Superproducer Will Packer on His Billion Dollar Career: ‘It’s The Audience That Drives It’

Will Packer does not make films for Hollywood. Though his career has spanned 30 years, and his movies have collectively grossed over $1 billion at the box office, the prolific producer learned this powerful lesson early on.

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“When I made that very first movie, ‘Chocolate City,’ I invited all of Hollywood to come to our world premiere,” he told Variety during a sit-down conversation at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), where the series premiered . “This is how audacious we were: I did a black-tie premiere in Tallahassee, Florida, on the campus of Florida A&M University (FAMU) in the Lee Hall Student Auditorium.”

He adds, “We invited all the Hollywood executives, and none of them showed up, but all the students showed up, and it was packed. It was standing room only. It taught me something about the audience for which I’m making these films. I wasn’t making them for these executives in ivory towers who would never come. I was making them for students who had not seen themselves on screen.”

Three decades later, with a slew of number-one movies, including “Think Like A Man,” “Ride Along,” and “Girls Trip” (which all boast a predominantly Black cast), Packer has continued to flourish by defying the Hollywood structure and speaking directly to audiences who still long to see themselves represented.

“​​Ultimately, that film was successful by any measure,” Packer says about 1994’s “Chocolate City.” “But that was an important moment that taught me I could do this without Hollywood.”

2007’s “Stomp the Yard” became Packer’s first number one hit at the box office, but “everybody passed on that movie,” he notes. “Nobody wanted to make it. I finally got one studio to say, ‘Yes.’ It came out, and it was so huge. Afterward, every studio called me and said, ‘Who are you? Where are you? Come to us. Why didn’t you bring us that movie?’ I did. I brought it every last one of you, and you said, ‘No.'”

While being attuned to his audience and having what he calls a “healthy arrogance” has helped Packer sustain a fruitful career, he’s not immune to the current state of the industry. Still feeling the effects of the pandemic and Hollywood’s dual strikes last year, Packer — whose last movie “Praise This” debuted on Peacock instead of in theaters — is aware that the film and television landscapes have altered forever.

“Hollywood’s definitely recalibrating,” he says. “That is more about the economics of the business right now. The over-saturation of content and the challenges of streaming which was once thought to be a panacea for everything. Now, there’s a constriction as media companies pull back.”

Since Packer continues championing Black-led stories, that feeling of contraction feels even more present in his work. “The types of projects that become increasingly harder to make are those that center marginalized groups, African Americans, LGBTQ, and what have you,” he says. “If it’s not mainstream, four-quadrant, based on IP, preferably a successful sequel or a series, it makes people nervous because it’s already a risk-averse industry. So, somebody like me, I’ve got to work even harder.”

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“I’m making it available on an amazing platform that [audiences] can get and watch at home because I know they will,” Packer, who executive produced the show, says. “And I know what level of star power I have, and the resources I put into this project are the right medium for that particular project. So, I can’t be rigid and stubborn in how I produce and think about making and creating these projects. But it starts with the audience. That’s the bottom line. It’s the audience that drives it.”

With an A-list cast that includes Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle , among others, Packer knew when he first heard the true tale that inspired “Fight Night” that it would be something to behold.

“Initially, I tried to make it as a movie, and I’m so glad that that didn’t happen because now I’ve got the breadth to tell it the way we do now — in eight parts,” he says. “It just brings you into a web that is about to get tricky. It’s a web of complex, entertaining, provocative characters who you want to root for at times. It’s got complexities that I think audiences will enjoy. I love the fact that you’ve got these amazing Black actors who all came together and answered the call.”

With “Fight Night” set to debut Sept. 5, Packer is already looking ahead.

“I think about my legacy a lot,” he says. “I want it to be about those I have affected, those I have influenced. I have former interns who have won Oscars and Emmys and created their own production companies. I’m very proud of that, just as much as I am of my own individual accomplishments.”

And when his career finally slows and it’s time to hang it up — “whatever ‘hanging it up’ looks like,” Packer says — “I want people within this industry to be able to say, ‘He influenced people, touched lives, and brought people along with him.’ That, to me, is the true measure of success.”

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