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Only One Mic Podcast
Carl Jerard, Brooklyn Dre, and JRob welcome you to The Only One Mic Podcast. We are joined each week by authors, activists, advocates, community leaders, and professionals from several walks of life who would like to offer their experience, expertise, or commentary on the various topics you will be interested in learning.
Only One Mic Podcast
Award-Winning Producer Salena Rochester on Her Journey from Bravo Network Producer to Founder of Purple Moon Pictures
What motivates a Peabody award-winning producer to venture out and create her own content? Join us as we welcome Salena Rochester, whose illustrious career spans over a decade working on popular Bravo shows like "Real Housewives of Atlanta," "Million Dollar Listing LA and New York," and "Married to Medicine." Salena opens up about her journey from an NBC Universal page to a successful producer and writer, culminating in her award-winning work on the Rosa Parks documentary and the founding of Purple Moon Pictures. Gain valuable insights as Salena recounts her experiences, motivations, and future plans, offering a masterclass in navigating the television and film industry.
Discover more about Salena Rochester and Purple Moon Pictures by clicking the links below.
https://www.purplemoonpictures.com/
https://www.instagram.com/salenaroc/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13262721/
Brothers and sisters.
Speaker 2:Give me a moment with your friend. I've never been up to the level of my thoughts before. Welcome to the only One Mic Podcast Paul Gerard, brooklyn, dre, guess who's back? Y'all, jess, me, give it up for Jess. She's back. Everybody. All right, y'all? J-rob is off right now and we have a very special guest, miss Selena Rochester. How you doing, selena?
Speaker 3:I'm doing well Good to meet you all.
Speaker 2:Good to meet you as well, all right. So, guys, listen. We right now we're talking to a Peabody award winning producer, a writer. What are some of the shows that you produce? I could tell your story, but I want you to tell it. What shows did you produce?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I worked at Bravo for over 12 years, so if you watch Bravo, I likely produced and developed a lot of that. Real Housewives of Atlanta, million Dollar Listing LA and New York the Escapes and SWV still kicking it. Real Housewives of New York Married to Medicine, macca's Family Values Just lots of shows for the decade.
Speaker 2:Wow, it's like what? Over 10 years worth of work there, right? Yeah, exactly. You also had a hand in the Rosa Parks documentary as well.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's what made me a Peabody winner. It was my first feature documentary. So to win a Peabody and to have it on Rosa Parks, who you know it's just, and you did a movie called Butterfly Boxing as well yes, I did.
Speaker 1:And that had Mr Hill.
Speaker 2:Harper on there, right? Well, soon to be what? Senator Hill Harper, he's on there, he's back there. I went to the boat for him. Yeah, in Michigan, yeah, in Michigan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we was actually supposed to have Hill on the show and then it was like some mix-ups and everything like that. But, um, and then next thing, you know, when I reach back out, he's running for senator. So I'm like, okay, I'm probably busy at this point, you know. So, um, but it seemed like a good brother, you know, maybe one day we'll get him back on, you know, we'll get him. Get him, come on, all right. So, um, let's talk about Purple Moon Pitches. Let's talk about what got you, you know, rolling with Purple Moon P moon pictures. I know you have over a decade of you know shows under your belt and now you want to venture off and doing your own thing and you know putting out your own content. So tell us, what was the journey that got you, you know, first of all, into producing over a decade worth of shows and also spanning off and doing Purple Moon Pictures?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I started producing. Well, I went to, I got a master's degree in film and TV production because I wanted to work in film and television. I didn't know exactly what the best route was when I researched and, you know, researched the industry and was like, well, who are the people who make the money? It was the producer. You know, they're the ones who make the money, they're the ones who find the money, they're the ones who run the ship. And I've always been very organized and detail oriented and a leader. So I was like, well, that's where I want to sort of start my career. I'm a writer also, but you know, writing that's. You know I didn't want to be a starving artist at the time. So I was like, well, let me get a degree in producing, let me produce while I, you know, continue to write. And so that's what led me on my journey, you know, in the industry.
Speaker 3:I finished my grad degree in film and TV production, became an NBC Universal page and then ended up working at Bravo as an assistant and sort of worked my way up. I immediately wanted to work on shows. I loved what they were doing and wanted to start producing. So that's how I got into producing some of those bigger shows. And then, in terms of starting Purple Moon Pictures, that kind of started when I was still at the network because I was working in reality TV, doing a bunch of unscripted programming, doing true crime, doing documentaries like Rosa Parks.
Speaker 3:But I was always a writer. I always was fascinated with narrative or scripted television. So I started moonlighting on the side, working with writers, finding directors, trying to produce my own content. That's how not full moon pictures, butterfly Boxing came about. I found an amazing writer and director and I loved her script and I was like let's do a short film. And so at the time, because I started producing real projects, I had to start in LLC, because you know, in the film industry they say like nothing should be signed under your name, it should always be signed as a business entity, because there are a lot of instances where people get sued for all sorts of reasons and you want everything, if that were to happen, to happen under an LLC and not as an individual.
Speaker 2:So they don't come after your personal assets, your personal stuff, yeah, as an individual.
