Datari Turner has spent more than 20 years producing some of your favorite films and TV shows. He moved to NYC in the early 2000’s to model for big fashion brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Sean John; but, the California native eventually moved back home to pursue a very different career path — film.
His start in the production world was in 2005 on Damon Dash’s BET reality show Ultimate Hustler which he executive produced. Since then, the producer and filmmaker has since produced nearly 30 feature films with his film production company Datari Turner Productions. Those films have collectively earned 98 festival award nominations, and his producer credit in the short documentary series Shut Up & Dribble with LeBron James earned him a NAACP nomination for their Image Award for Outstanding Television Documentary award.
This past week, Datari had two new films premiering at the American Black Film Festival.
The Knockturnal: How are you?
Datari Turner: I’m good. A little busy, just got done doing an interview for ABC Miami.
The Knockturnal: So, you’re in Miami?
Yes, I’m here for ABFF (American Black Film Festival). I have two films currently in the festival that are premiering here and I’m teaching a master class on film and television. One is called Same Difference. It’s a film about a black woman dealing with mental health issues. The second one is If Not Now, When? which stars Meagan Good. She also co-directed the film which is about sisterhood and friendships that spanned for over 30 years, supporting each other as they deal with real life, love and relationships.
Six of Datari’s films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, including his 2018 film A Boy. A Girl. A Dream starring Meagan Good, Omari Hardwick (POWER), Jay Ellis (Insecure) and more. Meagan has frequently starred in a few of Datari’s film including his very first film Video Girl.
The Knockturnal: You’ve featured many of the same actors and actresses in your film like Meagan Good who is in your film A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. What’s the chemistry like when working with them?
Datari Turner: When I left New York in 2002 and moved to L.A. to be a screenwriter, [Meagan] was one of the very first people who believed in me when I tried to change careers as I had an extremely successful career in the fashion business as a model. As I wrote my first screenplay Video Girl, she was the person who really believed in me and came on board early on and invested in me in terms of attaching herself to the project. Loyalty and integrity are the cornerstones of who I am as a human. If you’re there for me when I don’t have anything, then I’m always going to be loyal to you.
We’ve made seven movies now starting with Video Girl, then Dysfunctional Friends, LUV, A Girl Like Grace, A Boy. A Girl. A Dream, and now If Not Now,When? We have a great relationship and I think she is one of the most talented actresses of her generation. I think she is going to have an incredible career as a filmmaker and director as she segues behind the scenes, as well. She’s been an incredible producing partner, she’s been my producing partner on all of those films.
Since his start in the film and TV industry, Datari has consistently produced content involving and catered to African Americans and people of color. He is as a staple amongst the black entertainment community and has worked with Academy Award nominees including Common (Selma, American Gangster) and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire). He is often recognized for starting the careers for various black actors and actresses such as Ryan Destiny from Star on FOX and Michael Rainey Jr. from Starz POWER.
The Knockturnal: How important is it for you to shine a light on young, black creatives who want to start a career in film? Is this something that you wish was around when you were younger and decided to start a career in film?
Datari Turner: When I decided I wanted to be a film and television producer, I had to decide what my mission statement was going to be in terms of the type of stories I got behind and as a creator. I made the decision that it was really important for me, as a man of color, to believe in people before they grow in to who they are and are going to become. When you’re a person of color, we don’t always have the opportunity to have mentors. When I started reading a lot of books on the history of Hollywood and how the town was built by these moguls who had mentors.
That struck a chord with me because so often young black men and women don’t have mentors. Issa Rae seamlessly articulated something I always thought, she said “everybody gets in our business to try to network upwards, when you really need to be networking across.” You need to build your crew and come up with those people. Ultimately, I have that power with these people are just as talented and undiscovered as some people who aren’t discovered.
The Knockturnal: Well, you’re credited for jumpstarting the careers of many black actors and actresses. How does it feel seeing their growing success as the years go by?
Datari Turner: When I came to L.A., I started off in the ABC program with Meghan Markle and she was my scene partner. We relied on each other a lot and grew really close, when I made my second movie Dysfunctional Friends I put her in the film. When I made A Girl Like Grace, we discovered an unknown actress at the time named Ryan Destiny who has now gone on to have a really great career. Same thing with Michael Rainey Jr., we just put him in his first role in my Sundance film LUV.
So, I think what makes you great is that you’re able to help people or contribute to other people’s success, and help them go off to have master careers. For me, that’s what I always admired about John Singleton. Everybody in his film Boyz In the Hood is still an A-List star today. John was a visionary in that way and I try to do that same thing.
