Coming from living off the
streets of Philadelphia, PA, Michael Elliot has come to be one
of the most successful black screenwriters of this time. He has
done many ventures in the music business from starting his own
magazine to
executively producing the Source Awards show. As a screenwriter,
he has written MTV's Hip opera Carmen, Brown Sugar, and Like Mike.
Now with his own entertainment company called Dreamspring, he
hopes to share his success to inspiring people of today.
NP: Well first off, I just want
to say thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to
do this inter view with us.
Michael Elliot: Sure. No problem.
NP: You are originally from Philadelphia,
PA, the hometown of Will Smith, DJ Drama, and Bennie Siegal. How
was
it like growing up in Philly ?
Michael: You know what ? It was
great particularly around the 1980s witnessing the explosion of
hip-hop in our city. It
was really great being around new music, and everyone my age was
into it.
NP: What were some other influences
besides the growing of hip-hop?
Michael: Good question. Back then,
particularly in my teenage years, coming out of high school, not
hav ing a stable place to live, not having money, dropping out
of school, turned into inspiration for me. I just wanted to change
my life by any means necessary. I did not have a person to influence
me. Just the idea of having a better life was my influence - and
at the least I could change my situation.
NP: When you dropped out of high
school, how did your parents and your peers feel about that? Michael:
One of the reasons I dropped out of school was because I did not
have
family, mother-father that was in my life. I was abandoned probably
a year or two earlier. So I was ward to the system, meaning I
was a ward of the state, and living in boys homes. My mother,
father, aunts, and uncles were not in my life. When I dropped
out of high school, it wasn't because I did not want to go to
school anymore - I was in a program that was state run that allowed
me to have a place to live. When I turned 18, which was three
months before graduation, I was no longer a minor and no longer
the states responsibility. Therefore, I had no place to live.
I was suddenly homeless. I dropped out of high school because
I had to focus on where I was going to sleep and what I was goin
to eat. It was sort of like I had no choice at the time. So I
found myself homeless.
NP: We also know that you started
your own publication
back in 1988, could you elaborate more on that?
Michael: Yeah. By 1987, obviously
,hip-hop was popular and clearly it was not mainstream, but in
the inner - city of Philly and other cities it was popular. I
noticed that there was not a lot of coverage on hip-hop artists
in other mainstream magazines. The only magazines that I would
see a rapper or a rock group in was Right On or Black Beat. But
those magazines only featured the most commercial - Run DMC, Fat
Boys, at the time. You would never see the sort of underground,
or groups like Public Enemy, which was popular at the time. So
because I did not see any magazines giving any coverage on the
music I loved, I decided to publish my own. It was called Krush.
It was probably the first hip-hop magazine, ever. It was exclusively
dedicated to hip-hop. The first issue came out in March 1988 with
Public Enemy on the cover. The idea basically came out of a need
for it to be in the market place. Me, being a fan, wanting to
hear more about the groups I was hearing on the radio. There was
not any publication for me, being a hip-hop fan. So, I decided
to publish one.
NP: So, Why did you decide to
name it Krush?
Michael: Honestly, I don't know
where that name came from. I don't know where I got the name from.
It just sounded cool to me.
NP: You also started your own
rap video show. How did that come about?
Michael: A year after I launched
my magazine it was a lot of competition. Suddenly It was sort
of hard for me to stay in the business and grow. Now, there was
magazines like The
Source, Strictly Hip-Hop, and probably ten others. So a year after
launching my magazine, I found myself on the verge of going out
of business because I could not compete with the others in competition.