Speaker 3:So they don't come after your personal stuff. Yeah Right, I started the LLC. It had a different name, which is a crazy story around that.
Speaker 2:Oh, you got to tell it now because you already brought it up. You should have never said it. Yeah, no, you got it.
Speaker 3:The original name of my LLC was third shift media and it was third shift because for me working on my production company was the third shift, Like I would go to work at Bravo do that. I was a mom, that was my second shift and then third shift late at night was growing that business. It was third shift media. I love the name. And then I had like after it was literally maybe three months after I had registered it online. You know, once you register a business online your address is attached to it and one day I'm sitting here in my office and I get a knock on the door. I go answer the door and I get papers. You've been served.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:Served what? And I'm reading the documents and my production company, Third Shift Media, which literally had done nothing by this point, hadn't even done butterfly boxing was in the alec baldwin lawsuit, because apparently you know the shooting yeah, yeah, I do what? What am I a part of this? I don't understand. So I google third shift media productions and there's a production company out of atl, third Shift Media, that was part of the production, the Rust film.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wow.
Speaker 3:They were trying to serve that company. But because I'm based in LA and I called an attorney, I was like how did I get mixed up in this? And she was like what usually happens is, you know, they go through the list, they go through the business records and they found your company, third Shift Media. It's in LA and they just served you. And I was like what, but what? But I'm not the right person. She was like honestly, they don't really care about that. Like you're, you're going to have to put in the legwork for them to go after the company in Atlanta to get your name from the lawsuit. So it was just like it was crazy and I was like this is why they say like you have to have a unique name. So after all of that, I did get removed from the lawsuit. Like I wrote an email to Julia Steinem and everything.
Speaker 4:I was like this has nothing to do with me.
Speaker 3:I'm not a part of this. Those people you know were a part of that film production and luckily I got removed. And then I changed the company name One. I changed the company name One. I changed the company name and I changed my public address. I came up with an actual business address so that my personal address wouldn't be associated with my business. But I came up with a name that was completely unique that hopefully no one else would take or have or get caught up in a lawsuit. So that was a wild story.
Speaker 1:Where exactly are you from? Are you from LA? I'm not from LA Originally are you from?
Speaker 3:Are you from LA? I'm not from LA. Originally I'm from Connecticut.
Speaker 2:Oh nice, all right, shout out to Connecticut. Yeah, okay. So how was that shift coming from Connecticut, you know, out there.
Speaker 3:Well, I moved to LA from New York. So I was living in New York for years. I graduated high school in Connecticut, went down to Hampton. I went to Hampton University. After Hampton I moved to DC. So I was living in DC as a teacher, while working as a teacher, while I was in school film school and then when I got into the PAGE program in New York, I moved to New York. So I was in New York for like four or five years and then decided to move. Move to la, just because it's a better city in terms of entertainment. You just there way more opportunities and I was able to transfer like I came out here with a job. Luckily, a lot of people don't come out here with a job yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I just seen something recently when I was talking about that. It's like a documentary. They were saying, like a lot of people come out there chasing their dreams, like the youtubers, the actresses, the actors and all that most of them people living on the street, you know. So you got to come out with a plan, yeah, yeah exactly have you thought about?
Speaker 4:um, have you thought about maybe moving to atlanta now, with the market being so big out there?
Speaker 3:that's so funny. I was literally just talking to a friend of mine, um, who she's? She's in LA Now. She's a musician, she does music and she also does music for like TV shows, like composing, and she's moving to Atlanta. And I was telling her that, yeah, like I'm also looking to move to Atlanta also because of that reason. Like it's, it's another major metropolitan area where you could really grow in entertainment. You can be much more independent. Now that I have a production company, I'm not tied to a network. I could grow and thrive out there. I can live much better in terms of cost of living. And there's just a network of black creatives which I love, you know, and not just like up-and-coming creatives, but top, you know, production companies, businesses out there as well is that 50 cent?
Speaker 1:doing like the same thing in uh, louisiana?
Speaker 2:so we're trying to do the same thing I believe I thought it was building a studio in louisiana.
Speaker 3:So he's doing what tyler perry did in atlanta, like building a studio, which I think is great. I because he has so much business and he's making his own content. You might as well have your own studio so you can have real control over everything.
Speaker 4:What were some of your biggest obstacles, or the biggest obstacle? What was the biggest obstacle? Being a woman of color and being so young and having to, you know, jump into this field. What did you?
Speaker 3:what are some of the things you faced, you know that's a lot, I mean, I think, especially working in corporate America. Yeah, it's just, it's like you have to learn to put on that mask Because and for me it's hard it's like I feel like my mask was always half on, half off, because, at the end of the day, I'm not going to cover who I am. Like, this is me, you know, I'm a black woman and this was even before, like the whole racial reckoning of the country. You know, I started at the network back in 2011. And so, like, at that time, it was still very taboo to be like the black person, but, like, I was felt like the black person whenever I walked into a room because I was the only black person sitting at the table, the only Black person, you know, sitting at the table, and like, and we produced a lot of Black content. So I felt like it was my duty to speak up and say something when I saw that something wasn't right, didn't look right, it was going to upset people, like we need to address this.
