DECIDER – June 7, 2019 – “Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Black Godfather’ On Netflix, A Biography Of Clarence Avant, A Behind-The-Scenes Powerhouse In Black Culture”

By Joel Keller  @joelkeller          Jun 7, 2019 at 5:00pm                239 Shares

Clarence Avant may be the most influential person you’ve never heard of. Without him, Janet Jackson would still be thought of as Michael’s little sister, Bill Clinton may have never been president, Bill Withers would have kept installing toilets on airplanes instead of recording “Lean On Me,” Diddy might have gone the way of Biggie Smalls, and so much more. Reginald Hudlin takes a look at Avant’s extraordinary life, and the solar system of people he’s influenced during his life, in the new documentary The Black Godfather. Read on for more…

THE BLACK GODFATHER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: If there is a piece of pop culture, especially one created by a Black artist, that you’ve enjoyed over the past 50 or so years, chances are Clarence Avant had a big role in bringing it to life. Avant isn’t a singer or songwriter, or even a producer: He was a manager, agent, music executive, and — most importantly — a deal maker who never let anything, even institutional racism, stand in his way of getting what he wanted.

Reginald Hudlin, whose producing and directing career includes titles ranging from House Party to Django Unchained, directs this biographical documentary of the 88-year-old Avant, starting with when his career in entertainment essentially started, in 1958. That’s when Avant, who ran a music club in Newark, went to work for Joe Glaser, then one of the biggest managers and agents in the business, with big names like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. With the powerful, “connected” Glaser behind him, the blunt Avant had no problem opening doors on the east coast and eventually in Los Angeles, despite the fact that there weren’t a lot of Black agents, managers or executives at the time.

But Avant’s solar system of influence (a stunning graphical theme Hudlin uses throughout the film) only started. From there, he connected with Quincy Jones, who became one of his closest and oldest friends. Aavant has managed to influence careers that range from Don Cornelius to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to Snoop Dogg to Bill Withers to Bill Clinton to Barack Obama. And that’s scratching the surface; he helped Muhammad Ali become a pop culture phenomenon in the 1970s, made sure Sean “Diddy” Combs wasn’t the next person get popped after Biggie Smalls was killed, worked with Jesse Jackson to organize the seminal 1972 Save The Children concert, made an aircraft mechanic named Bill Withers a superstar via his Sussex label (Avant chose the name because it was a cross between “Sex” and “Success”), ensured Hank Aaron got an endorsement deal with Coca-Cola before he broke Babe Ruth’s home run record, and made sure Michael Jackson’s narration could appear on MCA’s E.T. album, despite Jackson’s contract with Epic Records.

Hudlin manages to talk to just about all of the people mentioned above, at least the one who are still with us, along with people like Jamie Foxx, Cicely Tyson, Lionel Richie, A&M co-founder Jerry Moss, David Geffen, Ludacris, Clive Davis and many more. Avant and his family also participate heavily in the film.

In every situation where he influenced someone’s decision process or introduced them to the right people, his idea was to give artists, producers, athletes, politicians and anyone else who came to him for advice the information they needed to be treated fairly by a business that likes to screw people in general and people of color even more.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The Black Godfather is a pretty straightforward biographical documentary, but there’s literally no one that has had the life and influence on American culture that Clarence Avant has had.

Performance Worth Watching: Clarence Avant is just fascinating to watch. At 88, he is still pretty on the ball, and pretty damn ornery,  peppering his answers with f-bombs and mf-bombs, especially when he’s riding to the ceremony for his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: “Sometimes, Reggie, I say to myself, ‘How the fuck did I get involved in all this shit?’” Despite knowing just about everybody, Avant is still a pretty humble guy.

Memorable Dialogue: “I don’t have problems. I have friends,” Avant says after he tells the story of how the loan Glaser gave him to buy a house in Beverly Hills was forgiven after Glaser’s death. Also: “Life is about one thing: numbers, nothing else. Life begins with a number and ends with a number. Love ain’t got nothing to do with shit. It’s all about numbers, nothing else.”

