D’Angela Proctor: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker
No man or woman is an island. You may get ahead alone, but you can’t stay there alone.
Life is designed to be relational, and the business of Hollywood is extraordinarily relationship driven. Nearly every opportunity that I’ve had in this business came about through relationships.
As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing D’Angela Proctor. D’Angela previously worked as a consultant for clients such as Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks, where she developed and deployed its organizational design and oversaw executive recruitment, development, and training, and the sale of brand-defining content. Proctor worked as the Head of Production & Business Development at Codeblack Films, a Lionsgate Company, and as the Head of Original Programming & Production at TV One, a cable television network, before starting her consulting practice. Proctor streamlined Codeblack’s development slate and spearheaded a multi-picture deal with a major cable television network for several of the company’s legacy projects while at Lionsgate. She also worked with the international sales team to increase revenue projections for Codeblack projects globally.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, I am the proud product of the spiritual guidance of my single mother and preacher grandfather. My formative years were spent in the corridors of Jack Yates Senior High School of Communications, where I developed a deep-seated passion for creativity and storytelling. As a latchkey kid, I spent countless hours engrossed in television and after-school movies, an experience that stoked my creative fire. To support my older sister and me, my mother supplemented her schoolteacher’s salary by catering, and her entrepreneurial spirit rubbed off on me. I grew up with spirituality as my source, television as my escape, and entrepreneurship as a saving grace.
My entrepreneurial journey started when I was a teenager making extra money by selling hand-painted and hand-made earrings and throwing parties. After graduating from high school, I attended Spelman College. We weren’t sure that we would be able to pay for four years of Spelman, so we took it one semester at a time. I made extra money by catering on-campus events at Morehouse College. When I graduated from Spelman, I sent my resume to less than a handful of media executives at the time, like Susan Taylor of Essence Magazine and Oprah Winfrey. When they didn’t respond, I went to law school. I ultimately graduated from Duquesne University School of Law and practiced labor and employment defense at Reed Smith Shaw & McClay. Immediately, I knew that law didn’t fit me, or I didn’t fit it because it was stifling my creative soul.
When an opportunity arose for me to pivot, my then-husband and I moved to Atlanta, GA, with the hopes that I could get into entertainment law. When that didn’t happen, I ever so briefly interned at LaFace Records. And by brief, I mean two weeks. During that period, I was introduced to my soon-to-be business partner. In 1998, we launched Strange Fruit Films, a production company designed to service Atlanta’s burgeoning music video industry. We produced music videos for Nas, Outkast, Three 6 Mafia, and Naughty by Nature, to name a few.
Within the first year of operating Strange Fruit, we were sent a script for a movie that needed immediate financing. It was the very first script that I had ever read. Because the script was funny, and the film was already pre-produced and cast, we cobbled together the financing and were in Los Angeles making a movie in less than a month. And that’s where my filmmaking career began. We went on to independently finance and produce multiple projects featuring stars like Regina King, Blair Underwood, Vivica A. Fox, Duane Martin, Kelly Rowland, Shemar Moore, and others.
In addition to producing music videos and flipping movies, I produced live music and comedy DVDs for talent such as Paul Mooney, Seal, Babyface, Anthony Hamilton, and others.
My first foray into television was when Strange Fruit was given the opportunity to revamp the historical Teen Summit, which we did for two seasons. I then created and executive-produced Exalted! for BET and Family Reunion for TV One. I later served as an executive producer and creative consultant for Black Entertainment Television (BET), where I developed and/or executive produced multiple film and television projects, including Sunday Best, which earned the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Reality Series, The Family Crews, and Vindicated. After our deal ended with BET, I decided to give Hollywood a go as a solopreneur. If I didn’t land anything significant within a year, I planned to return to Houston and focus on my business interests there. During that do-or-die year, I created OWN’s first female-centric docu-reality series, Love in the City, and was asked to consult with TV One in its original programming department.
The TV One consultation led to me being appointed TV One’s Head of Original Programming & Production, which also consisted of oversight over talent and casting. With that, I moved my family across the country to DC. My entrepreneurial background enabled me to tackle every business challenge thrown my way. During my five years at TV One, we did some remarkable things. My department helmed multiple awards shows (NAACP Image Awards, Trumpet Awards & Triumph Awards), launched an original movie strategy, quadrupled the hours of programming, and shot two shows at the White House. I’m most proud of the news and public affairs programming that we were able to execute. During the four years of NewsOne Now, we were at the forefront of keeping police shootings in the news with our relentless coverage. In the political arena, we produced two town halls with Presidential Candidate Secretary Hillary Clinton, with one being a co-production with CNN featuring Senator Bernie Sanders.The Night 45 won the presidential election; we did six hours of live epic election night coverage. My team and I earned seven NAACP Image Awards, NAMIC Vision Awards, and a GLAAD Award, among others. While working at TV One, I also earned a master’s in leadership from my alma mater, Duquesne University.
