Initially, Lee Daniels gained recognition in the entertainment industry by creating and directing numerous impactful films. Later, in 2015, Daniels ventured into television when Fox gave a green light to his upcoming hip-hop drama series called Empire. Four years after its conclusion, the Academy Award nominee candidly admits that working on this series was an unpleasant experience for him
As a dedicated fan, I can’t help but reflect on Lee Daniels’ career journey. His groundbreaking films, such as “Monster’s Ball” and “Precious,” which catapulted him into fame, were independently produced, providing him with the freedom to express his creativity. However, in an interview with The Film Stage, he shared that his foray into television with “Empire” was more of a daring exploration to navigate the demands of studio executives
A truly terrible, regrettable experience. Horrible indeed! But let me clarify: It was about the money, the money, the money. I managed to send my children to college with it. And that in itself was worth it. However, returning to [The Deliverance], I have since unsubscribed from Netflix because otherwise I wasn’t inclined to watch the film. But they, meaning Netflix, wanted jump scares every second. I didn’t know how to achieve that. So I explained, “Listen, man, I can’t do this. I don’t know how… it doesn’t make sense to me.” My preferred movies were The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen
Transforming “Empire” into a more natural and easily readable language:
Transforming the original work of the “Shadowboxer” director by emphasizing the impact that the “Empire” production has had on contemporary culture. Daniels invested a lot of effort in developing the character and the memorable music of the series, without realizing how influential the Black drama series would become. Even though the American director’s series did not belong to Fox, Daniels still dared to put heartbreaking moments from his own life into the show and push the envelope to introduce complex characters and bring representation for the Black LGBTQ+ community. He admitted, without “Empire”, there may not have been successful projects like “Black Panther”, “Insecure”, and “Black-Ish”
Revised version of “The Deliverance” as mentioned, originally a Lee Daniels’ directorial work for Netflix production, can be seen as both an independent project and a studio one. However, Daniels faced the challenge of providing additional input when working on the project. He explained The Film Stage about Netflix pressuring him to escalate tension, which conflicted with his own focuses. But, the Best Director nominee knew that while “Deliverance” was a Lee Daniels movie, it was also a Netflix movie which meant compromising. It demonstrates the real difference between independently made projects and studio ones
Lee Daniels’ challenging stint on Empire might stem from dealing with studio executives. However, the success his show achieved helped finance his children’s education and pave the way for future filmmakers and TV creators. If you’re interested in revisiting Daniels’ hit hip-hop drama series, all episodes of Empire are accessible through your Hulu subscription
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2024-09-05 18:38