Our Take: It almost feel like the 118-minute run time of The Black Godfather isn’t enough to cover the life and career of Clarence Avant, but Hudlin does his best to cover everything, from his childhood growing up poor in Climax, NC, to his move to an aunt’s house in Summit, NJ, to how his career started. But no matter who Hudlin talks to in the movie, the most compelling people are Avant, his wife Jackie and his children, Nicole and Alex. Considering how powerful Avant is and was, he and his family seem extraordinarily grounded.

Nicole, who was the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas under Obama, gives this example: wanted to campaign for the young senator when he ran against family friend Hillary Clinton, Avant simply told her, “You’re an adult, you can do what you want.” Not many people can be that secure in themselves and their friendships in order to say this.

The access Hudlin got, likely via heavy influence from Avant, was remarkable; how many documentaries have interviews with two former Presidents, Oscar winners like Tyson and Foxx, Quincy Jones, LA Reid and Babyface, and even more? There were a few places where we needed less exposition — we all pretty much know who Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are — and more stories and details. But, for the most part, the film encapsulates an extraordinary man who continues to live a remarkable life exactly the way he wants to live it.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Black Godfather is a fine profile of the most influential man you likely have never heard of. That’s the hallmark of an excellent biographical documentary.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon,VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

UVM: 6,297,240

Pharrell Reunites w/ Chad For New Track “Letter to My Godfather”

Posted by Dimas Sanfiorenzo

Pharrell drops a new a smooth new track.

On Friday, June 7th, Netflix released The Black Godfather, a new documentary about the life and times of influential music executive Clarence Avant.

WATCH: Pharrell Discuss The Stigma Around Rap Music In Trailer For Black Thought & Questlove’s New Documentary Series

Producer Pharrell Williams has contributed to the soundtrack of the movie. Pharrell has dropped “Letter to My Godfather,” a track that will appear on the soundtrack. The song, which features Pharrell crooning with autotune, has production from the Neptunes — meaning P hooked up with partner Chad Hugo again.

WATCH: Pharrell And Timbaland Fan Out Over Each Other’s Production

Listen to the track below.

BILLBOARD – June 4, 2019 – “Clarence Avant Documentary ‘The Black Godfather’ Draws Star-Studded Audience to LA Premiere” by Gail Mitchell.

Quincy Jones, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Jimmy Kimmel & more attend screening of Netflix documentary, which debuts Friday.

Industry audiences can often be a tough crowd. But if the overwhelmingly thumbs-up reaction to Netflix’s world premiere of The Black Godfather on Monday night is any indication, the documentary will have a successful must-see run when it bows on the streaming network Friday and in limited theatrical release in Los Angeles and New York on the same date.

That’s because the multi-faceted career and life story of music industry veteran Clarence Avant — nicknamed the “Godfather of Black Music” — is a rollicking, two-hour ride from start to finish. Frequently laugh-out-loud funny, the documentary also doesn’t shy away from low points in Avant’s remarkable journey from high school dropout to artist manager, label executive, radio broadcaster, music publisher, powerhouse negotiator, social activist/philanthropist and Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee.

Well-known chapters in Avant’s colorful career are documented in the film, like his mentorship of the hitmaking songwriting/production duos Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds as well as Sony/ATV chairman/CEO Jon Platt (who named one of his twin sons after Avant). Hearing promise in the songs of an airplane assembly worker by the name of Bill Withers. Avant’s later stint as chairman of Motown Records.

