It’s no secret that Hollywood is a hard world to break into. It’s even harder to get to control the stories told. Most of the writers, directors, and producers tend to want to tell specific stories and often overlook marginalized voices. Yet there continue to be stories and narratives to be told, shared, and listened to.

More and more actors, because of this, want to control the narratives they help share with the world. How do they do this? Many, like Michael B Jordan, have started their own production companies. These companies look for stories, screenplays, and books that they want to put on the big screen. Take Outlier Society Productions, Jordan’s Company, they are producing films that highlight and uplift communities, and allow Jordan to both help tell it and be in the film. Recently, Outlier is producing a movie of Black Leopard Red, a book that’s been heralded as one of the best fantasy books of 2019.

However, not just big actors are doing this. Smaller and newer actors are following that lead. As aforementioned, breaking into Hollywood is hard, and it’s even harder to tell the stories you want. As an actor it can get really easy to be type casted and be stuck playing variations of the same character.

Jaheyla Jones is following Jordan’s suite. She recently started Blaqq Productions after getting frustrated with the sexism and racism that exists in the film world. Instead she wanted to highlight other creatives free of the dogma that reigns our everyday society. Moreover, she wanted to return to the fun of acting.

Recently, Blaqq’s first sketch, The Millennial Show, has won awards at several film competitions and has gotten great reviews. This gave Jones a chance to film something she felt proud and confident in. Moreover, it gave her and the other cast and crew the opportunity to become SAG. This production company is one to watch out for! They are currently working with up and coming screenwriters and have many projects in the works.