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Perseverance, Part 2 with Film Producer Will Packer

Black Men's Health - Perseverance Part 2

Will Packer
Tuesday, August 25, 2020 • 12:00 PM EDT

Host Jon D. Brown speaks with Will Packer, continuing the conversation from July about perseverance and financial health. This interview is the August 25th edition of the Black Men’s Health Summer Lunch Series.

Will Packer, one of Hollywood’s record-breaking filmmakers, has produced or executive produced a wide range of movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the box office, including 10 films that have opened at number one. According to Blackfilm.com, Packer ranks #1 in terms of worldwide box office and studio profit based on the 14 films he has produced over the past decade.

Packer’s most recent film, “The Photograph,” debuted in February 2020. His films “Girls Trip” and “Night School” were the highest grossing comedies for 2017 and 2018, respectively. Among the other films Packer has produced include “Little,” “What Men Want,” “Ride Along 2,” “No Good Deed,” “Think Like a Man Too,” “Ride Along,” “Think Like a Man,” “Takers,” “Obsessed,” “Breaking In” and “Stomp the Yard.” Packer also served as an executive producer on the megahit “Straight Outta Compton,” a biopic of the rap group N.W.A that opened number one at the box office and has grossed over $200 million to date. Packer has an overall movie development deal with Universal Studios.

Packer’s television, digital and branded content company, Will Packer Media, produces episodic scripted and unscripted series across television and digital platforms, as well as compelling content for brand clients and short-form digital content for millennial audiences. Current productions include “Central Ave,” an entertainment and pop culture news show on Fox that starts airing in September 2020, as well as the docuseries “Blackballed,” which debuted on the mobile streaming platform Quibi in May 2020.

Most recently Will Packer Media produced “The Atlanta Child Murders,” a docuseries that appeared on Investigation Discovery; “The Disappearance of the Millbrook Twins,” which debuted on Oxygen; and “Shark Trip: Eat. Prey. Chum.,” which appeared during Discovery’s annual Shark Week programming. In addition, the original comedy series “Bigger” premiered on BET Networks’ streaming service, BET+.

Packer served as the executive producer of “Roots,” a remake of one of the most celebrated TV programs of all time, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. He has also executive produced such prime time programming as the unique dating series “Ready to Love” (OWN), “Ambitions” (OWN), “Truth be Told” (NBC), “Uncle Buck” (ABC) and “Being Mary Jane” (BET).

Packer is a member of the esteemed Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has appeared on the covers of multiple magazines and has been featured in several high-profile magazine lists including Variety’s “Billion Dollar Producers” and “10 Producers to Watch” and Ebony’s prestigious “Power 100 List.” In 2018 Packer won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture for “Girls Trip.” Packer also received a BET Award for Best Movie for “Think Like a Man” in 2013.

A longtime Atlanta resident, Packer is a magna cum laude graduate of Florida A&M University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Packer received the Meritorious Achievement Award from Florida A&M, the highest honor the university bestows.

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