That is exactly what happened to Effie T. Brown, who in 2020 was named the new CEO of Gamechanger Films, the first equity fund to finance feature films by women.
But when Brown took over she widened that scope to include stories by people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, people of color and even men from under-represented communities.
As a result, the first cab out of the rank when she took the top job was The Inspection starring “America’s sweetheart” Gabrielle Union.
The actress plays Inez, the unsupportive mother of Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) a son she had kicked out 10 years ago after learning he was gay.
Ellis eventually goes on to join the military in the era of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The film follows his journey to fit in and win the affection of a volatile mother.
The role is a massive departure from Union’s usual choice of projects, but she was the first and only option for Brown and her team.
“Gabrielle Union is such an icon in the Black community, and she is seen as America’s sweetheart a little bit,” Brown gushes to Newsweek about her leading lady, saying her phenomenal performance was a “cherry on top,” of casting such a legend.
“To be able to play such a different type of character… is really the complete opposite [of herself]. She was able to make it nuanced and complicated, you can see that this woman is struggling.”
Also winning rave reviews since its debut at the Toronto Film Festival is the work of The Inspection’s writer and director, Elegance Bratton.
The story is based largely on his own life, but this was not a project for his self-healing because he had “done the work beforehand.” As a result, Bratton can tell the story with clarity, even bringing humor into what otherwise could have been a very dark tale, according to Brown.
Bratton described the film as a “gay, Black Rocky” to Gold Derby, and much like Sylvester Stallone’s famous film, it is already generating Oscars buzz.
Brown remains humble about the awards hype, saying “what is awesome is that you did something worthy… and it resonated with people.”
Told by anyone else not from the same background as Ellis may have led to relying on tropes or misunderstanding the rich tapestry of his experiences. The story of coming to terms with sexuality, or even navigating complicated family relationships is not new in Hollywood, but Bratton’s capable hands gives the film a unique edge.
It’s for this very reason Brown often repeats Gamechanger’s mission statement, “you can’t make something about us, without us.”
“People were telling Black and brown stories or queer stories that have no experience, nothing besides like, ‘I’m an organism, like, I can tell a story,’” she said, adding there are people from these communities who can tell their own stories.
“Oftentimes we were getting misrepresented. [We have to look at] who is best to tell the story, which is [usually] someone who’s of this story, not to say this is the only story that they’re allowed to tell, but they should be able to tell it.”
Brown is no stranger to spearheading content from marginalized voices and before taking over at Gamechanger she produced Real Women Have Curves, Dear White People, HBO’s Project Greenlight, and executive produced Lee Daniels’ Star on FOX and Disney Channel’s Zombies.
She made headlines during Project Greenlight—a docuseries following first-time filmmakers working on their debut projects—when she challenged Hollywood heavyweights Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
Brown questioned the Oscar winners over a lack of diversity on their chosen project, pointing out the only Black character in the script was a prostitute who was physically abused by a white pimp.
She explained it would be helpful to hire a diverse directorial team who could well represent the character and suggested some budding filmmakers for the project, but Damon jumped in to interrupt her.
He came under fire for speaking over her and saying, “when we’re talking about diversity you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show.”
Self-described as having the personality type to “amplify all voices,” Brown has been a long-time champion of diversity both in front of and behind the camera.
Her new position at Gamechanger is “cosy” because it has access to resources and the team “don’t have to beg” for financing.
Beyond money, there is an ease that comes with working in an environment where you don’t have to “explain your experience to someone who has no idea about your culture.”
“You have to make them comfortable first and then you have to pitch. The mental gymnastics is exhausting,” she said.
Gamechanger also has a nonprofit arm which seeks to makes sure all interns and those shadowing on set receive a stipend, because only “trust fund babies can work for free.”
“A lot of us that look like me, don’t have trust funds. We pay people to work on something to get that access to opportunity,” Brown said.
But she has started to see what she describes as “Blacklash” in Hollywood. She described how studios came to the table to create diversity initiatives but it seems that “we’re a little done with that now.”
The film producer understands the need to prove diverse projects can make money because “it’s show business, not show charity.”
“It’s becoming a game of optics,” Brown explained.
She added: “I’m not your culture cover.”
But what makes Gamechanger so unique is that it has the ability to have nuanced conversations about the most appropriate people to work on a project, whether it’s a real-life story or something sci-fi.
Or as Brown put it, “if I’m doing a Black film, let’s go find a Black female producer. Right?”
Brown never realized she was “doing something different” to the rest of Hollywood.
“I just knew that I’m really Black. I’m a woman. The LGBTQ community gave me my first jobs. I was just happy to be working and doing what I’m doing,” she explained.
“I’m so invested in this and I love this so much. Even if all of a sudden, it was like ’everything’s better now’, I would still write like this.
“I hope to God I see it in my lifetime. But there’s still a s***load more work to do.”
The Inspection premieres in cinemas on November 18.