Speaker 3:And luckily, I, you know, I don't know what it was, but I happened to work in a team and a network that really respected and valued that and so, like, my voice is often, you know, heard.
Speaker 3:I would say, like they didn't always implement the things that I said or, you know, the suggestions I made, but it was. They at least valued what I had to say and I think, as a young executive, that gave me confidence to keep that going and to really sort of, like you know, put hold people's feet to the fire if it needs to be held. To come to the office dressed in the way that I wanted to dress, you know, I used to wear my pair and braid. Like I'm one of those people my hair is, you know, I'm wearing a wig, I'm wearing weave, I'm doing colors and doing braids. Like I always change my hair up and, yeah, like you know, I felt confident to do that. I know there are times where I remember one time I had like these long red braids and I was like I don't wonder what people are gonna say. I hope they're not gonna think that I'm some hood chick but whatever, like I love my long.
Speaker 3:I'm jamaican.
Speaker 3:Like we wear red hair yeah I wear my braids, um, and I remember walking past the president of the company's um office and she was a very, you know, solemn woman didn woman didn't, like you know, smile a lot, just very sweet. And she was like, oh, selena, because she's British, I love your hair. And I was like, oh, why, thank you. So it was just being myself and it's like it's hard, you know, especially when you're the only one, but at the end of the day it's like people either going to accept you or reject you, and I'd rather be accepted for who I am.
Speaker 4:Did you find that all of the pressure was on you? I remember Dion Cole had a joke about when he was writing for Conan at night and he would say, like they would do a black skit and everybody in the room would just turn and look at him like so what do you think Like?
Speaker 3:did you feel that type of pressure, definitely when we would have our green light meetings and when the black shows would come through. You know, it's like everyone would give their opinion. Sometimes it'd be interesting, because I could always tell when people were afraid to give their opinion and they were waiting for me to speak first, and then they would adjust what they had to say based off of what I had to say. But but yeah, it was like you know and then.
Speaker 3:I got to a point where I would say I don't speak for every Black person, but this is what I think, because there are other Black people who have different experiences and might see something differently than how I see something.
Speaker 1:At least you cleared something up for us. At least we now know that there's somebody in there doing checks and balances, because a lot of times I look at movies somebody in there doing checks and balances, because a lot of times I look at movies. I'm like who authorized this?
Speaker 4:Like you know, is there anybody there?
Speaker 1:Is there one of us in there that said nah, this is not right, you know what I mean. So somebody's there Somebody's there.
Speaker 2:And to speak to your point, I mean you worked on a lot of these unscripted television shows and you know a lot of the shows. Pardon me, especially when you're dealing with a lot of the like Atlanta housewives and things of that nature. I'm going to just put it out there. You have a lot of criticism in terms of how, you know, especially our sisters are portrayed in these particular situations. It's almost like a classy ratchet thing. You know what I mean, and so it's like the criticism. Did you hear a lot of them? And, like you said, also with you being in the writer's room and you having, you know, access to see what some of these you know situations, whatever they're going to put these women in that you can say, like hold on, like this is not representing everybody. Just like you said, I'm not speaking for every black woman, but this is not a representation of everybody. Did you see something in there that was just like this is not right, even though they're pushing it out anyway?
Speaker 3:Well, I will say in Unscripted it is not written as much as people think. It is. Like those scenes are not written and the women aren't put into situations. You know that may call like. There's never, at least for the shows that I've worked on. I can only speak to my shows I can't really speak to like other networks and other shows. But no one was would ever be purposely put in a situation with the with the idea that like a fight or something negative or ratchet would break out they.
Speaker 3:Yes, you're in an environment like at the end of it. Yes, we're shooting a reality show that involves women who are friends. Oftentimes friends have drama and they have. They have, you know, clashes. Whether one person believes this, one person believes that the only thing that's sort of like put together is the fact that you have to have a conversation with this other woman because you feel this way about this and she feels this way about that. Now, once cameras are rolling, if they decide to get out of pocket and start screaming and hollering, getting into each other's faces, that's the way those women reacted in that situation and, yes, sometimes it could be seen as a negative light, but I always approach situations where we're showing Black women in all facets. We're showing them as business women, we're showing them as mothers, we're showing them as wives, we're showing them as women who fight and argue and sometimes, you know, it can get a little déclassé, as you say.
Speaker 2:I like that. I like déclassé.
Speaker 1:Was there ever a scene on there that you just was banging your head like yo?
Speaker 3:we can't do this this is too much yeah, moments where it's like, oh my god, this is a lot um, but it's like it's their truth and it's their reality, like I hate to call out specific moments, but you know there is. The one that always just made me cringe was um a certain Atlanta housewife got really upset with another Atlanta housewife on a reunion stage and she decided to get up and grab her by the hair and drag her across the stage.
Speaker 1:Just as all into it. We don't know what's going on. We have no clue. Look, jess is all into it. We don't know what's going on. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:We have no clue.
