Business

'Fight Night' producer Will Packer says he's 'living proof' that diverse content is good business

Published

3 months ago

June 19, 2024

'Fight Night' producer Will Packer says he's 'living proof' that diverse content is good business

Will Packer knows that diversity in movies is good business.

The producer has become a standout in Hollywood, making films with mostly Black casts that cater to an underserved audience — and that audience has rewarded him for it. His 2017 film “Girls Trip,” starring Tiffany Haddish, Regina Hall, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith, was the highest-grossing comedy of that year. Comedies “Think Like a Man” and “Ride Along” have seen massive success at the box office.

He’s since branched out into projects for streaming, documentary features and television (both scripted and unscripted), diversifying his slate at a time when the industry is seeing upheaval in its business model. His next project is “Fight Night,” a true-story limited series for Peacock that chronicles the biggest heist in the state of Georgia’s history, starring Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson and Taraji P. Henson. But Hollywood’s current contraction shouldn’t mean that diverse projects should be abandoned in favor of the bottom line, he said.

“It takes folks pushing the industry to see the economic benefit of doing organically diverse content,” Packer said. “And I like to think that I’m one of the people that is doing the pushing.”

This year is the 10th anniversary of Will Packer Productions. What are you most proud of?

Sustainability and longevity in the context of a very fickle industry where not a lot of companies last that long. As the ever-changing industry has continued to shift, we have somehow been able to stay relevant and valuable to our media partners and to audiences, which is most important.

What has helped you stay relevant?

I like to think it’s because two of the things that I really try to focus on are commerciality and authenticity. We focus on things that will be appealing to our core audience and do it at a time when we realize they don’t have to consume your stuff.

It’s laughable to me how self-important as an industry we can be. And I have peers who think that if you build it, they will come. And it’s like no, not at all. Not when you’re in an oversaturated environment. Audiences want something that they can’t get elsewhere that feels urgent, that’s loud, provocative, oftentimes — something that’s going to speak to them.

What more needs to be done to diversify Hollywood?

You know, I’m an eternal optimist. There definitely has been progress — you look at the voices in front of and behind the camera, and they’re more diverse than ever before. But we started from where there was such a dearth of any kind of real, authentic diversity, we have so far to go. Even though I’m optimistic, I don’t have any delusions of thinking that we’ve turned some incredible corner. If anything, when you have a constriction of content now, studios pulling back, the first things that get cut are things that are considered, you know, diversity initiatives.

I’m living proof that diverse content is good business. Unfortunately, we’re seeing it become tougher for diverse filmmakers, because it’s tougher for all filmmakers, but it always hits the marginalized voices first and hardest. And we’re seeing it now.

What projects are you excited about?

I’m on my way to set right this very minute on a project I’m very excited about called “Fight Night.” It is a limited series that I’m doing for Peacock. It is a true story based on the biggest heist in Georgia’s history, and one of the biggest heists in the country, actually. It happened after a Muhammad Ali fight back in 1970 when he couldn’t get sanctioned to fight anywhere; he’d been blackballed because of his stance against the Vietnam War. An interesting collection of white government officials, Black entrepreneurs, promoters and, frankly, out-and-out hustlers came together to put together this unsanctioned boxing match. And afterward, there was this underground casino party that attracted celebrities, athletes, entertainers and gangsters from all over the country. And that party got robbed. We’re telling the true story of that night.

Rapid-fire questions

What are you listening to now?

I’m listening to an audiobook called “Tools of Titans.” Music-wise, I’ve been listening to the Kendrick-Drake tracks. When I work out, that’s good energy. And then earlier this year, I went to Trinidad for Carnival, so I’ve been playing soca since then.

How do you get focused?

Focus has never been a big problem for me. I can’t afford to not be focused. So, I am somebody that always has a million things going on, but I’m a very good compartmentalizer.

What do you do to relax?

Sit on the beach. I’m an amateur boater; I love to go out and be near the water. That’s where my soul kind of finds peace, that’s where I can unplug.

Business

Video: Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates for the First Time in Four Years

Published

2 days ago

September 18, 2024

Press Room

Video: Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates for the First Time in Four Years

new video loaded: Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates for the First Time in Four Years

transcript

Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates for the First Time in Four Years

Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said that the central bank would take future interest rate cuts “meeting by meeting” after lowering rates by a half percentage point, an unusually large move.

: Today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to reduce the degree of policy restraint by lowering our policy interest rate by a half percentage point. Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends. Inflation is now much closer to our objective, and we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent. We’re going to take it meeting by meeting. As I mentioned, there’s no sense that the committee feels it’s in a rush to do this. We made a good, strong start to this, and that’s really, frankly, a sign of our confidence — confidence that inflation is coming down.
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Cheaper Mortgages and Car Loans: Lower Rates Are on the Horizon

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September 18, 2024

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Cheaper Mortgages and Car Loans: Lower Rates Are on the Horizon

The costs of 30-year mortgages and new car loans have been inching down in recent months, welcome news for borrowers who have endured years of high prices and high interest rates.

