to people, and it's just all walks of life, it don't matter who you are, what you are, where you've been and how long you've been here. If he finds something that he appreciates or likes about you and he talks to you some way, somehow you just a part of his life. And that's what we're here to talk about, is his. His new. A new goal. As said, a new creative, what can I call it? Masterpiece, I should say.
• 6:03
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 6:03
  Speaker B: You know, because, because one of the things that we've all wanted to do is have that, have that, have another chance. But before we get to that, let's. From, let's hear from him where he's been, what he's been doing, how long he's been doing it, et cetera. Jt, you got the floor, man.
• 6:26
  Speaker A: Look, I, I, first off, thank you so much for that. Ultimately, I, I love what I do, and it doesn't matter what it is that I do, but I love doing the things that I do. And especially film, like film and TV is, is a big part of my life because from the time that we had the last conversation, even the time I disappeared, like, I started interning at BET when I was in college and I did that for about three, four years, and that went really, really well. And I learned a whole lot about the business. I was in the same offices as Robbie Reed. I was in the same offices with some of the greatest minds that television has. And the biggest thing that I learned was to take my shot and not apologize for it. That was the biggest thing. A lot of people used to tell me to not get trapped because there is this idea that we think we know what we want until we get it and then we realize that's not what it is that we needed. And I'm glad that I didn't get trapped in finding that out too late. So I was able to branch off on my own, did a few films, won an award with, with my brother for one of them, which was super excited because that was the first time we ever worked together and we were able to win an award on our first project together. So I'm actually blessed to say that we are both award winning filmmakers. And now, and now they were. You know, I had to do a lot of soul searching when it came to this career because Hollywood filmmaking, this stuff can stress you out to the 10th degree. And that's just the very beginning. It can, it can drive you nuts, it can make you want to quit, it can make you want to throw stuff out the window. It can make you want to destroy everything that you've built for however many years you've worked on it, you know, and it's not because you don't love it, but because it's not giving you what you need. I still feel like Hollywood isn't consistent enough for me at this stage of my life because of the fact that I'm not in that Samuel L. Jackson stage. I'm not on that Ryan Coogler stage. I'm not on that Spike Lee stage. I'm not on that or level. So to say I'm not on that John Singleton level yet. I'm not on that level where Gina Prince bythewood and Regina King and Lena Waithe and Shonda Rhimes. I'm not on that platform in that level yet. So it's not giving me any consistent money. So like outside of filmmaking I work a full time job at the LA County.
• 9:07
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 9:07
  Speaker A: And that's just to pay the bills, you know. And that's the most consistent thing I have. So as I pursue my career, you know, just put it this way, I was on set on Sunday from 7am to 9pm and then I rested Monday and had to be back at work on Tuesday to work an eight hour shift.
• 9:28
  Speaker B: Get right back to it, right back to it, right back to it.
• 9:32
  Speaker A: These things happen and I'm truly blessed to be in a position I'm in because I get to learn a lot of what I, I do and I get to learn how it works for me and I balance it really well. Sometimes I don't know how to, and sometimes people are asking me how I do it and I honestly don't have an answer. But I've learned to balance it because it's all about prioritizing, but it also is about not going off the deep end whenever something doesn't happen. So if film doesn't work out for me, I'm not going to be like, oh my God, it's not working. Let me just throw it all away and just do something else. Like sometimes you have to stick with what hurts, you know, and it, you have to build it. And then my, my dp, my cinematographer Kurt, gave me the best advice in the world. He told me, you can't control people's reactions, so don't worry about the outcome, focus on the output. So because I don't know how everyone's going to react to everything, I can't control it so I shouldn't focus on it. All I can focus on is making sure I give people the best version of the product that I want them to see. You know, I remember listening to Ryan Coogler's interviews and someone asked him which one of his five films was his favorite and he said that he didn't have a favorite because at the time that he made each movie that was all. He was given everything he could to make that the best movie he could possibly be. And that was what motivated him to do everything he needed to do.
• 11:04
  Speaker B: Sometimes I feel like sometimes all you gotta do is look towards the past to see where you get your motivation from. And I say that because when you look at the film that we're about to talk about, I mean, there's some people that inspired you to be ambitious and to keep going and be consistent. You just brought up a friend of yours who gave you some words of wisdom. And I'm pretty sure there are some people that you knew prior to him that helped you get to, for one, help you build you up to the person that you are today. You know what I mean?
• 11:36
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 11:37
  Speaker B: Which is the most important thing. And is there anyone special in mind that you could pinpoint and say, you know, this person is the reason for this?
• 11:50
  Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, who. There's. I will say there is. There are about five people who I would consider key, integral pieces of who I am. And the sad part is all of them have passed. And it was in a span of about five years that it all happened. Right. About five to about. About five years. I've lost one of my really, really good friends. And he believes in. In me so much. His name was Sam Sarpong. People know of him because he was one of the first black models for Tommy Hilfiger and Carl Kai and Guess. And he was a big, huge person. I was on 106 and park and bet that a lot of their behind the scenes, a lot of their red carpet stuff. If you were to. If you were to Google Sam Sarpong, you will understand how big he is. And then another person was my friend Kumasi, who was a filmmaker like I was and ended up passing away from Sickle Cell. And then my grandfather. My grandfather's probably the biggest supporter that I've ever had and who he is actually the motivation for this film. And we'll get into that more detail. But the other two is my friend Derek, Derek Barrett. He's known me since he was, what, two years? Since I was two years old. Helped raise me, played ball with us at Ardmore and was such an integral piece because he used to always believe in me. Like, the last time I saw him, we went to. I went to his house because he was having a party for his friend that just got out of the hospital. And the whole time that we were there, he was talking, he was bragging about me. And I just went to just hang out with him and meet his friends. And he literally spent that entire time bragging about me. And I remember him Also saying, hey, when you gonna put me in a movie? When you gonna put me in a movie? I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna do it. And after he passed, I realized I didn't get a chance to. So any project that I have, I do it. So, like, in the film, there's a part where one of the investors of the commercial that they're shooting has, quote, unquote, ide of the character is Mr. Barrett. And that's my way of honoring him and saying, you are finally in my movies.
