ONE NIGHT ONLY – NUMBER ONE ON THE CALL SHEET AT THE AERO THEATER!
I had a great screening of NUMBER ONE ON THE CALL SHEET at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica as part of the American Cinematheque documentary festival.
Representing on the step and repeat!
It was a packed house!
After the movie, we had a great question and answer session with my friend Shawn Fannie of the Cultural Agency, who has been a champion of Black film since our days at the Motion Picture Academy together. I had friends in the house from my childhood, college years and collaborators I work with today. Special thanks to Erika Clarke of Apple TV, who has been a great exec on the project and keeps attending screenings, even though she’s seen the movie a zillion times! That’s support!
We didn’t do a formal question and answer session with the audience afterwards but I hung out and talked and took pictures with folks anyway. I got to see old friends like high school buddy Michele Claybourne, college friend Kathy Busby, my editor Jim May, my DP Matt Chavez and more!
Number One on the Call Sheet in the News
Number One on the Call Sheet has gotten amazing coverage in the news! LA’s very own KTLA and TMZ gave it a shout out:
REGINALD HUDLIN MAKES A GUEST APPEARANCE AT USC
My friend David Belasco teaches an amazing course at USC about entrepreneurship with an incredible line up of guest speakers. Last time I did it, he encouraged me to bring my kids since they get to see their dad in a way they usually don’t experience. Great advice which led to a fantastic event.
So I did it again, and brought my son with me, and we did a mini tour of the USC campus, which is really a breathtaking school! Great facilities, great courses…I think one of America’s best.
The students in Belasco’s class were great as always, with smart questions and infectious enthusiasm. Top notch experience.
VARIETY HONORS DARRELL MILLER AND WILL PACKER
Darrell has been my attorney for years and he’s so good that Variety honored him for his work in Hollywood! Well deserved!
Will Packer was also honored, who I’ve known since he was an intern on RIDE, a movie I produced a lifetime ago. Now he’s a billion-dollar producer with the same drive and charm.
NUMBER ONE ON THE CALL SHEET POP UP AT THE GROVE IN LOS ANGELES
Apple put together a portable immersive experience to promote the film. Things were so crazy I didn’t even get a chance to see it in person!
But it sure looks cool and attracted huge crowds!
Lights, Camera, Truth: The Power Of The Black Lead
Essence | Kelvin Byers
They only need one name. Whoopi. Will. Viola. Denzel. Cynthia. Morgan. Legends who carved their names into Hollywood’s highest peaks—often without a safety net. Before they were box-office draws, they were underdogs, fighting for roles that weren’t just afterthoughts, battling Hollywood’s narrow definition of “marketability,” and rewriting the script for what Black talent looks like on screen.
It’s easy to believe the war is over. In an era where Lupita Nyong’o wins an Oscar for her breakout role, where Jordan Peele reinvents horror, and where Beyoncé drops a Renaissance film that sells out theaters worldwide, it almost seems like we’ve arrived. But anyone who’s lived through Hollywood’s cycle of short-term amnesia knows better.
That’s exactly why Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin and Shola Lynch set out to make Number One on the Call Sheet. The film sets out to remind us that Black actors aren’t just here; they’ve been here—fighting for space, legacy, and respect since the dawn of cinema. Directed by Hudlin (House Party, Boomerang) and Lynch (Free Angela and All Political Prisoners) and executive producer Bryan Smiley (HARTBEAT), the two-part documentary digs into the unfiltered reality of being Black in Hollywood. Not just the wins, but the near-misses, the coded rejection, and glass ceilings that, though cracked, haven’t fully shattered. Featuring over 30 actors—the doc unpacks what it really means to be number one on the call sheet when the system wasn’t built for you in the first place.
Pulling off a project of this scale? It took the “Avengers,” as the directors call them, to get these stars to sit down. Hudlin shares, “A lot of it came down to personal relationships. It was me either calling the person or Datari calling the person, calling their agent, calling their publicist.”
For many, the title alone says it all. The phrase “number one on the call sheet” carries weight—it’s a distinction that comes with prestige and responsibility. It means you’re the lead, the face of the production, the one everything revolves around. However, for Black actors, that title has historically been elusive. It’s a seat at the table that, for too long, felt reserved for someone else.
