Unveiling The Success Of Acclaimed Director Malcolm D. Lee

Forbes

Movie director Malcolm D. Lee joins Forbes senior writer Jabari Young on The Enterprise Zone at Nasdaq MarketSite. During their conversation, Lee, who is known for creating The Best Man film franchise, discusses his new book, “The Best Man: Unfinished Business.” He also shares insights about his bourbon brand, Sable, and provides updates on his upcoming movie project.  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Sometimes you got to stick to your guns, do what you want, stick to your mission.

00:04Other times you have to listen.

00:06Those are the words of acclaimed film director and producer Malcolm D. Lee.

00:11In a minute, we'll be diving into his business and a new book, The Best Man.

00:16It's a continuation of it. I can't wait to talk to this brother.

00:19You're entering the Enterprise Zone at the NASDAQ.

00:26Hello, everyone. It's Jabari Young, senior writer at Forbes.

00:29And I am at the NASDAQ Market site. Welcome to the Enterprise Zone.

00:32And I am joined by a special guest. I just told you who this brother was.

00:36Malcolm D. Lee. He is the film director, producer of The Best Man series.

00:42Now a book that's coming out. Spike Lee's cousin.

00:45Future Force Be Okay, remember? Who knows, man?

00:47Malcolm, thank you so much for making a trip. I know you're very busy.

00:50Hollywood's always blowing up your phone. And so here you are at the stock market with me, man.

00:54Welcome. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

00:56Yeah, no, no problem, man. Listen, I can go through all your movies.

00:58Best Man series, Girl Trip, Roll Bounce. Welcome home, Roscoe Jenkins.

01:02And I know you made me not like the title as much, but one of my favorites is Undercover Brother.

01:07Like, I love that film, man. It was just, it was so funny.

01:10I saw it at a young age, and I thought it was just brilliant.

01:13So when I think about that film and The Best Man, I'm like, Malcolm D. Lee.

01:16I know who that is, man. Yeah.

01:17Thank you. Thank you very much.

01:18No, that, you know, in Undercover Brother, just celebrated its 23rd anniversary.

01:22Wow. Congratulations. Yeah.

01:24Do you still look at that movie some time as I'm ready?

01:26You know, I haven't seen it in a while. You know, it was one of those movies that, it was my second movie, and it was a tough movie, and it really was kind of like my foray into comedy.

01:37Yeah.

01:37You know, like, you know, like traditional comedy.

01:40And so, you know, it was a tough, you know, kind of film to birth.

01:44But, you know, I got the movie that I wanted to make.

01:48Yeah, most definitely. I mean, listen, like I said, I watch it all the time, and I wanted to know from you, like, at the top, what was it like working with Billy Dee Williams?

01:55Like, I mean, people forget he was in that movie, right?

01:58I know.

01:58What was it like working with the great Billy Dee Williams?

02:00It was great. I mean, the entire cast was fantastic.

02:03You know, Billy Dee was, you know, was great.

02:05You know, we know his work, you know, being along all stars.

02:09And Chappelle was in that, too, was he?

02:10Dave Chappelle, exactly.

02:11Yeah, I know.

02:12I mean, you know, it's so funny.

02:13Chappelle just told me that Obama looked at that movie.

02:18And, you know, and he said, Dave Chappelle, I love that movie.

02:21It's classic.

02:21And I was like, oh, wow.

02:22He knows your work.

02:24I was like, oh, that's cool.

02:24I mean, listen, he should know your work for the best man.

02:26I mean, everybody.

02:27That's your brand, right?

02:28It is my brand.

02:30It's true.

02:30It's like, you know, it was not intended to be anything other than, you know, a movie that I was going to make to start my career.

02:36And I wasn't planning on doing sequels or certainly not books.

02:41But, you know, it just so happens that it's a movie that resonates with the fans.

02:46And, you know, they're very, you know, invested in the characters.

02:50So I kept on going with it.

02:52It saved me a number of times, too.

02:54Yeah, listen, it saved me, too, man.

02:56I'm telling you, I got my way out of a lot of good stuff watching that movie.

02:58Studying the lines and all of that stuff.

03:00So it was good, man.

03:00But listen, we are at the stock market.

03:02You got to give me something.

03:03A good stock.

03:03What has worked for Malcolm D. Lee over these years?

03:06Is it something you want to buy?

03:07It's obvious.

03:07It's Apple.

03:08Apple.

03:09Apple and Google, of course.

03:12I mean, you know, I got Apple back in 2005.

03:15Wow.

03:16Probably should have got it earlier than that.

03:17But, you know.

03:17Well, that's a good price, though.

03:19And if you look at it right now, where is it?

03:20Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

03:22And I would say FedEx.

03:23FedEx.

03:23Wow.

03:24Why FedEx?

03:25I don't know.

03:26I use it.

03:26And it's a pretty successful company.

03:29Yeah, most definitely.

03:30They say, stick to what you know.

03:31Yeah.

03:31I got to tell you, I got to keep, I got to buy some Procter & Gamble.

03:35I'm using their toothpaste all the time.

03:36Now, the odor and everything, I might as well get me some of the stock market, you know,

03:39if it makes sense.

03:40All right.

03:40That's a good tip.

03:40Yeah, absolutely.

03:41Get some.

03:42Soundtrack to 2025, man.

03:44I mean, a lot is happening this year.

03:46Still got a lot more to go through, you know, six months.

03:48But what is keeping Malcolm D. Lee motivated?

03:51What's keeping you creative with music?

03:54What music?

03:54That's an interesting question.

03:55You know, like, I don't, I'm not, like, a new music consumer very much.

03:59I mean, although I, you know, I just listened to Tyler this morning on the treadmill.

04:04Tyler, the creator?

04:05No, no, Tyler.

04:06Tyler.

04:07You know, of, you know, Water, Make Me Sweat.

04:09Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.

04:10From South Africa.

04:11You know, I can't, you know, I'm very much an old school, you know.

04:16Errol Melvin and the Blue Notes old school?

04:17In that era, you know, I do a little bit of that.

04:21I do, you know, old R&B and Stevie Wonder is, like, my favorite artist.

04:27And, like, I'll listen to, like, some, you know, some jazz, like Coltrane or, you know,

04:34I listen to Nat King Coltrane because that's in a new movie I'm working on.

04:37So it's, it varies.

04:40Yeah, Miles Davis, Conor Blue, best jazz of all time.

04:43Yep.

04:43My dad would say the same thing.

04:44Yeah, I guess your dad was a jazz musician.

04:46That's right.

04:46He is a jazz musician.

04:47Yeah, absolutely.

04:47Still, you know, still, still alive.

04:49Yeah, that's good, man.

04:50Listen, if you walk into a third grade class, they have no idea who Malcolm Daly is.

04:54They probably don't.

04:55What is it that you do, Mr. Lee?

04:57Do you tell him I make movies and that's, what do you tell him?

05:00Primarily, that's what I, that's what I say.

05:02I make movies, you know.

