Bob Johnson's Our Stories Films

by Karen Hatter | August 2, 2007 at 05:06 am

2117 views | 45 Recommendations | 8 comments

Robert, he likes to be called Bob, Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), sold BET to Viacom, which also owns CBS. This business move made Bob the first African American male billionaire. He now is a hotelier and has started the film company, Our Stories Films, which debuted it's first film on July 27, 2007 entitled Who's Your Caddy?.

His partners at Our Stories Films are the Weinstein brothers, Bob and Harvey, who built Miramax studios, which they sold to Disney for around 70 million dollars in 1993. Bob Weinstein heads Dimension Films, a subsidiary of Miramax, which comes under the control of Disney.

From prnewswire.com, it is reported that:

Ford and Our Stories Films have formed an exclusive new marketing alliance that includes product placement, script integration, sponsorships, and promotions of featured film titles. Our Stories Films is a film venture between Robert L. Johnson (Founder, Black Entertainment Television) and Hollywood super-producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Producer Tracey Edmonds will serve as OSF President and COO. Our Stories Films' debut film "Who's Your Caddy?", starring actor/rapper Big Boi, is in theatres nationwide July 27.

The first film offered by Our Stories Films could be described as a kind of fish out of water rap star who seeks to teach a lesson to the all white club to which he has applied for membership.

By all accounts, the characters in the film are racially offensive stereotypes and the jokes are crass body and toilet humor, with BlackTalentNews.com saying “.... if this demeaning movie had been made by mainstream Hollywood, it would be courting charges of racism.”

Queen Latifah and Shakim (Compere) are executive producers for the film. Don Michael Paul is the writer and director of the film and a white man, a choice that has raised a few eyebrows since the company uses as its focal point the intent to tell 'our stories', supposedly meaning Black folks.

From an article at The Afro American Newspaper at www.afro.com, Tracey Edmunds, who heads Our Stories Films, states:

“As the first Black-owned and run studio with greenlight power, I look forward to working with our top artists and assisting them in bringing their great stories and creative talents to the screen," said Edmonds. "One of the first calls I received when I started at Our Stories Films was from Queen Latifah and her producing partner Shakim. They pitched me Who's Your Caddy? and after reading the screenplay and seeing the talent involved, I knew we had to make this movie.”

At www.EURWeb.com, it posts at its site an interview where Bob discusses the new film company and the controversy surrounding Hot Ghetto Mess, where his position seems to be if others are getting away with showing degrading imagery of African American people, we, as consumers, shouldn't get upset and rock the boat when BET tries to emulate the same success formula crafted by those outside of the Black community.

Although marketing and catering to it's majority Black audience and continuing to refer to BET as if it is an African American owned entity, BET has not been a Black owned entertainment venue since Bob sold the business in 2001 for 3 billion dollars to Viacom.

Let's be clear, as BlackTalentNews.com says, if this movie had been made by any other film studio other than the studio claiming bragging rights, as Tracey Edmonds says, “.... as the first time African Americans have had their own studio....”, the outcry for someone's head would be filling the heavens!

Regarding Our Stories Films, Tracey Edmonds explains:

There are definitely a lot of eyes on the studio. It's historical. It's the first time African Americans have had their own studio; it's the first time that people of color can greenlight their own films and decide what goes on the big screen. So, we have a lot of responsibility and we want to do films with positive messages. But at the same time, we want to entertain and make people feel good. We're really trying to be in business with A-List talent, but also discover some new talent and open doors for people of color in front of the camera and behind the camera as well.

This issue regarding Hot Ghetto Mess and Who's Your Caddy is a social class issue. The individuals, that happen to be of African descent and involved in the production of both productions are not representative of so called mainstream Black people.

In certain realms, money supplants race. As members of their class, a class that gives them access to power because of their money, which is not available to the masses of African American people, they and their class are in business to make money, no matter how their 'intent' may be couched.

Their schemes are dressed up for those within the African American community so we will look at who brings it to us, along with the perceived unspoken appeal to us because of their appearance, as fellow 'sistas' and 'brothas', in the hope that we will embrace whatever product is given to us, as we hope for the day, as we support them, that they will do right by us. That's the quintessential contradiction in an abusive relationship!

It is the obligation and duty of all of us of African descent that walk this path, on this plane of existence, to aid in the cultivation of our community, wherever we find ourselves.

It is the duty of us all to hold accountable all who cross our paths for actions and behaviors meant to demean and denigrate the whole of our community.

