April 21, 2025 • 39 mins
Hollywood film director/producer Will Packer joins Podcast Host Ramses Ja on today's podcast to discuss his new book "Who Better Than You?: The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big ".
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
From Stomp the Yard to Ride Along to Girls Trip
and many more. Willpacker's films have collectively grossed more than
one billion dollars at the box office, with ten opening
at number one. To outsiders, the unabashed confidence that has
driven him since his college days when he was trying
to sell a micro budget indie film may look like arrogance.
(00:20):
To Packer, that's just what it took to make it
on his own terms. In his new book, Who Better
Than You The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big,
Willpacker provides a master mentorship by sharing secrets to success
honed from working with the biggest stars in the world.
As Kevin Hart says of working with Will Packer, quote,
I became a student and I learned from the way
(00:42):
he was moving. The man helped me grow and gave
me the knowledge unquote. And now to discuss more on
his new book, Who Better Than You The Art of
Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big, we have legendary Hollywood producer
Will Packer. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
and I'm your host. Rams this job all right, mister
(01:04):
Will Packer, Welcome to the show. We have been very
much looking forward to having this conversation. Talk to us
a little bit, man, what's going on in your world today.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I'm exciting, man, I'm excited to be here. You know, Listen,
we live in a time right now where people's whole
existences are under attack. Right your value is under attack.
Your ability to live your best life and be successful
is underattack. It has never been more important rams is
(01:35):
to understand your value, but not just understand your value,
to be able to get other people to understand your value,
and to know how deserving of success you are. So
I live my life like that. I am somebody who
absolutely believes that you need to be able to tell
your story. You need to be able. One of the
things that's interesting that I like, I love that my
parents did when I was growing up is they put
(01:55):
me in debate class. And I always encouraged people if
you have kids, or if you you are a teenager
in high school, you have an opportunity to take debate.
I didn't want to do it because the cool kids
weren't in debate. The cool kids while running track and
playing football, basketball, right, I was an athlete, So my
parents put me in debate. I didn't want to be
in debate, but I actually found my voice, and in
debate you learn how to formulate an argument and then
(02:17):
defend that argument. Man, if there was ever a time
when you need to make sure that you can formulate
your argument and to defend it, especially in defense of
yourself and your right to be successful, it's right now.
So that's the kind of thing that you know, I
think about a lot. That's one of the main reasons
that I wrote the book, and it's one of the
reason I'm happy to be here today because you all
(02:39):
are a platform that is literally about giving information to
people than to a community and a culture that people
are trying to keep information from.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Well, I'll tell you what, sir, I love that energy,
and as a person who letters in speech and debate,
didn't do realize that it would bring me here. But yeah,
I have on my letterman, I have my football and
my basketball, my track, all that stuff, but I have
speech and debate there. So we might have a little
(03:11):
bit of a similar story in that regard. I feel
like maybe there's something there. One of the things that
we do on the show typically is we start our
stories at the beginning with our guests. Now, obviously you're
a person who's very successful. Your name is all over
the place, you know. I did a deep dive on
you before having this conversation, and I realized that the
(03:32):
roots run even deeper than I thought. So for folks
who may not be as intimately familiar with your background.
You mentioned a bit about you know, your parents putting
you in speech and debate class. Talk a little bit
about you know, growing up, what inspired your passions to
pursue you know, what it is you're doing right now,
and sort of what led you to our conversation today.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
We'll do that before we get into the book. Of course.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Listen, I grew up in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and I
was a kid that was I was middle class. I
had a two parent home, and I had parents that
instilled in me early and this is absolutely the foundation
of the success that I've had. My parents took me
(04:15):
like Simba in the Lion Key. They took me to
the highest mountain making fine, and they lifted me up
and said, so everything the light touches can be yours. Right.
I had parents that told me that you can be
anything you want to be if you're willing to work
hard for it, If you're willing to put in the
effort anything as possible. And as a young kid, I
had the audacity to believe them. And that's very very important.
(04:38):
It's important that you know, we tell that to our
kids and to our youth, because that's when they're the
most impressionable, and they believe these things if we tell them,
and they can be true. And so I grew up
in Saint Pete and I was always somebody that was
astute in math and science. And so I got a
scholarship to attend in HBCU. Brought in and universe, very
(05:00):
very proud fam you graduate, shout out to Florida and
m And I didn't want to go to family. I
didn't want to go to an HBCU. I had the
great ty test scores all that I want to go
to an ivy ing school. I felt like, that's why
I deserved to be that's the best of the best.
That's where I want to go. And I'm actually headed
to Penn And I was going to enter into the
(05:21):
Wharton School of Business. So I had looked up at
one of the best busin schools in the country, and
my parents said, well, how much money is Wharton offering you,
you know, in scholarship, might as well. They're not offer
anything like they're like, you know, we let you in.
Be thankful, right, you're welcome. They said, well, what's Florida
and am offering you? I saw Family was offering me,
(05:41):
you know, full ride scholarship. They're trying to get more
African Americans in the STEM program Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics,
and they want me to go there and be an
engineering major and I'll get a full ride scholarship. And
they said, guess where you're going, young William Packet. That
decision that was ever made for me. It wasn't my
(06:03):
own personal decision. I went to fam You, and that's
actually where I hooked up with a buddy. He was
one of my fraternity brothers, one of my line brothers.
I'm a proud member of Alpha Fraternity, and we together.
He wanted to be a filmmaker. It was his dream,
and I helped him to make his very first movie
there I fam You, which was called Chocolate City. I
(06:24):
didn't know. I didn't have film school pedigree. He didn't
know the mechanics of how you make a film project.
But we were hustlers and we were dreamers, and we
went out and raised a little bit of money and
shot a movie there on that campus, and Hollywood couldn't
care less. And this is a very very important lesson
that I learned early on. I felt like I needed
(06:46):
to make a project that impressed the gate that impressed
the important people, the people with the statuses and the
titles and the resources. They couldn't care less about our little,
tiny movie. But you know who did care. Stull at
Florida and m University were peers, and they cared in
a huge way. And it showed me that if you
(07:08):
make something, you don't always have to make it for
the quote unquote important folks. We spend so much time
chasing people with titles, with money with brands, and not
pouring into the communities that support us or the people
that actually want us to succeed when they are what
you need. The reason I got Hollywood to finally pay
(07:30):
attention to me is because I made money without one.
That's how you do it. Because I had a core
audience that was happy to see themselves on screen. So
Chocolate City was that first movie, and that taught me that,
you know what, I don't need to go to Wharton.
I don't need to go off and get an NBA
and learn how to sell widgets. This is my widget
right here, this thing that I've done. What is this called?
(07:51):
I had no idea that. I said, Oh, that's called producer.
You're the producer. I said, yeah, that's what I'm going
to be, but to be a producer, and my career
was born. And along the way, I fell in love
with the art of storytelling.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I love that. I love fantastic.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I'm glad I asked that question because I think it
gives a little bit of background in context to the
energy that you're bringing to this conversation. That's just, you know,
a man with passion who's followed his dreams, and that culminated,
at least in part in the book that we're discussing today.
So talk to us a little bit about what inspired
(08:27):
who better than you? The art of healthy arrogance and
dreaming big?
Speaker 2 (08:31):
You know what it was about. I wrote this book
because I have people that come to me and say,
can you mentor me? Can you show me what it
took for you to become successful? And I realized that
over my three decade career in Hollywood, working with some
(08:52):
of the biggest names, biggest personalities, most successful people in
the world. That I've also worked with some of those
same people, some of the most toxic people, some of
the most insecure people, some of the most negative people
in the world. And I have learned skills to navigate
not only all those various personalities, but I've also learned
(09:15):
what separates some of the most successful people from some
of the people that are just desiring to be successful.