Five-plus years into working at TV One, Lionsgate recruited me to return to Los Angeles, CA, to run one of its acquisitions and marketing business units. After my short tenure there, I served as a consultant to Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks, where I crafted and deployed its organizational design and oversaw executive recruitment, training, and the development of its brand-defining content. Knowing that I wanted a C-suite position, I left consulting to become the CEO of Wayfarer Entertainment. In less than two years, we accomplished some incredible things, including the sale of a television series, the procurement of a multi-million-dollar branded content deal, the launch of the Six Feet Apart Experiment, the launch of Man Enough 2.0, the production of OWN’s Black Women Own The Conversation, as well as the production of multiple award-winning brand campaigns.
In 2021, I resumed my Undaunted Content consulting practice and added producing to the mix, having recently executive produced OWN’s Eggs Over Easy documentary, Hallmark’s The Holiday Stocking, and Lifetime’s Line Sisters and Keyshia Cole: This is My Story. Precisely 25 years after I entered this business, my directorial debut, Keyshia Cole: This is My Story, premiered on Lifetime to outstanding ratings results.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I had a transformative experience in high school when I first watched “She’s Gotta Have It” in an arthouse theater in Houston, TX. It was my first encounter with an independent film, and notably, it was a Black film. Despite its profound emotional impact on me, the idea that film and television could be a viable career path didn’t dawn on me then. Retrospectively, I now realize I had been fostering my production skills throughout my life. My journey as a producer, in a sense, began in elementary school when I took the reins of a Christmas play. This was further cultivated through my role as the editor-in-chief of my high school’s newspaper and by throwing parties. These experiences, unbeknownst to me then, laid the groundwork for a future career in storytelling and production.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?
My journey from attorney to producer certainly took an intriguing path. While I practiced labor & employment law in Pittsburgh, PA, I decided to shift gears. Eager to be in the entertainment world, I left my job and moved to Atlanta, hoping to secure a position at a reputable entertainment law firm. However, when that didn’t materialize, I found myself interning at LaFace Records, where I reported to someone significantly younger. I recall the inquiries about why the marketing intern was pulling up to work in a S500. This arrangement didn’t quite suit me. I interned there for two whole weeks. Although my time at LaFace Records didn’t unfold as expected, it was far from fruitless. It was there that I was introduced to the person who would become my business partner in the film and TV industry for 15 years. LaFace was a small but necessary steppingstone that led me to a successful career in film and television.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
I’ve been lucky in my career to have met some amazing people. One of the standout experiences must be when I worked on two shows at the White House and met President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Nothing can top that experience, but that’s not to diminish the times that I’ve met Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Hillary Clinton, Cicely Tyson, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, and others, or my friendships with Regina King and Ava DuVernay, and others.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am most grateful to Thelma Johnson, my journalism teacher at Jack Yates Senior High School of Communications. She introduced me to the power of storytelling. Under her tutelage, I was the editor of our award-winning newspaper. She sponsored me to become a debutante, which led to me pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. while at Spelman College.
I grew up in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. Like many inner-city neighborhoods, our once stable community was ravaged by crack cocaine in the 1980s. In the bible, the question is posed can any good thing come from Nazareth, the birthplace of Jesus? I’ve often asked that question of Third Ward. Can any good thing come from a place that has ebbed and flowed between poverty and extreme poverty? Just as in Nazareth, good things can absolutely come from Third Ward. I cherish where I come from because it made me who I am today — spiritual, grounded, hard-working and ambitious.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I have strung together a myriad of verses that together read, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; I am the head and not the tail; I am above and not beneath; I am a lender and not a borrower.” As a cherry on top, I add, “Can’t stop, won’t stop, let’s go.”
I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Before we had a Black President of the United States, there were several in film dating back decades. Often, we need to see a thing before we can become a thing. Dreams are often fueled by images we’ve seen in film and television. It is vitally essential for our images to go behind the criminals and sports figures that the mainstream media seems to focus on. Narrative film and television allow the opportunity to expand the aperture of what is and can be. And even when we are portrayed as criminals in narrative film and television, we as storytellers can go behind the what and understand the why.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
While I cannot share the specifics, I am currently raising money to produce and direct my next film before the end of the year.