05:03So, you know, and then I'll, you know, say I'll write and direct and, you know, and then I'll

05:07start going through, like, because I've been in some third grade classes and just say, okay,

05:11like, what do you need to make a movie?

05:12Yeah.

05:13And, you know, we start the discussion like that and they're very engaged in that debate.

05:17But, yeah, I primarily think of myself as a filmmaker and I think even more so that a storyteller.

05:23I was a writer first.

05:24You know, I, you know, working for my cousin very early on, he used to say, like, you know, write black film and write, you know, write stories.

05:31So, you know, I think if I hadn't written anything, I wouldn't have gotten to direct anything.

05:36So, I think I'm primarily a writer and a storyteller first.

05:40Yeah, you may get this question a lot.

05:42People say, well, what's Spike Lee like?

05:43What's Spike Lee like?

05:44But I'll ask you like this.

05:45If you had to describe your cousin in one word, what word would you use?

05:49Unique.

05:50Why unique?

05:50Well, I shouldn't even answer that.

05:52I mean, you could just look at him and tell Spike's unique.

05:54I mean, you know, listen, he has a very unique place in the world, in the world of filmmaking.

06:00You know, he has been responsible for so many careers, including mine, or at least the start of so many people's careers.

06:09And, you know, I'm grateful that he's in the world and that he's still getting his props and his flowers.

06:14Yeah, most definitely.

06:15Most definitely.

06:15I mean, listen, my whole childhood from She's Gotta Have It all the way through.

06:20Inside, man, I mean, you know, Spike has made his imprint on film, Hollywood, television, and so have you.

06:26But I'm glad that you're here, too, man, because, again, The Best Man, that helped shape, like, I feel like my adult life going into it, right?

06:34Because it gives you such those classics.

06:35And me and my friends still talk about that, the card scene and all that.

06:38And here you are, jumping to some new news, writing another book, all right?

06:42The Best Man, Unfinished Business.

06:44And you're partnering with our good friends at Storehouse Voices and Ms. Chapman and her company,

06:48partnership with Penguin Random House, co-writer Jane Allen is with this book.

06:54So you're picking back up with Harper, Jordan, and Robin, right?

06:56Take me inside of The Best Man, Unfinished Business.

07:00Well, you know, the impetus behind it was really, like, I thought I was done, you know, with these stories and with these characters.

07:08But, you know, I've always wanted to write a novel or at least, you know, try my hand at novel writing.

07:14And I said, well, I said, well, you know, this is my brand, as you noted earlier.

07:19And, you know, what better way to make that foray and to, you know, start with these characters that are, you know,

07:24and a lot of people felt like at the end of Final Chapters, which was on Peacock, a series on Peacock,

07:29you know, that people were like, oh, we want more.

07:30Like, what happened?

07:32So I'm giving them more at this point.

07:34So, you know, when we meet Harper, he's at a, you know, I wouldn't say a crossroads,

07:38but he's doing, because he's doing very well, you know, financially and, you know, he's living in a dumbbell.

07:44You checked him, he had that nice house, the brownings.

07:46Yeah, yeah, well, now he's got another place.

07:48And, you know, he's living that bachelor life.

07:51Yeah.

07:52And, you know, but he's divorced and feeling a little kicked out of his life.

07:56Yeah.

07:56Wants back in.

07:58You know, Robin is enjoying her life in Ghana, in Accra, with her young daughter.

08:06And then Jordan has moved from New York, and she's living in Malibu and trying to figure things out.

08:11She's getting into her own self-care.

08:13Yeah.

08:13So they're all kind of, you know, at a, I don't know, Mike, I wouldn't call it a midlife crisis,

08:18but they're at midlife and they're trying to figure out what their next steps are.

08:22How do they want the rest of their lives to be?

08:23That's exactly right.

08:24Who they want to be with.

08:25Who they want to be and who they want to be with.

08:27Yeah.

08:27Absolutely.

08:27I mean, listen, it only makes sense, and I haven't gotten through all of it,

08:30that Jordan and Harper sometimes, like, end up together.

08:32When you decide to close this, it has to be like that family matters.

08:35Remember until they waited until the end, until they finally let you see that Laura and Steve was going to get together?

08:39It's like, damn, you only took me 12 years, like, you're not going to take people through that journey, right?

08:43That's how, you know, that's how you get people to, you know, stay interested, you know?

08:47I think, you know, when we were crafting the final chapters, the timing wasn't right, you know, with Harper and Jordan.

08:56Perhaps the timing is right, you know, in Unfinished Business.

08:59And we have two more books that are going to, you know, still tell that story.

09:03Yeah, I was going to say, it's a three-part series, so it's a lot that you've got to get through, right?

09:06It is.

09:06Yeah.

09:06It is.

09:07But I think fans of the book, I mean, I'm sorry, fans of the television show and the franchise,

09:13I think will enjoy this book very much, you know, particularly if they're readers.

09:16Even if they aren't readers, I think they're going to enjoy it.

09:18And even people who haven't, you know, experienced The Best Man, I think will enjoy the book as well.

09:23Is it different writing a movie script compared to a book, or is it all the same thing?

09:27Oh, no, it's fair.

09:27Because you open it right up, it says Act One's right there.

09:29It's very different, you know?

09:31What's different about it?

09:32There's a number of things that aren't restrictive when it comes to novel writing.

09:37You know, you can create worlds, you can, you know, put them, you know, in different cities.

09:43You can, you know, have things be more explicit than you were in a movie.

09:48Like, you know, there's a lot more freedom, I think, in novel writing than there is to screenwriting.

09:54Because there's always things you have to compromise on with making movies or making television shows.

09:59You know, whether it's, you know, budgetary or actors or executives feeling like they want to put their two cents in or whatever.

10:07Really, it was me, my co-writer, Jane, and my editor.

10:11And, you know, we are the ones that are creating it.

10:13And, like, you know, I have the final say.

10:15I mean, I primarily have the final say in movies and television as well.

10:18But, you know, with books, it's very different.

10:21There's a lot more freedom.

10:22Yeah.

10:22And that freedom, you get, again, to create your own world.

10:25But, like, you know, I'm a writer myself, and it is tedious, right?

10:29Did you have to put it down once?

10:30I'm like, I can't do this.

10:31This is a lot.

10:32Not really.

10:33You know, I enjoyed the process.

10:36And having, you know, Jane, who's an experienced author, you know, kind of help shape the story and, you know, ask the right questions and, you know, give the right challenges, I thought, oh, this is a joy, really.

10:51And it was really, the thing that I was finding, I had to go to Ghana because a big part of the story takes place in Ghana.

10:57I'd never been to Ghana before.

10:59So you went over there?

10:59I went over there.

11:00For this book?

11:00Oh, yeah.

11:01Wow.

11:01Yeah, to just, you know, immerse myself in the culture.

11:06It was only, like, you know, I was only there for, like, a week.

11:07But I got, you know, a very good sense of the place and asked a lot of questions and met a lot of people.

11:14And so that was very important for the authenticity of the storytelling.