“The battles fought by the previous generation paved the way for us. Now, it’s our turn to fight,” Hudlin says.
The documentary dives deep into those journeys, tracing a history that starts long before today’s stars. Before Denzel’s commanding presence or Viola’s gut-wrenching monologues, there was Sam Lucas, the first Black actor to play Uncle Tom in a 1914 silent film. There was Hattie McDaniel, who won an Oscar for Gone with the Wind in 1940 but was forced to sit in a segregated section of the ceremony. There was Sidney Poitier, who carried the weight of dignity and grace in every role he took. Dorothy Dandridge, who dazzled Hollywood but was cast aside too soon. Every step forward was hard won, and every door cracked open had to be pried wide. “One of the lines I love in the men’s film is, what do you do when you get to the top of the mountain? Make more mountains. You gotta keep going. You can’t stop dreaming,” Lynch says.
The project is split into two films—one focusing on men, the other on women—and each takes a different lens to what it means to lead while Black. The men’s segment, Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, directed by Hudlin and produced by Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart, Datari Turner and Dan Cogan, takes on the evolution of Black male stardom, from trailblazers like Richard Roundtree in Shaft to Will Smith redefining what a global movie star could be.
Hudlin made it clear that this is far from your typical sit-down documentary. “How do you even define success? And the definitions of success were all over the place. When Lawerence Fishburne says, “Well, it’s about the diversity of roles.” You go, oh, okay. That’s a measurement.” Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya takes it a step further in the film, declaring, “They might call us a minority. I ain’t taking nothing minor. I’m major, bro.”
Lynch’s installment, Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Women in Hollywood, is executive produced by Angela Bassett and Academy Award winner Halle Berry, and highlights Black women who have led films while navigating a different set of expectations, constraints, and pressures. From Cicely Tyson’s trailblazing performances to Halle Berry’s historic Oscar win to Angela Bassett’s still-undeniable screen presence, the film examines what it takes for a Black woman to lead, and to demand the space she deserves. As Lynch puts it, “You have to empower those who deserve it. And remember, the fight’s never over. To hear these stories from these 17 women who have figured it out for themselves and are still figuring it out,” Lynch says.
Together, they craft a project that takes you on a ride through Black movie history that doesn’t just celebrate the resilience and success stories of Black Hollywood’s elite; it looks at the cost of being “the first,” the responsibility of being “the only,” and what’s required to stay at the top.
Hudlin’s journey to telling this story began when he was asked to produce the Academy’s Governor Awards and needed a director to honor Harry Belafonte. When the list of potential directors didn’t include any people of color, a friend suggested Lynch’s name. “He said, ‘I’m going to ask you to do something you have to say yes to, and you have to kill it,’” Lynch recalls. “It was a call to action, a challenge that we both knew would shape our work together.’”
When Lynch’s tribute made its way to The Academy for screening, they weren’t exactly silent. Hudlin remembers the conversation vividly: “I’m the producer, so I’m just the buffer between her doing her thing and The Academy. I’m getting these weird notes. Then I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, what’s happening right now?’”
For Hudlin, that’s when the reminder of a sad truth about how history can be erased in a single edit. “They finally admitted, ‘You know, we think we won the civil rights battle,’ but the civil rights battle was still going on. There were people within The Academy who were like, ‘Why are we giving this award to Harry Belafonte, and why are you bringing up this political stuff?’” Hudlin pauses. “I’m like, Oh my God, the fight continues.”
Despite the pushback, the pair held their ground, locking arms and keeping the tribute authentic, no matter the cost. “Before you think this has nothing to do with being Number One On The Call Sheet, it has everything to do with being Number One On The Call Sheet, right?” she says, emphasizing her point. “You got to bring people along, you got to honor the past. You must be aware of the present but not so mired in negativity.”
Fast forward to when Hudlin was on the hunt for the perfect female voice to help tell the story of these cinematic giants. Lynch was the first one he called.
“We’re in this amazing period of Black girl magic, which is great. So now with all this wonderful Black girl magic, we now have to lift up men,” Hudlin explains. “And that doesn’t mean you don’t lift up women; it means you lift up everyone.”
