Sista Brunch

Effie T. Brown is an award-winning producer, CEO of Game Changer Films, and a Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her producing credits include Real Women Have Curves and Dear White People, and she made history when she challenged the lack of diversity on HBO's Project Greenlight -- a moment that helped spark the creation of the Inclusion Rider.

In this season seven finale of Sista Brunch, Effie delivers one of the most transparent and unfiltered conversations we've ever had:

-- Growing up as a latchkey kid in New Jersey and seeing Alien as a child -- the moment she realized women can save themselves and storytelling can bring everyone together

-- Getting into the LMU film school on sheer audacity: "I'm gonna be bigger than Jerry Bruckheimer and Oprah Winfrey"

-- The first class of Film Independent's Project Involve

-- The full Project Greenlight story: what happened at the premiere, reading Matt Damon's microexpressions, and learning that she'd never hear from them again

-- How that moment led directly to the Inclusion Rider and now state-level inclusion policy through the California Film Commission

-- Real producer pay: $75K on Real Women Have Curves, underpaying herself on Dear White People, and doing Project Greenlight because her house was about to be foreclosed on

-- Why producers should never defer their 5%: "You know who doesn't put their fee back? The director. The actors. The writers."

-- Producers United and the fight for development fees and commencement fees

-- Her quilting practice, Conjure Quilts: putting disparate pieces together to make something whole

-- What verticals are and why they're the future: "Candy Crush with a narrative" -- Her vision for a collective fund where multiple companies pool resources and replenish the pot

-- 18 years sober, gumbo, and the advice to her younger self: have a lot of sex and learn about distribution because they eat first and eat the most

Effie was born at Fort Dix, New Jersey, attended Loyola Marymount University on a theater scholarship, and has spent her career making sure overlooked voices get heard, seen, paid, and credited.

Keywords: Effie Brown, Sista Brunch Podcast, Game Changer Films, Project Greenlight, Inclusion Rider, Real Women Have Curves, Dear White People, producer salary, film producer, Academy Governor, micro drama, verticals, AKUNA, Idris Elba, Conjure Quilts, Film Independent, Project Involve, Producers United, independent film, Black women in Hollywood, distribution, entertainment business, HBO, diversity inclusion, California Film Commission, LMU, circular leadership

In our Season 7 finale, Effie T. Brown holds nothing back. The CEO of Gamechanger Films and producer of Real Women Have Curves, Dear White People, and The Inspection tells the full Project Greenlight story — and learns, for the first time on mic, that her stand on inclusive hiring is the spark behind the Inclusion Rider and the state-level policy that grew out of it. From there she gets real about money: what she actually earned on her best-known films, why producers have to stop deferring their fees, and how she nearly lost her house between projects. Then she turns to what's next — building micro-drama verticals with Idris Elba, why Black creators have to own the platform, and where AI fits in. Plus her quilting practice Conjure Quilts, 18 years of sobriety, and the advice she'd give her younger self over a bowl of gumbo. One of the most candid conversations we've had in seven seasons.

In this episode:

- The making of "with love in my heart"

— the full Project Greenlight story, in Effie's words

- The Inclusion Rider's origin, and the live reveal of where it led

- Real producer economics: development and commencement fees, the 5% rule, and why you never defer - Micro-dramas and verticals explained

— and why ownership is the whole game - Building with Idris Elba's Akuna, plus a clear-eyed take on AI

- Conjure Quilts, 18 years sober, and her brunch-table advice to her younger self Shop Effie's quilts

— Conjure Quilts: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ConjureQuilts

Watch the full video on YouTube: @TruJuLoMedia Follow on Instagram: @SistaBrunchPodcast

Support the show: Patreon.com/SistaBrunch | GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch sistabrunch.com

Sista Brunch is building the largest archive anywhere of Black women and Black gender expansive people thriving in film, TV, and media.

Diana Williams is the CEO and co-founder of Kinetic Energy Entertainment, a multi-platform venture studio building franchise IP across film, TV, video games, and immersive experiences. She is the former Creative Development and Franchise Producer for Star Wars at Lucasfilm, where she co-founded ILM Immersive -- the lab behind Vader Immortal and the Academy Award-winning Carne y Arena.

In this conversation, Diana shares her path from a farm community in New Jersey to Georgetown to becoming the youngest person ever admitted to the DGA Assistant Directors Training Program, to building franchise worlds at Lucasfilm, to launching her own venture studio. She breaks down the difference between an idea and real IP, why every project should be run as a business, why the entertainment industry has fundamentally changed since 2019, and what collaboration, craft, and curiosity have to do with cheeseburgers.

This episode also features co-host Shawn Pipkin-West, who shares an unexpected DGA Training Program connection with Diana.

Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

The Spotify description closes with "what collaboration, craft, and curiosity have to do with cheeseburgers" -- which is the kind of line that makes someone press play because they need to know the answer.

Ashlee Hypolite is the Executive Director of Hollywood CPR, the nonprofit workforce development program that provides free, union-track training for below-the-line careers in film, TV, and live events.