11:18But, no, I never felt like, I mean, I definitely felt it was a lot because it was mostly about deadlines, you know, not so much like, oh, my God, when am I going to get through this?

11:27It was more about, you know, how am I going to tell the story in a finite amount of time?

11:31And it was, we wrote it very, very quickly, you know, in considering.

11:35But, you know, it was an enjoyable process.

11:37I want to do it again.

11:38We're going to do it again.

11:40I was going to say, you're under contract for two more.

11:41You got to do it again.

11:42Yeah, I don't have a choice.

11:43I will do it again.

11:45And it's been, you know, it's an interesting challenge and one that I want to, you know, keep doing.

11:50Yeah, yeah.

11:51Well, you know, take me aside of, you know, again, why you decided to partner with Storehouse Voices.

11:56You could have went and any, you know, author or any publisher, they call you Malcolm D. Lee.

12:01You could have just got it done.

12:02Well, you know, there was, there were some other suitors that were interested.

12:06But, you know, they seemed to have the vision for it.

12:11They appreciated what I was trying to do, what I was trying to say.

12:15You know, they gave us, you know, kind of like the most freedom.

12:19And just felt like, you know, like they were, seemed like they were the ones who were most behind what I was trying to accomplish.

12:26So, you know, why not?

12:28Yeah, absolutely.

12:29Well, looking at the entire brand, right?

12:31I know I was listening to this podcast a while ago.

12:33It took you a while to accept this is your brand because you want to stop.

12:36And I know how hard it is to get people in the same room.

12:38And I know the Best Man Holiday, you were saying how much people, you said, hey, this is a want to project.

12:43No, I don't want to do it.

12:44Then we're going to leave what we was.

12:45So, you know, but getting people in one room at one time, especially all these actors, Terrence Howard, Morris, Chester, and Nia Long, like it's very, very difficult, I'm sure.

12:54Let me ask you by saying, is the phlegm done?

12:56Like, is it over?

12:57Are we going to see like Best Man, Next Generation of a whole new set of actors coming out?

13:01And maybe a few, maybe their kids get married, right?

13:03And they got to come back together.

13:05I saw your idea.

13:06That's my idea.

13:07I saw it.

13:08These are all interesting ideas.

13:09You know, it's, I'm not saying never.

13:12You know, I think maybe two years ago, I probably would have said no, over.

13:15But you know what?

13:17Life happens.

13:18Things change.

13:19You know.

13:20I'll help you write it if you want.

13:21I'm a writer.

13:21Oh, okay.

13:23Well, let's, you know, we'll exchange some stocks.

13:26Most definitely.

13:27And, you know, collaborate.

13:28Give me some of your Apple stock.

13:29We'll call it even.

13:30Oh, wow.

13:31I like it.

13:31It's like that?

13:32Listen, man, I'm sure that thing has grown over the years.

13:35So I think that'll be a fair amount.

13:36Plus, I could pass that off to my, I could bequeath it to my daughter.

13:39Hey, I got three, I got three kids in college.

13:41That's what I'm saying.

13:41I only want a couple of shares.

13:42Just a few shares.

13:43Okay, well, this is, this, this, this conversation is going in a different place.

13:46But in terms of, you know, whether or not there'll be more Best Men, I don't know.

13:51Yeah.

13:51You know, it's possible if I, you know, I think that there's a story to tell, then I'll

13:56do it.

13:57You know what I mean?

13:58But, you know, I, I certainly after the first movie, I didn't want to do a sequel.

14:03People were like, oh, let's do a sequel.

14:04And I was just like, I don't, I didn't, I didn't want to be a one trick pony.

14:08I don't want people to thinking that, oh, that's the only story you could tell.

14:11So I had to branch out.

14:12And plus, I wanted the characters to grow and I wanted to grow as a human being.

14:16And so, like, when we got to Best Man Holiday, it seemed right.

14:20And again, at that time, I said, look, here's the story.

14:24I pitched them to, pitched it to all of them.

14:26We got all together in a, in a restaurant.

14:28And I said, look, here, here it is.

14:30And if you want to do it, great.

14:31And if you don't, then we had a nice dinner together.

14:33But they all were, were, were down to do it.

14:35And they were also down to do, you know, the next.

14:38The next iteration of it.

14:40But were you happy with the Best Man, the final chapters?

14:43Like, I mean, I love that series.

14:45And then Peacock, I was, I worked at Universal before.

14:47So I understand a great, great company.

14:50NBC.

14:50But, but did, were you happy with the outcome?

14:52I think it was a challenge that, you know, I,

14:56that there's some things that they were missing for me.

14:58You know, I felt like the, the, the series was, was, was good.

15:04I, I think I enjoyed the, the, the, the movie process better.

15:08Um, I think that the bottom line is that, that the fans felt satisfied by it.

15:14Yeah.

15:14And so I was very happy with that, you know, um, and that, that is what,

15:18that's who I make the movies for and the television shows for.

15:20Uh, I thought we owed it to the fans to, uh, to do it, but I felt like there were some

15:26things we wanted to do 10 episodes.

15:27It ended up being only eight.

15:28Um, there was some, a lot, a lot of different things that had behind the scenes that, that,

15:32that prevented us from doing that.

15:34And so I said, you know, uh, you know, and once the, once the smoke cleared and the dust

15:38settled, I said, well, maybe there's more I can tell.

15:41And, and I said, okay, let's, let's go through it with the book.

15:43Yeah.

15:44I mean, like I said, it, I thought the chapters were fine, man.

15:47And I, you left me there.

15:48I was happy with it.

15:49Of course you want to see a better ending, you know, for Harper and Robin, but at the same

15:53time, this is what real life is.

15:54Life happens.

15:55Makes your story.

15:56So like, man, I, I, one thing that you said in the past is that how the best man kind

16:01of came from waiting to exhale and how you did not, those men in that movie, right?

16:06Those weren't the men you knew.

16:07Right.

16:08And as I look back at that movie, I says, you know, you got a good point.

16:10Cause I don't, this ain't Wesley.

16:11Wesley Snipes sitting at the desk, Nino Brown.

16:14That's not him.

16:15Right.

16:15And so the best man, it's movies like the best man, the wood, the brothers of guys I knew.

16:22Guys I grew up with.

16:22And I'm like, yo, this is our lives.

16:24This is us.

16:24We go from these young men to career like this is us.

16:27And you're missing that.

16:28And I, and I take it to LinkedIn because I went, I always like to do this with people.

16:31I said, I got Malcolm D. Lee coming up.

16:32What would you guys ask him?

16:33Right.

16:34Get out of my own way.

16:34And one sister, Erin Washington on LinkedIn, she says, you've done a tremendous job portraying

16:38black fatherhood.

16:39And I 100% agree with that.

16:42Has the way you've chosen to represent it evolved over the years?

16:46Black fatherhood or black manhood?

16:47Black fatherhood.

16:49I don't think so.

16:50I've been pretty consistent.