Speaker 2:So you know Jess, you know who it was.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we're not saying no names, I'm not spilling names today.
Speaker 2:Was it on TV? It was on TV, right, it was on TV. This is public knowledge at this point.
Speaker 3:Don't push it man, come on, man, we're doing a hard hitting interview here it was like you know, it's just like, oh my god, like really did she have to take it?
Speaker 3:there you know, no one forced her to drag her, you know. But it's like there. But what we always did when, when those moments did happen and that's why I think the Bravo shows honestly differed from a lot of other shows is there had to be resolution. It's like person a and person b, who got into a conflict at some point, have to come together and have like a conversation. They have to discuss their actions, they have to think about like, oh my god, I'm embarrassed, I wish that didn't happen, and and you know, and so there's, there's. There was never a conflict just for conflict's sake. It was like conflict has to lead to resolution because at the end of the day, these are a friendship group and if the group ever became too fractured or someone couldn't be around the group, then they would just leave.
Speaker 2:You know, it's not about the drama, it's about the friendships and that's what always confused me about that is because I'm like, if y'allall are friends, you just threw a drink in this woman's face and then I said, you know, y'all going on vacation together. It always threw me off.
Speaker 4:I find that very interesting because I was watching something where another show it was a character from, well, not a character, I guess one of the main characters I could say that right, yeah, from another show, a cast member, a cast member from another show. And he was saying how, like, sometimes when a fight would break out, it would be so fast that the camera crew would go back over and be like can you hit her again? Like just so that they could catch it on film. So he's like you know, the fight could have been real, real, but you might have had to tape it again, you know. And he was like it was awkward. So he said he's kind of glad that he's out of that situation.
Speaker 4:So if bravo was doing the whole hey, you're supposed to be friends, sit down, talk this out. I kind of like that because I like atlanta housewives. I'm I'm a huge fan and I like, and you know, I like, I like the ones that everybody else might not care for. Those I feel like they're my friends in my head, like she gets me. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:So I like to hear that it's resolved at the end of the day, like and I always question, I don't. You know I was a network executive so I wasn't in the field with the producers but like something like that. Like redo that fight like that, like people would get fired for that, like you can't redo a fight, like if you missed it, you missed it and you have to tell. You have to, as a producer, find a creative way to tell that story. Just not on camera, you just don't have on camera. Have someone in it girl.
Speaker 3:We got into this and she did that and you know it's like you can retell that without, so let me ask you you so now you have your company and it's established, and so I know this.
Speaker 4:Just, I hate this question. I hate when people ask me this question, but you look like you have a lot of things. It sounds like you have a lot in order. So, with that being said, where do you see you and your company within the next five years?
Speaker 3:um, definitely selling as many projects as possible. Um, you know, developing on my own and then selling to a network, consulting for other projects. So currently I do consulting. So if somebody comes, it comes to me with an idea but they don't sort of know how to package it, I'll package it together, whether that's making a deck, helping them make a sizzle reel, helping them find, like, a casting person to help cast, you know, help them put it together, bringing it to a network. So I would love to continue doing that and definitely with it and doing that within unscripted and scripted. So selling scripted projects as well, writing my own projects and hopefully getting them produced by a network or a studio and just becoming a household name in the industry. You know there are certain industry company production companies, like the Macros, the Monkey Paw, like you know all of these companies that people just know automatically.
Speaker 1:I want Purple Moon Pictures to be a well-known name company in the industry, who inspired you, what inspired you to, you know, want to be a part of this business. I mean, as a kid coming up, I mean, is this something that you always wanted to do?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it's funny because I didn't realize it until I was in the business that as a child I always loved filming TV and people always say, oh yeah, I love film and TV. But like for me as a kid, I remember just watching it and thinking about it critically in a different way, like there are often times like I, ifc, which is independent film channel, like way back in the nineties it was, it wasn't, it was like a, it was like an independent film channel at that time little known network that people didn't know, and I remember watching all those indie films.
Speaker 3:A lot of those were the films that went through Sundance and then just ended up on IFC, because Sundance wasn't what it was today, but it birthed a lot of stars like Christina Ricci. Matthew McConaughey got his start and I remember as a little girl looking at some of these actors, thinking they're really talented, oh, they're probably gonna go far, and then cut to. You know, 20 years later they're still in the business. And so it wasn't until I got in the business that I realized I was thinking as a producer, even as a child, about shows like I would look at the way shows like the show open, like the opening of a show. I would read credits as a kid I would. Once the internet became, you know, readily available to people, I would google people's names and, you know, especially like all the black 90s, like sitcoms, like all those writers and producers hold on.
Speaker 2:You was checking our article on on google. You just wanted to don't tell me wonder what he eats for lunch, or something like that.
Speaker 3:But yes, it was just it was always in me. I feel like, you know, that spirit was always put inside me and I just continued to chase it. I didn't always feel confident and when I went to undergrad I majored in political science because for me, you know, I came from like a working class family and it's like my family struggled to put me through college. I was the oldest in the family so I was like well, I can't be a writer, you know, I can't work at film and tv. That doesn't make money. I'm gonna be a lawyer. But my passion for film and tv was just always there and so I decided to take a chance on myself and like, jump into this business.
