“How many times have I seen that girl on the street? How many times have I seen her on the corner of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, waiting on a bus…” said Oprah Winfrey, who with Tyler Perry signed on to help promote the low-budget film. There is already a buzz about Daniels’ next film — to be based on one of the nation’s most historic events ever — the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., and the people and the events that helped shape it. Shooting was set to begin by this summer. The openly gay Daniels — who lives with his family in New York City — was born and raised in West Philadelphia, the oldest of five. His father, a police officer who often bullied him, was killed during a robbery when Daniels was a teen. After attending college, Daniels moved to Los Angeles, took a job at a healthcare placement agency and, soon after, started his own very successful placement company. Eventually, he became a casting agent and talent manager and then became a producer and director.
Equality’s managing editor Janice Hughes caught up with Daniels after the busy awards season and talked about Hollywood, homophobia, his 14-year-old twins and a new idea he wants to take to Broadway. Excerpts follow.
You’re about to shoot your new movie Selma. What’s your vision for the movie? When I was approached to do this film, I wasn’t interested because I felt like we had seen that movie already. … My then-partner rented Milk — a film with so many unsung heroes who just didn’t have a voice and with complexities of the characters. It was a motivating factor because I was thinking about racism in a way we had never seen it before, because there are many complexities to the racists. … I’m exploring that like never before. Also, we are showing Martin Luther King Jr. as a human being. You know, I want my kids to grow up to aspire to be him. You’ve done a good deal of research about King for Selma. What stands out in your mind the most about him? King’s photo has always been in the local barbershop, next to that of Jesus and JFK. … So he looked like one of them. What I didn’t know was that he was a practical joker … and that he knew he was going to die. But that was insignificant to the cause. … King put his life at risk, and his
Precious … just inspires me to And provide a breath to a voice
Daniels and Gabourey Sidibe on the set of Precious
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EQUALITY
SPRING 2010
“Push” author Sapphire, Daniels and “Ms. Rain” (Paula Patton)
The historic Selma, Ala., march