Effie Brown, the independent producer who endured Matt Damon’s rich explanation of diversity on Project Greenlight last fall, has reportedly found a home with Lee Daniels’ production company. Brown, who helped produced 2014’s Dear White People, will serve as the outfit’s executive VP of production and development.
“I’m extremely excited. In my opinion, Lee Daniels is a cultural icon,” Brown tellsThe Hollywood Reporter. “I’m really happy to be here because part of Lee Daniels’ brand is that he does value diversity in front of as well as behind the camera.”
Take that, Matt.
If you recall, a piece of Damon’s diversity lecture during last season’s Project Greenlight was that one didn’t need people from different backgrounds behind the camera, just in front. Brown was gobsmacked by the actor’s attempt to explain where minorities fit into Hollywood’s hierarchy, and Damon is still struggling to account for his remarks.
In her new role, alongside Daniels’ already successful series Empire, Brown will focus on an as yet untitled pilot about a “girl group hoping to make it in the music industry,” starring Queen Latifah and the rarely seen Benjamin Bratt. She’ll also collaborate with Daniels on TV and film ideas as well as “new platforms like virtual reality.”
On Sunday, Taraji P. Henson won her first Golden Globe for best actress in a TV series or drama for her portrayal of Cookie Lyon on Daniels’ Empire.