And oftentimes it is the understanding and the belief and
the faith that you deserve success. That is the number
one thing that holds people back. People oftentimes don't feel
(09:36):
like they deserve success. Some of the most successful people
in the world they feel like, not only do they
deserve it, they're predestined for it. It's going to happen,
and they walk into rooms with that level of supreme confidence.
And when you walk in with that kind of confidence,
it changes the way that you interact in those rooms,
the way that you answer the phone, the way you
(09:57):
wake up in the morning, everything you do is different
when you have that level of supreme confidence that says
I deserve this and I'm going to be successful whether
you know it or not. You should whether it happens
today or tomorrow, or next month or next year, it's coming.
And that confidence is a muscle. It's a muscle that
you can build. So I wrote this book and i'm
and the book is is very much in my voice.
(10:20):
It's high energy, it's also very funny. I'm telling stories of,
you know, interacting with people like Kevin Hart, who's one
of my best friends, but who I also call a
spawn of Statan because he's tried to stick my career
more than once. I talk about Beyonce and how she
repeatedly told me no, she wasn't going to be in
my movie Obsessed, and how I finally convinced her and
(10:40):
then that movie Open number one. And I tell stories
about you know, Steve Harvey and yourself, all these people
I've interacted with, And the point of the story RAMS
is is to make sure that people understand that my
journey has been very carefully and strategically built from this
(11:00):
belief that I could do it, and that nobody's voice,
no matter who they were, was more important than my voice,
and that my voice kept telling me you're going to
be successful even when I wasn't. I graduated from FAMU
in ninety six. My first number one movie was it
until Stomped Yard in two thousand and seven. That's eleven years, brother,
(11:22):
that's eleven years where I was eating Ramen noodles and answering,
you know, answering calls on a desk, working for a
tip service, and you know, deliver newspapers, selling newspapers, like
I was doing anything to just make ends meet. But
till it's a long time, I was not an overnight
success store. But I had this belief, in this faith
and confidence. And so somebody out there listening needs to
(11:42):
hear that because they also may feel like, oh, man,
do I deserve such test? Cannot be successful? Am I
doing the right thing? And so I talk about all
the various principles that got me to where I am.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Well, you mentioned, you know, someone out there listening might be,
you know, confronting the same set of circumstances, or they
might be you know, maybe perhaps hoping that one day
they will be able to you know, pursue their passions
or you know, whatever the case is. Talk to us
a little bit about who you envision reading the book.
(12:15):
Is this a young person who's you know, about to
graduate high school or just started college. Is this a
person who's well into their career, and whoever this is,
what do you expect them to take from it?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, it's so interesting because as a movie producer, when
I go into making a movie, when I decide whether
or not I'm going to make a project or not,
I always think about who the audience is. And I
mean really really specifically. When I have a movie that
comes across my desk, I think about a very specific
(12:48):
person who that movie is going to be for. So,
for example, with my movie Girls Trip, I thought very
specifically about a woman named Sharon, and she lives in Detroit,
and she's got two kids, and she's a pharmacist and
she's divorced and she goes out with her girls on
the weekend for wine, and she goes to the movies
(13:10):
every now and then. But when she goes, she wants
to have a good time. She doesn't like horror, she
doesn't like thrillers, she doesn't like the stuff that's gonna
make her sad, she don't like period pies. She likes
to go and escape and have a good time. And
Shironda was my model for the movie Girlcery, and I
do that for every movie. That I make who is
it for? So I did the same thing with this book.
So when you ask about who this book was for,
(13:32):
I thought about two people specifically. I thought about somebody
that is in their forties and fifties who are already
into the throes of a career but are ready to pivot,
ready to make a change, ready to do something different,
not totally satisfied and totally happy with where they are
(13:52):
in their lives right now, and think that more is
out there, better is out there, Greater is out there
for them, but they don't know how to do it,
and they are understandably apprehensive and anxious about making a
major life change. And one of the things I talk
about in the book is the power of the pivot.
And the other person I made it for is somebody
(14:14):
that is a millennial gen Zia who is about to
graduate college or recently graduated college. Somebody who's out there
and hasn't found their passion yet, who is trying to
figure out what is my place in the world right
They've either got a college degree or maybe thought about
going to college, but they're in their like, you know,
(14:36):
early twenties, maybe late twenties, and they're trying to figure
out how am I going to kickstart my life because
I haven't found the thing that I feel like I
was put here to do. I haven't found the thing
that is waking me up every morning going I have
to do this. And there are a lot of people
like this. And one of the things I say is
that that's okay. You don't have to find that thing,
(14:59):
right you don't. I have to just wake up and
expect your passion that you're gonna do for the rest
of your life to hit you in the face. It
didn't for me. I did not have a passion for
movie making. Initially, I did something that I was good at,
which was going out and raising money, finding audiences, self distributing,
and later, while doing things that I was good at,
(15:23):
I found my passion in my love for storytelling. Later,
but I didn't wake up saying I want to tell stories.
I just was doing the things that I was good at,
and I found enjoyment in it and then ultimately unlocked
my life's passion. It's more often that that happens in
that order than the other way around. It's okay if
(15:44):
you haven't found the one thing that you feel like
you will put on this earth to do. It's okay,
it's not too late. You can still find it. But
you gotta double down and triple down on the thing
that you're good at and try to find enjoyment within that.
You know.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
I think your point is well received, certainly by me,
because it's amazing the similarities that I'm hearing in our stories.
You know, for a long time, I was a and
I still am, a broadcaster radio personality, and you know
from hip hop, you know hip hop radio. I'm a DJ,
like nightclub DJ, headphones, turntables, that whole thing, and a
(16:21):
personality gave away concert tickets. You know, stick around till
after the break because we're going to be talking about
Who's Dayton and who that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yep, yep.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
And I loved it.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
It was it was amazing, But I never felt like
this is what I was created to do, this is
why God made this person. It was just a fun,
cool job and I could have certainly done a lot worse,
so I didn't complain. And then when twenty twenty rolled
around and everyone got outside and everyone was protesting, you know.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
The death of George Floyd Q and my self q
Ward and myself.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
We ended up starting a show called Civic Cipher that
existed to foster allieship. We targeted hip hop stations because
that was where we'd find potential allies and bring them
over to our cause and give them the information they
needed to be better allies. And we started to make
content that felt true to our spirit. We have long
form conversations instead of thirty second talk breaks. We broke
(17:19):
down concepts, and then we look back on the sum
total of our lives, all of our mentors, all the
paths that we walked, and we realized we brought some
really meaningful perspective to those conversations. And at that point
I finally was able to have a conversation with the
president of this network, and I told him that I
have to do Civic Cipher, and ultimately it ended up
(17:40):
in you know me, you know, hosting this show for
the Black Information Network.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
But yeah, it's interesting, you're right.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
How it does sometimes happen in an order that you
might not be familiar with, and so I could certainly
see people appreciating this book. Now, you did mention a
couple of things you mentioned so far. You mentioned Kevin Hart,
you mentioned, you know, girls Trip and how who you
had in mind when you sat down to tell that story.
I'm curious, you know, how much of your experience as
(18:12):
a producer, you know, with things like you know, you
mentioned Girls Trip, I think like a man, you know,
Stump the Yard, you know, all the all the films.
How much of that has made its way into your
book because you got a perspective that I'm sure only
a handful of people and even less black men could tell.
(18:33):
So I'm just curious how much of that has made
its way in there?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
All? A lot of it that is that is that's
really the foundation of the book. The foundation of the
book is a successful movie producer who happens to be
African American, happens to be an African American male, who
has succeeded at the highest heights of an industry where
there are not a lot of folks that look like me,
especially behind the camera, succeeding at the highest level, who
(18:57):
happens to have worked with all these edible actors and
all these incredible folks from around the world and around
the industry. And it really is about my story of
navigating those worlds and finding success and how that's translatable
to any industry. But in order to get folks to
(19:18):
understand what I've learned and the skill sets that I've
acquired along the way, I've got to tell these stories.
