Issa Rae Partners with Tubi to Give Creators a Platform

Issa Rae’s latest partnership is a coming full circle moment. The “Insecure” creator, who started out by creating her own lane (and community) on the internet, is helping emerging creators do the same.

ColorCreative, the management company co-founded by Rae and Led by CEO Talitha Watkins, it has partnered with Tubi to launch Stubio Runners, a program that gives five creative teams the opportunity to develop their debut projects, which will premiere on the streaming service. ColorCreative will mentor the creators and Tubi will fund their productions.

“Being able to participate in a process so that the next generation of creators have a fast track into this industry is the only thing that matters to me,” Rae told celebrity.land. “And also being able to advise these creatives on their journey, in an organized and cohesive way to produce something tangible, is also my goal.”

“Sometimes mentoring can feel like, ‘Oh, I can’t see the results,’ or ‘That’s a lot of advice and I don’t know if it’s really helping,’” she continued. “But I can also see the fruits of their labor in real time. And they can have something that they can say they worked on that sees the light of day through Tubi. That is the most important thing, a platform for your work.”

Nicole Parlapiano, chief marketing officer at Tubi, said having Rae and ColorCreative on board makes a big impact, especially considering how Rae was able to create her own entry into the industry with her award-winning web series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black.” “Girl.” .”

“It’s not that other people haven’t done it, but she’s the most prominent and prolific,” Parlapiano said. “I think the sad thing is that there haven’t been many Issas since then. It’s happening very rarely right now, and it feels like it should have been a watershed moment for more of these digital creators to be able to get a deal with HBO and do something, but it hasn’t exactly worked out that way. “

Tubi has already greenlit four creator projects: a docuseries following rapper Lady London as she records her debut album; a feature film based on Kelon Campbell’s viral TikTok character Terri Joe; a workplace comedy from Grant Gibbs and Ashley Gill that takes place in a restaurant; and a comedy special with sets from up-and-comers Cris Sosa, Daniela Mora and Grant Moore.

“We wanted to make sure we had enough different types of projects to see what would be, honestly, what people would gravitate toward and what would work on the platform,” Parlapiano explained. “These are all people who are on the verge of being so fucking big, but they’re not there yet.”

The fifth project will emerge from a group of 14 applicants selected by Tubi and ColorCreative. Audiences that are registered through the applicants The website or app will have the opportunity to learn about your projects and interact with your posts on the platform. Creators who first reach 15,000 engagements or rank #1 on Stubio’s rankings after a three-week period will receive the green light.

Watkins told celebrity.land that she is thrilled to support new filmmakers and creators in an innovative way.

“It’s really about listening to the audience and reacting,” he said. “And I know it’s something that creators on the early spectrum of the digital creator world, like Issa, really took to heart when listening to the feedback back then. “It’s a great and interesting way to listen to fans and help them be part of the process.”

“Having a front-row seat and actively participating in watching development unfold,” he continued, “it’s almost like the creators have been given a brief description that’s usually used for someone who’s done tons of business with that studio. ”. or network.”

Watkins compared the program to having access to studio decision makers.

“Personally, I want BIPOC and marginalized creators to get used to that,” she said.

Rae praised the program for modeling systems that are true to how the business works.

“I think the diversity of offerings is exciting because there really is something for everyone,” he said of the participants. “They are appropriating their own history. There are collaborations that wouldn’t necessarily happen outside of this space, and what I’m most interested in is networking everywhere. So being able to have two content creators from different backgrounds working together to create a project together and understand that that’s also how it works in the industry world: we are emulating so many real industry models that will ultimately prepare them for continue with their careers.”

After what for a while seemed like an increase in opportunities for new stories and voices, Hollywood has taken a step back. And with economic challenges, mergers and acquisitions, and the writers and actors strikes of 2023, original work that tells unique and nuanced stories has been sacrificed. That not only hurts those who currently make a living (and hope to make) a living in the industry and its projects. It’s also bad for audiences, especially with streaming prices rising.

Tubi, known in various sectors of the Internet for its meme-worthy contentIt is free and ad-driven, and has 74 million users to date. Viewers have turned to the platform for nostalgic television, film and independent projects. As production shoots occur less frequently on the East and West coasts, cities like Atlanta and Detroit have become hubs for direct-to-Tubi movies. As Phil Lewis of celebrity.land noted in “what I’m readingIn 2023, Tubi “has become an outlet for independent Black filmmakers to showcase their art.”

Parlapiano said that because Tubi’s business model is different from paid streamers like Netflix and Hulu, it has room to innovate with the content and creators on its platform in different ways.

“We have always been optimizing engagement. “So we have honed the ability to present the right stories to the right audiences,” he said. “There are a lot of movies and shows on Tubi that we don’t market, but that do very well because they find their audience very quickly.”

“We don’t have budgets as big as other streamers,” he noted. “The shows we support marketing are few and far between, so we support them with as much production, PR and social power as we can.”

According to the latest UCLA report Hollywood Diversity Reportaudiences are demanding more diverse storytelling, and women and people of color generated the biggest box office numbers in 2023. Watkins said the future of film is inherently more diverse, so it’s important to invest in creators who can meet that demand and tell a larger story. range of stories.

Rae said creators face a number of obstacles today, including finding a way to make their content stand out in an oversaturated market. But she believes Stubio Runners will help shed light on the work of these creators.

Her and Watkins’ efforts to “empower creators to reach their greatest potential by revolutionizing the creative industries and championing innovative, inclusive entertainment” remain at the center of their collaboration.

“This is a clear example of taking risks,” he said. “And funding and putting money into the future of storytellers instead of the obsolete, I think is a safe, boring version of mining intellectual property to its fucking nubs.”

Rae said playing on nostalgia isn’t always what works.

“I just feel like Hollywood can invest in the future,” he said. “Because of the strike and the pandemic, because so many resources have been depleted, there is such fear and a bond to please Wall Street. That, in his opinion, it is currently not economically advantageous to take these risks. But a program like this can show why that can be the case.”

While acknowledging the difficult state of the industry, the Peabody-winning writer said she has “no choice” but to continue creating and helping others achieve a platform to do the same.

“This is what I want to do,” he said matter-of-factly. “This is the industry I want to be in. “We are still creating projects.”

As Rae continues to build her empire (with a studio in Inglewood, California, as a north star), the project she’s most excited about right now is a buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA.

The TriStar Pictures film, produced by Rae, written by “Rap Sh!t” showrunner Syreeta Singleton and directed by Lawrence Lamont, will hit theaters on January 24. The title has not yet been revealed. The film will be Lamont’s directorial debut and SZA’s first performance in a feature film.

“[It] “It’s been a very rewarding example of reaching across the aisle, going back and giving people opportunities,” Rae said of collaborating on the film. “I think the film is brilliant and I’m excited for people to see it, and that’s the rewarding part. We are still moving forward. I’m still writing. I’m still telling stories. Nothing has changed on my part. And I know that, as always, the tide will return and the industry will understand how rewarding and profitable our stories are.”