Messiah Jacobs is the CEO of Four Screens Productions and executive producer on the upcoming special Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys, premiering Sunday, August 25 on A&E.
He spoke to A+E about his two decades in the entertainment industry, managing Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s estate and the art of structuring a story.
As executive producer on Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys, what were some of your day-to-day responsibilities?
As the executive producer on this particular project—the definitive ODB documentary—my responsibilities were probably a little bit more than the usual executive producer.
We manage the estate of Ol’ Dirty Bastard as well—so we manage the intellectual property and the name and likeness—and we actually conceived this project about seven years ago.
My production company started out making the project and we filmed a lot of the interviews that you’ll see in the documentary early on. Once our producing partners Pulse became involved, and then A&E, I took on the executive producer role. But there were a lot of places where I had to fill in the gaps for whatever was needed. So, my day-to-day responsibilities were a little bit more than most executive producers. They were numerous!
Some of the ones that I enjoyed were bringing the crew together, working with the director, identifying story points—understanding what questions we already have, and then what areas do we want to touch on. Also, working directly with the family to be sure that they had a certain level of satisfaction with the fact that this is their father, husband. But we also wanted to tell a genuine, authentic story for the fans.
What inspired you to work in this field?
I wouldn’t say I lucked into it, but I would say it wasn’t a field that I knew existed. I watched a lot of TV growing up and was always amazed at the shows, but I didn’t realize so many people were behind the scenes. It wasn’t until about 20 years ago when I first worked on a set as a PA (production assistant) when I realized all these people are moving behind the scenes. It was that understanding that there’s this thing that happens in front of the camera, but there’s [also] a whole reality behind the camera where people have practical responsibilities, and we get to create art.
There’s really no field like it where we get to create these beautiful art pieces that live on past us and hopefully inspire people.
What is your favorite part of what you do?
[It] would have to be the art of it. There is an art to producing, there’s an art to understanding a story, and then what will be of interest to people, but not placate people or put them in a place where it’s a story they’ve seen over and over. That’s something we really tried to do with this ODB project—tell the story from different angles, different vantage points, so people can get the whole sense of a man. That creative process is something I really enjoy.
What advice would you give someone who is interested in getting into the entertainment industry?
Learn. Understand this is a craft. Understand that, although there are numerous film schools and places where you can study, this is an industry where you have to really get in there and learn and be practical. Be willing to talk to people, ask questions. Understand when it’s the appropriate time to ask questions. If we’re going through a crisis…let’s not! We don’t need a thousand questions right now. But mark your questions because most people in this industry have started somewhere and they’re willing to teach.
Also, tenacity. I’m two decades in, and I didn’t start at the executive producer level. Just knowing you have to build your way up, and work your way up and go with that.
There has recently been a push to increase diversity, equity and inclusivity in workplaces across the US. Have you noticed any changes in your field?
I have. I’ve noticed some changes in the entertainment business, but also just in general. It’s a much-needed change. We need diversity of thought. We need different stories being told.
I think a lot of people don’t understand that inclusion means bringing new, fresh ideas. It allows us to vet more ideas, and vet them more efficiently, as opposed to just having just one point of view and then vetting from that perspective. We can now look at these ideas holistically and say, how do we build on that? How do we innovate on these ideas? That’s really what America is about. It’s that full process of innovating on ideas, growing and letting the best idea matriculate up. Diversity and inclusion are going to allow that to happen more efficiently, so I love it.
What do you think are some benefits of having a more diverse workplace?
As we interact, as we get more involved in each others’ lives, we become more understanding. That creates empathy, and that makes us all better storytellers, if that’s the field you’re in. I think all of that is needed because the workplace—if you extrapolate that to America—is a melting pot. You have to understand that we’re all making this melting pot together.
As an EP, what’s a challenge you face that might come as a surprise to viewers?
Storytelling. I think everybody feels as though stories can be easily told. But when you have to create art and commerce, and you have to put story into a structure, and you have to have a beginning, middle and end, then it becomes a lot more challenging.
To use ODB as an example, we did a lot of development work to make the documentary possible. What aspects of his childhood are important? What aspects of his midlife are important? And, unfortunately with him dying so young, what aspects of that part of his life are important?
It’s not enough to say, I have an interesting character, let’s tell a story. As an EP, you really have to identify the story points, what are the points we want to hit, where do we want to focus and what’s interesting. And then how do you create that arc of a story. That is one of the more challenging—but fun—things about being an EP.
What professional achievement are you especially proud of?
I have the honor of being the CEO of Four Screens. We’ve been doing this for 20 years. A lot of production companies come and go, and a lot of people we started with are not here. The fact that we’ve been able to maintain and tell stories—and we focus on telling stories of people of color. To do that in a respectful way, I’m very proud of that.
Also, when the industry was not so focused on diversity and inclusion, we were doing it. We’ve been here through that, and understand the ups and downs of the industry. It’s been challenging and, even though there’s a focus [on diversity], you still have to earn your position.
Where do you hope to be in the next five to five to 10 years?
I’d like to see the growth of Four Screens. I would like to tell multiple stories. I’d like to see [the number of projects we do] double and be able to tell more stories.
What excites you about the future of your field?
I’m fortunate that I get to do this every day, and I’m really passionate about it. One of the areas that really excites me most is the integration of technology. There are some fantastic things happening in our industry from smaller cameras to digital cameras to AI. I know sometimes it can be frightening and people don’t know how to embrace it, but I’ve been in this industry long enough to see that we’re very smart and we know how to incorporate technology.
What can A+E Networks do to help further diversity, equity and inclusion?
I would hope A+E, and all companies, are moving to have more diversity. And by diversity, I mean diversity in front of the camera and behind the camera. Having executives, junior executives fill those ranks. Get new voices involved in your corporate structure.
…You need diversity of ideas to really survive in this new world. This is going to make our corporate structure better. This is going to make us better storytellers. This is going to open us up to telling fantastical stories in a different way.