• 14:14
  Speaker B: Right.
• 14:14
  Speaker A: You know, I wanted to do that for him because he believed in me wholeheartedly. And that was, you know, that was a key person. And then, of course, my other grandfather passed away in six, actually. Cuz. Jesus Christ. My. My grandmother passed away last year, so it's. There's so many integral pieces, but my grandfather would probably be the biggest influence because he's the reason why we're having this conversation about this project, because my relationship with him is the center of this entire project.
• 14:47
  Speaker B: I say we get right to it, then I say we get right into the story behind this actual film.
• 14:56
  Speaker A: Yeah. Dang. That's crazy.
• 14:58
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what do you say? What was what. What? Did you have a dream? Was it something that has been you. You've been thinking about since he passed away? Was it a movie or a show that. That you seen that sparked an idea? What was it that. That made you come up with this concept and call these people up and said, hey, I got this idea and I want to put it together.
• 15:24
  Speaker A: It was because I had this. I had this question in my head that I kept asking myself. Ultimately, I knew what the answer was, but I just kept asking myself anyway because I just wanted to hear it one more time. But it was. I wonder, is my grandfather proud of me today? I was wondering if he would be proud of the man I am. And I usually thought of those moments in those moments of doubt, in those moments where I didn't know what was going on, in those moments where I was questioning if I wanted to keep going with film. And I would always ask, I wonder if he'd be proud of me for doing this or for sticking to it or for just continuing to go. And I used to always ask myself that question. And ultimately I realized that I knew what the answer would be. I knew he would be proud of me. But it wasn't. Excuse me, it wasn't about that. It was about me wanting to hear it one more time.
• 16:18
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 16:18
  Speaker A: And then that's really what started to drive the story because I didn't get to have a final conversation with him before he passed. I never had that. I. I never got the opportunity to go. No, scratch that. Let me. Let me not say that I did. I had plenty of opportunities to go. I didn't give myself the chance to go because I kept telling myself I didn't want to see him in that state because he's always been the strongest person to me. I didn't want to see him laying in that bed. I didn't want to see him doing that. And a part of me used work as a way to escape that. I felt like I had time. I felt like I had more time. So the moment I found out that he passed, it broke me.
• 17:02
  Speaker B: Yep.
• 17:03
  Speaker A: Because I didn't get a chance to. And I was about to go see him too. I had mustered up the energy to finally go and see him. And then at either three or five in the morning, my mom gives me the call. And that's also translated. In the film, the guy had an opportunity to see his grandfather, and his mom is the one that gives him a call and lets him know the news. It's. It's an interesting thing because I worked so much already, but then to throw yourself into more work is insane. And there's a level of. There's a level of pain that I will always carry because I wasn't there the way I wanted to be there or the way he would want me to be there. And I didn't get a chance to have that conversation with him. So I wrote this film called that's Life to give myself that emotional closure so that I could move on and that I could have that conversation with him. And that's what I did. And it's not completely the way my life is because me and my grandfather had a great relationship.
• 18:17
  Speaker B: But
• 18:19
  Speaker A: I wanted to do something that allowed us, you know, and I mean, my team and I to come back together, but to create something meaningful.
• 18:33
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 18:34
  Speaker A: And this film was that opportunity for us. You know, just based off conversations that I've had with cast and crew. The one thing that we all have in common with this project is we literally all have someone, at least one person that we would want to talk to again that we didn't have an opportunity to. And those moments were never going to get back, you know? And then after talking to my wife, I remember when her grandmother was about to pass away, she had this moment before she passed where she grieved. And then after, when she actually passed, she was fine. And she had to do that because she had to put all the pieces together. But I never knew that people would grieve before someone passed, and that was new to me.
• 19:27
  Speaker B: Oh, yeah. It's a thing. It's definitely a thing. It's a feeling. It's a feeling that you can't quite describe and that you also wrestle with because it's kind of like you feel it, but you don't want to believe it at the same time.
• 19:41
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 19:44
  Speaker B: It's.
• 19:44
  Speaker A: It's. I feel like it's this. This declaration and you know they're going to pass and you're trying. Like, there's a part of me that never wants to admit anyone's about to die. So the idea of grieving before they leave is like. It's like me telling me, like, it's gonna happen. I've never given myself that opportunity to feel that pain. But I'm grateful for this film because it actually allowed me to be there for my grandmother before she passed. How do you.
• 20:16
  Speaker B: How do you think this film. How did. From your experience, like, what does a film like this. What does it do to you at this point in your life?
• 20:29
  Speaker A: It makes me cherish people in my family and friends in a way that I should have always appreciated and cherished them.
• 20:39
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 20:40
  Speaker A: Because sometimes we take our friends for granted, Sometimes we take our family for granted. And we're always saying, oh, it's my cousin. Oh, he's just calling for this. Or, oh, this is my boy. Yeah, I'll call him back.
• 20:51
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's the phone. It's the phone calls, jt. It's the phone calls.
• 20:56
  Speaker A: It is. And sometimes we don't ever. We don't ever know what's going on on the other side of that phone call.
• 21:01
  Speaker B: Yeah. That's.
• 21:03
  Speaker A: How many times. How many times have you watched a TV show and you see people get upset because they're like, that person was trying to call me about this, and I didn't answer because I was busy.
• 21:16
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 21:17
  Speaker A: And then they don't. And then that's the last thing they hear. And then you say. Then they tell you. The last thing I ever told them was that I didn't want them to do what they did, or I didn't like the fact that they did this, and they. Now they have to live with that last words, those last words that they told that person, you know? And it's like, that's what it does more than anything. It allows me to cherish those moments, even if I have to answer and they're. Venting. Let them. Or they're talking.