16:50I mean, if you take a look at some of the movies that I've done that, you know, kind

16:54of feature of black fatherhood, it's, if you go back to Roll Bounce, to the barbershop

16:59that I did, to Space Jam, A New Legacy, those are all kind of father-son stories.

17:04And, you know, I think the most consistent thing and the most important thing is to

17:08really show, yes, there's going to be conflict between father and son, but at the end of the

17:12day, there's love.

17:13And dad, or the dad saying to his son, I love you, or a son saying to his father, I love

17:18you, is important to see, is important to hear.

17:20I think, you know, that's something that's certainly consistent.

17:23I don't, I haven't, you know, made a change in that yet.

17:27And certainly, you know, with the Best Man Final Chapters, that, you know, Lance is struggling

17:31with his, you know, own religion and faith, you know, dealing with his own son, who's

17:37transgender, or child is transgender, you know, it was like, you know, or non-binary, I should

17:42say, you know, that was a struggle for him, you know?

17:45And so, like, you had to craft that in a certain way.

17:49And so, you know, I'm sure it will evolve as time goes on.

17:53Yeah.

17:53Well, I look back, and I went all the way back to 1999, and you had this quote, Washington

17:57Post, and it's important to make full black male characters, because when we've been

18:03vilified, we, because we've been vilified in the media, not only in Hollywood and television,

18:08but by ourselves, there were violent, misogynistic, criminal, negative low lives, or who don't

18:14want to work.

18:15Maybe plenty are, but the reality, but that's not reality.

18:18And that was in 1999, right?

18:20Is that phrase, is that quote, that theme around the quote about, you know, black male

18:25character, is that missing today in Hollywood?

18:28No, I don't think so.

18:29I think that, you know, you've seen it even as recent as this year, you know, with Ryan

18:37Coogler's Sinners, you know, is a great representation of black men, you know, on screen.

18:42And I think that it's evolving.

18:45It's, you know, there's always going to be some outliers, there's always going to be some,

18:48you know, negative portrayals, you know, that are out there.

18:51And I'm not saying that everything has to be positive.

18:53But is that black corporate exec missing?

18:55Like, I look at Boomerang.

18:56Boomerang was a movie that was made.

18:58One of my favorites.

18:59It is.

18:59It was intentional, right?

19:01Yes.

19:01And I know people was always like, well, where's all the other people?

19:04How can, it's like, wait, there are companies that exist in this world like this, right?

19:07And so that black male executive, like, that's like, again, the brothers and the people

19:12who've grown, is that missing today?

19:14Because, I mean, I see the same stuff.

19:16I mean, it's the slavery movies, it's the gangster stuff.

19:18But I'm missing someone who may look like it.

19:20You need the corporate brother on the screen.

19:22Yes, somebody that's doing it that I might see on the train that's working right here

19:25in New York.

19:25Right.

19:26I don't feel like there's enough of that represented.

19:27Okay.

19:28I mean, listen, I'll give you that.

19:29I can't say that, like, I know every movie that's out there and what's missing.

19:34I just know that, from my perspective, what I want to choose to represent.

19:37And, you know, it is a fullness of, you know, black humanity.

19:42Yeah.

19:42Particularly when it comes to black men.

19:43Yeah.

19:44Well, listen, right fast, because I want to definitely get into your background, but inside

19:47the movie business, right, you've been over three decades, again, Spike is your cousin.

19:50I think you have a perfect grasp on looking at some of the issues.

19:54But what's going on?

19:55What's the headwinds, tailwinds?

19:57The writer's strike, obviously, is over.

19:59I'm sure it's a little hangover.

20:00We have this Gen.

20:01AI going on.

20:02We're talking off camera about the way comedy is perceived in Hollywood right now.

20:06Good comedy movie.

20:07People still want horror and action.

20:09But what do you look at when you're looking at Hollywood in 2025?

20:13You know, everyone's running scared a little bit.

20:16You know, because of the writer's strike, they're making fewer things.

20:20I think they're also hedging their bets on what they feel are surefire things.

20:26And there's really no such thing.

20:27It's a surefire, you know, hit.

20:30You just kind of like kind of roll the dice with all these things, whether it's television

20:32or movies.

20:34And I think, you know, it's it's in a situation right now where it's going to correct itself.

20:38And I think it's a great it's a great opportunity for independent filmmakers to make a mark.

20:43You know, just like they did in the 70s and also, you know, in the 90s, there was a good

20:46resurgence of, you know, creativity when it came to filmmaking.

20:50So I see it as, you know, somewhat of a positive.

20:53This is an opportunity for a lot of people to do something.

20:56And it's also, you know, it happens to be you have to have the right piece of material.

21:01Because, like, you know, when I think about how I got into the business, I wrote the right

21:06script at the right time with the best man.

21:07And because and that's everything.

21:10Timing is everything.

21:11You know, when you are trying to put the, you know, the best elements together and meet

21:18it with the right timing.

21:19You know, at the time, you know, wedding movies were very popular.

21:22And so I said, OK, that's what I have to do.

21:24So I think you have to look at what is successful.

21:26I always say to young filmmakers, what are you looking at that's successful?

21:30What is what is working in the marketplace?

21:32Whether it's on, you know, the small screen or the big screen, what's working, follow that

21:38and try to see where you might fit in that niche.

21:40Yeah.

21:41Is it important for those young filmmakers if they want to see what's working and also

21:44just get out in the real world?

21:45Maybe go around.

21:46You just said you went to Ghana so you can get the full infrastructure of what it was

21:49like over there.

21:50Yeah.

21:50Including the book.

21:51Do they have to kind of get off their phone and get out in the real world?

21:53Oh, for sure.

21:54I mean, you know, I tell my son who wants to be a filmmaker, you've got to, like, have

21:58some experiences.

21:59You can't just rely on research and whatever.

22:01You have to, like, you know, get out, live life and, you know, have some real life, real

22:06world experience in order to really tell an authentic story.

22:09Yeah.

22:10So I think that that's extremely important.

22:12Yeah, most definitely.

22:12Well, listen, what is Malcolm D. Lee like as a director on a major project?

22:16Because I was reading, I was listening to one that you said being a director is like being

22:19the coach now.

22:19Everybody has to, you still need approvals, right?

22:22But you're the coach.

22:23Yeah.

22:23What type of coach are you?

22:24Are you Greg Popovich on set?

22:26Or what type of coach are you on set?

22:28I like a calm environment, right?

22:30I like, when I say loose.

22:32You like Phil Jackson and Zen, you know?

22:33Yeah, I don't like Phil Jackson.

22:35I'm not a fan, you know?

22:37No disrespect, but no.

22:39I don't.

22:40As a New Yorker.

22:41When you've got the best players on your team, like, how good of a coach are you, right?

22:46So anyway, I digress.

22:48Absolutely.

22:48No, I think for me, I like a calm environment.

22:52You know, I try to be very communicative to all, you know, that need to be communicated

22:56to, you know, with the actors, with my director of photography, with my costume designer.

23:02Just make sure that, you know, that I'm clear about what I want so that they can help me

23:06achieve my vision.