Lynch’s eyes widen as she remembers a moment at the New York City premiere. She shared that someone had remarked that the documentary felt like a Roots moment. She agreed, noting that such cultural moments, when enough people engage with them, become part of a larger conversation. Whether people agreed with the choices made in the film or not, the important thing was that it sparked a conversation—one that no one else would ever have the chance to facilitate again.
For both directors, shaping this visual timeline of Black Hollywood’s evolution is no small feat—they know the weight of preserving these stories and the truths they carry. “In every story I tell, and a lot of them, whether it’s a documentary or a scripted movie, I have a feeling of like, well, don’t waste everyone’s time and money,” Hudlin continues. “Authenticity is everything. We have to tell the truth and be authentic to the culture. That’s an integral part of our jobs.”
Lynch agrees. “As an artist, as a craft person, as a storyteller, my name goes on it. When my name goes on something, I want it to mean something. What that means is the work. I did everything I could to tell the best story, best narrative, the truth, the best story possible, with whatever the budget was. Whatever the constraints were, I was going to go 110 percent. That’s what a film by Shola Lynch means.”
Apple TV+’s Number One on the Call Sheet celebrates the unstoppable strength and perseverance of Black entertainers, whose legacy continues to shape Hollywood. Their stories remind us that this journey isn’t always linear—but every breakthrough, even the ones that seem like a “not yet,” proves that when you put yourself at the top of the call sheet, the impact lasts long after the director yells “cut.”
‘Number One on the Call Sheet,’ a two-part documentary series, premieres globally on Apple TV+ on March 28, 2025.
CREDITS:
Photographed by Xavier Scott Marshall
Styled by Dione Davis
Hair: Rachel Polycarpe using L’Oreal Paris at Forward Artists
Makeup: Rose Grace using Victoria Beckham Beauty at Forward Artists
Nails: Leanne Woodley using Essie & She Nails It at See Management
Set Design: Jenny Correa at Walter Schupfer Management
Tailor: Ketch at Carol Ai
PhotographyAssistants: Asher Phillips & Kermide Luc
Lighting Technician: Sangwoo Suh
Digital Technicial: Santana Brecheen
Fashion Assistant: Shola Shodipo
SetAssistants: Andy Meerow & Will Rose
Production: The Morrison Group
Production Assistants: CaseyHussey & Alexzandria Ashton
Location: Please Studio
Reggie Hudlin Shines a Spotlight on Black Hollywood in ‘Number One on the Call Sheet’
LA Sentinel | Keith L Underwood
Reggie Hudlin’s career spans decades and genres, from cult classics like “House Party” and “Boomerang” to shepherding major events like the NAACP Image Awards. But his latest work, “Number One on the Call Sheet,” might be his most personal and culturally significant yet.
The new Apple TV+ documentary, produced alongside Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart, and Datari Turner, tells the story of Black excellence through the voices of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Hudlin calls it “a bookend to Sidney.”
“I made a movie a few years ago about the life of Sidney Poitier, who was the first Black movie star. Everyone in these films stands on the shoulders of Sidney,” Hudlin said. “So, I thought, this would be the perfect way to do it—to feature every star today.”
“Number One on the Call Sheet” is more than a star-studded film. It’s a roadmap, a love letter, and a masterclass rolled into one. The documentary features powerhouse talents like Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Kevin Hart, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Eddie Murphy, Laurence Fishburne, and more.
“Everyone had something amazing to contribute,” Hudlin said. “People come up to me and say, ‘Oh my God, Laurence Fishburne had me crying in the first five minutes,’ or ‘I was so inspired by what Will said.’ What these guys are really providing are blueprints for living.”
For Hudlin, these aren’t just soundbites—they’re deeply rooted lessons.
“As different as they all are, the one thing they share is a winner’s mentality. That’s the common thread.”
Hudlin learned quickly that there’s no one path to success, especially in Black Hollywood.
“Listening to their stories, you realize how Ice Cube did it is very different from how Will Smith did it, or Morgan Freeman. But they all got to the same place: number one on the call sheet. That’s the universal message—find your own road and walk it well.”
Still, the road to making the film was far from simple. Scheduling the biggest stars in the industry is like casting constellations.