These borrowing costs are expected to fall further: The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, with more cuts anticipatedto come.

Source: Federal Reserve

Note: The rate since December 2008 is the upper limit of the federal funds target range.

When the Fed lowers its benchmark rate, it is ultimately trying to reduce borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. Setting rates is one of the key ways the Fed can try to speed up or cool down the economy, which can include what lenders offer prospective homeowners, car buyers and other consumers.

Wednesday’s announcement was the first time in more than four years that Fed cut rates, following a long fight to tamp down a surge in inflation spurred by pandemic-related supply chain snarls and other factors.

Borrowing costs hit a two-decade high as part of the Fed’s inflation fight.

A variety of factors go into the Fed’s decision to change rates, including the strength of the labor market. Hiring throughout much of the U.S. economy has been healthy in recent months, with wages still growing and many Americans still eager to work.

Unemployment, however, has been slowly rising, and wage growth has begun to slow.

That has raised questions about whether the Fed waited too long to begin lowering rates. It has also contributed to many people’s anxieties about the state of the economy.

Even as inflation has cooled, months of rapid price increases have left a lasting mark for many consumers. And the costs of many household items, big-ticket purchases and crucial services remain high for many people.

While Wednesday’s news will likely bring relief for shoppers and borrowers, the effects of Fed rate changes are not instantaneous, and it could be months before credit card APRs, mortgage costs and other interest rates meaningfully change.

Business

U.S. Steel C.E.O. Says Nippon Deal Will Strengthen National Security

Published

3 days ago

September 17, 2024

Press Room

U.S. Steel C.E.O. Says Nippon Deal Will Strengthen National Security

The chief executive of U.S. Steel said on Tuesday that the proposed takeover of the company by Nippon Steel of Japan would strengthen America’s national security, and he expressed confidence that the federal government would allow the deal to close despite bipartisan calls to block it.

Rebutting concerns from lawmakers and the steelworkers’ labor union about the transaction, the executive, David Burritt, argued that if the acquisition moved forward, the new company would benefit the U.S. economy and allow the United States and Japan to better compete with China in global steel markets.

“By the time we’re done doing all the analysis, it’s very clear that it strengthens national security, economic security and job security,” Mr. Burritt said. “This deal will close on its merits.”

His comments, made at the Detroit Economic Club, came as U.S. Steel has been facing a political storm over Nippon’s $15 billion takeover bid. Top Republicans and Democrats, including President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, have said that the iconic steel maker should remain American owned and operated. The United Steelworkers union has accused Mr. Burritt of misleading workers and trying to get a lucrative exit package that would come from selling the company.

The transaction has also become tangled with swing state politics, as U.S. Steel is based in Pennsylvania, which could help to determine the outcome of the November presidential election.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is reviewing the agreement, has warned the companies that the merger could pose risks to American national security. The interagency panel has yet to make a recommendation to the president about whether the deal should be blocked.

The Biden administration signaled this month that it was preparing to block the deal before November. Following public criticism from business groups that the review process was being politicized, officials suggested last week that a decision could be delayed until after the election.

Mr. Burritt dismissed the negative talk about the deal on Tuesday and insisted that it would benefit American workers.

He also laid out the implications for U.S. Steel if the deal were to be blocked. Mr. Burritt said the company would continue to focus its resources on “mini mills” that it operates in the South rather than the larger facilities in Pennsylvania and Indiana that Nippon has said it will upgrade.

Describing the company’s current strategy as “better, not bigger,” Mr. Burritt said, “with Nippon, it would be better and bigger.”

Mr. Burritt has warned that the company could lay off workers and relocate its headquarters outside Pennsylvania if the deal were blocked.

Critics have said that the deal could threaten national security by ceding a key part of America’s manufacturing supply chain to a foreign-owned company. Biden administration officials have also raised concerns that if Nippon controls U.S. Steel, it could raise objections to American tariffs on steel imports.

Mr. Burritt noted that Japan is America’s closest ally in Asia and argued that the deal would curb China’s steel dominance.

“Bringing Nippon’s expertise with U.S. Steel’s footprint here in the United States — that investment coming in — gives us an opportunity to really compete with China,” he said.

Nippon’s bid for U.S. Steel, which was accepted in December, continues to face strong opposition from the powerful steelworkers’ union. The union has expressed fears about the future of its pension program and raised doubts that Nippon will make the investments in U.S. Steel facilities that it has promised.

In a letter to its members on Tuesday, the leaders of the steelworkers’ union reiterated their problems with Nippon’s proposal.

“The U.S. government should reject the deal for obvious and important national defense reasons, and U.S.S. can remain an independent company,” David McCall, president of United Steelworkers, and Mike Millsap, chairman of the negotiating committee, said in the letter. “We must remain united as we fight to keep U.S. Steel an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”