23:08Yeah.

23:08And that's what you have to do is you have to be a leader.

23:11You don't get that by yelling and screaming.

23:13You get that by letting people do their jobs and having expectations of people.

23:17And so, like, I try to just, you know, I try to let people do their job, but I'm also

23:20very demanding.

23:21I say to everybody, I'm demanding, but I'm not unreasonable.

23:24I like that.

23:25Yeah.

23:25Well, going into your business portfolio, again, you obviously make movies and you make

23:29a lot of money from that, right?

23:30Nice suit.

23:31You know, you got an Apple stock.

23:32So you make a lot of money from that.

23:33But you also own a bourbon line.

23:35Let's talk Sable, right?

23:37Yes.

23:37You're inside of the spirits business, man.

23:38That's a competitive space.

23:40We've got my different fawn weaver.

23:41Beyonce has hers.

23:42Meg Thee Stallion of hers, she has hers.

23:44Hers is pretty good.

23:45Like, everybody's having their own, you know, spirits.

23:47And now you are in it, along with your co-stars of the movie, Morris Chestnut being one and

23:52all those.

23:52But what's the biggest positive surprise about being in the spirits business?

23:56It is.

23:56Sable Bourbon is with myself, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, and Taye Diggs.

24:01Terrence Howard's not in?

24:03Terrence isn't involved with this.

24:04You know, we were going to him, but there was a conflict there.

24:07We love Terrence, and we would love to have him involved.

24:09And maybe later on he will be.

24:11I could be an investor, too.

24:13We can discuss it.

24:14So, you know, we, it's coming from a very organic place, you know.

24:18You know, the fellas were all like, oh, you want to keep working together.

24:21And I wanted to work with them as well.

24:23They were like, well, you're not going to make another movie, so let's do something together.

24:27So, you know, it was Harold's kind of brainchild that said, like, hey, you know, we do a

24:31lot of brown liquor drinking in the series and in the movies.

24:34Why don't we, like, try to get into this?

24:36And we said, okay, let's do it.

24:37And when we got with Bespoken Spirits, you know, we approached them.

24:40We said, we'd like to, you know, put something that kind of encapsulates what people, the

24:44experience people have of watching us on screen and put it in a bottle.

24:48And so it's been great.

24:50You know, we're out there, you know, hitting different cities and hitting different markets.

24:56And we love what we've, what's been created, you know, under our name, you know, from the

25:02title to the juice itself, to the font, to the messaging.

25:06It's all us.

25:07It's all us.

25:08Why Sable?

25:08What came Popcorn from?

25:09Well, the name is just like, it's very simple.

25:11It's elegant.

25:12It means black.

25:13But it also is like, you know, elevated sense of that.

25:16Like, you know, like Sable, Tate Dick's saying, Sable, are you able?

25:22He's doing all kinds of songs and stuff.

25:23But no, it's, you know, you want to like a kind of a simple name.

25:26Yeah.

25:27And something that, that, that exemplifies what we're trying to do.

25:30It's luxury.

25:31It's, it's, it's, it's, there's an elevated status to it as well.

25:36So, you know, it was, it was a great title.

25:40It's a drink itself.

25:41It's a little bit, a tiny bit sweet, but, and it goes down easy.

25:44It's very smooth.

25:45And you can use it, you can do it straight up or you can put it in a cocktail.

25:49Did you bring some?

25:50I should have.

25:51You should have, right?

25:51But I'm going to get you a bottle.

25:52Cups and everything.

25:53I'll get you a bottle.

25:53It's a little too early in the day to be drinking.

25:55And I got to go back to work.

25:57Yes, absolutely.

25:58Well, listen, man, take me back, right?

26:00You grew up, obviously, right here in New York, Brooklyn.

26:02And, you know, your mom was a medical, records administrator, dad also musicianing and jazz,

26:07and a school teacher, if I'm not mistaken, right?

26:09What'd you learn from your parents?

26:11Hard work.

26:12Hard work.

26:12You know, they try to put me in, or they stress to me education, right?

26:17That was going to be my leg up, you know, as a black man in America, and I was going to

26:22have to work, you know, twice as hard.

26:24So they put me in private school where they could, what they could afford, and really about

26:30just trying to try and do my best and be better than my peers.

26:35So, you know, it was mostly about hard work, and also having some aspirations for myself.

26:41What about on a Saturday, like when you're a kid in pajamas, you know, digging up your

26:44nose, you get up in the morning, right?

26:45I never dug in my nose.

26:46Everybody did when they were a kid.

26:48Come on, Malcolm.

26:49When you go downstairs, what are you watching?

26:51What's the cartoons you're watching, right?

26:52Let's see, I started, I started very early, like 6 o'clock in the morning, you know, started

26:57with Minnie Mouse.

26:59Minnie Mouse.

27:00And Courageous Cat.

27:02And then went to, you know, who was next on the hit list?

27:05I can't remember, but it was Super Friends, you know, the Warner Brothers, you know, Looney

27:11Tunes, eventually the X-Men.

27:14Yeah, I love watching cartoons, but you know, but as soon as my parents got up, it was like

27:17time to polish the furniture, clean the bathrooms.

27:20Yeah, couldn't go outside until you did it.

27:22Oh yeah, chores had to be done.

27:23And then, like, you know, it was not like, you know, hanging out inside.

27:27It was like, get out the house, go play ball, go hang out with your friend, do something.

27:31You can't stay in the house all day.

27:32But then you go, you end up at HBC, or excuse me, you end up at Georgetown.

27:35Your parents wanted you to go to HBC.

27:37You end up at Georgetown.

27:38Part of your journey I found very interesting is that that Disney screenwriters program that

27:42you do, right?

27:43What did that teach you?

27:44Before you went on to NYU Film School, what did that teach you in that Disney screenwriters program?

27:48You know, it was more about not so much learning how to write, because I didn't know how to

27:54write then, and they would try to teach me or tell me how to write in, you know, in the

27:58develop and stuff, but I wasn't really listening to it.

28:01I was a little bit arrogant, a little bit cocky, you know, and a little bit, like, not really

28:05just immature.

28:06But what it taught me a lot was about relationships and the business.

28:11And that's what, you know, the film industry, and I imagine a lot of industries are about

28:15relationships and how you, you know, interact with people and how you, you know, come off

28:19the people and how you, you know, stay in contact with folks.

28:22And I think that was, like, the biggest thing.

28:24And also having the opportunity to write, right?

28:26You know, like, you get to sit at home and just do nothing.

28:29This is before, like, the internet and go into, like, you know, Starbucks cafes and stuff

28:33to, like, you know, sit down and, like, write my, you know, my amazing script.

28:36I was at home, like, staring at a computer.

28:38And you can't, that's totally ineffective.

28:41You know, you have to have, again, life experiences, and then you can, you know, have something to

28:46write about.

28:47And so I learned a lot about the industry and, again, about relationships and having, and

28:54trying to maximize those.

28:55Yeah.

28:55I mean, Spike was in your life.