“These are some of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood,” he explained. “The challenge wasn’t willingness—they all wanted to do it. It was their availability. We just kept shooting for years. It’s like fishing. You wait for Denzel. You wait for the moment.”
Hudlin says what made this documentary different was its honesty. These weren’t press junkets or promotional rounds. These were heart-to-hearts. “We weren’t plugging a project,” he said. “We were telling stories—real stories. We wanted to show the whole person.”
That authenticity extended to how the film was shot. From Kevin Hart’s office to Denzel’s personal reflections on theater versus film, the doc captures a rare intimacy.
“You really see Kevin in his moguldom,” Hudlin said. “He’s more than just funny. There’s a whole enterprise behind that performance.”
Beyond celebrity, “Number One on the Call Sheet” reflects Black identity in the entertainment industry and the evolution of representation. And for Hudlin, it’s another step in a career rooted in legacy and purpose.
From his early days making “House Party” as a Harvard student, to running BET and producing “Django Unchained,” Hudlin’s journey has always been driven by passion—and community.
“I’ve always known what kind of stories I want to tell,” he said. “And I’ve always known that the culture matters. Who we are matters.”
Hudlin also reflected on how being back on the production side—full-time—has changed his view of the industry’s power players. “I understand their concerns now,” he said. “So, I preemptively address those. It’s not about whether we agree or not—it’s about making sure everyone feels seen.”
So, what’s next?
Hudlin is staying tight-lipped but hinted at new projects in film and TV. Still, it’s “Number One on the Call Sheet” that may leave the deepest mark.
“It’s a love letter to Black performers, past and present,” he said. “And it’s a reminder that greatness isn’t a fluke—it’s a pattern, built on vision, work, and willpower.”
For anyone chasing their dream, Hudlin has a simple message:
“There’s not one road to success. You just have to find the right path for you. That’s how you win.”
And if “Number One on the Call Sheet” teaches us anything, it’s that the spotlight isn’t just a destination—it’s a calling.
Hal Frederick, trailblazing Venice restaurateurand owner of Hal’s Bar and Grill, dies at 91
LA Times | Brad Johnson
- Hal Frederick was the owner of the now-shuttered Hal’s Bar and Grill in Venice.
- The restaurant was an art-forward celebrity favorite that saw the surrounding Abbot Kinney Boulevard transform over the course of 30 years.
I walked into Hal’s Bar and Grill for the first time during the summer of 1989, a year after its opening, having just moved to Los Angeles from New York City. The unmistakable sound of Miles Davis played softly throughout the high-ceilinged space. I was told about the restaurant by my dad, Howard Johnson, who was friends with fellow restaurateur and proprietor Hal Frederick. Instantly, I knew it would be my spot.
For 30 years, Hal’s Bar and Grill was ground zero for a burgeoning Venice scene on the street that in 1990 was renamed from West Washington to Abbot Kinney Boulevard. With a long bar, booths with slate tabletops, metal sculptures and large pieces from local artists such as Ted Moses, Peter Alexander and Laddie John Dill, the restaurant was effortlessly cool. Its vibe captured the relaxed sway of its clientele: sophisticated and bohemian artists and writers, locals and longtime Venice residents who, years later, would shudder when the proudly counterculture boulevard was named “The Coolest Block in America” by GQ magazine.
Hal Frederick, proprietor and nightly host of Hal’s Bar and Grill, died April 2 at his home in Venice, surrounded by friends and flowers. He was 91.
Tall, handsome and elegant, Frederick, a former actor, maintained a nightly presence at Hal’s. He moved from table to table, never overstaying, and everyone sought his greeting. There is a fine art to being a restaurateur, and Frederick fully embraced the role.
He made everyone feel seen. Perhaps his greatest gift, and what hospitality meant to him, was acknowledging as many people as he could in a single evening.
Longtime Westside resident and baseball agent Adam Katz recalls: “Hal always was a warm, inviting presence. He struck that nearly impossible balance of bar and restaurant with a cool, high-caliber, diverse crowd. I’ll miss him.”
