After years of acting in front of the lens that’s catapulted Michael B. Jordan to award stages and the insides of magazine covers, the Newark native plans to plant his Hollywood focus behind the camera with his production company, Outlier Society.
After bringing his new passion to life in 2016, he’s encountered a method to get its name out to the masses with the help of Brisk. Not only will this entity have a new platform to create online content for the brand, but Jordan will also help out other rising innovators breathe life into their passion.
In a phone interview with VIBE, Jordan described Brisk’s new venture—and commercial that he directed and produced—as a way for artistic visionaries to finally have a shelter to house their potential impact. “Who’s our next generation of superstars, artists, of our young creators?” Jordan asks. “Outlier Society, my production company, that’s what we represent, just telling stories that aren’t often told through a perspective that’s not often seen from.”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=YuDPf4MZjNA
The 30-year-old not only plans to shine a deserving light on young hopefuls who want to amplify their creations, but being a champion for equal pay and opportunity is also on his agenda. When asked about Mo’Nique and Tracee Ellis Ross‘ recent revelations when it comes to women—black women in particular—and receiving fair and equal pay in Hollywood, Jordan said he hopes to be part of the solution and highlighted Alana Mayo, the head of production and development for his business, as a personal step in the right direction.
“She’s a strong black woman, super creative and talented. I always wanted my company ran by women and that was always my goal, my dream, so I got lucky enough to hire her to run my company,” he says. “That is my first step in helping out that cause. What’s going to solve that problem or discrepancy or gap? It’s going to take a lot more people that are smarter than me to figure that out, but I want to be a part of the solution.”
While solutions to the real world’s issues are still being drafted up, Jordan escaped to a fictional realm that preserves its hub of black expression. The Creed 2 star plays the villainous character of Erik Killmonger in the Ryan Coogler-directed Marvel film, Black Panther.
Although he remained tight-lipped on the moments that’ll make the audience jump out of their seats—and by the looks of the initial reactions, there will be many—he shared that the soundtrack, executive produced by Kendrick Lamar and TDE’s CEO, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, will draw listeners into the reel and bring back the magic that is a compilation album.
“You give Ryan Coogler the opportunity and the freedom to make the movie he wants in all areas of production and you’re going to get something that’s real through and through because that’s just who Coogler is,” Jordan says of his longtime collaborator (Fruitvale Station, Creed). “It’s kind of what Kendrick represents and the tone that he has and the message that he sends, it’s kind of what our project is trying to say, the messages that we want to send. It all goes hand in hand.”
Black Panther hits theaters on Feb. 16.