Speaker 1:And you know, did you ever think about? Did you ever think about, uh, jump like being a part of one of your own pieces or one of your own ideas, or something like that?
Speaker 3:like on camera yeah I'm not about I'm.
Speaker 4:I'm a pretty, I'm behind the scenes, I'm so awkward, like all right okay you seem to be, um, really positive and focused on your dreams and your goals, and reading about you, I saw where you suffer some trauma, you know, being as though you lost your husband and I'm sorry to hear that and me losing my dad, and being a poet at that. There was a period where I had writer's block and I couldn't write any poems whatsoever. So I want to know what did you do, what steps did you take to heal? Because I know that that could be a setback. So what steps did you take to heal to you know, and what gave you the motivation to go forward?
Speaker 3:I would say two things. One so my husband. He and I we were together from 18 years old. You know we met at college, so he always sort of knew he was on the journey with me. I love filming TV and I think he observed it, but also during the days of Lego but I'm going to be a lawyer he was the person who actually made me go to film school, like get a graduate degree. Because he was like you only have one life to live, might as well, be happy doing it. Go, you know, get the film degree if that's what you really want to do. And that's where I was like okay, fine. So I took the chance and I did that. And he was there, always motivating me along the way.
Speaker 3:I remember, like even when I ended up, you know, working at Bravo years later, like having to advocate for a higher salary, he was helping me. You know, like what to say to get that you know promotion and or salary. He was helping me. You know, like what to say to get that you know promotion and or salary. So when I lost him, it was just motivation to keep going, like I'm not going to stop at this point. And then you know, I'm a mom, like we had a child together, so I couldn't stop at that point.
Speaker 3:I think that's what really pushed me. It's like all right, selena, like you're now like the only person your son has to like take care of, and that's that's one of the reasons why I moved to LA but had to leave New York. I don't want to be in New York. I could have like given up TV and, like you know, moved to DC or moved back to Connecticut with my family, but I didn't want to. I was like I want to continue this business and I'm going to like use, you know, the strength now that I have to, like you know, do it all. And I think that's what really pushed me. And so when I came out to LA, like I was on fire. I was like I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to do this. And it also showed me like just him you know, passing away at such a young age, that like really your life could be gone in a moment.
Speaker 2:So you might as well just like try everything, because you know you don't want to look back with regrets Speaking about purple moon pictures. Going back to that, you have a lot of. Do you have like projects that's already in the works?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just wrapped a short film another short film it's a queer sci-fi romantic film, which I thought was just really interesting. I tend to take on projects that I know people will be interested in, because gone are the days of just a romantic comedy boy meets girl, a bunch of hijinks, and then they fall in love. It's so hard to sell a movie like that. Now. You really do have to have like a really weird and different sort of like aspect to your film, and so when I read this logline and then read the script you know, though, I'm not like a queer person I was like well, this is hot, like this is going to get people's attention, and it's sci-fi and it's black. So many different components to it. And then the script was really good. So that's one project.
Speaker 3:We just finished production. We're in post-production right now on that. And then I have another sci-fi project that's it's a AI inspired project that takes a satirical look at the beauty pageant world. So it's like, and it's like black women in the beauty pageants and the way that Black women show up to the world and how people perceive us. So that's right now in the pre-production funding stages. I'm waiting for the investors to give us a final yay on that so that we can get started. And then I just have a bunch of projects that I'm sort of developing and pitching out right now.
Speaker 2:Okay, and you're probably aware of this, but you see, tyler Perry and now Lee Daniels are both taking heat for the movies that they just put out, right. So what do you think is the responsibility that you may have as a writer, as a producer of films? Because I guess the argument is In both movies that was put out the Deliverance as well as the Divorce in Black Is that these guys are kind of like Presenting people, our people, in a bad light In most of these movies that they're putting out. So what do you think Is like the responsibility of a writer and a producer that's bringing out content? And what do you think is like the responsibility?
Speaker 3:of a writer and a producer that's bringing out content and that's, you know, pushing out movies, television shows, whatever it may be, to kind of have that balance where they can, you know, present us in a different manner. Well, I'll say, I mean, I respect both those filmmakers immensely because in order to do what they're doing, it takes a lot, you know, just, I mean just to get the money to produce those films. So you know, the fact that they're doing that and have done multiple films is just an attestment to who they are. I think that they're two very different producers. I personally really love the deliverance, like I thought it was. Well, I mean, um, audre day yeah, I'm sorry, she did amazing. Like the film itself was based on a really crazy story, yeah, true story a true story, yeah, and that that's another example of.
Speaker 3:You know, black women come in all lights, all figures, like, yeah, she was an alcoholic who may or may not have abused her children, but that there are women like that. You know, black, white, spanish, everything this just happens to be a black woman. And then Tyler Perry's movies. You know, the fact that he gets them done and made and has like a huge fan base, I think is an accomplishment. I would say the ultimate responsibility, no matter what type of content you're putting out, it's just to ensure that you have high quality, top quality writers and directors who can produce the work that's, you know, deserving of, like these awards. You know, a lot of times you'll have, you'll have some of these movies and not necessarily lee daniels. I actually really respect lee daniels and I think he does a lot. I think his the criticism around lee daniels was casting glenn close and like I mean I was gonna say that I was gonna say that and it's not.