28:57He was your cousin at all.

28:58But here you are, again, trying to do it on your own, right?

29:00You got the screenplays, morning side prep, right?

29:03About your experiences.

29:04And then you have gems, right?

29:05Georgetown, ebony man, right?

29:07That's something that you wrote.

29:08But as you're crafting these scripts.

29:10Where did you get this research?

29:11This is amazing.

29:12I'm amazed by this.

29:13Who gave you all this information?

29:15Where are you getting, what are you learning about yourself when you're putting together

29:17these scripts?

29:18What are you trying to accomplish?

29:20What are you learning?

29:20You take me back to that particular.

29:21You know, morning side prep was about my experiences being at a predominantly white prep school

29:26in New York City.

29:27I went to Packer Collision Institute in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights.

29:30I also went to the day school, which is known as Trevor Day School now.

29:33I'm on a board there now.

29:35And, you know, I really wanted to, you know, draw off my own experiences, you know, and see

29:41what that like.

29:41I thought my story of being one of the only ones, really the only black male in my class

29:46from the ninth grade, I'm sorry, from the fifth grade until the twelfth grade.

29:51And what that unique experience was when you, you know, growing up as a adolescent and,

29:56you know, how your identity is tied to your race.

29:58And then, you know, writing gems was like my, you know, like, oh, this is like a college

30:03based story based on like a lot of the friends that I had made and stuff like that.

30:07But these were not like good scripts in terms of structure.

30:12They were interesting characters.

30:13They were interesting dialogue.

30:15But that doesn't make a good script.

30:16You have to write, you know, a three act structure story.

30:18Well, what does make a good script?

30:20You have to have, you, first of all, you know, you have to have those things, those elements,

30:25but you have to have a three act structure.

30:27You have to have an inciting incident.

30:28You have to have a magic prop.

30:29You have to have a setting that people are familiar with.

30:32I think you have to, you know, tell an original story that's compelling and that has propulsion.

30:37And so after like those two scripts, and I wrote, I wrote another one when I was at,

30:43in Disney program and wrote two more before I got to writing the best man.

30:48You know, I was very deliberate and intentional about what I was writing with best man.

30:54I was looking at the, you know, at the industry.

30:57I was looking at, you know, what I thought I could, you know, bring to the industry.

31:01And I said, okay, it's a story that's going to take place over a wedding weekend.

31:06It's a reunion.

31:07It'll be a three act structure naturally because it's going to take Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

31:11These things, these trappings of a wedding and a reception and bachelor party,

31:15it's all going to be part of the set pieces that you're going to make.

31:18Magic prop is the book that Harper has written that gets passed around their friends.

31:22And if somebody finds out, then it's going to be curtains for the, you know,

31:25so there's a lot of things that you say, okay.

31:27But that comes from having a lot of trial and error with other screenplays.

31:32And so once I understood that, and, you know, again, have experience and talk to professors

31:37at NYU film school and, you know, you know, watching movies and listening to filmmakers

31:42talk about how they've crafted screenplays and whatnot, you start to, you know, figure out,

31:47okay, what is the thing that I can tell?

31:49And what's going to be something that the studios will want to see?

31:54Now, I tried to make my own movie as an independent filmmaker.

31:59In fact, I wrote Best Man to sell it.

32:02I wasn't trying to even direct it.

32:04I was going to use the money that I made to write or to direct another movie that I had written,

32:10which was going to be, you know, in the vein of Annie Hall and When Harry Met Sally,

32:14like a great New York love story.

32:16But, you know, I was midway through writing Best Man, and I was like, oh, I could direct this.

32:21And so it just happened to be that I was going the studio route,

32:25and I had a much more, you know, kind of commercial sensibility than an indie filmmaker does have,

32:30even though I try to be an artist.

32:32Yeah, you were age 27 at the time, and, you know, Spike obviously takes that,

32:35takes it to Columbia and Universal, and you see that $9 million budget.

32:38But before that, there was a confidence thing that you hit,

32:41and I wanted to see if it meant anything to you.

32:43But on the set of Girl 6, when you found your own confidence, man,

32:47when you suggested to your cousin to use a different lens, right,

32:50when you were shooting a certain thing, and obviously he was maybe rejecting at first,

32:54but then he came around to it, right?

32:56And you thought that was going to open up a career,

32:58and then you didn't get onto the He Got Game set, but, you know,

33:01but that forced you.

33:02But that confident moment, did that kind of like put jet fuel in you

33:05when you finally did listen to something?

33:07Well, that was a great moment because, you know,

33:12I had been his assistant on Clockers,

33:14and then when I got to work on Girl 6 as well, you know,

33:17I was just, you know, observing how he used the camera

33:20and how he framed shots, and, you know, that taught me a lot.

33:23You know, that was like a, you know, working on,

33:25particularly on Clockers, that was like a year of film school that summer.

33:30And so, you know, I was there, and I made the suggestions.

33:33I said, it wasn't even a suggestion.

33:35I asked the question, are you going to, like, you know,

33:39do a longer lens on this, too?

33:40And he was like, nah.

33:42And then, like, you know, he got through that setup,

33:45and then he was like, hey, Malik, change the lens.

33:47And I was like, hmm.

33:49So, like, I had something to contribute.

33:50I had something that, you know, was of value.

33:53And I've always said from that moment on, like,

33:55I'll take a good idea from anywhere, right?

33:57Sometimes people will make suggestions to me,

33:59and I'll say, like, I don't like that.

34:01And then I'll think about it and be like,

34:02oh, maybe that's not such a bad idea.

34:04I don't know that they put jet fuel in me.

34:06I think not getting on, he got game.

34:11Because he was like, you know, look,

34:12I gave you a number of shots over the years, Malcolm.

34:16Somebody else's turn.

34:17You can't really go much further working under me.

34:21Yeah, I thought it was revenge

34:23because you wanted the basement,

34:24and he had to get kicked out of the basement.

34:26And so that's when Spike was forced

34:27to get kicked out of your house.

34:28He wasn't forced.

34:29He was just, you know, my father made it clear,

34:31like, hey, you know.

34:31But he wouldn't have done that if you didn't say,

34:33that wasn't in my own room.

34:34No, no, no, don't put that on me.

34:36That wasn't me.

34:37That was, that was, that was,

34:38that was my, my brother and I had to separate.

34:41So listen, when, when I say these names,

34:43you tell me the first thing that comes to mind.

34:46John Singleton.

34:48One word.

34:49Inspirational.

34:50Inspirational.

34:51I will say, can I say this just real quick?

34:53You know, as much as I work with Spike,

34:56it was the summer of 1991

34:57when I saw Boys in the Hood

34:59that said to me,

35:00I can write my own story.

35:02I can tell my story.

35:03I have to see that movie.

35:04And even though it was very different,

35:06Best Band and Boys in a very different movie.

35:08John was telling his stories.

35:09It was his story,

35:10and I was like, oh, I can do it too.

35:11So that was inspirational.

35:12Yeah.

35:12Ryan Coogler.