So the book is about the stories of how I
got Girls Trip greenlit, and how I made Stomp the
Yard my first number one movie after all the studios
told me no, And how my movie Takers, which was
(19:40):
another number one movie that started Get Yourselba and Paul Walker,
and how that movie almost got stunk on the very
very first day of filming because of a big fight
that was happening, and how I navigated. So these are
stories I've never told before. But there's stories that I think,
first of all, they're going to take and they're crazy,
you know. I I tell the story about how, you know,
(20:03):
there was an actor that didn't show up one day
for set and we thought he was dead. Everybody thought
he was dead because he'd gone out the night before
and party really really crazy and there was rumors and
drugs and stuff happening and nobody could find them. And
Ramsey I end up having to burst into a hotel literally,
have to get hotel security, We have to knock the
(20:24):
door down. I don't know what I'm gonna find. I'm
so afraid we find this this this actor and he
is hungover at butt naked, and I'm like, oh my god,
easy breathing, and I like poke him. You know how
you might see like a damn pat in the park.
You just poke. That is how I poked this chrome
(20:45):
man like are you alive? And poked this person who
woke up, looked at me, did not recognize me, didn't
know who I was, totally hungover, immediately tried to kiss me.
True story. I cannot make this up. I said, Uh,
first of all, not doing that. You are late. Get
set ass, Oh, I know you hung over. It's time
(21:06):
to go and set right. All go back to first
of all we doing.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
And so the story is about the crazy things that
I've had to deal with on set and how you
navigated and how you get past and how you end
up still staying focused on your goals finding success.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You may not ever be in a crazy situation like
I was on the day of one of my biggest
movies in a nightclub with Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Harden,
and Carmelo Anthony told me were gonna die tonight, Like
he literally said those words. And we were in New
York and I had to get back to Atlanta, and
I had thirty minutes to get Kevin Hart out of
that nightclub to get him back on set. In Atlanta,
we had to catch a jet that was flying back,
(21:48):
and if we didn't get to the airport within thirty
minutes for that private plane, we were not gonna make
our flight. It was the biggest movie in my career.
My whole career would have gone down the toilet. That's
the story. You may never be in that situation, right,
but you can certainly learn something from the fact that
I was in it and I survived, and there are
lessons that apply. I don't care if you are a
(22:10):
movie producer, an accountant, a teacher, a broadcaster, doesn't matter.
There are transferable skills that you can learn and use
in any environment. And that literally is what the book
is about. And it's also fun. I'm not gonna lie
to you, man, it's fun and it's entertaining because that's
who I am. I tell stories and I make entertaining contents.
(22:33):
So I wasn't gonna make some boring self help book.
I wanted it to be inspiring inspiration, motivational, but also entertaining.
I wanted to be a fun read or fund listen.
If you're somebody that does audio books, I've got you know.
I called in all the folks that are in the book.
So Kevin Hardy is on the audiobook, so as Regina
all from Girls Strip, so with in yourself, but and
(22:53):
Steve Harvey and these other folks. So it's entertaining because
I wanted it to be something that you could consume,
learn something from, but have a good time.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Why you oh man, It definitely definitely sounds like a
fun read.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
I'm very much looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Yeah, thank you, Brother Black.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah, Peaks of the Planet.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
I go by the name of Charlamagne and God and
I can't wait to see y'all at the third annual
Black Effect Podcast Festival.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah, number three Baby.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Black called Black Rose More Black CEO.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
We're coming back to Pullman Yard Saturday for twenty six
in Atlanta, coasted by none other than Mandy B and Weezy.
That's right, Decisions, Decisions. The Black Effect is bringing some
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We got the Woman of All Podcasts with Sarah J. Roberts,
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While you visit us.
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All right, if all my firing podcasters, we got something
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With industry leaders.
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Tickets on Selle now tap into at Black Effect dot
Com Flash Podcast Festival.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
We are here today with legendary Hollywood producer and the
author of the new book Who Better Than You The
Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big, Will Packer. All Right,
So when we first started chatting, you know, you kind
of mentioned that.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
I'll paraphrase that we're.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Kind of living in some interesting times, you know, from
a lot of people's perspective in mind included, there are
some forces working against we'll call it a more progressive,
inclusive future, particularly for marginalized folks.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Do you think or or rather, what do you think.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
This book could have in terms of impact on folks
who feel like they're being affected by this current political administration.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I know that you mentioned that this is infused.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
With a lot of laughs, a lot of positivity, and
that's a fantastic place to start.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But you know, I'll let you tell the story.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, listen. I think that it is an entertaining book,
but make no mistake, it is a book about making
sure that you know your value. Number one first and foremost,
you know your value. Number two, that you have the
ability to get other people to understand your value. Because
(25:44):
if you are not able to get other folks to
recognize and appreciate your value, then somebody who is less
talented than you, who is less deserving than you, they
will get the things, whatever the things may be, in
your life that you deserve. You say that again, if
(26:05):
you're not able to get other people to understand and
appreciate your value, then someone who is less deserving than
you will get the things that you deserve. That the
subtitle of the book is the Art of Healthy Arrogance
and Dreaming Big, and my concept of healthy arrogant. Not
to be confused what toxic errot is, which is about
(26:25):
saying how you're better than everybody, are right, that's toxic ritings.
You walk into a room and go, everybody, look at me,
I'm better than you. That's not what we're talking about.
Healthy arrogance means you walk into a room and it
doesn't matter who's in that room. It can be some
of the most important and powerful people in the world,
but you understand that you have a right to be there,
and that you're supposed to be there, and that you
have something that nobody else in that room has, and
(26:48):
you have to be confident about it. And in a
society where you're absolutely right, inclusive ideals, progressive ideals, diverse
ideals are all on attack, and there are forces and
systems that are trying to hold down people that are
in marginalized communities. The way that you have to combat
(27:10):
that is with your excellence, by understanding your value and
making sure that other people around you see the benefit
in being in business with you and being in community
with you, in recognizing your contributions and your culture and
the value thereof. So I'm not somebody that says, you
(27:32):
know what the world is a tough place, it's unpredictable,
and you know the environment is not favorable to me.
So I'm just going to go in a corner and
die or just mad and yell about it. No, I'm
going to say, what are the parameters, what are the
metrics that it takes to be successful in today's world,
(27:53):
in today's society, in a particular industry, And then I'm
going to go out and figure out how to be
successful according to those metrics and those parameters. See, I
don't have ten number one black movies. I don't have
a billion dollars in box office off of black dollars. Right.
I got a billion dollars in box office off of
(28:13):
American Right. I got ten number one movies, not just
in Atlanta and Detroit. Shout out to my people in
those markets, but I got them across the country and
across the board. So you can't come to Will Packer
and say, oh, you're only successful because you look a
certain way, or because you got a leg up, or
because of some program. No, I'm successful on any metrics
(28:34):
or parameters and anybody else's and that's very, very important.
But you got to be able to do that and
be successful and understand that you absolutely should use your community,
use what makes you unique, use your place in society,
but use that to then succeed on whatever metrics, whatever parameters,
whatever value system is out there that is determining success.
(28:57):
That is how you silence those people that don't recognize
your back. But one of the things you have to
do is make sure that you number one, understand.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Your own about I love it.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
That's fantastic. Now you mentioned also, you know, while we're here,
you mentioned the subtitle of the book and you talked
about healthy arrogance versus hic arrogance, right, yes, and and
you know you would imagine that people would know the difference.
But I'm glad that you broke it down, and indeed
(29:27):
I had a note here for you to break that down,
because there is a There are a few pieces of
advice from the book that I wanted you to expound upon,
and I'm glad that you took the first one, so
I got a couple more for you.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
But I appreciate you kind.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Of delineating healthy arrogance from you know, arrogance in the
way many people, you know, perceive it as that sort
of insolent off putting pride where you feel like you
fly above other folks. Now there's another piece of advice
from the book. Convince people your goals are essential and vital.
Now I want people to read the book, but I
(30:01):
want you to expound on that piece of advice, just
to give people a glimpse of what they're going to
get when they pick up this book. Again, convince people
your goals are essential and vital.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Absolutely, you have to understand that everybody is always thinking
about what's in it for them for themselves, right. True
leadership is getting people to align with your goals and
your value. See when I talk about healthy arrogance and
(30:33):
walking into a room and what you add to a room,
the real key to success in any room is to
get other folks to understand that you have a commonality
of value. If I walk into a room and I say, Ramses,
I need you to follow me. We're gonna lift this
box and take it and put it over here in
(30:53):
the corner. Well, you're thinking immediately, well, why am I
helping you lift the box? What's in it for me?
Box looks heavy? Why does it need to go in
the corner? I was over here, you know, en or
durv the crew to day having my drink, right, I
don't want to go over there and help you lift
the box. So the first thing I have to do
is to get you to understand that lifting the box
will help both of us, Like, what's in the box,
(31:15):
what's the reason for it to go over there? What
is it about this action I'm asking you to take
that could benefit you. And if I'm able to get
you to understand, oh, yeah, you know what, that box
actually looks better in the corner, and I want this
room to look good, and I think that this is
a good thing for the room. To move the box,
then you're gonna help me move the box. You have
to be able to get people to row in the
same direction in a metaphorical robo, right, And if you're
(31:38):
able to do that, you have a much better chance
for success than somebody that's just going out saying, Hey,
this is what I want to do and y'all should
follow me. No, you have to get people to understand it.
You have to first of all understand people. Everybody's thinking,
what's in it for me? Why am I doing it?
What do I get out of it? So start there.
(31:59):
Good leaders are able to get the teams and the
people around them to support a common vision and a
common goal. And so if you can make sure that
your goals and your vision align with the people around you,
they will help you to achieve those goals.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Okay, I got another one for you, all right, again
directly from the book. It's the work you put in
when nobody's watching then makes everyone pay attention later. So
it seems self explained to her, but I'm sure there's
a little bit more there, so explain.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Yeah, No, listen, this is very important because we live
in a world where everybody is always talking about everything
that they're doing. Social media obsessed world. Right. One of
the phrases people say is picks or it didn't happen right. Sure,
you went out and ran a marathon, where the picks?
Where's the video? Or you're training, you know for a marathon,
(32:52):
you're about to lose weight, you're about to start your
own company. Well, let me see it. What's happening? And
we feel the pressure to show everybody what we're doing
every step of the way. You know what you do.
When you do that, though, you lose focus on your
own goals. You're so busy trying to show other people
what you're doing and your progress and get other people
(33:13):
to cheer you on for your progress. That you're exposing
whatever it is you're working on, whatever project, whatever goal,
whatever mission, your baby, so to speak, and you're exposing
it to the world before it's ready. The work you
put in when nobody is looking. Everybody pay attention later.
I have a theory that I call stay in the lab.
(33:33):
Stay in the lab. When you're in the lab, you're working,
you're focused, you're grinding. Don't worry about what everybody else
is doing, and don't worry about feeling the need to
validate the work that you're doing to everybody else before
you finish the work. It's not ready yet, right. I
didn't post chapters of this book online before the book
was done. No, I needed to go back and edit
it and re edit it and re edit it again,
(33:55):
and then get it ready. And then when it was
a complete book and a complete story with the beginning
and an ending in the middle and chapters that said
what I wanted to say, then I showed it to
the world. We are so busy trying to make sure
that we get like some comments and posts and reshares
that were not staying in the lab. Put in the work, grind,
(34:17):
put your head down, focus on your goal. Then then
when it's time release it, show everybody because then everybody's
gonna come pay attention. But it was the work you
put in when they weren't looking that made it matter.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Fantastic Well said, I think that.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
This is about as necessary a book as I've ever seen.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
And you know.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I know that in addition to that, at least our
listeners here on this show getting a chance to get
a sense of your personality, get a sense of you know,
who you are, how you move, the energy that you
have about you, the frequency at which you vibrate, so
to speak. Is that you know, folks are going to
want some connective tissues. So I do want you to
plug the book. But in addition to that, any social media,
(35:08):
any upcoming projects outside of the book that you want
people to support, any websites, anything like that before we
let you go.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Yeah, of course, I mean I'm easy to find on
social media will power packer, which is very apropos because
I believe you got to have will power. So that
is and by the way, ramses I was a DJ
in college too. Yeah, so, yes, you're a professional DJ.
I was a fun having fun while I was in
college DJ. But I still you know what I was.
I was a good COVID DJ. You know, everybody got
(35:35):
on and was doing the live shit. My COVID DJ
parties were rocked. Okay, I was having a good time.
I got the turntables, I got the whole thing. I
don't do it as much anymore, but I did have
some fun being a DJ. So will Power Packer, my
DJ name was DJ Willpower. Okay, I'm will Power Packer
on all my social handles. Obviously, the book is out now.
(35:56):
Wherever you buy books, I always tell people, try to support,
you know, local bookstores. Try to support black owned bookstores.
You know nothing on Amazon. I get it. Everybody's going
and shopping with the behemoths. Nothing wrong with that, but
got to support local businesses when you can. My book
is available everywhere, so whatever platform you buy your books
on or buy your audiobooks, it's out there. I've got
(36:19):
several projects that I'm working on as a producer. You're
always juggling a bunch of things. Right now on air
is my the longest running African American dating show in
television and it's called Ready to Love and it airs
on Own the Own network on Friday nights, and it's
a lot of fun. And so if you're into reality shows,
(36:40):
you're into dating shows, check out Ready to Love. You
can easily catch up or just jump right in with
whatever the latest episode is. And last year, we actually
released Fight Night, which is a limited series that is
airing right now on Peacock and we won the NAAC
Image Award for Best Limited Series and I'm very very
(37:03):
proud of that. And it stars Sam Jackson, Taraji Henson,
Don Cheatle, Terrence Howard, and Kevin Hart. And he's playing
a dramatic role, okay, and he does an excellent job
with it. So it's a true story based on the
biggest heights in the history of Georgia that actually really
(37:23):
happened after an unsanctioned Muhammad Ali fight. So that's called
Fight Night. Check it out and just continue to support
will pack of projects, but most importantly, continue to support yourself.
You owe it to yourself. You deserve success. Go out
and get the tools necessary for you to go and
find your own success. That's what I want, That's what
(37:44):
I want for my people. For my community. I want
us to know that we are just as deserving of
success as anybody else.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Absolutely, I love that.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Well, you know what, I couldn't be happier with the
conversation that we've had. I appreciate that you're taking the
time to come and talk to us here on the
Black Information Network Q of course regretfully, Uh.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
You know, you know, but we had it down for you, brother, Yeah, yeah, we.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Did our best. But yeah, I just I can't thank
you enough. You're an inspiration. You know, your commitment to
you know, your people, your commitment to your passion to
yourself is infectious. And you know, obviously having a book
out that people can you know, purchase and kind of
(38:33):
have a piece of that, you know, in their lives,
especially for folks kind of dealing with a tough time
right now. I just I couldn't be happier with with
the work that you're doing. And so my hat's off
to you, sir. Thank you very much for your time
and your insight. Once again, today's guest is legendary Hollywood
producer and the author of the new book Who Better
Than You The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big,
(38:54):
Will Packer, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
For having me, mam.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes. I'm your
host Ramse's Jah on all social media and join us
tomorrow as we share our news with our voice from
our perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast.
From Stomp the Yard to Ride Along to Girls Trip
and many more. Willpacker's films have collectively grossed more than
one billion dollars at the box office, with ten opening
at number one. To outsiders, the unabashed confidence that has
driven him since his college days when he was trying
to sell a micro budget indie film may look like arrogance.
