What 21-Year-Olds Should Know About Hollywood by Bill Duke

Watch the video interview on Youtube here

Film Courage: This is a tricky question…but it’s up to you if you want to answer it…navigating Hollywood agendas. Sometimes what happens (and I clearly don’t have to tell you this. I’m sure this has happened to you in your career), but something will happen with someone, it won’t even be “burning somebody,” but they are offended. And then they come back to you years later as if nothing had ever happened. Like you’re great friends or they “friend” you on social media. As a professional, how do you handle that? Do you say “You know what? It’s water under the bridge.” Are there levels? With some it’s water under the bridge. Others it’s “Please stay over there [away from me] I think I’m good.” Others it’s “You know what? It was a misunderstanding. I’m fine.”

Watch here on Youtube

Bill Duke: I think it’s both. Some people you can forgive and forget. Some people you cannot forgive or forget. There are other people you can forgive and not forget. So there’s people you can forgive and forget. Forgive and not forget. It depends on what they’ve done. It if’s the kind of betrayal of a friend, but they not only stabbed you in the back, they held the knife and twisted it a few times to make sure that whatever trust you had in them died. It’s not that you wouldn’t work with them again, it’s called trust but verify.

I had a martial arts teacher once give us lessons in terms of…the teacher said you know “If a man wants to fight you, you run away from him as hard and fast as you can.” And he said “But if he runs after you, and he catches you, you make sure he never chases you again.”

Bill Duke: My 40-Year Career on Screen and behind the Camera by Bill Duke

I’m always early, so I pull over to the side. So I’m supposed to be there at 9 o’clock. It’s 8:30, then 8:40, then 8:50.

He said “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Don’t shout, don’t scream, it’s like playing chess. He said “Don’t be playin’ checkers in a chess game. Play chess.” It’s not about the outcome, it’s the process, too. So betrayal happens all the time. Betrayal, rejection and this is part of our industry, it’s that you…for the young people coming up in this industry (Ben and I talk about this all the time) they come in with dreams and hopes, nice breasts and butts, faces, hair and bodies and muscles and all that stuff.

And we were talking yesterday because Ben is going into the acting business, right? [gestures to someone off-camera].

So I said “Look up the percentage of AFTRA and SAG actors in the Union (the percentage) that work annually out of 100%” Guess what the number was?…(Watch the video on Youtube here).