So one night I was watching an
infomercial on television. At that time it was 1989, before infomercials
were popular. I did not know what I was watching, but I noticed
that at the end of this infomercial I saw the words, "This
program was paid for by blank." Wow! You mean you could buy
a half hour of TV time? I knew you could buy a commercial, but
I did not know you could buy a
half hour and put your own program in it. The next day I called
the television station and investigated and found that you could
buy time on a station if you had the money. So I decided to keep
the name and spirit of my magazine alive by launching a hip-hop
video show bearing the same name of the magazine. I felt like
it would do well, because at that time, the only hip-hop viewing
show was “Yo MTV Raps.” Plus, in the 1980s, cable
was still new. Most people in Philly, back then, did not have
cable. If you did not have cable, you could not see "Yo MTV
Raps.” So I felt like me launching a new hip-hop video show
that could be aired on regular tv, would do well. And it did.
I lauched it in Philly. It
ultimately aired on 21 different markets over the next two years.
NP: Also, you worked for The Source
Magazine. What were the types of jobs did you do?
Michael: Initailly, I came to
work for the Source in 1992. My title at the time was Director
of Special Projects. My job was, basically, to come up with ways
for the magazine do two things: 1. To increase the awareness of
the brand - The Source 2. Make money. I was never a writer. I
was more on the business side. I had to think of ways to make
money and strengthen their division in the industry. Out of this
job came the idea of The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards, which was
something I executively produced. I worked for The Source until
1995. And in 1995, was the infamous Source Awards with Suge Knight
on it, where he made the diss to Puff Daddy. That was one of the
shows I was behind and executively produced. After that incident
I left the Source. Moved back to Philly, and thought about what
I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was approaching my
30th
birthday, and the following year I decided to get in the movie
business. So I moved to California. Once I moved and decided to
become a screenwriter, and instantly selling my first screen play
that next year, The Source came calling again. And at that time
they were attempting to try to get the Source Awards on a network.
And they ask would I come back and help get The Source Awards
on a network. So I accepted the job and was appointed President
of Source Ent. I got the show on UPN and executively produced
the show in 1999 and 2000 on UPN. Then I left to be a screenwriter
full
time.
NP: You also worked for Hot 97?
How was that experience?
Michael: When I got hired at The
Source in 92', I also had a job in radio. I hosted a hip-hop show
on a local radio station in Philly. So on Sundays, I would commute
from New York to Philly to host my show. I did this for a few
months until the station was bought by another station and they
changed their format and was no longer hip-hop. I still had a
tape of one of my shows. I let the program director of Hot 97
hear it one day, and he called me back and said "We’d
love to have you on our show.” So I worked doing overnights
for a few months on the weekends. That job led me into getting
another job at a company called SW Network, which stood for Sony
Worldwide Network. They were working on a project with Russell
Simmons in creating a hip-hop show. This was a two - hour countdown
radio show that would syndicate to other radio stations. The name
of the show was Street Heat which was syndicated to 32 markets.
So I did this while working for The Source.
NP: Are there any other music
ventures you have done?
Michael: In 1992, I authored and
self-published a book on hip-hop called The Unsigned Rapper's
Guide to getting a Record Deal. Pretty much that's it.
NP: What is it like being a black
screenwriter in Hollywood?
Michael: It is not easy. When
I thought about being a screenwriter, it was hard to believe that
I could do it and succeed at it and that I would actually be one
of those guys who had a movie in theaters. You really do not see
a lot of
this. We all know somebody who could play ball really well. But
without a college scholarship or basketball scholarship, how many
people do we know that are actually screen- writers? We probably
know someone close who is in the NBA. But how many people do we
know that will actually pay ten dollars to see their movie. You
just don't because their is just few of us. So that, basically,
was the hard part for me. But lets be real, there is no African
American in Hollywood that has the power to greenlight a movie,
meaning there is no one that is black that would read my script
and say, ok, we are going to make it. So you are constatly dealing
with white people. Trying to get them to understand your culture,
sensibilities, projects, ideas, and movies that will appeal to
your audience. Especially when you are talkin to someone one who
does not understand your culture, and less, do not care.
NP: So what are some of the screenplays
you have written?