• 21:46
  Speaker B: Yeah, let them get it off. Gotta let them get it off.
• 21:49
  Speaker A: I don't have to say nothing for the whole hour and a half that they want to talk. But if they are. If they. If they feel like you're there and if you're listening to them, then that's a moment that they'll remember, but that's a moment that you'll remember too.
• 22:03
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, I think the one thing I think is dope about this is because you've created something that. I don't care who it is. If you had a. If you had a very intimate or important relationship with someone, and nine times out of ten, like you said, we never get that opportunity to just. Cause who, who, who has that true. That true dialogue or that true conversation with somebody, knowing that this person is going to pass away. First of all, you don't want to accept it. That's one. So it's going to be difficult for you to sit up there and talk to them about your feelings, their feelings, and how y' all feel towards each other, knowing that, you know, whenever that time comes, you won't be able to express that again. You don't want to believe that, but you can feel it in your gut, you know? But it also kind of like how you said about your wife, once everything was done, you start to feel a little bit better. I'm gonna tell you right now. You will. But the pain will always be there. The pain will always be there because these are people that are important in your life. You've been knowing them, they've been knowing
• 23:14
  Speaker A: you
• 23:17
  Speaker B: for the longest. Right. They know you. They've ra. They know they. You get some of your personality traits from them.
• 23:25
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 23:25
  Speaker B: You know what I mean? And I think that's the important thing, because when people watch this, they're going to be looking at something. It's kind of like. It's kind of like a Marvel movie now. People are hip to Easter eggs and things. Some people have to go and watch these movies multiple times just to see, hey, I didn't get that. Or, you know, they're talking about this online. I didn't see that. Let me go see it again there. I believe, and I haven't seen it yet, but I believe they're going to watch this and they're not going to understand. You already just. You already just shared a piece of information about the film, where the names of this film is going to be very important to share, right?
• 24:11
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The ironic Part is, this film was intentionally done. And before I get into that, I. I wanted to mention there is a level of pain that you get from knowing someone's about to pass and then having to have that conversation with them. It's a deeper pain when you don't. When it becomes something unexpected and it becomes something that happens and you have no idea, and it happened out of nowhere. That. That's a deeper pain.
• 24:40
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 24:40
  Speaker A: And those conversations, there's no. Like, there's no way you don't start having those deep conversations out of the blue. You end up having them. But what I'll say is, when you have conversations with people, just enjoy the moments. Enjoy the moments, because that's the important thing. Right? So when you talk about. When we mentioned in this film and we talk about the names there are. And I mentioned about my friend Derek and his name being in there. But you think about. I have four characters in this film. The first character, his name is Joseph Henderson. That's actually the names of my grand. Both of my grandfather's middle names. Walter Joseph St. Louis, Wheeler, Henderson, Taylor, the third. So I got their middle names, and I use that for the main character's name. And then Serenity. Walter. Serenity, meaning peace and being serene, being hopeful. And then his. Her last name being Walter is my grandfather's first name. My mom's dad. My paternal. No, my maternal grandfather's name. And then you have Vita Louise. Vita. Louise is funny because it's my reminder. Vita meaning life in Spanish. And Louise being my. My paternal grandmother's name. That was my reminder to let me know that that is my last living grandparent and she is still alive. And she is about to be 97. She's about to be 97. And that woman is still strong, still loves the Lakers, believes that they're gonna win.
• 26:19
  Speaker B: Shout out.
• 26:21
  Speaker A: Yep. You know, tells me that I'm gonna be the next Tyler Perry. You know, she loves me. That is my best friend. And then the character that, you know, resembled my grandfather, his name was Frank Henderson. And we know about Henderson, But Frank was a significant thing because my grandfather used to listen to Frank Sinatra. And he told me one day when we were having a conversation, he said, if you want to know what my life was like, listen to my way. And I said, okay. And after he passed, I listened to my way, and I could not help but cry every single time I heard that song. But after that, it made me listen to Frank Sinatra even more. And now one of my favorite songs of his of all time is Fly Me to the moon. And I look at that. And I wanted to honor his love, our love, and our shared love for Frank Sinatra now and name him Frank in the movie. So that's the. Those are the significance. That's the significance behind each of those names. And that was all done intentionally, even down to the color of what the outfits they were wearing, down to the color of the walls, down to the color of the set. And that was even better because my wife. Shout out to my wife. My wife put together teams of people of Pas and built a set in three hours. Painted 30ft of yard, 30ft of wall, put the couch there, dusted it off, painted the door, built the. Put the canopy, the me canopy, the vanity mirror together, dressed the entire set, made it look incredibly amazing. And now it's her first time she's ever done that.
• 28:10
  Speaker B: That's dope.
• 28:11
  Speaker A: Shout out to my wife for that.
• 28:13
  Speaker B: That's dope. And that you got a partner that's gonna help you that bring the vision together. You know what? One of the dopest things that I find about this is that as a creator, I think it's dope that you can create something with no meaning behind it, throw it out there, and see what the world says about it. But I also think it's dope when you put in a lot of detail that they may not know and they might not necessarily understand, because, again, this is not a marvel thing, but this is a marvel trait where you'll put things into the movie where they might not get it the first time, they might not understand it because they don't know. They don't know the background. They might not know the real names of your. Your. Your. Your. Your grandfathers, your uncles, your aunties, etc. When you got something that you intentionally take time on and you put these little Easter eggs in there and you put it out to the world, I think that's more so for you than it is. Than it is for them. If they. If they catch on and they find out and that's dope, that's some information they could learn about. And I've seen people break down films and say, hey, did you guys miss this? Did y' all see that? That's cool. But all of this intentional stuff, that's for you. At the end of the day, that's you saying, man, this is my creative juices flowing. But this is also paying homage to the people that I care about, and I love whether they could be in it or physically or. That's me just saying, hey, this Film is for y'. All.