Speaker 4:So it's not. I watched the movie. It's not so much that it was a bad movie. I really was more interested in watching it because it was based on a true story and that's why I wanted to see it, because that's the same reason why I watched Amityville Horror. It's based on a true story. But my thing was Glenn. I actually liked Glenn Close in this. It's just one specific scene. I was like, okay, now we're pushing it a little bit too far. But I understand that there has to be fillers and there has to be. You know, we have to embellish a little bit to have a full story, a full movie. But I felt like some of the stuff was unnecessary, you know, and why did we give that a pass? And that's the same thing that I felt with. What is that Divorce?
Speaker 3:and Black Right. Oh, I did see that, actually, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I thought it was. It was pretty decent. It was a different type of storyline, so I respect stuff like that and I tend to like things outside of the norm. So I would love to like look at some of your work, especially if you're not doing the typical movies that are out there. I like different things. The only thing I would say about Divorced and Black was, again, there were certain little things that just to me, weren't needed, like little scenes, and, like I said, you have to. You know you're making a movie so you have to fill in these empty spots at times. But I think they both could have done something a little bit different, both in two different spots in their movies that I saw. I would have did it a little bit different, but it just goes to show you that, no matter what you do, you me, whoever- there's going to be some sort of criticism.
Speaker 4:Yeah, as an artist, you're always going to. As a person, people criticize regular people walking up and down the street and it's hard and that's why I asked you where's your motivation coming from, your inspiration? Because I know that at times people say my sign is emotional or I'm sensitive or whatever. But at times I can get down and I want to and I look to and I look, you know, to God and I look, you know, towards my friends, like I have a strong support system, my family and I look towards them and I lean on them because you don't want to get stuck in that spot. So I commend you for not getting stuck and for pushing forward. And you know, this is going to be inspiration to somebody much younger. Like they're going to listen to this and say, you know, this is going to be an inspiration to somebody much younger. Like they're going to listen to this and say, you know what? I could do this too. I could do this too, you know I think.
Speaker 1:I think the problem for me is that with those movies and those producers is that you know, and I'm not. I've watched movies of of them over the years and I actually like some of them, you know, but I think it's the same. I think they put out the same type of film. But I will say this is that I think that's where the money's at. It's unfortunate, but I think for african-american people, we why you know, we flock to ratchet television for some reason. I mean so if the money is in it in most cases, you know it's kind of like how the music industry is, where everything is mass produced.
Speaker 2:Talent is mass produced at this point, so it's almost expected that when this person puts out this album or this song, it's going to sound like the two people that came before them.
Speaker 1:Like that. You know, like this Rosa Parks piece, right, I love that documentary. I loved it Way before we ever talked about doing this interview. I liked the documentary, right, I loved that documentary. I loved it Way before we ever talked about doing this interview. I liked the documentary, right, but you don't know too many Black people that actually sat down and watched it.
Speaker 1:I mean, I'm quite, you know there are some that did, but you know, and it's a piece that everybody should watch and I'm going to tell you what I liked about it is that, you know, it's a lot of times we see documentaries of like Martin Luther King, malcolm X and pretty much all this regular information that you already know. You know, what I liked about the Rosa Parks piece is there were a lot of pieces in that documentary that it was like I didn't know that, I didn't know that she was such a rebel riser, you know, I didn't know that she really, you know, kicked in fences, you know, here and there, but you know, and that's why I really liked it. And, again, but like you said, it's not a lot of money in doing the righteous thing.
Speaker 3:That's honestly, what got it sold is the fact that her story was so untold, so it was produced by Soledad O'Brien's company and that was the thing that they said. They were like you know, you think you know the story of rosa parks, you think you know she's a meek old woman, you know, who just refused to give up her bus, or some people knew the true story that she was actually working, uh, you know, with the naacp, and like this was sort of an orchestrated thing which was debunked in the film. It was not orchestrated, it really was just like I'm not taking anymore, I'm tired of these white people, not like I'm an equal woman too tired to get up, but like we wanted people to see her in a different light and we wanted to tell that story to show that, you know, to show the good and the bad of the civil rights movement also. Like there's a big part of that film that addresses the misogyny within the civil rights movement.
Speaker 3:And all of these the civil rights movement, like rosa parks and all of these female um civil rights leaders who weren't allowed to speak on at the march on washington. Only the men were allowed to speak and when someone tried to talk about rosa parks, she was ushered away in a car. Like you can't even address it, um, and yeah, it's just like the unknown and I think that's important, like we have to um be able to tell these stories and look critically at you know black history outside of, like what was just fed to us in these history books.
Speaker 1:And, like you said, we we paint this beautiful picture of Rosa Parks and she's all in our history books and everything like that, but we don't know. You know the financial issues that she went through and later on, later her life. So I commend you guys for putting a good piece up.