In this conversation, Ashlee shares her journey from Trinidadian roots in Boston to Brandeis to CAA to leading one of the most impactful pipeline programs in the industry. She breaks down how Hollywood CPR works, what the union local numbers mean, the real cost of entry (free), and why below-the-line careers are one of the most viable and most overlooked paths into entertainment. She also talks about philanthropy, nonprofit finances, and what it takes to keep a program like this sustainable.

Apply at hollywoodcpr.org.

Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Aaliyah Williams is an Emmy Award-winning producer and founder of Just a Rebel. She produced Netflix's Black Barbie, which earned two Daytime Emmys and an NAACP Image Award through Shondaland.

In this conversation, Aaliyah shares her full journey -- from Harvard to finance to moving to LA without a film degree, from assisting for Effie Brown to producing a first short on 35mm that ended at Sundance, from building digital platforms at All Def Digital and MACRO to the real story behind how Black Barbie got to Netflix. She breaks down what it took to negotiate a deal that properly compensated the Black women who made the film, why she went to UCLA Law mid-career, and what she's directing next.

Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Kamala Avila-Salmon is a producer, studio executive, and inclusion strategist who has been at the center of how stories get developed and greenlit at major studios. She is the founder of Kas Kas Productions and previously led inclusive content strategy at Lionsgate, where she was embedded in creative development, marketing, and the greenlight committee.

In this episode, Kamala breaks down the real mechanics of the entertainment industry with rare transparency:

-- How "packaging" works and why studios expect producers to arrive with director, cast, and script already attached

-- What studio salary bands actually look like from assistant to EVP, including how tech company titles like Netflix don't translate to traditional studio levels

-- How she cold-emailed Clive Davis as a Harvard undergrad and landed her first music industry job

-- The difference between buyers, sellers, and makers in the entertainment ecosystem

-- Why inclusion work has to start at the development stage, not the marketing phase

-- Her Story Spark tool for evaluating scripts beyond surface-level representation

-- How a conversation with the Lionsgate chairman led to her production deal and the birth of Kas Kas Productions

-- What she'd tell her 22-year-old self over a bacon egg and cheese and a Hugo Spritz

Kamala was born in Jamaica and moved to New York as a child. She attended Harvard for undergrad and business school, worked in the music industry during the digital disruption era, transitioned to film and TV, and built a career defined by passion, curiosity, and a refusal to accept figurehead roles.

Sista Brunch is the podcast building the largest archive anywhere of the stories of Black women and Black gender expansive people thriving in film, TV, and media. Hosted by Fanshen Cox and Shawn Pipkin-West.

Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch the full episode on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Keywords: Kamala Avila-Salmon, Sista Brunch Podcast, Kas Kas Productions, Lionsgate, studio executive, film producer, inclusive storytelling, greenlight process, packaging film, entertainment salary transparency, Black women in Hollywood, Harvard Business School, music industry, Netflix titles vs studio titles, Story Spark, inclusion strategy, creative development, independent producer, Jamaican heritage, media representation

Journalist and media innovator Georgia Fort joins Fanshen and Shawn for a powerful conversation about her journey from radio intern to Emmy-nominated independent journalist — and why she's dedicating her career to building the next generation of storytellers.

Georgia takes us inside the Derek Chauvin trial courtroom, talks about her transition from radio to TV news, and shares the deeply personal story of being detained by federal agents while doing her job. She also breaks down the business challenges facing independent journalism and why she founded the Center for Broadcast Journalism to invest in young journalists of color in Minnesota.

Plus: Georgia's Let's Talk Tech segment on B-roll, and her beautiful answer to the Sista Brunch signature question.

Support Georgia's work: https://www.centerforbroadcastjournalism.org/

Support Sista Brunch:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SistaBrunchGiveButter: https://givebutter.com/SistaBrunchInstagram: @SistaBrunchPodcastYouTube: @TruJuLoMediaWebsite: www.sistabrunch.com

#SistaBrunch #BlackWomenInMedia #BlackWomenThriving #Journalism #GeorgiaFort #IndependentMedia #BroadcastJournalism #DerekChauvinTrial #PressFredom #MinnesotaJournalist #BlackPodcasts #WomenInMedia #PodcastClips

Guest: Marie Douglas

Titles: Composer; arranger; educator; musical director; conductor; freelance creative

Episode Theme: What it takes to build a career as a Black woman composer and why preparation, musical range, and real relationships matter in film, TV, and beyond.

Why this matters right now: Composers shape how stories feel, but they are still one of the least visible roles in entertainment. In this episode, Marie Douglas breaks down how she found her way into composition, what filmmakers should understand before hiring a composer, and why Black women need to be seen, supported, and heard in every part of the industry, including the score.

Marie Douglas is an award-winning composer and educator whose work blends classical, hip-hop, trap, spoken word, and electronic influences. Raised in Atlanta after being born in Buffalo, she came up through church, marching band, and a deeply creative household before stepping into leadership at FAMU and later earning a doctorate in composition. In this episode, Marie talks about learning trumpet, becoming a drum major, navigating music as a Black woman without many visible role models, and building a freelance career through preparation and in-person relationship building. She also shares real talk on contracts, pricing, DAWs, and the difference between digital and live music-making in screen work.