• 29:51
  Speaker A: Yeah. And that's what it. That's what it ultimately comes down to. Right. Like, sometimes we. We want other people to enjoy what we create, and we have this desire to present it to people, and they love it, and then they love us, and then we have this idea like, we're going to be great and people are going to love us and people are going to talk about me. And. Yeah, that's all great, wonderful, fine and dandy. But when you think about it, at the end of the day, you have to build this stuff for. For you. And that's what it's about. For me. I did this for me. I did this because that's what I wanted. I felt like that's what I needed. And I didn't have to worry about, you know, figuring out how I wanted to do it. It was like, what do I want? How do I want it to be? And that's what I did. And because I did it, that's. That's how everything kind of worked out.
• 30:46
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 30:47
  Speaker A: So I did it for me. And the fact that other people can appreciate it is a bonus for me.
• 30:53
  Speaker B: Right, Right.
• 30:54
  Speaker A: You know, like I said, I may. I did this because I needed some emotional closure for myself.
• 31:00
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think I. I think that they'll be dope. Thing about that is whether or not the people involved in this can relate to you. This is a relatable. This is a relatable situation for the world. You know what I mean? Yes. Now, I do wanna give you some time to. As we're approaching the end of this beautiful interview, I do want you to speak more about the people that actually help you put this idea together. I know you mentioned your wife. I know you mentioned the cameraman. I don't know if I gave him buckets or not back in the day. I don't know when you sent me the picture. I do remember him, but I don't remember if I gave him a buckets tonight. He could have gave me buckets. Who knows? But I did win a championship. That's all that matters.
• 31:44
  Speaker A: That is hilarious.
• 31:46
  Speaker B: But I will. I want to say. I want to give. I want to give you an opportunity to highlight the people that was on and behind the production.
• 31:56
  Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. I want to say you gave him some buckets, but he gave. He gave a lot of people buckets, too. So, you know, okay, that's.
• 32:03
  Speaker B: That's peace.
• 32:04
  Speaker A: Shout out. Shout out to Kurt. But no, I mean, I have, like. I've built this team over the last Five to six years. Some people I work with on more than five or six projects, some I've literally just met in this for the first time, this project. But I think one of the. The. One of the people that I really, really, truly need to give some flowers to is my producer, Monique. She has. She's always been dedicated to film and tv. She has a whole platform she has called what We Watch. And she has her own film festival that she's going into year four with, and that's actually going to be where we premiere the film this year in October. But she has done an amazing job of being the executive producer, but more specifically, being the partner that I needed to put this together, because it was a lot of things that we had to do. And she came in, was like, all right, what do we need? I'll do this. I did that. I've done this. I've done that. I already reached out to this person, and that's what I needed at this point. And sometimes when you are working with people, you always figure, like. And it's like, if you do a group project, you know this. You have three people that are working on a group project. You know one person's gonna do it, then you know the other person is not going to do it, then the other person that doesn't do it gets all the credit, even if they didn't do anything.
• 33:30
  Speaker B: Right.
• 33:31
  Speaker A: But for me, I was blessed to work with on a group project where everybody really pulled their weight. And Mo was really one person that pulled her weight, because she is. And the greatest thing, like, we're both Panamanian. Like, that was a big, huge thing for me. Like, the fact that I was able to really give, like, give this my all. But to work with someone who understands our culture. Yeah, in my culture, that was. That was huge. Right then. You talk about, like, my gaffer and my grip, like Brian the cr. I'm tell you right now, I've known Brian since he was 2 years old. And to see him on set right now in his 20s and seeing this, the. The level of experience he has, it is mind blowing, because he knew more about the set than some of the people that were on set that were doing the job. And there's nothing against them, but he has that level of experience. And that's stuff that you can't be taught. Like, you have to. To learn that experience. You have to earn that experience. He knew it, and he was an integral piece of just the puzzle that was this film. I mean, he. He is literally gonna work every single One of my sets moving forward. That's. That's what I'll tell you.
• 34:50
  Speaker B: And that's how it's supposed to be, by the way.
• 34:52
  Speaker A: And that's how it was supposed to be. Right then you have my. You have two of my other producers, Kim and Kayla. Kim and Kayla are two of my really, really, really dear friends. I mean, those are my sisters for life. I've met both of them over the last five years. Kayla has been with me since 2019. Kim has been with me since 2021. I brought Kim as a writing partner. Didn't even realize, you know, how extensive her. Her background was. This woman has been on a lot of sets. She was a writer, and she was in a writer's room for All American. You know, she does a lot of stuff, you know, with, with Kevin Hart and the LOL Network. She's done a whole lot. And the fact that she is working with me when she doesn't have to is a blessing. You know, she's working with me on a whole nother TV show idea, and she's turning my whole TV show idea into a book. But it's like that partnership that I built with her and Kayla, like, I remember going into, like, you know, into the Hot and Cool Cafe over in Leimer park every Wednesday, and me and Kayla and, and, and a few other people used to sit there, and Jessica Ross, my friend Jessica Ross, we used to literally go to the Hot and Cool Cafe in Leimer park, sit there for an hour and a half and just write.
• 36:18
  Speaker B: It's vibes over there, though. You gotta let them know there's some vibes over there.
