Uprising
Hollywood's Romance Dealer Breaks Down His Creative Process
[THE WRITER'S ROOM]
UpRising: From Brown Sugar to Just Wright, you’ve written your share of timeless films about Black love. What's your process when writing a romantic comedy?
Michael Elliot: When I get an idea for a rom-com, I already know the ending: They're going to be together. What makes a great rom-com is the things they have to learn about themselves and whatever those obstacles are for them to be together. One of the first questions I ask myself isn't, “How will they meet?” It’s “What's going to blow this up?” Movies are in three acts; I always think about what's going to happen at the end of the second act. That's how I always begin.
Where do you draw inspiration when piecing together stories?
I get inspiration from situations or people I know. With Brown Sugar, I could relate to the friendship the two [main] characters had. That was real to me. And I knew that world. Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) worked at a hip-hop magazine because I worked at The Source. Being around the hip-hop industry for most of my life informed the world that the characters inhabited.
I've had people ask if Sidney is real or inspired by someone, because there were so many notable couples and writers in hip-hop back then. Truth is, the idea for Brown Sugar came from Mary J. Blige. She had a song called “Seven Days,” where she’s talking about this relationship she has with her friend. There's a line that said, "And [Sunday] we made love. Now what are we going to do?" That was the light-bulb moment. I remember hearing that lyric in the shower. I was like, "This is a movie; that was the end of act one. Two lifelong best friends—they'll either sleep together or nearly sleep together right before the other is about to get married." And that's where the idea came from. The original title was Seven Days; it was later changed to Brown Sugar. Mary didn't even know this until I told her some years ago.
Reasonable Doubt creator Raamla Mohamed once told me she writes specific songs into her scripts. Does music play a role in your storytelling process? Do you ever have songs in mind that you incorporate?
Great question. So I don't typically use music in that way because if I'm fortunate enough to get a movie made, I'm likely not going to have anything to do with those choices. So I don't really think about that. But as I'm creating, I think about the actors who can play these roles. Brown Sugar was a perfect example. I thought of Sanaa Lathan playing Sidney and I saw Taye Diggs playing Dre. I even saw Queen Latifah playing Francine and Mos playing Cavi. To think the people I envisioned actually ended up starring in the movie was so incredible [Ed Note: Alexa Fogel was the casting director on Brown Sugar.].
I include that as part of my pitch because it helps the buyer, studio, or streamer see what this could be. Even if you don't get that particular actor, it gives the buyer a sense of what type of talent this project could attract. I think that's really important.
There are many quotables from Brown Sugar, but one of the most oft-cited is “You're the perfect verse over a tight beat.” Do you remember first coming up with that line, and did you know it would resonate the way it has?
That’s one of my favorite lines in the movie, and it came from my love of hip-hop. To use that in a romantic way was just… It's a line that I'm really proud of, and I'm so glad other people remember it to this day [Ed. Note: Brown Sugar was co-written by Rick Famuyiwa.]. It just came from, like, “These two people who connected over hip-hop when they were kids, how would they express themselves in a way that only the two of them would get?”
The character that Boris Kodjoe played has no flaws in the whole movie, right? He's good-looking, he treats [Sidney] well, he cooks for her, makes time for her. They have no issues whatsoever. The only crack is from the moment you meet her, she's passionate about writing—it's her whole life. And there's a moment in the second act where she learns that he never read her work.
A couple of scenes later, Dre is talking about how he would read her column every week—everything she ever wrote—and quote a line. That was intentional, a way to show the difference between the two. So that's where the line came from. He was just telling her how her writing was so important to him, and it became a moment for her, like, wow.
More recently, you wrote Ruth & Boaz, starring Serayah and Tyler Lepley, and Relationship Goals with Method Man and Kelly Rowland as leads. How did you go about sourcing from two very different books to create those two films?
I like to tell stories that feel universal. The idea for Ruth & Boaz was to reimagine a story from The Bible, the biggest-selling book in the world. The Bible is the ultimate [intellectual property]. The approach was to make it feel like something that would happen today, but show a world you haven't seen before. And that's what the choice to make Boaz the owner of a vineyard in Tennessee. That was a leap, but a deliberate choice. That was definitely more of a romantic drama.
Relationship Goals was far more challenging, because that movie was inspired by a non-fiction book [Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex by Pastor Michael Todd]. I came up with a plot where these characters work on a morning show. It was much more about coming up with a creative original story. That was not easy, but that was the idea I had from the moment I read the book.