It’s safe to say that Datari is easily one of the hardest working men in film and TV; but if there’s anything that stands out more than his extensive list of film credits, it’s his work ethic. His attentiveness not only extends to his business but also to his willingness to help others. He is an active member of the Black House Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for black creatives in film.
The Knockturnal: Is building up black creatives a part of the work you do with the Black House Foundation?
Datari Turner: It is. I’ve been on the board for a few years and when the founders, Brickson Diamond and Carol Ann Shine, went to Sundance and there wasn’t any place for black people. If you were a black filmmaker that got your film in to the Sundance Film Festival, it was daunting. You don’t know where to hang out at, how to get invited to parties, where to get support for your films.
So, Black House was really built to give creatives of color a place where they can hang out, eat for free, attend parties and go to seminars and panels. It’s just a place for creatives of color to meet each other and learn, and be around other people who look like them. Also, when you have a film in the [Sundance] festival, the Black House will try to help you navigate through the festival and bring attention to your film.
The Knockturnal: If you could give any advice to a black aspiring filmmaker, what would it be?
Datari Turner: I would say that perseverance and passion is more important than talent, in some cases. There’s a lot of talented people who never make it because they don’t have the perseverance to withstand everything that this industry is going to throw at them. Hollywood wasn’t built by us or for people that look like us to tell our stories. So, this business is going to test your faith. You have to have a clear business statement as to why you’re doing this. The “Why” has to be crystal clear. Stay true to your mission and continue to work on your craft every single day. It’s a marathon.
Datari also gave us a general overview of what to expect in his upcoming Netflix film entitled Uncorked. Details about the show have been limited, for the most part, but the film stars Niecy Nash (Claws) and Courtney B. Vance (Lucky Guy, American Crime Story), and is expected to release in 2020.
The Knockturnal: Could you tell me more about the new Netflix film you’re currently producing Niecy Nash and Courtney B. Vance, Uncorked?
Datari: It’s loosely inspired by my younger brother’s life who is a Master Sommelier, which is the highest rank you can have in the wine world. It’s written and directed by a super talented filmmaker named Prentice Penny who is also show runs and executive produces Insecure with Issa Rae on HBO. It’s a father son journey about this kid whose Dad runs a successful BBQ restaurant in Tennessee. The Dad took over the restaurant from his father since he idolized him so much, and now it’s time for the son to take over the restaurant from his father but his son wants to find his own way. He doesn’t want to take over the restaurant business because he wants to be a Master Sommelier and this causes friction in their relationship.
I’m really excited about the film. Courtney is incredible as the Dad, and Niecy is incredible as the Mom. There’s a young actor who’s super talented named Mamoudou Athie (The Front Runner, Netflix’s Unicorn Store). and he plays the son, he’s definitely going to be a super star. It’s just a film about the black family and a great father-son relationship. We don’t see too many of those. I think Boyz In the Hood was the last one I can recall.
An official release date has yet to be announced. But in the meantime, Datari has other projects in the works. He is the creator and executive producer of the WeTV reality show Growing Up Hip Hop which follows the lives of the children of some of Hip Hop’s biggest legends. Master P, Lil Wayne and Rev. Run are just a few of the big names whose children are featured in the show which garnered millions of viewers in its first season and quickly became a hit, creating an entire franchise with with spin-offs in cities including Atlanta and New York. The third season of Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta recently premiered on June 13th followed by new episodes on Thursdays at 9 PM EST.
The Knockturnal: One of your most successful shows is the Growing Up Hip Hop franchise on WEtv. How did the idea for that come about? Did you think it would be as big as it is now with its multiple spin-offs?
Datari Turner: Everything that I’ve ever done has to have a message. When I created my very first TV show The Ultimate Hustler with Damon Dash, he said something that really stuck with me. He said when him and Jay Z started Roc-A-Fella Records, they named the company after a legacy. They were both from New York and The Rockefellers owned probably 50% of the real estate in New York. Damon Dash and Jay Z didn’t know any black families that had generational wealth like that. Obviously, there were black legacy families at that time but they didn’t know any, and I didn’t really know any either.
Now with Hip-Hop, all of these rappers are creating generational wealth. They have kids and those kids are having kids. So, the show was born out of wanting to showcase black people with generational wealth. If you look at Rev Run and Master P and their kids, there is now a legacy that Hip-Hop has built. The goal is maybe some young white kid will name his company after the Carters (laughs), the same way Jay and Dame did with the Rockefeller [family]. The imagery of black legacy and black excellence is very important.