• 36:22
  Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. It was literally the vibe that we needed for what we were doing. And it was amazing. Like, it was, it was like how people run over to Starbucks now. We were going to the Hot and Cool Cafe. Like, we were loving that vibe. Everybody in there were creatives. Like, it was. It was a creative atmosphere. So that was the amazing thing. And then the biggest. Another big, huge shout out is my first ad. Iori, man, that woman was the boss on set. And she did her thing. 100% did her thing. She came in, had. She took my script that I had all my notes on and. And went even more in depth with her notes just to make sure that we stayed on task. Yeah, he was coming to me, telling me, hey, we need. We got about five more minutes. Hey, we need to get this shot up. Hey, we gonna have lunch? I'm like, all right, cool. She was on her job. She did an amazing job. And that was her first time working, first AD with me on this project. But she worked with me before another project I have as a production coordinator. Like, she's extremely talented. And she brought her husband on board and he was our behind the scenes photographer. We had another guy that. His. His name was Chris. He was recommended through another friend of mine, James, and he came on and did the BTS videography. So he got, he captured all the moments behind this behind the scenes. We had Adam Johns, who is my editor, stepped in as an art department PA too. Like how many people, how many editors you know, will. Will come to set and paint too, as they go and make sure the edits. Right? Yeah, like that's, that's an incredible thing. And then we had our key PA Bray, man. I'm gonna tell you that right now. Bray literally drives. He drove two set from Bakersfield. He drove two hours at, at five in the morning just to be on set by seven in the morning as dedication, just to be there with us. And I will always, I will always keep this man on my sets because not only does he know what to do, but he doesn't even have to come to me and ask me questions anymore. He already knows what we need and he is that good at his job. And we him gotta talk because I don't want him to remain a PA forever. So we definitely will have that. But I mean, you also think about Kelly, who was our production coordinator this, this film. She did an amazing job just keeping everybody's contracts together, keeping everybody working, working with Kayla, who was our product manager. And then a big, huge help for us this year or this film was Roy. He came on as our audio engineer and he just, he did an amazing job. Me and him had a conversation this morning about the film and we talked about that. The. The most impactful scene in his film. And he said he was crying after it was done because it was that powerful. It was that relatable to him. And that's what it's. So that's what it's about, right? You bring people who believe in this project just like you do. And I'm blessed to have all these people. But you also. Now this person right here is who I call my Ruth Carter. And if anybody knows who Ruth Carter is, she is the. I. What I consider is the. The greatest costume designer of all time. She's done Black Panther. She's done do the Right Thing. She's done. She's got to have it. She's done almost every major black. She's Worked on with Spike Lee. She's. She's. If you were to search Ruth Carter, you would understand how important she is. And I have my own version of that in my friend Aaliyah.
• 40:05
  Speaker B: She'll be in her bag.
• 40:07
  Speaker A: Literally, she put it on me. Her will have conversations, and I'm like, this, I need. And she'll give me a complete breakdown of everything from. From what they are wearing to how they're going to wear it, to what their hairstyle is going to be, to the accessories. She. And. And that's the way she works. I remember telling her after the first time I met her, you gonna work on every set? I do. And if she's not available, I'm not filming. Yeah, that's how it goes. And her partner that she works with, Kennedy, is, My goodness gracious, probably one of the most stylish women I've ever met in my life. She can style just about everything, literally everything. And she is in them 2. Working together on set is just like a. Like a tag team. If you are a wrestling fan, that's like Demolition. That's like the New Day. That's like the Legion of Doom. Like, that's like, what other one? Nwo. Like, that's how. That's how good they are. Like, you know, you are getting instant classics every time they are on set. And they work so well together.
• 41:12
  Speaker B: So.
• 41:12
  Speaker A: So I'm super grateful for that. And then Kenya, who was my script supervisor, she came on board and did her thing as well. Shout out to my entire Pete. Like my. All my Pas Derinka. Veronica, Maya Kamau. Like, we've. We put together a team, right? We put together a team, but then you have to bring up the cast, and we bring up the cast. You have to bring up the casting director. And the casting director is Lacey. And my goodness gracious, there's not enough good things I can say about Lacey. She's projects. She's casted eight of my projects and casted one of my projects twice. She is a savant when it comes to casting. She has. She has a family. And in. In between her having a family and her working, she looked at over 500 submissions for this film and then narrowed it, and then with her help, narrowed it all the way down to the four people we got. Come on now. Like, work. That's work. Like, how many people. People don't even want to do that in general.
• 42:22
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 42:22
  Speaker A: People don't even want to work, but she works, has a family, and then managed to do that. This woman isn't it's.
• 42:28
  Speaker B: Called a specialty. She has a specialty.
• 42:31
  Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. But then you have to go down to the wonderful cast, and these four people I am forever indebted to because they helped bring my story to life. Vita Louise was played by Maria Marea Cage. That woman is so incredibly talented. So incredibly talented. And it's not even funny how talented she can be. And I'm looking forward to working with her on more stuff because the amount of charisma and personality that she has is infectious. I don't even think she has bad days. That's how. That's how great her personality is. Then you also have the person who played Frank Henderson, Paul Jerome. Paul Jerome is incredible. I. Funny thing is, I actually knew about Paul before he in audition for my movie, because I would see him on all those Dhar Mann videos, all those vertical videos on Facebook and YouTube and stuff like that. He was casted in so many of them. I used to always see him. So I was like, yo, this dude is extremely talented. And then we had a conversation. I say his audition, and then we seen him on set, and everybody was like, yo, this man right here has got it. He is extremely talented. So shout out to Paul for his incredible gift that he has. I mean, man is incredible. And then my two. My two leads, my God, I mean, what else can I say about Ms. Serenity, aka Kia Dorsey and Mr. Joseph, aka Terry Wayne Jr. I mean, both of them together, they were. They were prepping for the shoot way before they even got anything done. And they did all the work on their end. Terry is incredible. Kia is incredible. Kia's facial expressions is enough to sell a film. And you give her dialogue. Oh, my God. Yeah. I'm the cast and the crew that I had, and I had to make sure I mentioned everybody, but the cast and crew that I had were. It was a dream come true.
• 44:43
  Speaker B: Shout out to the cast. Shout out to the cast. Shout out to the whole entire team. And I guess what's left to say is what needs to be done in the future to get this film shown? Like, what else? What do you need for the listeners out there, the supporters out there? What needs to be done to, you know, have this film, this masterpiece be shown to the world?