But other relatively unknown stories resonate even more — like how Avant came up with the name Sussex for his record label by asking himself what do people want? Success and sex. How he stopped ABC from launching Dick Clark’s would-be rival to Don Cornelius’ popular Soul Train franchise. Defying convention back in the day by signing white guitarist Dennis Coffey to his label and managing Argentine pianist-composer Lalo Schifrin. Nearly losing his home following a severe business downturn. Giving image marketing advice to record-setting baseball legend Hank Aaron. And Avant’s legendary proclivity for cursing people out at any given moment to drive home a lesson or point of view. But the through line in everything that Avant achieved has remained consistent: to foster the next generation of black executives, artists, songwriter/producers, politicians and business entrepreneurs.

Helping the notoriously publicity-shy Avant tell his story (“I don’t make speeches, I make deals,” he says at one point) is a diverse array of artists, music industry executives, politicians, ex-presidents, close friends and family members — several of whom get very personal and emotional as they acknowledge their respect and love for the business-savvy raconteur. Beyond those aforementioned above, we’re talking names like Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Universal chief Lucian Grainge, The Azoff Company chairman/CEO Irving Azoff, football legend Jim Brown, boxing icon Muhammad Ali, diplomat/civil rights activist Andrew Young and former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

The documentary plays out like a 2.0 version of the game “six degrees of separation,” because it’s quite unbelievable the many people that Avant has touched in his lifetime. In fact, one of the oft-repeated refrains echoed by those recalling their first encounters with Avant: “Who the fuck is this guy?!” As someone notes later in the documentary, “His job was to move us forward.”

Many of those featured in the documentary — and more — turned out for the world premiere at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles. Spotted in the theater and later at the post-screening reception: Quincy Jones, Jamie Foxx, Sean Combs, Queen Latifah, Pharrell Williams, Ava DuVernay, Jam & Lewis, L.A. & Babyface, Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Vince Vaughn, Hank Aaron, Andrew Young, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Anniston, to name a few. And several were overheard saying that they learned things they’d never known about Avant after watching the film. Host for the evening was Netflix chief content officer and Avant’s son-in-law Ted Sarandos.

The Black Godfather, produced by Avant’s daughter Nicole Avant and directed by Reginald Hudlin, opens with Withers succinctly assessing Avant’s skill set: “He puts people together and they do what they do.” And it ends with Avant declaring, “I’ve lived a good life. If I wake up tomorrow as Warren Buffett, I’d have a better life.” To say more about what happens in between would be giving away the store. Everyone needs to watch Avant’s inspirational story and quiet power unfold for themselves.

KCRW – June 3, 2019 – Reginald Hudlin on ‘The Black Godfather’ & black filmmakers breaking through

You may have never heard of Clarence Avant, but this enigmatic manager, producer and record executive has touched the lives of a wide array of people you have heard of: Bill Withers, Hank Aaron, Barack Obama.

In his new Netflix documentary ‘The Black Godfather,’ director Reginald Hudlin lines up all those people and many more to reveal the behind-the-scenes story of Avant, now 88 years old.

This week on The Business, Hudlin explains how he got all of them to sit for interviews for a doc that drops June 7th on Netflix, possibly because Avant’s daughter is married to Ted Sarandos.

“Here’s a guy who is involved in everything you know, that you like and care about–the music you like and politicians you may vote for and athletes you support, but you don’t know who he is,” Hudlin told us about Avant. 

As a child, Avant ran away from his North Carolina home after trying to poison his abusive step-father. Though he had only made it to the ninth-grade, he began managing nightclubs in New Jersey, and before long was in business with a growing roster of musicians. He moved to LA, where he ran record labels and became a power player in political fundraising. 

Hudlin, the director of ‘The Black Godfather,’ is himself a multi-hyphenate: director, producer, writer, and one-time executive as the first head of BET. When he joined us in the studio to talk about his new film, we also talked about his own career, which kicked off in 1990 with ‘House Party,’ a Sundance hit that started as a short film at Harvard. 

Credits

Guest:
Reginald Hudlin – Director, producer, screenwriter – @reghud

Host:
Kim Masters

Producer:
Kaitlin Parker

Link to interview recording: