HOW BIG IS THE BOX?… DEPENDS ON YOU

Recently I realized that I was being a hypocrite and it was time that I called myself out publicly… what better format than LinkedIn? So here goes…

When I first start working with a new partner, I ask “How big is the box?” They of course have no idea what I am talking about. I explain that they need to decide how big is the box that they want to play in… Are you a "British Children’s Television Producer" or are a "Provider of Global Content (both on the screen and the shelf) for Children (and the people who love them)?" I always explain that your box is going to be the way others see you. It will effect the way you create, market, distribute your work and ultimately it shapes the way you see yourself.

 I thought I was so clever (no surprise to many of you who know me), because for many years I have thought of myself as a "showman," "an advocate for families," "a rebel," "a property developer" and "a creator of quality content for children and their families"… and it has brought me success… it could be argued that it has brought me great success and accolades. So why change a formula, if it works… right?

Well here comes the hypocrisy… I realized that I have limited the size of my own box and therefore the size of the box that my team and I get to play in… and it was only after I started to look at myself and KVp differently that things started changing.

 We now define ourselves as “great storytellers” plain and simple. Whether we are putting a story on a shelf or a screen, we make sure it is a great story with interesting characters in an immersive world. Whether that story is airing in Korea or going on to Walmart’s shelves, we are telling a story. We want that story to be impactful and purposeful. We want it to change our audience for the better.

 One very specific way that this has manifested is that we just sold our first prime-time series…. YAHOO!!!

We teamed up with Brooklyn Weaver (Extant, Reverie, Run All Night) and Michael Tadross Jr. (I Am Legend, Basic, Gangster Squad and Hitch)  to bring Alex Simmons’ classic character BlackJack to television and sold the series in our very first network meeting.

 Arron Day, aka Blackjack, is an African-American soldier of fortune battling powerful enemies, the ghosts of his past, and the bigotry of his time. Created by Alex Simmons, Blackjack first appeared in comics in 1996 under the banner of DAP (Dark Angel Productions) Comics. With more than a dozen BlackJack stories in print, this self-published cult classic graphic novel series has been met with both critical and commercial success, but no one had sold the broadcast rights to this extraordinary hero.

When I met with Alex the first time, this is what he told me… “The 1930’s was a time when bigotry was not just accepted it was the norm… I wrote BlackJack in that time period to shine a light on our history and our heroes so that we would never allow ourselves to go back to that level of hatred again.” continues Simmons “Without the help of modern technology or civil rights movements, Blackjack is a human target, a professional adventurer, a challenger of death… a black man alone.”

 This was not the kind of project that I normally take on, because it didn’t fit into my definition… my “box,” but I LOVED the idea, the concept, the unrelenting fearless determination of the lead character and truly understood the kind of impact that a series of this nature could have... especially in the world we are living in today. I really wanted to be a part of this work... to help tell this story, but how could I? I was the "Kids' TV guy."

This is is where I discovered my hypocrisy... It meant that I had to look deeply into what motivated me and my team. It meant that I had to find a way to redefine my box for not only myself and my team but for those with which we work and aspire to work in the future. I needed to proclaim that we were more than we were perceived to be... that we were no longer going to be defined by our audience but instead by our ability to tell great stories to any audience.

Recent events like The Women’s March, Black Lives Matter and The MeToo Movement have raised the consciousness of many of us in our society today. BlackJack, the original unsung hero, gives us an opportunity through his exciting and often tremulous journey to acknowledge the role of black men in history. There couldn’t possibly be a more opportune time for BlackJack. But… how could the guy that people think of as “The Teletubbies Guy” or “The Toy Guy” or who knows what else… how could that guy executive produce a gritty often dark prime-time series about a Black man’s struggle?

 Well honestly that guy probably couldn’t, but a “Great Storyteller” could and did!

 Some more information about Alex Simmons…

Alex Simmons is the recent winner of the Inkpot Award. He is the founder / co-producer of KIDS’ COMIC CON as well as the co-founder and curator of the COLOR OF COMICS art exhibition representing the portrayal of people of color in comics. This event was chosen by the American Embassy Dakar to be part of the Fessman International Cultural Arts Festival in Senegal Africa.

Simmons is a professional freelance writer, teaching artist, and global public speaker. Simmons has written children’s books, an original Sherlock Holmes play, and many comic book stories from Batman to Archie. He’s also written 12 interactive mysteries (which received three educational awards); two educational documentaries; two additional stage plays; three movie novelizations for Disney, three biographies, including one on Denzel Washington and is a contributor to many national publications.