• Growing up in Atlanta and early musical roots (00:02:20)

• How a composer career can start from band and church (00:03:04)

Marie Douglas is a composer, arranger, educator, and musical director whose work spans live performance, freelance composition, and screen-based storytelling. Raised in Atlanta and rooted in a musical culture shaped by church, marching bands, and Black Southern traditions, she developed a sound that moves across genres while staying grounded in craft. She has contributed to a Grammy-nominated album, worked with Live Nation’s Big Femme Energy live experience, and continues to create music for artists, projects, and collaborators looking for bold, fusion-driven sound.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch the full episode on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep these conversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Keywords: Marie Douglas, Sista Brunch Podcast, Black women composers, composer for film, TV composer, freelance composer, women in music, Black women in Hollywood, music for film and television, DAW, digital audio workstation, Logic Pro, FAMU Marching 100, music educator, Grammy-nominated album

Guest: Kai Bowe

Titles:Titles: Director of Current Programming, Unscripted, at OWN; showrunner; story producer; documentarian; screenwriter; former attorney

Episode Theme: How a nonlinear path through law, writing, and unscripted television can turn into real creative authority and why career longevity requires both craft and inner work.

Why this matters right now: At a time when so many creatives are chasing unstable pipelines, Kai Bowe offers a blueprint with range. This episode breaks down the real mechanicsof unscripted TV, the money behind it, the difference between freelancing and network life, and why learning how to hold success matters just as much as getting the opportunity.

Kai Bowe’s path into the industry was anythingbut standard. She got her start as a teenager on set, interning on Do the Right Thing through her sister, but spent years convinced Hollywood was not her destination. She earned a psychology degree from UCLA, went to law school at Howard, and only fully claimed writing after doing The Artist’s Wayand realizing creativity was not a hobby for her, it was a calling. From there, she wrote screenplays, learned hard lessons about timing and self-sabotage, then made a strategic pivot into reality television just as unscripted programming was taking off.

●  Getting started on iconic film sets(00:02:15)

●  Leaving law behind to pursue writing(00:03:53)

●  Turning early success into a hard lesson(00:07:12)

● How unscripted story producing reallyworks (00:10:27)

● Freelancing, stability, and OWNleadership (00:19:44)

●  How Kai built a nontraditional TVcareer (00:01:55)

●  “Success is something that is alearned practice.” (00:08:29)

● Why freelancing needs a mindsetshift (00:27:23)

● What unscripted jobs actually pay(00:30:10)

● How ethical editing works inunscripted TV (00:37:46)

Kai Bowe is a veteran television producerand executive who has worked across scripted and unscripted television for decades. Her credits include America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, Red Table Talk, and Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. She has worked as a story producer, showrunner, and documentarian, and now serves as Director of Current Programming, Unscripted, at OWN. With abackground that spans psychology, law, writing, and production, Kai brings both strategic insight and creative depth to the way she builds stories and leads teams.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts andSpotify.

Watch the full episode on YouTube@TruJuLoMedia.

If this conversation resonates,subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep theseconversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Keywords: Kai Bowe, Sista Brunch Podcast, OWN Network, unscripted television, reality TV, showrunner, story producer, documentary storytelling, Black women in Hollywood,TV executive, America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, Red Table Talk, Leah Remini Scientology and the Aftermath, entertainment careers, freelance producer, network executive salaries.

Guest: April Reign

Titles: Creator of #OscarsSoWhite; media futurist; strategist; speaker; consultant; former attorney

Episode Theme: What happens when sharp cultural critique becomes industry impact and why real equity requires more than optics.

Why this matters right now: As awards season keeps asking who gets recognized, April Reign reminds us that representation is not a trend, it is infrastructure. This episode digs into the origin of #OscarsSoWhite, the work of changing systems from the inside, and why Black communities cannot afford to sit out conversations about AI, access, and the future of media.

April Reign did not come into Hollywood through the traditional pipeline. She was a lawyer, an Oscars superfan, and a lifelong advocate before one tweet in January 2015 changed the industry conversation around race, recognition, and access. In this episode, April talks about the advocacy roots that began in college, the research behind #OscarsSoWhite, and how that moment helped open Academy membership to artists and craftspeople who had long been excluded. She also gets real about consulting, credibility, AI, self-care, and what it means to think like a media futurist while keeping artists and community at the center.

• How Academy membership changed and why that matters (00:10:29)

• The real origin of #OscarsSoWhite and the strategy behind it (00:03:26)

April Reign is a strategist, speaker, consultant, and the creator of the global movement #OscarsSoWhite, which sparked an industry-wide reckoning around race, representation, and access in Hollywood. A former attorney turned cultural critic and change agent, she works across media, communications, and equity strategy, helping organizations tell better stories and build more accountable systems. April describes herself as a media futurist, with a focus on where culture, technology, and justice intersect.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a creative who needs to hear it.

Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast for clips, community, and resources.

Support the show and help keep these conversations accessible at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch  or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.