Speaker 2:What was the one thing that you did when you did that piece that stuck out to you to say, man, I really didn't know this about Rosa Parks. What was the one thing that hit you when you were producing it?
Speaker 3:There was a lot, because it was like, oh my gosh, I feel like every time I would watch and that movie we were what? Initially it was like four hours. It was a four hour cut that we had to get down to 90 minutes. People aren't gonna sit down for that, so there's so much we had to leave out. Um, I would say like there's that scene there's in the beginning when she's talking about her grandfather who um?
Speaker 3:looked like a white man, so he, you know, obviously biracial, but he was a black man and so he dealt with all of the you know indignities that black men had to deal with at that time. But she said she remembers being a little girl and like watching him with his rifle, you know, outside the window protecting his family and from that moment she realized that she was a fighter and she would take that spirit of her grandfather with her with everything that she did. And if you look at her life like she truly was a fighter. She didn't back down to anybody. She wasn't this neat, nice woman, she was like she's throwing rocks at the buses full of white boys, you know, attacking her and her friends. She's later in life know pushing back against people. And the other part. The thing that I really liked about that was that malcolm x was um right. Like you know, she really loved malcolm x and he really loved her right when he passed away.
Speaker 3:I think she said like that was the hardest thing for her to overcome. It was like malcolm x, because he was a true fighter and the heads of the black panther party would go to her for advice. Rosa Parks.
Speaker 1:She's hanging out with Huey Newton.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's hanging out with Huey Newton, everybody. The movies don't cover that all the time. That's why I said it's one thing to make biopic, but are you going to make it right?
Speaker 1:You want to give the information that needs to be given, do something different or show us something different. Well, I don't want to say nobody. I want to hear everything I can about those people, but I would love to hear some of the real stuff, the deep stuff that we missed out on, and I made a mistake of saying we all like Ratchet TV, just likes Ratchet TV.
Speaker 4:I mean not us, and guess what, and guess what Selena and guess what Selena Andre thinks he's from Brooklyn.
Speaker 2:Oh, here we go.
Speaker 1:She thinks because I moved out for a while now.
Speaker 4:For like 45 years he's been living in Delaware that's not true Living his life.
Speaker 1:That's not true at all. You always know where you're from, man, where you went to grade school at, and everything like that. It doesn't change. She just matched because she's from a place in New York that we don't consider New York.
Speaker 4:Whatever we're in the five boroughs, we're in the five boroughs. My place had the best verses. Okay, the place I'm at right now. Let's remember that. Shut up.
Speaker 2:Okay, here we go, all right. So now you have your little one there and you're doing all these amazing things Like do you see a filmmaker, writer, something that you know, something coming up? What do you? What do you see?
Speaker 3:I do yes, okay, okay. It's so beautiful to watch because he reminds me of myself also. I just didn't have anyone guiding me or to see that, but he's a natural writer. When he was at the age where he was playing with action figures and stuff, he came up and I did the same thing as a kid, with these epic storylines and characters that had depth and characters that had backstory. He came up and I did the same thing as a kid with, like these epic storylines and like characters that had depth and characters that had backstory and like what they're fighting and you know and all of that, and it's just like amazing.
Speaker 3:Um, so he's definitely going to be a great writer and director. Um, he just he knows how to direct a scene, which is so funny because, like, he's always like wanting me to like because he now I have like a little private social media account so that he can sort of like develop his artistic ability. No, mom, you got to do it like this, and then he'll, like he directs me in scenes. He's like, okay, all right. And so I'm just like glad that I'm in a position where I can recognize that in him and then sort of foster it and help him and get him to wherever he wants. If he ultimately doesn't want to work in entertainment, fine, but if he does, I'm going to do any and everything in my power to ensure that he has the greatest career and, ideally, purple Moon Pictures would be something that he could take over.
Speaker 2:That's what it's about leaving a legacy. Well, at least we know this much. The school play gonna be off the hook, and if you got something to say about it, he's actually gonna be in Peter Pan this fall, oh right is it gonna be based on the actual Peter Pan, or are you gonna veer off a little bit?
Speaker 1:yeah, I thought it was gonna be a little bit more rebellious, like Peter comes to Harlem, yeah, that's his hope.
Speaker 3:He gets older.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right. So, as we conclude, two things before I ask you to give everybody, like you know where they can reach you at, you know how they can support the movement and all that good stuff. All that good stuff, what is some advice that you can give to somebody who might be listening to this, that's, you know, coming up in this business or trying to come up in this business and trying to start their own thing? What advice could you give to them, to that person?
Speaker 3:Definitely not to give up. Like it's difficult, it's hard. It's not a traditional industry where it's like you go to school, you do this and then you know you career, like there's so many different ways in which a person can be successful in this business and I truly believe that you need to put multiple eggs in multiple baskets and see what comes up, like whether you're a writer or a producer or an actor, just like try any and everything and see where you can, you know, excel at, because all it really takes is one yes and one green light or one project and then you can. The world's your oyster. You can do your dream, you know projects or what have you. But yeah, just try any and everything and there is no linear path, no one. My path is my path. The next person's path is their path. Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels have their paths. You know, like we all are sort of doing our own thing.