(00:20):
To Packer, that's just what it took to make it
on his own terms. In his new book, Who Better
Than You The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big,
Willpacker provides a master mentorship by sharing secrets to success
honed from working with the biggest stars in the world.
As Kevin Hart says of working with Will Packer, quote,
I became a student and I learned from the way
(00:42):
he was moving. The man helped me grow and gave
me the knowledge unquote. And now to discuss more on
his new book, Who Better Than You The Art of
Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big, we have legendary Hollywood producer
Will Packer. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
and I'm your host. Rams this job all right, mister
(01:04):
Will Packer, Welcome to the show. We have been very
much looking forward to having this conversation. Talk to us
a little bit, man, what's going on in your world today.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I'm exciting, man, I'm excited to be here. You know, Listen,
we live in a time right now where people's whole
existences are under attack. Right your value is under attack.
Your ability to live your best life and be successful
is underattack. It has never been more important rams is
(01:35):
to understand your value, but not just understand your value,
to be able to get other people to understand your value,
and to know how deserving of success you are. So
I live my life like that. I am somebody who
absolutely believes that you need to be able to tell
your story. You need to be able. One of the
things that's interesting that I like, I love that my
parents did when I was growing up is they put
(01:55):
me in debate class. And I always encouraged people if
you have kids, or if you you are a teenager
in high school, you have an opportunity to take debate.
I didn't want to do it because the cool kids
weren't in debate. The cool kids while running track and
playing football, basketball, right, I was an athlete, So my
parents put me in debate. I didn't want to be
in debate, but I actually found my voice, and in
debate you learn how to formulate an argument and then
(02:17):
defend that argument. Man, if there was ever a time
when you need to make sure that you can formulate
your argument and to defend it, especially in defense of
yourself and your right to be successful, it's right now.
So that's the kind of thing that you know, I
think about a lot. That's one of the main reasons
that I wrote the book, and it's one of the
reason I'm happy to be here today because you all
(02:39):
are a platform that is literally about giving information to
people than to a community and a culture that people
are trying to keep information from.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Well, I'll tell you what, sir, I love that energy,
and as a person who letters in speech and debate,
didn't do realize that it would bring me here. But yeah,
I have on my letterman, I have my football and
my basketball, my track, all that stuff, but I have
speech and debate there. So we might have a little
(03:11):
bit of a similar story in that regard. I feel
like maybe there's something there. One of the things that
we do on the show typically is we start our
stories at the beginning with our guests. Now, obviously you're
a person who's very successful. Your name is all over
the place, you know. I did a deep dive on
you before having this conversation, and I realized that the
(03:32):
roots run even deeper than I thought. So for folks
who may not be as intimately familiar with your background.
You mentioned a bit about you know, your parents putting
you in speech and debate class. Talk a little bit
about you know, growing up, what inspired your passions to
pursue you know, what it is you're doing right now,
and sort of what led you to our conversation today.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
We'll do that before we get into the book. Of course.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Listen, I grew up in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and I
was a kid that was I was middle class. I
had a two parent home, and I had parents that
instilled in me early and this is absolutely the foundation
of the success that I've had. My parents took me
(04:15):
like Simba in the Lion Key. They took me to
the highest mountain making fine, and they lifted me up
and said, so everything the light touches can be yours. Right.
I had parents that told me that you can be
anything you want to be if you're willing to work
hard for it, If you're willing to put in the
effort anything as possible. And as a young kid, I
had the audacity to believe them. And that's very very important.
(04:38):
It's important that you know, we tell that to our
kids and to our youth, because that's when they're the
most impressionable, and they believe these things if we tell them,
and they can be true. And so I grew up
in Saint Pete and I was always somebody that was
astute in math and science. And so I got a
scholarship to attend in HBCU. Brought in and universe, very
(05:00):
very proud fam you graduate, shout out to Florida and
m And I didn't want to go to family. I
didn't want to go to an HBCU. I had the
great ty test scores all that I want to go
to an ivy ing school. I felt like, that's why
I deserved to be that's the best of the best.
That's where I want to go. And I'm actually headed
to Penn And I was going to enter into the
(05:21):
Wharton School of Business. So I had looked up at
one of the best busin schools in the country, and
my parents said, well, how much money is Wharton offering you,
you know, in scholarship, might as well. They're not offer
anything like they're like, you know, we let you in.
Be thankful, right, you're welcome. They said, well, what's Florida
and am offering you? I saw Family was offering me,
(05:41):
you know, full ride scholarship. They're trying to get more
African Americans in the STEM program Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics,
and they want me to go there and be an
engineering major and I'll get a full ride scholarship. And
they said, guess where you're going, young William Packet. That
decision that was ever made for me. It wasn't my
(06:03):
own personal decision. I went to fam You, and that's
actually where I hooked up with a buddy. He was
one of my fraternity brothers, one of my line brothers.
I'm a proud member of Alpha Fraternity, and we together.
He wanted to be a filmmaker. It was his dream,
and I helped him to make his very first movie
there I fam You, which was called Chocolate City. I
(06:24):
didn't know. I didn't have film school pedigree. He didn't
know the mechanics of how you make a film project.
But we were hustlers and we were dreamers, and we
went out and raised a little bit of money and
shot a movie there on that campus, and Hollywood couldn't
care less. And this is a very very important lesson
that I learned early on. I felt like I needed
(06:46):
to make a project that impressed the gate that impressed
the important people, the people with the statuses and the
titles and the resources. They couldn't care less about our little,
tiny movie. But you know who did care. Stull at
Florida and m University were peers, and they cared in
a huge way. And it showed me that if you
(07:08):
make something, you don't always have to make it for
the quote unquote important folks. We spend so much time
chasing people with titles, with money with brands, and not
pouring into the communities that support us or the people
that actually want us to succeed when they are what
you need. The reason I got Hollywood to finally pay
(07:30):
attention to me is because I made money without one.
That's how you do it. Because I had a core
audience that was happy to see themselves on screen. So
Chocolate City was that first movie, and that taught me that,
you know what, I don't need to go to Wharton.
I don't need to go off and get an NBA
and learn how to sell widgets. This is my widget
right here, this thing that I've done. What is this called?
(07:51):
I had no idea that. I said, Oh, that's called producer.
You're the producer. I said, yeah, that's what I'm going
to be, but to be a producer, and my career
was born. And along the way, I fell in love
with the art of storytelling.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I love that. I love fantastic.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I'm glad I asked that question because I think it
gives a little bit of background in context to the
energy that you're bringing to this conversation. That's just, you know,
a man with passion who's followed his dreams, and that culminated,
at least in part in the book that we're discussing today.
So talk to us a little bit about what inspired
(08:27):
who better than you? The art of healthy arrogance and
dreaming big?
Speaker 2 (08:31):
You know what it was about. I wrote this book
because I have people that come to me and say,
can you mentor me? Can you show me what it
took for you to become successful? And I realized that
over my three decade career in Hollywood, working with some
(08:52):
of the biggest names, biggest personalities, most successful people in
the world. That I've also worked with some of those
same people, some of the most toxic people, some of
the most insecure people, some of the most negative people
in the world. And I have learned skills to navigate
not only all those various personalities, but I've also learned
(09:15):
what separates some of the most successful people from some
of the people that are just desiring to be successful.
And oftentimes it is the understanding and the belief and
the faith that you deserve success. That is the number
one thing that holds people back. People oftentimes don't feel
(09:36):
like they deserve success. Some of the most successful people
in the world they feel like, not only do they
deserve it, they're predestined for it. It's going to happen,
and they walk into rooms with that level of supreme confidence.
And when you walk in with that kind of confidence,
it changes the way that you interact in those rooms,
the way that you answer the phone, the way you
(09:57):
wake up in the morning, everything you do is different
when you have that level of supreme confidence that says
I deserve this and I'm going to be successful whether
you know it or not. You should whether it happens
today or tomorrow, or next month or next year, it's coming.