35:14Oh, man.

35:16Visionary.

35:17Love it.

35:17Barry Jenkins.

35:19Oh, boy.

35:19Also visionary.

35:20Like, just innovative.

35:22Innovative.

35:22Love it.

35:23Will Packer.

35:24My brother.

35:24That's true, but I'll take that.

35:27Woody Allen.

35:28Boy, complicated.

35:29Cursing Jay Scorpion, man.

35:30Anything else, man?

35:31I mean, something crazy.

35:32Complicated because he's one of my favorite filmmakers,

35:35but obviously a lot of issues.

35:37Yeah, yeah.

35:38But still brilliant.

35:39Behind the scenes.

35:39Yeah, absolutely.

35:40Absolutely.

35:40But what's in the future for you, man?

35:41I mean, I know you got this horror slash thriller

35:43that you're kind of working on.

35:44Yeah, yeah.

35:45What's going on with that?

35:45I'm doing this movie with Blumhouse and Universal.

35:49It's my first foray into doing a thriller.

35:52I'm not a horror guy,

35:53but it's a thriller,

35:55so it has suspense.

35:56And, you know,

35:57I've been wanting to branch out

36:00and not just be known for doing comedy.

36:02Even though comedy is great,

36:04you know,

36:05it's not really, you know,

36:06getting people in the seats these days.

36:08But, you know,

36:09it was a script that spoke to me,

36:12and I said,

36:13well, let me see what we've got.

36:14And it's a great cast.

36:16We've got, you know,

36:17Lynn Whitfield and Chloe Bailey

36:18and Anna Diop

36:20and Lucian Laviscount.

36:22It was Jabari Young.

36:23Are you in this movie, too?

36:25Yeah, I could be.

36:26Wow.

36:26Make me an offer.

36:27I'm going to make you an offer?

36:28You just don't want to just show up?

36:30No, I mean,

36:31you got some sable.

36:32No, I'm not.

36:33Maybe.

36:34Maybe no.

36:34So, no,

36:34that's coming up

36:36probably sometime early next year.

36:38Yeah.

36:38You know,

36:38I've got the book coming out.

36:39We're going to start writing

36:41the second one very soon.

36:42I feel honored.

36:42I got this early, too, man.

36:43Well, give it a read.

36:44I am.

36:45If you liked the best man movies,

36:48you will love this book.

36:49Yes, I'm sure, man.

36:50You haven't let me down yet.

36:51Oh, good.

36:51So, like I said,

36:52I'd like,

36:53Ross go home,

36:54welcome home, Ross.

36:54I haven't seen Scary Movie 5.

36:56Good, good, good, good.

36:57Keep that off your playlist.

36:59Yeah, absolutely.

36:59Nobody needs to see that, ever.

37:01Yeah.

37:01Well, listen,

37:02as we wrap up here, man,

37:03I wanted to get your advice

37:04from a young filmmaker.

37:06I mean,

37:06I know we kind of talked about

37:07getting out in the world,

37:08but I see a lot of young brothers

37:09and sisters who are trying

37:10to make films,

37:11some of which maybe

37:11have a hard way to go.

37:13Distribution options

37:14all out there, right?

37:15To be anything,

37:16but what is your advice

37:17so that way

37:18those young filmmakers

37:19can, you know,

37:20find their way?

37:20I think, you know,

37:21like anything,

37:22you have to perfect your craft.

37:24Yeah.

37:24And not to necessarily

37:25be perfect at it,

37:26but you have to work at it.

37:28You know,

37:28things don't happen overnight.

37:30You have to keep working at it.

37:31You have to,

37:31if you're going to write,

37:32you've got to keep writing.

37:33You've got to rewrite.

37:34You've got to, you know,

37:35if you want to make movies,

37:36make the movies.

37:37It has never been easier,

37:39way easier than when

37:39I was trying to make movies.

37:41Yeah, most people

37:42have a smartphone.

37:43You can make a movie with that.

37:45You know,

37:45you've got to get, you know,

37:46you've got to know

37:47what your strengths are.

37:48And there's more than one way

37:50to just be like,

37:51oh, what kind of filmmaker

37:52do you want to be?

37:52Do you want to be a producer?

37:54Do you want to be a writer?

37:55Do you want to be a director?

37:56Do you want to be all three?

37:56Do you want to be an editor?

37:58Editing is extremely important.

38:00And we need more

38:02black editors in the industry,

38:04you know?

38:05Like, people need to, like,

38:06know what their strengths are,

38:08what they're good at.

38:09I mean, it's fine

38:09to pursue your dreams,

38:11but you also have to be realistic

38:12and also pursue

38:13what you're good at.

38:14Yeah, most definitely.

38:15And within that, right,

38:16it's a business within it.

38:17That's right.

38:18What is your advice

38:19about handling the business

38:20as a film writer?

38:22Yeah, you know,

38:23it's like I've been saying

38:24in this conversation,

38:25like, you know,

38:26part of, you know,

38:27what I learned

38:28in going to Disney

38:28was learning about relationships

38:29and learning about

38:31the business itself.

38:33You have to have

38:34one ear or an eye

38:36in commerce

38:37and one in creativity.

38:38And I think you, you know,

38:40yeah, you can try

38:41to tell the story

38:42that you want to tell,

38:43but it's also important

38:44to see what is being,

38:45what's successful out there.

38:46What are people responding to?

38:49Like, you know,

38:49a lot of times

38:50I'll, you know,

38:52pitch things

38:52that are, like,

38:53before their time,

38:54you know?

38:54And, but, you know,

38:56it's all about timing.

38:58You know,

38:58what's doing really well

38:59right now?

39:00What are people,

39:00what is the industry

39:00going to respond to?

39:01And, by the way,

39:03sometimes you don't have

39:03to wait on the industry.

39:05Get, find a way

39:06to make your movie

39:07however you're going

39:08to make it.

39:08Like John Singleton said,

39:09no one cares about

39:10your little movie

39:10but you.

39:11So you have to be

39:12the person that's

39:13going to have to,

39:13you know,

39:14make it happen.

39:15Yeah, I love that.

39:16Get you out of here

39:17on some fun stuff, man,

39:18really rapid stuff.

39:19I think I know

39:20how you made

39:20your first million

39:21unless you tell me you're wrong,

39:22but I think it's

39:23through Hollywood and movies,

39:24maybe through something

39:24called The Best Man,

39:25right?

39:26I don't think I made

39:27a million.

39:28Other people made millions,

39:29not me.

39:30Building that brand,

39:30though, helps you.

39:31But how does you spend

39:32your first million?

39:33Real estate.

39:34Real estate.

39:35You know.

39:35So you own one of these

39:36buildings in the back of the house?

39:37Not, not even close.

39:38No, no.

39:39You know,

39:39we bought a house early

39:41and that's,

39:44I think, important.

39:46Buying a house,

39:46you know,

39:47I'm sure I got a car.

39:48Ferrari?

39:49No, God, no.

39:50Okay, I'm sorry.

39:51Lamborghini?