Michael: I probably been involved
in about twenty TV and film projects. But of the twenty, about
3 have actually been made into movies. One being the movie for
MTV called "MTV's Hipopera Carmen", which starred Beyonce,
Mekhai Phifer, and Mos Def and aired in 2001. Then there was the
movie Brown Sugar, and Like Mike.
NP: What made you write the Hipopera
Carmen?
Michael: Well, my sensibilities
are hip-hop. I can think of a lot of hip-hop songs that are stories.
I just felt that rap was the perfect vehicle for doing musicals.
Rap is essentially monologue written rhythmically. So I thought,
why not make
up something where actors could go from dialogue to rapping. Fortunately,
MTV wanted to do something just like that. They were sort of game
for taking an idea of an opera, a story that was written two hundred
years ago and doing a contemporary version of it with hip-hop?
NP: If you did not have Beyonce
as your leading female role, who would you have chosen?
Michael: Before Beyonce, we were
going to cast a new actress by the name of Joy Bryant. Now, she’s
gone on to
have a very successful acting career. In the movie Carmen, she
actually played one of the girlfriends. But before Beyonce signed
on, that was going to be Joy Bryant.
NP: Do you have to have a vivid
imagination when coming up with screenplays?
Michael: Yeah, I think so. It’s
not hard. I think everybody has a story in them. I dont think
I have a special gift that everyone does not have. For me, it’s
not hard. I don't ever sit around and try to think of a story.
Ideas and stories just come to me. Everyone has imagination in
them.
NP: So what do you look for when
you cast your actors?
Michael: I dont know if there
is something special that I look for. I look for skills.
NP: You have your own company
called Dreamspring Entertainment. Could you tell us more about
that ?
Michael: I have been very blessed
and successful to have so many of my dreams come true. I realized
a long time ago that I was not the most talented writer I know.
If I had one gift, it would be the gift of resourcefulness. It
is like I have a knack for figuring something out and making it
happen. Whatever it is, like tv, magazines, radio, and etc. So
I just thought, in this point of my life, that it would be really
great if I just give back and create a resource to tell them how
to break into the career of their dreams. So in this case, Dreamspring
has put together a series of dvds with highly accomplished people
featured on them, stating to you
how they broke in. I wanted to get people who have made it and
living their dream that were willing to talk about how they made
it, so you could apply yourself to it and pursue your dreams.
Over the next six months, Dreamspring's plan is to create about
15 dvds that would cover a wide range
of dvds. From music, tv, film, to starting your own clothing line.
Currently , there are eight available....covering hip-hop - such
as producing, getting a record deal, an artist manager deal, music
video direction, screenwriting, a working DJ, careers on urban
music, careers in urban fashion.
NP: Why did you choose DVD format
instead of Book?
Michael: I think that the dvd
format is something that is next. Me, I'm not a big book reader.
If I had a choice of book or watching something on screen, I would
choose dvd. Also, you have to remember, my dvds feature people.
You get to see them, hear them. It is a very visual idea. It just
would not work as well on paper.
NP: Will they be available in
retail stores?
Michael: No, they are available
exclusively online at
www.dreamspringentertainment.com.
NP: Is there anything else in
line for Dreamspring?
Michael: Well, we have forty more
titles that we plan to produce over the next six months, and I'm
sure over the next year, there should be fifty more. We are just
going to keep on moving. There are so many titles with careers
that can show information so people can have it in front of them.
That is sort of the plan - just to keep creating new dvds for
people to help make their dreams come true.
NP: Well it is not everyday a
person gets to meet a black screenwriter and we just want to say
thanks again for taking the time for this interview.
Michael: Thank you for taking
the time to help promote Dreamspring. To everyone, don't be afraid
to dream cause if you can dream it, you can do it. If you got
the passion,
desire, and the ability to work hard, then come to Dream- spring.
We might have something that will help you reach those dreams.
Visit my website at
www.dreamspringentertainment.com
|