And that confidence is a muscle. It's a muscle that
you can build. So I wrote this book and i'm
and the book is is very much in my voice.
(10:20):
It's high energy, it's also very funny. I'm telling stories of,
you know, interacting with people like Kevin Hart, who's one
of my best friends, but who I also call a
spawn of Statan because he's tried to stick my career
more than once. I talk about Beyonce and how she
repeatedly told me no, she wasn't going to be in
my movie Obsessed, and how I finally convinced her and
(10:40):
then that movie Open number one. And I tell stories
about you know, Steve Harvey and yourself, all these people
I've interacted with, And the point of the story RAMS
is is to make sure that people understand that my
journey has been very carefully and strategically built from this
(11:00):
belief that I could do it, and that nobody's voice,
no matter who they were, was more important than my voice,
and that my voice kept telling me you're going to
be successful even when I wasn't. I graduated from FAMU
in ninety six. My first number one movie was it
until Stomped Yard in two thousand and seven. That's eleven years, brother,
(11:22):
that's eleven years where I was eating Ramen noodles and answering,
you know, answering calls on a desk, working for a
tip service, and you know, deliver newspapers, selling newspapers, like
I was doing anything to just make ends meet. But
till it's a long time, I was not an overnight
success store. But I had this belief, in this faith
and confidence. And so somebody out there listening needs to
(11:42):
hear that because they also may feel like, oh, man,
do I deserve such test? Cannot be successful? Am I
doing the right thing? And so I talk about all
the various principles that got me to where I am.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Well, you mentioned, you know, someone out there listening might be,
you know, confronting the same set of circumstances, or they
might be you know, maybe perhaps hoping that one day
they will be able to you know, pursue their passions
or you know, whatever the case is. Talk to us
a little bit about who you envision reading the book.
(12:15):
Is this a young person who's you know, about to
graduate high school or just started college. Is this a
person who's well into their career, and whoever this is,
what do you expect them to take from it?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, it's so interesting because as a movie producer, when
I go into making a movie, when I decide whether
or not I'm going to make a project or not,
I always think about who the audience is. And I
mean really really specifically. When I have a movie that
comes across my desk, I think about a very specific
(12:48):
person who that movie is going to be for. So,
for example, with my movie Girls Trip, I thought very
specifically about a woman named Sharon, and she lives in Detroit,
and she's got two kids, and she's a pharmacist and
she's divorced and she goes out with her girls on
the weekend for wine, and she goes to the movies
(13:10):
every now and then. But when she goes, she wants
to have a good time. She doesn't like horror, she
doesn't like thrillers, she doesn't like the stuff that's gonna
make her sad, she don't like period pies. She likes
to go and escape and have a good time. And
Shironda was my model for the movie Girlcery, and I
do that for every movie. That I make who is
it for? So I did the same thing with this book.
So when you ask about who this book was for,
(13:32):
I thought about two people specifically. I thought about somebody
that is in their forties and fifties who are already
into the throes of a career but are ready to pivot,
ready to make a change, ready to do something different,
not totally satisfied and totally happy with where they are
(13:52):
in their lives right now, and think that more is
out there, better is out there, Greater is out there
for them, but they don't know how to do it,
and they are understandably apprehensive and anxious about making a
major life change. And one of the things I talk
about in the book is the power of the pivot.
And the other person I made it for is somebody
(14:14):
that is a millennial gen Zia who is about to
graduate college or recently graduated college. Somebody who's out there
and hasn't found their passion yet, who is trying to
figure out what is my place in the world right
They've either got a college degree or maybe thought about
going to college, but they're in their like, you know,
(14:36):
early twenties, maybe late twenties, and they're trying to figure
out how am I going to kickstart my life because
I haven't found the thing that I feel like I
was put here to do. I haven't found the thing
that is waking me up every morning going I have
to do this. And there are a lot of people
like this. And one of the things I say is
that that's okay. You don't have to find that thing,
(14:59):
right you don't. I have to just wake up and
expect your passion that you're gonna do for the rest
of your life to hit you in the face. It
didn't for me. I did not have a passion for
movie making. Initially, I did something that I was good at,
which was going out and raising money, finding audiences, self distributing,
and later, while doing things that I was good at,
(15:23):
I found my passion in my love for storytelling. Later,
but I didn't wake up saying I want to tell stories.
I just was doing the things that I was good at,
and I found enjoyment in it and then ultimately unlocked
my life's passion. It's more often that that happens in
that order than the other way around. It's okay if
(15:44):
you haven't found the one thing that you feel like
you will put on this earth to do. It's okay,
it's not too late. You can still find it. But
you gotta double down and triple down on the thing
that you're good at and try to find enjoyment within that.
You know.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
I think your point is well received, certainly by me,
because it's amazing the similarities that I'm hearing in our stories.
You know, for a long time, I was a and
I still am, a broadcaster radio personality, and you know
from hip hop, you know hip hop radio. I'm a DJ,
like nightclub DJ, headphones, turntables, that whole thing, and a
(16:21):
personality gave away concert tickets. You know, stick around till
after the break because we're going to be talking about
Who's Dayton and who that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yep, yep.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
And I loved it.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
It was it was amazing, But I never felt like
this is what I was created to do, this is
why God made this person. It was just a fun,
cool job and I could have certainly done a lot worse,
so I didn't complain. And then when twenty twenty rolled
around and everyone got outside and everyone was protesting, you know.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
The death of George Floyd Q and my self q
Ward and myself.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
We ended up starting a show called Civic Cipher that
existed to foster allieship. We targeted hip hop stations because
that was where we'd find potential allies and bring them
over to our cause and give them the information they
needed to be better allies. And we started to make
content that felt true to our spirit. We have long
form conversations instead of thirty second talk breaks. We broke
(17:19):
down concepts, and then we look back on the sum
total of our lives, all of our mentors, all the
paths that we walked, and we realized we brought some
really meaningful perspective to those conversations. And at that point
I finally was able to have a conversation with the
president of this network, and I told him that I
have to do Civic Cipher, and ultimately it ended up
(17:40):
in you know me, you know, hosting this show for
the Black Information Network.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
But yeah, it's interesting, you're right.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
How it does sometimes happen in an order that you
might not be familiar with, and so I could certainly
see people appreciating this book. Now, you did mention a
couple of things you mentioned so far. You mentioned Kevin Hart,
you mentioned, you know, girls Trip and how who you
had in mind when you sat down to tell that story.
I'm curious, you know, how much of your experience as
(18:12):
a producer, you know, with things like you know, you
mentioned Girls Trip, I think like a man, you know,
Stump the Yard, you know, all the all the films.
How much of that has made its way into your
book because you got a perspective that I'm sure only
a handful of people and even less black men could tell.
(18:33):
So I'm just curious how much of that has made
its way in there?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
All? A lot of it that is that is that's
really the foundation of the book. The foundation of the
book is a successful movie producer who happens to be
African American, happens to be an African American male, who
has succeeded at the highest heights of an industry where
there are not a lot of folks that look like me,
especially behind the camera, succeeding at the highest level, who
(18:57):
happens to have worked with all these edible actors and
all these incredible folks from around the world and around
the industry. And it really is about my story of
navigating those worlds and finding success and how that's translatable
to any industry. But in order to get folks to
(19:18):
understand what I've learned and the skill sets that I've
acquired along the way, I've got to tell these stories.
So the book is about the stories of how I
got Girls Trip greenlit, and how I made Stomp the
Yard my first number one movie after all the studios
told me no, And how my movie Takers, which was
(19:40):
another number one movie that started Get Yourselba and Paul Walker,
and how that movie almost got stunk on the very
very first day of filming because of a big fight
that was happening, and how I navigated. So these are
stories I've never told before. But there's stories that I think,
first of all, they're going to take and they're crazy,
you know. I I tell the story about how, you know,
(20:03):
there was an actor that didn't show up one day
for set and we thought he was dead. Everybody thought
he was dead because he'd gone out the night before
and party really really crazy and there was rumors and
drugs and stuff happening and nobody could find them. And
Ramsey I end up having to burst into a hotel literally,
have to get hotel security, We have to knock the
(20:24):
door down. I don't know what I'm gonna find. I'm
so afraid we find this this this actor and he
is hungover at butt naked, and I'm like, oh my god,
easy breathing, and I like poke him. You know how
you might see like a damn pat in the park.
You just poke. That is how I poked this chrome
(20:45):
man like are you alive? And poked this person who
woke up, looked at me, did not recognize me, didn't
know who I was, totally hungover, immediately tried to kiss me.
True story. I cannot make this up. I said, Uh,
first of all, not doing that. You are late. Get
set ass, Oh, I know you hung over. It's time
(21:06):
to go and set right. All go back to first
of all we doing.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
And so the story is about the crazy things that
I've had to deal with on set and how you
navigated and how you get past and how you end
up still staying focused on your goals finding success.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You may not ever be in a crazy situation like
I was on the day of one of my biggest
movies in a nightclub with Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Harden,
and Carmelo Anthony told me were gonna die tonight, Like
he literally said those words. And we were in New
York and I had to get back to Atlanta, and
I had thirty minutes to get Kevin Hart out of
that nightclub to get him back on set. In Atlanta,
we had to catch a jet that was flying back,
(21:48):
and if we didn't get to the airport within thirty
minutes for that private plane, we were not gonna make
our flight. It was the biggest movie in my career.
My whole career would have gone down the toilet. That's
the story. You may never be in that situation, right,
but you can certainly learn something from the fact that
I was in it and I survived, and there are
lessons that apply. I don't care if you are a
(22:10):
movie producer, an accountant, a teacher, a broadcaster, doesn't matter.
There are transferable skills that you can learn and use
in any environment. And that literally is what the book
is about. And it's also fun. I'm not gonna lie
to you, man, it's fun and it's entertaining because that's
who I am. I tell stories and I make entertaining contents.
(22:33):
So I wasn't gonna make some boring self help book.
I wanted it to be inspiring inspiration, motivational, but also entertaining.
I wanted to be a fun read or fund listen.
If you're somebody that does audio books, I've got you know.
I called in all the folks that are in the book.
So Kevin Hardy is on the audiobook, so as Regina
all from Girls Strip, so with in yourself, but and
(22:53):
Steve Harvey and these other folks. So it's entertaining because
I wanted it to be something that you could consume,
learn something from, but have a good time.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Why you oh man, It definitely definitely sounds like a
fun read.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
I'm very much looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Yeah, thank you, Brother Black.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah, Peaks of the Planet.
Speaker 5 (23:14):
I go by the name of Charlamagne and God and
I can't wait to see y'all at the third annual
Black Effect Podcast Festival.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah, number three Baby.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Black called Black Rose More Black CEO.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
We're coming back to Pullman Yard Saturday for twenty six
in Atlanta, coasted by none other than Mandy B and Weezy.
That's right, Decisions, Decisions. The Black Effect is bringing some
of the biggest and best podcasts in the world to
the stage for one day only. Get Ready, we got
the R and B Money Podcast with Tanking Jay Valentine.
We got the Woman of All Podcasts with Sarah J. Roberts,
(23:44):
Good Mom's Bad Choices, Neked Sports with Carrie Champion, and
the Trap Nerds podcast with more to be announced. And
of course it's bigger than podcasts. We're bringing the Black
Effect Marketplace with black owned businesses, plus the food truck
court to keep you fed.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
While you visit us.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
All right, if all my firing podcasters, we got something
for you too. You know, we got informative panels and
you can go to the Career corn Up for exclusive
one on one time.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
With industry leaders.
Speaker 5 (24:07):
Tickets on Selle now tap into at Black Effect dot
Com Flash Podcast Festival.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
We are here today with legendary Hollywood producer and the
author of the new book Who Better Than You The
Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big, Will Packer. All Right,
So when we first started chatting, you know, you kind
of mentioned that.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
I'll paraphrase that we're.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Kind of living in some interesting times, you know, from
a lot of people's perspective in mind included, there are
some forces working against we'll call it a more progressive,
inclusive future, particularly for marginalized folks.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Do you think or or rather, what do you think.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
This book could have in terms of impact on folks
who feel like they're being affected by this current political administration.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I know that you mentioned that this is infused.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
With a lot of laughs, a lot of positivity, and
that's a fantastic place to start.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But you know, I'll let you tell the story.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, listen. I think that it is an entertaining book,
but make no mistake, it is a book about making
sure that you know your value. Number one first and foremost,
you know your value. Number two, that you have the
ability to get other people to understand your value. Because
(25:44):
if you are not able to get other folks to
recognize and appreciate your value, then somebody who is less
talented than you, who is less deserving than you, they
will get the things, whatever the things may be, in
your life that you deserve. You say that again, if
(26:05):
you're not able to get other people to understand and
appreciate your value, then someone who is less deserving than
you will get the things that you deserve. That the
subtitle of the book is the Art of Healthy Arrogance
and Dreaming Big, and my concept of healthy arrogant. Not
to be confused what toxic errot is, which is about
(26:25):
saying how you're better than everybody, are right, that's toxic ritings.
You walk into a room and go, everybody, look at me,
I'm better than you. That's not what we're talking about.
Healthy arrogance means you walk into a room and it
doesn't matter who's in that room. It can be some
of the most important and powerful people in the world,
but you understand that you have a right to be there,
and that you're supposed to be there, and that you
have something that nobody else in that room has, and
(26:48):
you have to be confident about it. And in a
society where you're absolutely right, inclusive ideals, progressive ideals, diverse
ideals are all on attack, and there are forces and
systems that are trying to hold down people that are
in marginalized communities. The way that you have to combat
(27:10):
that is with your excellence, by understanding your value and
making sure that other people around you see the benefit
in being in business with you and being in community
with you, in recognizing your contributions and your culture and
the value thereof. So I'm not somebody that says, you
(27:32):
know what the world is a tough place, it's unpredictable,
and you know the environment is not favorable to me.
So I'm just going to go in a corner and
die or just mad and yell about it. No, I'm
going to say, what are the parameters, what are the
metrics that it takes to be successful in today's world,
(27:53):
in today's society, in a particular industry, And then I'm
going to go out and figure out how to be
successful according to those metrics and those parameters. See, I
don't have ten number one black movies. I don't have
a billion dollars in box office off of black dollars. Right.
I got a billion dollars in box office off of
(28:13):
American Right. I got ten number one movies, not just
in Atlanta and Detroit. Shout out to my people in
those markets, but I got them across the country and
across the board. So you can't come to Will Packer
and say, oh, you're only successful because you look a
certain way, or because you got a leg up, or
because of some program. No, I'm successful on any metrics
(28:34):
or parameters and anybody else's and that's very, very important.
But you got to be able to do that and
be successful and understand that you absolutely should use your community,
use what makes you unique, use your place in society,
but use that to then succeed on whatever metrics, whatever parameters,
whatever value system is out there that is determining success.
(28:57):
That is how you silence those people that don't recognize
your back. But one of the things you have to
do is make sure that you number one, understand.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Your own about I love it.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
That's fantastic. Now you mentioned also, you know, while we're here,
you mentioned the subtitle of the book and you talked
about healthy arrogance versus hic arrogance, right, yes, and and
you know you would imagine that people would know the difference.
