Twenty-four hours before his win for Best Documentary Feature would result in one of the most powerful speeches of this year’s Oscar night, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and his Summer of Soul team gathered at an intimate brunch in the picturesque gardens of Dana Walden’s Brentwood estate.
Walden was there, along with Peter Rice, Matthew Greenfield, David Greenbaum and other high-level Disney executives. Even Disney CEO Bob Chapek put in an appearance.They were present to toast the early success of a small Hulu imprint, Onyx Collective, which is run by Tara Duncan and is dedicated to flying the flag for creators of color, bringing diverse, authentic stories right to the heart of the studio better known for its noisemaking franchise brands like Marvel and Star Wars.
As Disney continues to reign supreme as Hollywood’s biggest studio, Duncan’s ambitions for Onyx Collective are no less than to create a brand that can compete for that same mainstream attention, making it a hallmark of quality for the industry and audiences alike.“I want us to make truly broad, accessible, general entertainment hits,” Duncan says. “Unapologetically commercial, global, wanting to rally an audience and shape culture.
Executives of color have often been sidelined or overlooked, but this is a big opportunity from a business standpoint. We positioned ourselves early to really take advantage of that.”Duncan couldn’t have made a smarter first move with Summer of Soul.
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