When Reginald Hudlin received a call from Jamie Foxx and producer Datari Turner in 2019 saying that they wanted to make a movie about leading Black actors in Hollywood, he was all in.
“It was kind of a no-brainer,” says Hudlin, director of Apple TV+’s Number One on the Call Sheet. “As we started talking through the idea, it was pretty obvious that there was more than enough talent to feature in this film. In fact, we needed to restructure this movie so it was even bigger — hence, Shola Lynch.”
Lynch came on board to direct the two episodes on Black leading women in Hollywood, while Hudlin was at the helm for the two on Black leading men. Together they make up the four-part docuseries in which some 30 A-listers, from Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Whoopi Goldberg and Viola Davis to Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Eddie Murphy, discuss their journeys as entertainers. The stars were filmed over a period of roughly two years starting in 2022, with Kevin Hart and Foxx appearing as subjects and serving as executive producers through their respective companies, Hartbeat and Foxxhole Productions.
“It was a producing and political feat to get all of these people to sit down,” says Lynch, whose credits include the Cicely Tyson tribute at the 2018 Governors Awards. “After that piece, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, let’s make a piece about Black women in filmmaking in Hollywood,’ and she and her people were like, ‘We can’t do that. The political capital [is too great],’ and it never quite got off the ground. So when all the guys circled to me, my only regret was Ms. Tyson is gone,” adds Lynch. “But here to mark the time in a way that nobody else had the capacity to do are these films that are produced by Black film companies. Their power, celebrity and cachet helped ride that wave and get everybody to sit down because there is no precedent for it.”
The tone of the series is both celebratory and raw. The male actors pay homage to pioneers like Sidney Poitier and reflect on how Smith’s box office success shattered preconceived notions that Black entertainers couldn’t be international movie stars. The actresses reflect on thresholds they have and have yet to surmount, a significant portion of the series centering on Berry’s post as the sole Black woman in the Academy’s 97-year history to win an Oscar for best actress. The takeaway, however, the filmmakers say, isn’t to point fingers at the industry but rather draw inspiration from the ways in which each subject has defied the odds.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
“I think this is what people need — not just want but need, which is blueprints for living,” says Hudlin. “Here’s a bunch of winners telling you how to win, and there’s not one path. There are a number of different paths. Pick the one that’s right for you.”
Adds Lynch: “It makes each one of us think, ‘How can we be number one on our own call sheet?’ How can we be the excellence [that we want to see] or be in our purpose?’ Because these women, they’re in their purpose and they’re going to do it regardless. They’re going to find a way, and that in itself is very, very inspiring.”
This story first appeared in a May stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
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