But I'm glad that you broke it down, and indeed
(29:27):
I had a note here for you to break that down,
because there is a There are a few pieces of
advice from the book that I wanted you to expound upon,
and I'm glad that you took the first one, so
I got a couple more for you.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
But I appreciate you kind.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Of delineating healthy arrogance from you know, arrogance in the
way many people, you know, perceive it as that sort
of insolent off putting pride where you feel like you
fly above other folks. Now there's another piece of advice
from the book. Convince people your goals are essential and vital.
Now I want people to read the book, but I
(30:01):
want you to expound on that piece of advice, just
to give people a glimpse of what they're going to
get when they pick up this book. Again, convince people
your goals are essential and vital.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Absolutely, you have to understand that everybody is always thinking
about what's in it for them for themselves, right. True
leadership is getting people to align with your goals and
your value. See when I talk about healthy arrogance and
(30:33):
walking into a room and what you add to a room,
the real key to success in any room is to
get other folks to understand that you have a commonality
of value. If I walk into a room and I say, Ramses,
I need you to follow me. We're gonna lift this
box and take it and put it over here in
(30:53):
the corner. Well, you're thinking immediately, well, why am I
helping you lift the box? What's in it for me?
Box looks heavy? Why does it need to go in
the corner? I was over here, you know, en or
durv the crew to day having my drink, right, I
don't want to go over there and help you lift
the box. So the first thing I have to do
is to get you to understand that lifting the box
will help both of us, Like, what's in the box,
(31:15):
what's the reason for it to go over there? What
is it about this action I'm asking you to take
that could benefit you. And if I'm able to get
you to understand, oh, yeah, you know what, that box
actually looks better in the corner, and I want this
room to look good, and I think that this is
a good thing for the room. To move the box,
then you're gonna help me move the box. You have
to be able to get people to row in the
same direction in a metaphorical robo, right, And if you're
(31:38):
able to do that, you have a much better chance
for success than somebody that's just going out saying, Hey,
this is what I want to do and y'all should
follow me. No, you have to get people to understand it.
You have to first of all understand people. Everybody's thinking,
what's in it for me? Why am I doing it?
What do I get out of it? So start there.
(31:59):
Good leaders are able to get the teams and the
people around them to support a common vision and a
common goal. And so if you can make sure that
your goals and your vision align with the people around you,
they will help you to achieve those goals.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Okay, I got another one for you, all right, again
directly from the book. It's the work you put in
when nobody's watching then makes everyone pay attention later. So
it seems self explained to her, but I'm sure there's
a little bit more there, so explain.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Yeah, No, listen, this is very important because we live
in a world where everybody is always talking about everything
that they're doing. Social media obsessed world. Right. One of
the phrases people say is picks or it didn't happen right. Sure,
you went out and ran a marathon, where the picks?
Where's the video? Or you're training, you know for a marathon,
(32:52):
you're about to lose weight, you're about to start your
own company. Well, let me see it. What's happening? And
we feel the pressure to show everybody what we're doing
every step of the way. You know what you do.
When you do that, though, you lose focus on your
own goals. You're so busy trying to show other people
what you're doing and your progress and get other people
(33:13):
to cheer you on for your progress. That you're exposing
whatever it is you're working on, whatever project, whatever goal,
whatever mission, your baby, so to speak, and you're exposing
it to the world before it's ready. The work you
put in when nobody is looking. Everybody pay attention later.
I have a theory that I call stay in the lab.
(33:33):
Stay in the lab. When you're in the lab, you're working,
you're focused, you're grinding. Don't worry about what everybody else
is doing, and don't worry about feeling the need to
validate the work that you're doing to everybody else before
you finish the work. It's not ready yet, right. I
didn't post chapters of this book online before the book
was done. No, I needed to go back and edit
it and re edit it and re edit it again,
(33:55):
and then get it ready. And then when it was
a complete book and a complete story with the beginning
and an ending in the middle and chapters that said
what I wanted to say, then I showed it to
the world. We are so busy trying to make sure
that we get like some comments and posts and reshares
that were not staying in the lab. Put in the work, grind,
(34:17):
put your head down, focus on your goal. Then then
when it's time release it, show everybody because then everybody's
gonna come pay attention. But it was the work you
put in when they weren't looking that made it matter.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Fantastic Well said, I think that.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
This is about as necessary a book as I've ever seen.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
And you know.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I know that in addition to that, at least our
listeners here on this show getting a chance to get
a sense of your personality, get a sense of you know,
who you are, how you move, the energy that you
have about you, the frequency at which you vibrate, so
to speak. Is that you know, folks are going to
want some connective tissues. So I do want you to
plug the book. But in addition to that, any social media,
(35:08):
any upcoming projects outside of the book that you want
people to support, any websites, anything like that before we
let you go.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
Yeah, of course, I mean I'm easy to find on
social media will power packer, which is very apropos because
I believe you got to have will power. So that
is and by the way, ramses I was a DJ
in college too. Yeah, so, yes, you're a professional DJ.
I was a fun having fun while I was in
college DJ. But I still you know what I was.
I was a good COVID DJ. You know, everybody got
(35:35):
on and was doing the live shit. My COVID DJ
parties were rocked. Okay, I was having a good time.
I got the turntables, I got the whole thing. I
don't do it as much anymore, but I did have
some fun being a DJ. So will Power Packer, my
DJ name was DJ Willpower. Okay, I'm will Power Packer
on all my social handles. Obviously, the book is out now.
(35:56):
Wherever you buy books, I always tell people, try to support,
you know, local bookstores. Try to support black owned bookstores.
You know nothing on Amazon. I get it. Everybody's going
and shopping with the behemoths. Nothing wrong with that, but
got to support local businesses when you can. My book
is available everywhere, so whatever platform you buy your books
on or buy your audiobooks, it's out there. I've got
(36:19):
several projects that I'm working on as a producer. You're
always juggling a bunch of things. Right now on air
is my the longest running African American dating show in
television and it's called Ready to Love and it airs
on Own the Own network on Friday nights, and it's
a lot of fun. And so if you're into reality shows,
(36:40):
you're into dating shows, check out Ready to Love. You
can easily catch up or just jump right in with
whatever the latest episode is. And last year, we actually
released Fight Night, which is a limited series that is
airing right now on Peacock and we won the NAAC
Image Award for Best Limited Series and I'm very very
(37:03):
proud of that. And it stars Sam Jackson, Taraji Henson,
Don Cheatle, Terrence Howard, and Kevin Hart. And he's playing
a dramatic role, okay, and he does an excellent job
with it. So it's a true story based on the
biggest heights in the history of Georgia that actually really
(37:23):
happened after an unsanctioned Muhammad Ali fight. So that's called
Fight Night. Check it out and just continue to support
will pack of projects, but most importantly, continue to support yourself.
You owe it to yourself. You deserve success. Go out
and get the tools necessary for you to go and
find your own success. That's what I want, That's what
(37:44):
I want for my people. For my community. I want
us to know that we are just as deserving of
success as anybody else.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Absolutely, I love that.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Well, you know what, I couldn't be happier with the
conversation that we've had. I appreciate that you're taking the
time to come and talk to us here on the
Black Information Network Q of course regretfully, Uh.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
You know, you know, but we had it down for you, brother, Yeah, yeah, we.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Did our best. But yeah, I just I can't thank
you enough. You're an inspiration. You know, your commitment to
you know, your people, your commitment to your passion to
yourself is infectious. And you know, obviously having a book
out that people can you know, purchase and kind of
(38:33):
have a piece of that, you know, in their lives,
especially for folks kind of dealing with a tough time
right now. I just I couldn't be happier with with
the work that you're doing. And so my hat's off
to you, sir. Thank you very much for your time
and your insight. Once again, today's guest is legendary Hollywood
producer and the author of the new book Who Better
Than You The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big,
(38:54):
Will Packer, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
For having me, mam.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show was produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes. I'm your
host Ramse's Jah on all social media and join us
tomorrow as we share our news with our voice from
our perspective right here on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast.
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