We cannot afford to let our own folks or anyone else 'slide' or downplay their actions when they disrespect us. They must be called to task and informed that we will not tolerate their disrespect of the African American community any longer.

Given the dismal showing for Who's Your Caddy?, Our Stories Films better shape up!

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:41 on August 2nd, 2007

I can't believe that Caddy was produced by an African-American-owned studio! Whilst filmmakers do not have any sort of moral contract with the public (and, as Spike Lee once said, nobody can represent all African-Americnas, since it's such a diverse group of people), I would think, nay hope, that a black-owned studio's film would be, well, something other than a stereotype film. It's classic studio thinking, though, which is to say straight-up investment banking: if the formula made any sort of profit, repeat the formula.

We, as filmgoers, have to vote with our feet. By buying into this, we're enablers, as a friend of mine said as he refused to buy a ticket to another summer sequel this year.

Karen Hatter

at 05:57 on August 2nd, 2007

In essence, Jordan, I agree with your statements. However, I disagree that African Americans filmmakers do not have a moral contract with members of their own community. Given the horrid history of our existence in America and the world, as those of us of African descent have been viewed by almost all on the planet as inferior beings as a consequence of chattel slavery, which lasted, in various places, for over four hundred years, we, those of us of African descent, have a lot of propaganda ground on which to catch up!

Yes, African Americans can lampoon and make silly movies but, EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE knows, framing is everything and to revert to ingrained, preconceived ideas and concepts, that STILL exist in this country and the world, does a disservice to all descendants of Africa.

Jordan Yerman

at 06:13 on August 2nd, 2007

I guess I was unclear with my statement up above: filmmakers as a whole do not have a moral obligation to an audience (potentially made up of everyone on the plan who is not the filmmaker), but in this case there's something else going on, as you say: this is a huge opportunity wasted, and credibility in the movie business is as thin on the ground as gap financing, and much harder to maintain!

(It's beyond propaganda at this point: most in the industry just cannot concieve of nonwhites in mainstream leading roles, unless that character's ethnicity is somehow part of the plot, usually for comedic purposes. There are exceptions, but very few)

Karen Hatter

at 06:35 on August 2nd, 2007

Thanks for the qualifier, Jordan! I especially agree with, " It's beyond propaganda at this point: most in the industry just cannot concieve of nonwhites in mainstream leading roles, unless that character's ethnicity is somehow part of the plot, usually for comedic purposes. There are exceptions, but very few."

Cushite

at 20:15 on August 4th, 2007

"Coon Tale Productions" I saw a review regarding this movie and they re-named the production company.

Karen, I do agree with you 100 percent, however I believe if we were honest with ourselves we would admit that this movie is really made to please the so-called "white" masses. They feel that we, meaning African Americans are at the stage that we will accept just about anything, especially from Hollywood.

Bob Johnson, producer Queen Latifah and producer Tracey Edmonds and the so-called cast are not about building self-respect in the African American communities, far from it. They are creating “backdoors” for us. Self-denigration has been apart of being accepted in the media for a very long time. What are the chances that a movie will be made to benefit people of African descent especially in this country? Especially if they are so blind to have an European American writer/director and this being a joint venture with the Weinstein Brothers, other European Americans? It's not in their best interest for people of color, to rise above a system that provide social, political and economic privilege to people who call themselves "white."

The bottom line, if you want to make millions of dollars in this system that controls how people are to be viewed on a global scale, than you will play to the system that have created million to the people involved. Degrading coon shows are now the norm when we are in this mental state, where we feel the only things that matter is acceptance, fame and fortune.

Karen Hatter

at 18:40 on August 5th, 2007

Thank you for your thoughts, Cushite! I am not prepared to extend any form of plausible deniability to those of African descent involved in this project. I am not advocating the making of only documentaries. Whether or not coon shows are in vogue, my point is the status of those on this playing field allows them latitude. I believe they have chosen to make the moves they have made with very little coersion.

As I've said, money buys access to a social class. However, I will agree that, to assure their continued participation, they will do whatever it takes to remain there. Some form of coon movie has been in existence forever. I know that going for the most offensive stereotypes is no longer necessary. That's the line that should have been drawn.

angryindian

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:05 on August 2nd, 2007

Good work Karen in exposing the reality behind who controls what and to what ends in entertainment media. To say that Mr. Johnson is part of the problem is an understatement.