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
Nothing is better than having an idea and seeing it manifest into something tangible. Many years ago, I dreamt of making movies based on the modern telling of biblical stories. I even pitched the idea to the then President/CEO of TV One. When I became Head of Programming at a cable network many years later, I was able to greenlight three such films. Seeing the modern-day telling of the book of Ruth’s love story and the book of Job’s faith story with Black people was a pivotal moment for me. It taught me that denial can mean delay and that delay is not denial.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why.
1 . Fear often arises from our erroneous perceptions or limiting beliefs that are not based on actual evidence or reality. I am not afraid to share that I’ve allowed fear to stand in the way of my decision-making. In retrospect, whn I left TV One in 2018, I did so intend to launch my own production company, but I didn’t and joined Lionsgate out of fear that I wouldn’t be successful at launching a production company on my own. That was nearly five years ago and that makes me think how much further along Undaunted Content would be had I just been undaunted enough to start then. I even named my company Undaunted as a constant reminder of what’s required of me on this journey.
2 . No man or woman is an island. You may get ahead alone, but you can’t stay there alone.
Life is designed to be relational, and the business of Hollywood is extraordinarily relationship driven. Nearly every opportunity that I’ve had in this business came about through relationships.
3 . Ambition is not a dirty word. It is okay to be ambitious and to have drive.
Being raised in the church led me to believe that having ambition is sinful. Ambition was considered the opposite of contentment and a detachment from worldly desires. I’ve grown to believe that ambition is necessary to endure and to drive personal growth and innovation. I now look at ambition like money. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. There is nothing wrong with ambition in and of itself. It’s excessive ambition that can lead you to make self-centered decisions that harm others.
4 . Humility does not require you to dim your light.
For a long time, I would shy away from public accolades, and I still cringe when I see people self-promote. Don’t judge, I’m still working to be delivered from that. A friend once shared a Marianne Williamson quote with me that resonated with me — “Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” I will endeavor to not dim my light because it’s not about me, but the next me.
5 . You are never as bad as you think, and at the same time, you are never as good as you think.
On one hand, I tend to be overly critical of myself. For any project that I have ever worked on, I assume the worst that the audience won’t like it as much as I do. With Keyshia Cole: This is My Story, I knew that we had a great story and that the project couldn’t have been better given the resources and circumstances under which we made the movie. However, I wasn’t sure that Keyshia Cole’s diehard fans would embrace the movie. Thankfully, I was wrong. The movie was viewed 3 million times on premiere night. On the other hand, when I occasionally believe that I’ve knocked something out of the park, I’ve been wrong. This has been especially true in situations where I’ve been interviewed for a job or opportunity. In essence, the lesson here is the importance of self-awareness and realistic self-evaluation. While embracing a healthy level of self-confidence, we should remain humble and open to improvement. It is all about balance.
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?
First, I firmly believe in being of creative service to the story being told. The story is the driving force behind my creative decisions. Second is my own artistic vision. It is my unique perspective and ideas that shape my creativity. I draw inspiration from various sources, such as my personal experiences, a notebook of images and ideas, books, magazines, documentaries, music, music videos, movies, or television series. I use these things as inspiration to translate them into a visual and narrative form that resonates with me. Lastly, I create from a space of respect for the viewer. I want the viewer to escape from their lives while consuming the content I create. Their experience is of utmost importance to me.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Sometimes, a good scream allows me to get over what is bothering me and move on to what’s next. It’s a release. I’d like for there to be a time of day for people to be able to scream right where they stand to release everything that is bothering them. The pandemic, the economy, the unapologetic racism, the multiple wars against “others,” and the hate-charged atmosphere in this country will make anyone want to scream, and they should be allowed to do so without judgment. A moment to scream should be as commonplace as a moment of silence. While I won’t think there would ever be a Scream Day, I believe people should try it. A good scream can be healing.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)
I would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with my Spelman sister, Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and one of only two Black women CEOs of a Fortune 500 company. I’d want to talk to her because we have Spelman in common. I’ve heard her speak before, but I would love to dive deeper into how she promotes and presents herself in the white spaces she’s worked in.
How can our readers further follow you online?
IG: deeproctor
Twitter: dee_proctor
Facebook, Linkedin: D’Angela Proctor
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