39:51I'm so, so conservative

39:53when it comes to that.

39:54Like, I think my first car

39:55was a Jeep.

39:55You do not have

39:56no Ford Taurus.

39:56It was a Jeep.

39:57Okay.

39:57It was a Jeep.

39:58Drop top?

39:59A Cherokee.

39:59No.

40:00Okay.

40:00It was a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

40:02Sunroof?

40:02No.

40:03It was, well,

40:03yes, there was a sunroof.

40:04There was a sunroof.

40:05Come on,

40:05you got to teach yourself.

40:05And a CD player.

40:07Oh, wow.

40:07I was balling.

40:08Wait, what is that?

40:09CD player?

40:09I don't even know what that is.

40:10And, you know,

40:11like, I think you have that

40:12and maybe,

40:13maybe some better looking clothes.

40:15I mean, probably.

40:16Yeah.

40:16You know, that kind of thing.

40:17But not the Apple stock.

40:18Not there yet.

40:19No, no, no.

40:20And then, you know,

40:21it started to have

40:21to build a family.

40:22Yeah, most definitely.

40:23So no regrets at all.

40:25Not even a Jeep.

40:25I mean, there's, you know,

40:26I wouldn't call them regrets.

40:27I would call them, you know,

40:28just learning experience.

40:29You know, what is it?

40:30You either win

40:31or you learn something.

40:33Yeah, absolutely.

40:33You're supposed to win-win

40:34at the end of the day.

40:35Yeah.

40:36Outlook stuff.

40:36When you hear Gen A,

40:37just AI in general,

40:39what does no one talk about

40:40in your industry?

40:40And I ask you that

40:41because I read this frightening

40:43Wall Street Journal headline,

40:45right?

40:45And it says,

40:46AI is learning to escape

40:47human control.

40:48And this is the first line of it.

40:49An artificial intelligence model

40:50did something last month

40:51in May 2025

40:52that no machine

40:54was ever supposed to do.

40:55It rewrite its own code

40:56to avoid being shut down.

40:59So when you hear AI,

41:01what is no one talking about

41:02in your industry?

41:02It's like the Terminator, man.

41:03Like they said,

41:04this machine's gonna take over.

41:05I just saw that movie

41:05for the first time

41:06like two weeks ago.

41:06What?

41:07I wanted to go back

41:07and watch it

41:08because if this is our future,

41:09I want to be prepared for it.

41:10Listen, I saw

41:11Mission Impossible,

41:12um, yesterday

41:13and I was like,

41:14it was entertaining

41:15but it was also

41:15a little bit scary.

41:16Yeah.

41:16You know,

41:17um, I'm not afraid yet

41:19but I'm definitely,

41:20it's something that is,

41:21you know,

41:21concerning for sure.

41:23You know,

41:23but AI cannot tell a story.

41:26You know,

41:26they can't put in

41:27the human experience.

41:29They won't need to.

41:29They'll be running to Earth.

41:31Well,

41:32don't say that.

41:34They're listening right now.

41:36I know.

41:37That's why I turn

41:37my voice thing off

41:38all the time.

41:39I'm trying not to be,

41:40be a doomsday person

41:41but I also,

41:42you know,

41:42also want to be smart

41:43about things

41:43and try to be,

41:45be looking at things

41:47as they come.

41:48Yeah,

41:48most definitely.

41:49Black Outlook.

41:49Nielsen says

41:50Black America

41:51spending power

41:51reached 2.1 trillion

41:53by 2026.

41:54When you hear that figure,

41:55what comes to mind?

41:55Support black business.

41:57Yeah.

41:57And, you know,

41:59consolidate that.

42:00I mean, look,

42:01it's very important that,

42:02particularly at this time now,

42:04that we do that,

42:05that we, you know,

42:07finally get to a place

42:07where, like,

42:08it's not so much that,

42:09you know,

42:10the other man's ice is colder.

42:11We have just cold ice, right?

42:13That's right.

42:13Support each other

42:14and there's so much power

42:16and then people will listen to us.

42:18Yeah.

42:18In a way that, you know,

42:20they're not right now.

42:21Yeah.

42:22Look around the world.

42:23What country do you invest in right now?

42:25Well, Malcolm,

42:25throw your money there right now.

42:26Africa.

42:27Ghana.

42:28Wow.

42:29Love it.

42:29Three books that inspire you

42:31to perform your best

42:32or motivate you

42:32outside of the best man

42:33on Finishing.

42:34When I find a book that I like,

42:35I start to obsess over it.

42:37Yeah.

42:37You know,

42:38and so, like, you know,

42:39right now nothing's coming to me.

42:42That's cool.

42:42We'll talk about it on set

42:43of when you hire me.

42:44Oh, yes, of course.

42:45There we go.

42:46I'm speaking into existence.

42:47That's the power of positive thinking.

42:50That's what I'm saying, man.

42:51Get you out of here on this, man.

42:52Good to great,

42:52always into conversations like this.

42:54Jim Collins,

42:55business book,

42:55good to great.

42:56Love that book.

42:57What is the difference

42:57between a good director

42:59and a great one?

43:00I think you have to know

43:01what you want.

43:02You know,

43:02people say about me

43:03that I know what I want,

43:04and I think that helps,

43:05you know,

43:06get your day going.

43:08It helps, you know,

43:09to communicate that

43:10to your actors,

43:11to your crew.

43:13Good directors,

43:15you know,

43:15you can have, like,

43:16the most amazing shot

43:17that you want to put together,

43:18right?

43:19But it's going to take,

43:20like, you know,

43:21half the day.

43:22And then you got, like,

43:23four other pages

43:23that you have to direct.

43:24Things are going to suffer.

43:25So I think, you know,

43:27for me,

43:28and I consider myself

43:30a good director,

43:31you know,

43:32I try to be,

43:32I'm trying to be great.

43:34But yeah,

43:34I think knowing what you want

43:35is half the battle.

43:37And having a very clear vision

43:38and being very communicative.

43:40Yeah.

43:40I consider you

43:41a wonderful director.

43:42And a wonderful author as well.

43:43Best man,

43:44unfinished business.

43:45Malcolm,

43:45we got to come back

43:46and do this again, man.

43:47I'm sure there's going to be

43:47plenty to talk about

43:48when you come out

43:48with your suspense movie,

43:49right?

43:50Let's make it happen.

43:51That's what I'm saying.

43:52And we talk about

43:52my cameo and all of that,

43:53man.

43:54It's so much unfinished business

43:55that we got to talk about.

43:56So thank you so much, man.

43:57I really appreciate the time.

43:58It's been an honor

43:59for me to come up

44:00and, you know,

44:01meet and talk to you, man.

44:02One of the best movies

44:03I've ever made.

44:03One of the best franchises.

44:04So thank you

44:05for taking the time

44:06to spend all that time

44:07in your parents' basement

44:08to write this script.

44:09I really,

44:10I really appreciate that.

44:10Thank you very much.

44:11Malcolm D. Lee,

44:12the Enterprise Zone.

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