• 45:10
  Speaker A: You know, we're in a day and age where money is tight, and we understand that, right? But we also. And I'm about to call a few people out, but we also are of the same mindset that if we want a pair of shoes or if we want to go to a Beyonce concert, where you gonna Save up money to go.
• 45:27
  Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
• 45:29
  Speaker A: So the way I'll say this is, right now, what we need is we need the financial support to get across the finish line. We are already 70% of the way. We just need help to get the last 30% out of the way. We've done a lot of work on our end to provide everyone with enough information to support this film. This film is important because there's a lot of people who can relate to this film. But more importantly, this film is something that everyone needs. Their soul needs this. And I know we're not worried about people's out, like the outcome and how people are gonna react to it, but I know for a fact that people are going to relate to this film and we just need that financial help to get across the finish line. You know, we are. We always talk about original stories. We loved Sinners. We love Sinners so much that people went to go see it three or four times, and that was an original story. But the reason why it was so successful, it wasn't because of the work that Ryan put in, because that was amazing. It was because of the response it got. It was because of the support it got. There were people who were lining up at several theaters in a week to go see Sinners.
• 46:41
  Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
• 46:43
  Speaker A: We all wanted to see that film because we wanted to support Ryan. And now this is an opportunity for us, for people to support my team and I at an early stage. Imagine what we were like. We were supporting Ryan with Fruitville Station. We were. We were supporting John Singleton with Boys in the Hood. We were supporting Gina Prince Bythewood. When Love and Basketball came out, we were supporting Yvette Lee Bowser when Living Single came out, we were. We were supporting a lot of these people when they brought their project out because it was. We want us to support them. And no matter what they came out with, it was awesome. I always say we don't want to, don't, don't support the product. Support the machine that creates the product. Support our team and I, because that's. Life is just one thing that we're going to be doing. We have so many other things that we're going to do and we would love the support because we always talk about, we want original stories, we want original movies, we want original stories. And then we complain about all the sequels that come out, all the others, all the movies that don't make sense, that come out. Me and my wife go to the movies and half the time she's saying it's not a good Movie.
• 47:57
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 47:57
  Speaker A: I'm like, this is. But people spend thousands and millions of dollars on these things, right? We don't need that much. And we probably have one of the greatest movies that people will see that people need. And I'm just. That's just me bragging a little bit, right? We just need that stuff. We just need that financial support, because we have an original story that will mean a whole lot to everybody that watches it. This is relatable to everyone. Everyone has someone that they would love to talk to one more time, and this film shows us what that looks like. You can be successful, you can grieve, you can deal with it, you can embrace those feelings, and then you can continue to live life, because life doesn't stop.
• 48:39
  Speaker B: Yeah, Life.
• 48:40
  Speaker A: Life doesn't determine. Oh, you're grieving. Oh, let me just stop. No, it does not. It keeps. It keeps going. So because it keeps going, we have to keep going. And this film showcases what that's like. So I'm appreciative of not only the time, but of your support. So anyone that supports us, you know, please, you know, go. Go to the Kickstarter campaign, search for that's Life. If you were to Google me, Jason, Keith, Taylor, all the information for that's Life comes up. You can go on our. Our Instagram page, that's Life film project. We have a lot of ways for you to get some information, and we. We will really, truly support. We will truly love the support because that's what we're looking for. You know, this is the opportunity for us to change the game. We talk about how Hollywood isn't meant for us colored folks, us black people, you know, minorities. And then when we have an opportunity to push one of us, we don't pull the trigger because, oh, well, you know, I gotta go get lunch. I don't know. I gotta go buy these shoes. Oh, I got, like, come on out. Like, we really, truly need the support, you know, And I'm not trying to say that to just complain, but that's really what we need, right? We already had. We already 70% of the way. We're not asking for you to donate 300 if you do, great, but now ten dollars. 25. A hundred dollars. Whatever you can give, whatever you. Whatever your heart feels like you can give. That's what we're looking for.
• 50:13
  Speaker B: Oh, well, look, as if anybody can relate to that, it's definitely myself as a podcaster. So when you're looking for a certain type of support, whatever you do creatively, you tend to look towards the people that, who, who is asking for that type of entertainment or product. And it's just somebody that you just want to be able to support, like somebody that you knew, somebody that you know, somebody that you love. So I get it. Especially when you brought up the whole sinners thing, because I did go see it twice. I did, I did, I saw about five times. Yeah. As we should. Now, in closing, I have a question, but I feel like the answer is already there. I feel like the answer is already there. The question is why this career, you know, you could be doing so many other things. We, I, in the beginning, very beginning, we mentioned how you have a very unique skill on how you could bring people from all different backgrounds together and enjoy a sport or enjoy each other's company playing that sport. Not too many people that could do that in this world. But when it comes to, when it comes to this film stuff, it's like, why not? You know, it's basically you painting a picture of your creative thoughts. And then not only that, tying in your personal experiences will always help. Will always help. Because a lot of your personal, and I don't know, all of your personal situations, you know, but a lot of your personal, your past tying into your films, a lot of people will be able to relate to it. You know, sometimes it might be a little bit different. I've lost both of my parents. I've lost, I lost all of my grandparents as of this past February. So it was one of those things where I could relate to losing some of the head honchos or all of my head honchos. And so watching a film like this will probably bring up some old emotions, but it's definitely something to think about. Cause it's interesting to know if we could ever have that, you know, that last five, 10, 15, maybe even 30 minutes with that person again to talk. So to ask a question like why this, I think, is self explanatory, right?