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Frederick earned a few on-screen credits before embarking on his calling as a restaurateur. Prior to opening his eponymous bar and grill, he was co-owner of Robert’s on Venice’s Ocean Front Walk in 1977, giving the neighborhood a rare upscale option.
A 1989 Times article described Robert’s as “a Venice restaurant-disco that was a West Coast terminus for Bianca Jagger and Truman Capote.”
Following Robert’s, Frederick worked at Venice’s West Beach Cafe as maitre d’. There, he was introduced to future business partners Don and Linda Novack. The couple had recently become the owners of the Merchant of Venice, a failing cafe concept.
In need of someone who knew the restaurant business, the Novacks teamed up with Frederick and went about transforming the West Washington cafe into Hal’s Bar and Grill.
The trio chose Venice because of its affordability, even though the neighborhood was home to street gangs and plagued by a high crime rate at the time. It’s a challenging but not unfamiliar set of conditions for aspiring restaurateurs in search of architecturally inspiring spaces with low overhead.
And it worked.
Decades-long Venice resident and Frederick’s longtime friend, actor Lori Petty described the restaurant’s atmosphere, saying, “It was gay and straight. It was Black, brown and white. It was family, and Hal was the daddy. Staff and friends would often stay until the sun came up, laughing, dancing and playing cards. No TV. No computers. No smartphones. Just us free young’uns, with Chaka Khan on drums. He died at home full of kisses. I am so proud of him. I told him every day.”
During a 2012 interview, I asked Frederick about the best part of running a restaurant.
“I was an actor, and I love theater,” he said, “There is a certain point in the restaurant when we’re just about to open the doors, the lights are down, and it’s curtain up. It’s like a performance. In fact, it is a performance.”
It was a performance that Frederick nearly perfected at Hal’s Bar and Grill.
My dad and I made Hal’s our Sunday brunch place. On those lazy afternoons over homemade biscuits and steak and eggs, when the restaurant was a little slower, Hal would shimmy into a booth with us. The three of us would trade stories about the ever-revolving restaurant scene. Both men entered the business on separate coasts in the ’70s and witnessed full-blown foodie culture emerge. Their bond was solidified as pioneering African American entrepreneurs in hospitality.
Hal’s closed at its original location in 2015. Two subsequent locations opened, but neither lasted very long. The magic that makes for a successful restaurant in one location can prove an elusive recipe. In 2018, both closed, and Hal’s was gone for good.
“When I first came to L.A. as an aspiring filmmaker, one of the first ‘nice’ restaurants my friends took me to was Hal’s,” said director, producer and former BET President Reggie Hudlin. “I remember staring at that brilliant portrait of Hal hanging over the table. That restaurant symbolized the possibility of Black success in this town, and I was all about it.”
In 2019, Frederick came to dine with me at Post & Beam, the California-soul restaurant I opened in the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw shopping plaza in 2012, which closed earlier this year. He always made it a point to visit me at whatever restaurant I was involved with. I didn’t discuss what became of the places that had recently shuttered; I knew that pain. His legacy was intact. At Hal’s Bar and Grill, he successfully blended art, design, music, food and people in one of the most art-forward communities in the world. We shared a few memories and some laughs, but mostly we sat quietly while Miles played.
Brad Johnson is a 40-year veteran in the hospitality industry, and producer and host of the podcast “Corner Table Talk.”
Number One on the Call Sheet Los Angeles Premiere Event
The Chinese Theater is one of the greatest movie palaces in America. Giant screen, fantastic sound…we actually did the final sound check for BOOMERANG there. I saw so many classic films, from THE MATRIX to STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE here. So many movie premieres have been here, plus the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the hand and footprints in front…it’s a landmark in every way. So yeah, I was really happy to have NUMBER ONE ON THE CALL SHEET do an event there!
After the screening of several clips from the film, we had a panel discussion with me, the producers and stars of the movie.
My brother Christopher on the scene with our mom and Annette.
Number One on the Call Sheet Showcase at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon
Number One on The Call Sheet New York Screening
The first public screening of NUMBER ONE ON THE CALL SHEET was in New York at the Crosby Hotel. We showed part one LEADING MEN IN HOLLYWOOD on Monday night, and LEADING WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD, directed by Shola Lynch, on the second night.
