Number One On The Call Sheet Speech

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00:00Essence is honored to present the Essence Spotlight Moment

00:02to the highly anticipated Apple TV Plus

00:05two-part documentary, Number One on the Call Sheet.

00:08All right?

00:09All right?

00:10Woo!

00:12These two powerful films take us on an inspiring journey

00:15with some of Hollywood's most extraordinary

00:17black women and men,

00:19many of whom are with us in the room tonight,

00:21shining a light on what it means to be a black actor

00:23through their stories.

00:25They share their breakthrough moments,

00:26their blueprints of success,

00:28and honoring the trailblazers

00:29who paved the way before them.

00:31Now, both films will debut on Apple TV Plus

00:33on Friday, March 28th.

00:35Let's take a look at Number One on the Call Sheet.

00:38What's this about?

00:39All right, boys, rolling.

00:41Number One on the Call Sheet.

00:43Number One on the Call Sheet.

00:44Must be real.

00:49You know, it's like, yo, number one.

00:54Pictures up!

00:55Too late to run now.

00:56Oh!

00:58Oh!

01:02You were number one on the call sheet for that?

01:04Yeah, I must have been.

01:06If you're number one on the call sheet,

01:07you are the subject and not the object of the narrative.

01:11It's an accomplishment for most actors.

01:13I didn't know how many opportunities I would have

01:16to be first.

01:17It means we made it.

01:18The actors of now,

01:19we don't get here without your Denzels and Morgans.

01:23Still, I'm not a movie buff.

01:25This really comes down to the work.

01:26I'm just an actor.

01:27I'm no different than you.

01:30But when you see me coming,

01:31stand back a little bit more.

01:35Where are you at?

01:36You're constantly ranking yourself.

01:37There is something wonderful

01:38about being able to navigate that

01:40and still feel like you aren't giving up who you are.

01:43It was very important to me to learn early in the game

01:46how to do everybody job.

01:48Now I have flashbacks.

01:50They got me having flashbacks.

01:52Like, damn.

01:54Show people there is more to me than meets your eye.

01:57If I'm being transformed,

01:59the audience will be transformed.

02:02They might call us a minority.

02:04I ain't taking nothing minor.

02:05I'm major, bro.

02:08The audience is a huge part of our work

02:11and they need to see themselves.

02:13I can't even begin to describe what this is like.

02:16This is the moment.

02:18We are storytellers.

02:21We put asses in seats.

02:23I thought I was fly.

02:24I feel like I was fly and got what I wanted.

02:32Once you get to the top of the mountain,

02:36create more mountain.

02:41Are you done?

02:44With what?

02:48Woo!

02:51Hi, I am Shala Lynch.

02:52I am the director of the women's number one

02:55on the call sheet.

02:56Essence, thank you!

03:00So we have so little time, so let me get to it.

03:02This is a story about climbing to one goal,

03:05to be number one.

03:07Our leading ladies found their purpose.

03:10This film is told through the stories

03:12of 17 unique, deliciously talented,

03:16like a box of chocolate, ooh.

03:18You know, my women's studies class folks

03:21are like, ah, cringe, not in the cringey way.

03:24Ooh, which one?

03:26They're so beautiful on the outside

03:28and unexpectedly, with unexpected

03:31and sometimes surprising flavors on the inside.

03:35We designed the lighting and the set

03:36to create the stage, the outside,

03:38to be beautiful like them.

03:41But it is the women that chose to show up

03:44and share just a little of their inside, their truth.

03:52Thank you for sharing.

03:54It is beautiful.

03:55Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful here.

03:58Thank you to these women behind me, da-da-da-da.

04:01Also Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Viola Davis, and Whoopi.

04:06And to all the women who shared their stories.

04:09We don't always have a chance through our work

04:12to really hear and see each other.

04:15As the director of this film,

04:17I hope you feel seen and heard, all of you.

04:22But all of us in the room

04:24and all of you out there watching the broadcast,

04:28I hope you feel inspired to wrestle with

04:30and find your purpose and what it means to be

04:34number one on your call sheet.

04:36Thank you to all of my collaborators and department heads.

04:41People, read the credits.

04:42These folks are amazing.

04:44Thank you to Fox Holt, Jamie Foxx, Atari Turner,

04:47Heartbeat, Kevin Hart, Candice Wilson, Story Syndicate,

04:51Dan Cogan, and with John and Kate.

04:54Thanks to all the EPs,

04:55especially Mishka Brown and Nanette Nelms.

04:58Vince Morgan, Violet, and Julian,

05:01you are my heart at home, thank you.

05:04And Reggie Hudlin.

05:07Thank you, you are my brother.

05:09Yes, I am.

05:12Hi everybody, I'm Reggie Hilden.

05:14Hi.

05:17I really want to thank Essence for the opportunity

05:20to preview our film and talk to you guys

05:24and really want to thank Apple

05:25for giving us the opportunity

05:29to tell these really vital stories.

05:32Several years ago, I did a documentary for Apple

05:35about the life of the alpha,

05:38the big bang of all of us, Sidney Poitier.

05:41And as a filmmaker, spending two years

05:44inside the life of Sidney Poitier was transformative for me.

05:48So when Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart, and Atari Turner

05:52came to me and pitched the idea of number one

05:54on the call sheet, which is kind of a bookend

05:57to the Sidney movie, so instead I said,

05:59okay, here's the beginning, and here's where we are now.

06:03Here's today's black movie stars.

06:05I was like, yeah, let's go make this movie.

06:07And I was like, yeah, let's do it.

06:09I was like, yeah, let's go make that.

06:12This movie, which is all of us,

06:16you know, I'm doing one, she's doing one,

06:19and it's all one big, beautiful project,

06:21is a once-in-a-generation opportunity

06:24to chronicle black success in an industry

06:28that shapes global perceptions of black people.

06:33We assembled an A-plus team,

06:34including my producing partner, Byron Phillips,

06:37my dear friend Shala, my sister,

06:40and we had real talk conversations

06:43with some of the smartest,

06:45hardest-working people in the world.

06:47And we don't always, in the entertainment business,

06:50get characterized that way,

06:51but that's who these people are.

06:54And there are things that will be said

06:56when you see this thing, things that Taye Diggs said,

06:59that Will Smith said, that Eddie Murphy said,

07:01that have been ringing in my head since I interviewed them.

07:04And I cannot wait for all of you

07:06to learn these lessons.

07:09The actors in this documentary

07:12represent all the greatness in this room.

07:16Whether you're stepping into a boardroom

07:18or stepping onto a movie set,

07:20you have the ability to inspire, influence,

07:23and ultimately change the world.

07:28The movies that we made for, number one, The Call Sheet,

07:30are designed to build and inspire strong black men

07:34and strong black women.

07:37And it's coming out right on time,

07:40because we know right now

07:41there are people who are very intimidated by us.

07:44And I get it.

07:48Black women read more than anybody else.

07:51They're the most educated, and they can't stop us.

07:53So, thank you.

07:56I hope you enjoy the films.

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