You’ve also pulled inspiration from unexpected sources. Your 2001 film is a reimagining of the 1875 opera, Carmen.
Sometimes I'm inspired by what I have seen, but never seen through our lens. I was able to take something I knew and a passion I had and go, "What about doing a hip-hop version of this opera?" Writing from a place of knowledge was helpful for me in the beginning stages of my career. Now, I'm a lot more experienced, so I'm able to do different things.
Back then, I decided to become a screenwriter because I was sitting in movie theaters, watching trailers with nobody who looked like me in them. I came to Hollywood to create movies that would star Black people, not just have Black people in supporting roles. And because I came from hip-hop, I knew how talented these artists were.
I would specialize in creating opportunities for hip-hop artists to act. Carmen had Beyoncé, Wyclef, Lil Bow Wow, Jermaine Dupri, and Mos Def all in that movie. Mos Def had a memorable role in Brown Sugar. Like Mike was conceived for Lil Bow Wow. Just Wright was Common and Queen Latifah. So that's a common theme with me as well.
Is there anything you are working on that you can share, or that you haven't done yet that you would like to?
There are things I can't mention yet. But I would love to write a rom-com starring Keke Palmer. She's so talented, so likable. I would also love to write a rom-com that reunites Halle Berry with Eddie Murphy, since we haven't seen that since Boomerang. I'm a huge fan of Issa Rae and the whole team behind Insecure. I love that show. So I have ambitions for TV. A goal of mine is to develop a series for television and work with people I haven't worked with yet, like Issa. I have an idea of something that we need, something that's never been seen before. I'm cooking it up right now.
—John Kennedy
[HOW I DID IT]
It’s RDCWorld, We’re Just Living in It
What started as a group of childhood friends clowning on camera has turned into RDCWorld, a content collective pumping out hilarious, shareable sketches on music, sports, and anime. Frontman Mark Phillips shares three keys to their success.
—————
Don’t Chase Clout
I only make videos on things I'm passionate about. A lot of people just want views. I actually never thought, “Damn, I want to be famous.” Of course, you want people to appreciate your work, but if that's the only thing you want, you might not get it. Be passionate. I love my projects regardless of whether they do well.
Get in Sync (Word to Timberlake)
One thing that always helped us is being transparent. These are my homies that I grew up with since middle school, so we steadily grew together. Everybody needs to understand that everybody's different. Everybody has to bring their ego down to really be able to even talk about things to this level.
Just Start. Period.
Don't procrastinate. Procrastination—or anything that makes you wait—is usually fear. Even if you’ve prepared and you’re like, “Man, I need to prepare for six more months.” That's fear. Jump into it. I didn't know anything about doing videos. I wasn't ready. I just turned the camera on and learned from there.
—As told to John Kennedy
[LET'S LINK]
JAŸ-Z Is Re-Entering a Different America [Andscape]
Can Gen Z Save Hollywood? [The Hollywood Reporter]
Riz Ahmed Went “Too Far” in His Slumdog Millionaire Audition [Vulture]
Rick Ross Has Added Even More Insane Pieces to His Watch Collection—Here’s a Look Inside [Robb Report]
Why Gene Luen Yang’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Matter Again [Esquire]
21 Essential Books That Fiercely Celebrate Black Womanhood [Essence]
[TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT]
Youth offers certain things, but it doesn’t offer everything. My face is going to wrinkle; my breasts will sag; I’ll have grey hair. Why would I waste time agonizing over this inevitability when I could just enjoy where I’m at?
[Keenen Ivory Wayans voice] Message! This Hollywood starlet has been rising up the ranks since her breakout more than a decade ago. As she prepares for her first leading film role, she recently dropped some real talk about aging. Take a wild guess who—and then read all about her career, fashion sensibilities, and imposter syndrome in this new cover story.
[OUTRO]
Take This Audio Doggie Bag With You
“Don’t Even Call,” Swae Lee Featuring Rich the Kid
It’s hard to believe more than a decade has passed since Rae Sremmurd’s 2014 breakthrough, which had fans chanting “No Flex Zone” and “No Type” at the top of their lungs. The duo’s younger half, Swae Lee, is a certified star—and he’s finally slated to drop his long-awaited debut album, Same Difference, next month. Peep this smooth teaser (and it’s music video) from the project. It’s guaranteed to get stuck in your head.
