Lee Daniels has made a career producing and directing art that takes audiences to embrace the often crude parts of humanity. He is a storyteller whose journey as a director began when he entered a library at the age of seven.
“I went to the theater section and picked up a book called Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? “ says Daniels. “How about me reading that book and having everyone under my feet reading Martha and George and the other couple? I didn’t know I was driving then.”
After watching 1972’s Lady Sings the Blues, Daniels knew what he wanted to do. “I started directing theater,” says Daniels. “I didn’t understand that it was even possible for blacks to drive, that’s the age I’m sounding at.”
That choice would change the course of your life. Through theater direction, Daniels found a handful of actors who were trying to find work. He decided to manage their careers, which provided an invaluable education on the inner workings of Hollywood. “I didn’t go to film school. All of this was learned on the set of representing actors, ”Daniels told Yahoo Entertainment. “I am an artist, but I come from a family of drug dealers and, you know, they are survivors because that was all we had on the streets, we knew how to survive. So when I came to Hollywood, I had $ 7 in my pocket and I was determined to do something with myself. “
Monster ball it would be a crucial moment in his career. Daniels produced the film and wanted to direct, but did not know where to start. So he studied.
“I watched what Mark Forster did brilliantly. I had a good understanding. I was the first black man to be the only producer of an Oscar nominated film. Halle Berry, you know, that was very important to me, that victory, “Daniels talks about Berry’s Oscar winning performance.
Daniels would have a chance to direct his first film with the release of Shadowboxer, an experience he calls “trial and error”.
“I don’t watch my movies, but it’s a hot mess,” jokes Daniels. “But I also learned a lot from that film, how not to direct a film.”
He was more successful with his second attempt, Precious, where he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director. The film also received a Best Picture nomination. That made Daniels a household name, and he went on to box office success Lee Daniels Butler in 2013.
Two years later, Daniels made the leap to the small screen, co-creating, producing and directing Empire, one of Fox’s most-watched shows. Still, Daniels encountered obstacles when it came to securing money for new projects and had to independently fund all of his films, including the most recent, United States x Billie Holiday.
“Studios never understood me. Even after the success of Empire and The Butler, I still needed to find money independently to [The United States vs. Billie Holiday] because they didn’t want to finance this film, because they didn’t want to finance The Butler, how they didn’t want to finance Precious,” he says.
The new film, which hits Hulu on February 26, follows Billie Holiday after the release of her song “Strange Fruit”, which many believe started the civil rights movement. By taking a political stance with her music, she became a target of the FBI, which came to monitor her.
“As soon as I found out that the government was chasing her because of that song, I had to tell the story,” said Daniels. “Someone told me that they’re even doing it with rappers now. They chase them until they find something. The cops. It’s fascinating.”
One way for the government to pursue Holiday was to focus on his heroin addiction. Like many artists at the time, she had a difficult childhood. But while drug addiction for celebrities like Judy Garland was seen as a health problem, Holliday’s addiction was criminalized.
“It is no different from opioids, now. Now, now that whites are on opioids, it’s a disease. But back with Billie, no, it was a crime, ”says Daniels. “Systemic racism. It’s an aerosol. We can’t see. You know, it’s just in the air. I love this new generation because what is happening now is that you have brought forward what is happening and there is no denying it. “
Continuing to push for more representation in Hollywood has always been something Daniels naturally incorporated. He routinely chooses black actors who are new and untested – Andra Day is making her debut as an actress like Billie Holiday. Backstage, he revealed that he pushed for more members of the black team on the sets of Monster ball and The lumberjack. Still, creating more inclusive environments often comes with resistance from studios, who reject new hires who lack the experience, are not in a union or have the reputation that precedes them.
“I had to fight to get John Singleton to direct an episode of Empire“Daniels told Yahoo Entertainment.” What happens is that they label you as difficult, and sometimes it infiltrates our own community. “
This resistance does not stop Daniels, who saw his art change the conversation. He believes in the success of Empire, showed studio heads that black narratives are in demand – setting the stage for the Black Renaissance that brought us hits like Black Panther and Insecure.
Daniels says that pushing for more black leadership behind the scenes will be the best sign of racial progress in Hollywood.
“Until we have Black studio heads who are at the CEO level saying, ‘OK, this hot sauce goes to cabbage,'” says Daniels. “Until you understand that the hot sauce goes in the cabbage, you will never be able to understand Lee Daniels, or you will never be able to understand the importance of Spike Lee or Ava DuVernay.”
– Produced by Jen Kucsak and edited by John Santo
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