Michael B. Jordan Without Remorse Paramount

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Actor Michael B. Jordan says that ever since starring in the 2013 drama “Fruitvale Station,” various projects centered on just about “every historical black figure has come across my desk.”

“As much as I would love to play all of them, I can’t,” he said Saturday at the 2019 Produced By conference, where he was speaking as part of the panel “Content With a Conscience: Social Impact Entertainment Across All Platforms.”

Jordan received rave reviews in 2009’s “Fruitvale Station,” the film based on real events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young black man who was killed by a police officer at the Fruitvale district station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in Oakland. RogertEbert.com called Jordan’s performance “brilliant.”

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The “Creed II” actor was responding to a question posed by the moderator and founding partner of the Producers Guild of America Social Entertainment Impact Task Force, Kia Kiso, who asked how he and his production company, Outlier Society Productions, decide to split up the content slate between projects that try to make a social impact vs content made solely for entertainment.

“We try to balance that as much as you can, to run a company where it’s not its entire identity but, at the same time it’s as an important silo and something that we care about,” Jordan said.

Although Jordan didn’t give specifics on the projects coming across his desk or whether he planned to take on any of the roles, Alana Mayo, another panelist and president of development and production at Jordan’s Outlier Society, said the two would continue to make thought-provoking projects until a visible impact is made.

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“We struggle with the happy, mindless entertainment that doesn’t feel like it has some sort of substance to it,” Mayo said. “And sometimes we just want to hit an issue that I think the both of us we will continue to make content about until we feel like we start to see the impact and the change in the real world.”

Other panelists that participated in the conversation included Bonnie Abaunza, founder of Abaunza Group; producer, writer, and director Scott Z. Burns; and Shivani Rawat, founder and CEO of ShivHans Pictures.

How Streaming Networks Invaded the Emmys: From 'House of Cards' to 'Handmaid's Tale' (Photos)

The streaming services are taking over the Emmys. Four years after "House of Cards" opened up the major categories to online content providers with three wins, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have hit an all-time high with a combined total of 126 nominations. But how did we get here?
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"Orange is the New Black"
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The Tina Fey-produced comedy was called the "first great sitcom of the streaming era" and the Emmy voters seem to agree. Since premiering in 2015, the show has garnered 16 nominations.
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"Transparent"
"Transparent" was -- and still is -- Amazon Prime's flagship show. In 2015, following its debut season, it won an unprecedented five Emmy awards, including Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for Jill Soloway and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy for Jeffrey Tambor. The show has been a continuous staple at the Emmys since.
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"Jessica Jones"
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"Master of None"
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"Stranger Things"
2017 is a huge year for Netflix, with 91 nominations for the streaming giant overall. And sleeper hit "Stranger Things,"created by relative newcomers Matt and Ross Duffer, earned a staggering 18 of them, including Outstanding Drama Series. For a genre show released with little marketing, this is quite a feat.
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"The Crown"
The hugely popular (and acclaimed) period drama about the life of Queen Elizabeth II earned Netflix five Emmy nominations this year.
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"Handmaid's Tale"
In 2017, Hulu established itself as a serious original programming contender with this adaptation of Margaret Atwood's seminal novel. The highly acclaimed series not only became arguably the defining political commentary of the early Trump-Era, it also went on to make history for Hulu with 13 nominations.
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"The Beatles: Eight Days a Week"
Hulu didn't stop with "The Handmaid's Tale." This documentary about the Beatles earned five nominations.
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"Black Mirror"
The anthology series didn't qualify for the main Emmys until the third season arrived on Netflix. It got three nominations in 2017, including two for the episode "San Junipero" -- which was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie, despite being a part of an anthology.
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Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have a combined 126 nominations this year

The streaming services are taking over the Emmys. Four years after "House of Cards" opened up the major categories to online content providers with three wins, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have hit an all-time high with a combined total of 126 nominations. But how did we get here?

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