• 52:52
  Speaker A: It is, it is self explanatory. If I have to go into a little bit more detail, it's just about. I love storytelling. Like I love storytelling because I've always been that kid that has a big imagination, you know, I have always loved people's stories. I've talked to people because I've learned their stories, I've learned who they are. And that's what made me, you know, connect with them in a way that I did because I learned their stories. And me being creative, I've always enjoyed writing stories. I just never knew what, how I was going to do it and what I was going to do. So screenwriting came, and that was like, oh, this is. This is it. This is all I need. You know, this is what I. This is what I'm going to do. And that's how it came about, you know, from everything that I've ever done. Stories used to help me when all those days where I didn't, like, didn't like myself, or on those days where I felt like I just needed to get away. I went to the movies at, like, 12:30 in the afternoon when I knew nobody was going to be there. And I would watch a movie with two other people in the entire theater. I would watch the movie. I've been leaving. I'm like, whatever was bothering me before, it's over. I don't care about it because I. You know, and it's like, sometimes that's what we need. Right? But that's the important part about storytelling, is it literally can give you. It can make you feel something that you don't. That you didn't think you would ever feel. But it can also help explain the things that you do feel that no one else can ever tell you. And that's why I love storytelling, because at the end of the day, you know, you get to expand on something. And now who doesn't like creating people? I mean, I get to create characters all day long. I mean, look at Star Wars. I was created by George. Like, there are so many people who watch Star wars, and Star wars is not. Star wars is.
• 54:41
  Speaker B: Is.
• 54:41
  Speaker A: Is fictional. Yeah, but they will. There. There's entire parades and. And conventions and TV shows surrounded around
• 54:50
  Speaker B: this damn near almost holiday, you know?
• 54:53
  Speaker A: Yeah. May the. We just. May the fourth be with you. That was just a few days ago.
• 54:58
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 54:58
  Speaker A: Like, that's the way it is. Right. And it's not about the story. I mean, it's not about, like, the whole movement, but it's the story. We connect with the story. We connect with the characters. We connect with why. We connect with what they have to go through. Luke and Darth Vader, come on now. Like, it's a story. And then you go down to a deeper story, like Friday, and you look at Craig on the block hanging out with his friends and dealing with everything all in one day. It's a story, a relatable story. How many people grew up in the hood and just hung out with their friends and the craziest thing happened and you wish you can tell that story. And you going back to your man, you would not believe what the heck happened to Us today, and you lay it all out, and then next, you know, you telling like, everybody is a storyteller. Yeah, I just put minds on paper.
• 55:51
  Speaker B: Yeah. And then on film.
• 55:53
  Speaker A: And then on film, then on camera, and then on your screen.
• 55:57
  Speaker B: Let them know. Jt, you know what I got. I got a bonus question. Not. Not related, though. Not related.
• 56:04
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 56:06
  Speaker B: Because, you know, a lot of my listeners are, you know, they, they. They are in the sports and, you know, we. We are good to have those war stories.
• 56:13
  Speaker A: Would you.
• 56:14
  Speaker B: Would you care to share before wrapping it up? Describe first, let's start with you. Could you. If you had to describe how you played back then, how would you describe your gameplay back then?
• 56:32
  Speaker A: Man, I would probably say it's a mix between Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas. Yeah. And as I grew up older, it became more of a Dwyane Wade ish type of game without the dunking, because Lord knows I'm small. I ain't dunking nothing but donuts in a cup of milk. But that's what it was like. I was always fast. I used to always dribble. People used to always tell me I dribbled way too much. I would dribble for 20 minutes. And then.
• 57:03
  Speaker B: You used to dribble a lot, brother.
• 57:06
  Speaker A: Yes, yeah. Yes, I did. And, but, but, but nobody could ever take it. They would just have to wait until I finished.
• 57:11
  Speaker B: That's true. That's true.
• 57:16
  Speaker A: That was the reality. Right. And then after a while, I learned how to shoot and do all the other things, and that's when I became a better player. But, yeah, I would. I would probably say, like a mix between Kyrie's dribbling and Isaiah Thomas's tenacity and continuing to go. I would even probably sprinkle in there like. What is his name? Jesus Christ. Darren Williams.
• 57:40
  Speaker B: Okay, all right, all right, now. Now, for the listeners out there, how would you best describe my game at the time?
• 57:52
  Speaker A: At the time?
• 57:53
  Speaker B: Yeah, at the time. Championship run.
• 57:57
  Speaker A: Championship run. Oh, boy. I mean, that. It reminds me of. It almost reminds me of like a Rasheed Wallace.
• 58:06
  Speaker B: Okay, okay. All right.
• 58:08
  Speaker A: Because you were able to. You. You could back, like, if you had me on you. Granted, anybody had me on it, they was gonna back down. But you had an ability to stretch the floor, and there were moments where you just end up in the corner, and I had no idea how you end up in the corner. And to have you and Black Jose in the corner, bruh, there's. You might as well just go on the other side of the court, just wait for Them to keep. To wait for y' all to shoot.
• 58:30
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 58:31
  Speaker A: Because you weren't gonna stop it. And it wasn't gonna be a brick. It was gon. And you're just gonna have to go down.
• 58:36
  Speaker B: Yeah. We were some shooters out there. I mean, we had to. We had to play different roles depending on the team that we had. You know what I mean? We're all guards out there, but at the end of the day, like, if I had to play the three to four, sometimes the five, depending if we had some injuries or not, we had some crucial playoff games.
• 58:55
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. There. There.
• 58:57
  Speaker B: There's one thing. Remember that. Remember that March Madness tournament where I can't remember the player, but the whole gym stopped and we stopped playing for a long time because that was a player from Louisville. I think he was from Louisville. And remember, he broke his leg.
• 59:16
  Speaker A: I do.
• 59:17
  Speaker B: The guard. The guard that broke his leg and the bone came through.
• 59:24
  Speaker A: I know Paul George did that.
• 59:26
  Speaker B: Paul George did that in. That was the Olympics, though, if I'm not mistaken. No, this one. This one. This one was during. This was during the tournament.
• 59:34
  Speaker A: And I do remember that. We was.