Speaker 2:But, at the end of the day it's you know it's where you want to go. I dig it. And I did have another question that just popped in my mind, Like you were talking about earlier, about maybe getting a script or, you know, producing a film that might get picked up by a major company, which is, I guess, the goal for a lot of this. But with the whole advent of streaming services and things like that, do you ever see, like Purple Moon just doing a streaming thing where it's like you just put your own content out?
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, that's actually, and I think, where the industry is going now. It's actually probably going to be easier for people coming up in the business and for me personally, because, because of the writer's strike and this whole economic whatever that the country is in, a lot of these big studios and networks aren't necessarily spending millions upon millions of dollars on shows dollars on shows and what I'm realizing they're doing is they're acquiring already made projects and might and just putting them on their streaming services or, in the future, um places like a roku or even a 2b, which are like these s5 channels. Those are going to be the places where people are going to be um subscribing to or finding their content YouTube especially. My nine-year-old son has zero interest in cable or turning on the TV unless he's putting YouTube on Right right right, and there's a lot of just watching the stuff that he watches.
Speaker 3:there are a lot of creators content creators creating TV shows on YouTube.
Speaker 2:On YouTube.
Speaker 3:yeah, Without the backing of anyone as long as you have a camera, a camera cameras are super cheap these days like if you can, if you're a talented writer, you don't need to go to school to learn to be a writer. You can create what you want and put it out there and you can find. You know um find like an audience. And you don't have to be on an hbo. You don't have to be on on netflix, you know you can to be on Netflix. You can find success on YouTube or Tubi or Roku.
Speaker 4:That's where Issa Rae started from YouTube.
Speaker 3:She was a fine singer. I remember Issa. I was in college when Awkward Black Girl came out.
Speaker 4:Awkward Black Girl. Yes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I remember thinking, oh my god, this is so you know, and so to see where she is. I was just looking at her Instagram the other day. She was like on vacation in Greece.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I saw that Mykonos yeah exactly and like it all.
Speaker 3:It honestly made me want to cry, just because it's like. I remember her as just like this YouTuber, you know, making this awkward show. And then here she is now, all these just like chilling in Mykonos, you know, with all her, you know friends, yeah, All of her own talent, Like you know she hustled, and look where she is now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Quinta Brunson too. She was actually on YouTube. Yeah, exactly, Number one show in America.
Speaker 1:It brings everything 360 back to like, like what you just said, like the film business kind of perils the music business now, because it's in the sense that the music business no longer makes artists Like they'll watch you to watch something that's going and moving, and then they'll go find that guy and put some money behind them.
Speaker 2:So you know, pretty much the same, pretty much the entire SNL cast at this point. So you know, pretty much the same, pretty much the entire SNL cast at this point. So YouTube, yeah, all right. So where can the people you know reach you and you know you want to give all your social handles, your website, all that good stuff how they can support the movement? Go ahead, you got it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so Instagram, selena Rock, s-a-l-e-n-a-r-o-c. You can find me on Instagram, and then my company is PurpleMovePicturescom, and that's, you know, just lists out all my Services that I do. If anybody's in need of consultation and LinkedIn, you know Always on LinkedIn as well. But yeah, that's where you are.
Speaker 4:Facebook is for my friends.
Speaker 3:I've been living on Facebook For five years. You got that right Facebook is for my friends, I'm going to live on Facebook once.
Speaker 2:I know you, I've known you for five years.
Speaker 3:I got that right.
Speaker 2:I got to know you a little bit longer.
Speaker 1:I got ten on me screening process.
Speaker 2:Alright, but we thank you, selena, for coming on, thank you for joining us and you know we'll keep our ear to the ground and our eyes to the sky. See what's going on with you you know what I mean and watch your growth and chart your growth and everything, and you can say that you know you had an interview with us, wouldn't you?
Speaker 1:Don't get new.
Speaker 2:We got to get through like 50 million publicists to get to you. Next time, stepping stones. I hear you Stepping stones. Next time, stepping stones.
Speaker 3:I appreciate this. This was a great conversation. Thank you for having me no problem.
Speaker 2:Thank you, no problem.
Speaker 2:All right, you just hang on for a minute while we give all our pertinent information, all right? Well, thank you once again. Just good to have you back, just Thank you, all right. All right, so the only one my podcast is available on all platforms you stream your podcast on. Also, check out our Only One Mike Podcast YouTube channel and catch up on the past and current episodes. Folks, let's get them subs up, the likes and all that, all right. You can also check us out on Instagram and x slash, twitter at TheOnlyOneMikeP1, facebook and LinkedIn at the Only One Mike Podcast. You can contact us via email at theonlyonemike00 at gmailcom or 302-367-7219.
Speaker 2:Every comment or question is played on the show. Selena, we thank you once again for your time, as well as you, the audience, all right, and we encourage you, please, to speak the truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant, because they too have their story to tell. So until next time, please keep in mind that if we never had to run from the Ku Klux Klan, then you shouldn't have to run from a black man. Peace, see you.