*During an interview with Vulture about her new biographical series “Love Is__,” Mara Brock Akil was asked about the prospect of her beloved series “Girlfriends” joining the throng of current TV reboots.
In a surprise revelation, the producer said she has already completed a script for a “Girlfriends” movie, but has been unsuccessful in finding a studio willing to fund her vision:
Yeah, you can tell any studio in town: If they got 50 to 60 million, I already have the script. We can make an epic story and we can make a lot of money, but me hustling and knocking on doors begging to do this story is not where it is anymore. It deserves somebody to see the value in it and write that check. That’s what it’s about.
People often think I have the power. Well, I have a lot of creative input, I know the vision of it, but I need the money. That’s what this industry is all about — supporting artists and supporting storytellers and hearing the audience for what they want and need. There still is a lack of value for what black women want, yet we have proven to be one of the strongest consumers in the marketplace. Yet we still are undervalued about what we want and need.
So, yeah, I have a script. It’ll be great. But I can’t keep worrying about that and hustling that because I wouldn’t have come up with Nuri and Yasir. I wouldn’t have helped launch Black Lightning. I have a lot more stories in me. Begging someone to see the value of Girlfriends, I can’t do it anymore.