• 59:36
  Speaker B: We was at the gym at the time. The whole gym. Stop. We. We stopped. We stopped playing.
• 59:42
  Speaker A: Yeah, we did. I remember that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, there's a lot of stuff that's happened. I mean, we. And the funny thing is, like, now that we think about the championship team. We even won a championship with Tony.
• 59:56
  Speaker B: We won. We beat. Who did we beat in the championship? We beat Hendo and them.
• 1:00:00
  Speaker A: Yeah, we did.
• 1:00:01
  Speaker B: We did. They had a monster squad.
• 1:00:04
  Speaker A: They did. But we played with Tony and, you know, rest in peace to him.
• 1:00:08
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker A: It's like we had a heck of a team. Me, you, Rob, Tony, Mike.
• 1:00:15
  Speaker B: I remember Rob.
• 1:00:19
  Speaker A: Rob had people jumping out they shoes.
• 1:00:22
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker A: Again, right there.
• 1:00:26
  Speaker B: You had to just know. You had to know the personnel. Like, I didn't. I. I didn't have to run point. It was point guards everywhere. That. That whole league was full of point guards. Yeah, it was full of point people
• 1:00:37
  Speaker A: who thought they were.
• 1:00:38
  Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's a fact. That's a fact. That's a fact. That's a fact. But we had. And I'm talking about you, and you already know. Hindu. Hindu what? 6, 1, 6 2. But he built like a linebacker, but had handles like.
• 1:00:53
  Speaker A: Like nobody business.
• 1:00:55
  Speaker B: Oh, my God. Him alone, like, was problems guarding him. Just him alone. We're not even worried about the other four players that's on his team.
• 1:01:03
  Speaker A: And to think his brother played, too.
• 1:01:06
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 1:01:07
  Speaker A: Markel was just. He was a beast. He was like, Jokic, man, I don't
• 1:01:13
  Speaker B: even know how we won that goddamn game. I don't know how. I don't. I know we won because.
• 1:01:20
  Speaker A: Because they slowed down and we kept giving the pot to Jose and Rob.
• 1:01:25
  Speaker B: I do know at one point. I do know what. At one point, like, it just got out. It just got out of control. It just got out of control. And they didn't have it like, 16, 20, right? Yeah, we blew them out. Yeah, yeah, we blew them out. For sure. For sure. But that was some great, great memories, man. That was some. Some top tier basketball right there. Like I said, you've done your thing in the community.
• 1:01:48
  Speaker A: You, you, you.
• 1:01:51
  Speaker B: I mean, let's be honest, you recruited, you brought some. You brought, you brought us over there.
• 1:01:57
  Speaker A: I had no.
• 1:01:57
  Speaker B: I had no idea that park even existed. Okay. Next thing you know, I'm getting phone calls talking about, hey, we got a league over here. And I'm like. We pull up and I look and I'm like. I'm like, here.
• 1:02:11
  Speaker A: And they like, it's a small gym.
• 1:02:13
  Speaker B: It's a small gym. But it was rocking. It was rocking. You know what I mean? Like, I look forward to y'.
• 1:02:21
  Speaker A: All.
• 1:02:22
  Speaker B: You had the women's league. You had the women playing, like.
• 1:02:25
  Speaker A: Yep, yep.
• 1:02:27
  Speaker B: It was.
• 1:02:27
  Speaker A: It was.
• 1:02:28
  Speaker B: It was nice. It was nice. Like I said, you had a thing where you brought. You brought communities together to play basketball. And now the goal is to bring these communities together, to not just support, but be, Possibly be a part of your new creations. You know what I mean? So I think that's dope. And like I said on our previous talks, I'm proud of you. And, And I. I'm glad to see where you at right now, and I'm glad to see that you're still doing what you was doing when I met you.
• 1:02:57
  Speaker A: Yeah, man. It's all about consistency. And I didn't realize what that had to look like, but now I'm starting to understand it.
• 1:03:03
  Speaker B: Yeah, man. Yeah, man. So with that being said, let the people know where they could find you. Let them know where. Where they could find the. The film. And if you want to shout out any other body, anybody else that. That. That we could possibly follow related to the film.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker A: Yeah, you can. You can follow me. My. On acknowledged productions, Act Knowledge Productions. If you want to follow me, it's Acknowledge It, Act Knowledge. It. If you want to do the film, you want to follow the film. It's. That's Life film project. I mean, we. Shout out to my entire team. Shout out to my cast. Shout out to. To my boy from Detroit, Mr. Rob Butler. That man right there is. Is doing a whole lot of great things. He had a. He has a film called Life Ain't like the Movies. He was able to give Paul. He was able to give a guy his first award, and he's been in film for, like, 30 years. He was on Boomerang. He was on all kinds of stuff. So, you know, shout out. Shout out to my boy Rob for. For that. You know, it's. I'm grateful for. For that stuff. And, you know. Yeah, I'm grateful. And. And the guy I was talking about, Paul. Paul Bates. People. People need to look up Paul Bates. He gave Paul Bates his first award, first solo award, okay? And that's a big deal because he's been in Hollywood over 40 years.
• 1:04:35
  Speaker B: All right, well, JT, I think the next time we talk, man, is gonna be. After I see the finished product.
• 1:04:40
  Speaker A: Yes, after you see the finished product, you're gonna definitely be one of the people to review it first.
• 1:04:45
  Speaker B: Absolutely. Absolutely. All right, man. I'm gonna get back to it. You gonna get back to it? And when time is timing and I get to see it and I get to review it, we're gonna go at it again.
• 1:04:59
  Speaker A: Sounds good to me, man. I really do appreciate your time, man. Anybody. And anybody listening, man. I appreciate y' all for supporting my team. And I. We greatly are. We're. We're out here doing something. Something great. So anyone that has a dream, anytime you can get some support is always appreciated. So thank y' all in advance for supporting us.