John Ridley
John Ridley
John Ridley IV is an American screenwriter, film director, novelist, and showrunner, known for 12 Years a Slave, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
CountryUnited States of America
country people earth
There is not a country on earth whose people don't deserve to be free and safe.
black littles tire
I can tell you from personal experience it gets a little tiring having to make the rounds on cable shows to explain 'what's up with black folks.'
believe hollywood morality
Even I haven't downed enough L.A. Kool-Aid to believe that somehow Hollywood movies are an overt instrument of morality.
writing decision trying
I don't know when I made that active decision to be a writer or to try to write, but I know I always liked storytelling.
people politician obvious
With fear of stating the obvious: Freedom belongs to 'We the People,' not 'They the Politicians.'
children names desire
I've no desire to start a movement, to be the first name on an open petition, or to be the poster child for disgruntled writers.
coping-mechanisms vegas hustle
As a coping mechanism, or as a way to make a little hard count by shilling demons in the shadows, I try not to belittle the thought process of the conspiracy theorists. As a cocktail waitress in Vegas once schooled me: never get down on anybody else's hustle.
emotion worried storyteller
As a writer, as a storyteller, you have to have your emotions close, and the older I've gotten, the less I've worried about not displaying emotions.
children real mean
For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-bo rder cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.
gratitude fighting should
When it comes to fighting for freedom, those who are willing to fight should not be limited by our bigotry. Only rewarded with our gratitude.
hate facts unsaid
Facts tend to take the punch out of a good hate rant and are therefore left best unsaid.
bring bringing door kicked open recognize sake talk though topic whatever
The first Barbershop kicked the door open and said, 'Look, we're going to talk about whatever we want to talk about.' I think the responsible thing we have to do, even though it's a comedy, even though we have a lot of fun, and even though in someway we are a little more absurdist than the movies, is to recognize that just to bring up a topic for the sake of bringing it up is not enough,
behind blacks front good hollywood martin racial shows typical work
'The Martin Show,' the 'Jamie Foxx show,' 'Living Single,' 'The Wayans Brothers,' 'Hanging with Mr. Cooper...' Some of these shows were good, some were typical television, but they facilitated a lot of work for blacks in front of as well as behind the camera. A lot of us in Hollywood thought it was the beginning of a real racial breakthrough.
against fill funny people seem slot
Republicans can be a funny bunch. They're against affirmative action, but they always seem to be able to find people of color to fill a slot just when they're most needed.