I work in the film industry, so storytelling is in my nature. Storytelling is an invaluable power; Stories are what allow us to communicate. It is a tool that can be used to inspire others and provide them with a completely different perspective – an ability that has always been crucial, and this is becoming even more evident in today’s social climate. Growing up, other people’s stories affected me greatly as a person, and through movies, I was able to bond with my father, Jamie Lynn. We immersed ourselves in classics like ‘Casablanca’, ‘The Godfather’, ‘Rocky’, ‘Eastwood Westerns’ etc – hence I tend to share my own story.
I hope my story affects others in the same way that it affected the stories that came before me.
She grew up in a boarding school three hours north of Wellington, New Zealand, and at the age of 16, she moved to the United States. The ambition was to search for new possibilities at the innovative frontier of American culture and way of working. America was the oven that baked all the new world leaders, and I believed that if I wanted to excel, I had to be among the best to learn from the best—both academically and professionally.
Upon enrolling in an American high school, I realized how prevalent segregation is and how polarizing it can be. I remember one example, for example, when a political science teacher (who was also the principal) taught a lesson about US presidents. He read a passage about not ever electing minorities or women as presidents, then added, “So I’m sorry for those of you who are not Caucasian or female, but focus your aspirations elsewhere.”
A Mexican girl in my class named Norma started to protest. She tried to tell him her point of view and her story, but he wouldn’t listen.
Instead, he nonchalantly told her that the deadline to drop his class was in two weeks, and Norma left immediately and never came back. I developed the realization that, as a minority, I was a “stranger,” and there were only two ways to become “on the inside”: 1) being white, or 2) being very successful. Since I wasn’t the first, I vowed to make the latter.
I worked hard, and chose to get along with people I felt were the best in the industry. Working alongside my father, I studied his work ethic, leadership, “social” bells and whistles, and technology as he achieved increasing success as a producer in the film industry.
I was also fortunate to have a mentor at Masayuki Nakamura, the former president of Tohokushinsha (a prolific film studio in Japan), the former Vice President of Sony Pictures TV Japan and the high-ranking CEO of Kadokawa Publishing. Nakamura-san not only showed me the ropes but also supported my pursuit and growth of my business. With their support, my hard work is finally paying off.
As a distributor, we have released more than 2,000 films for the Pan-Asian market, eventually launching two separate entertainment companies, Filmula and Clandestine Laureate.
She has worked on several ongoing projects, including a film about math genius Christopher Havens with Neil Burger and the AMC TV series “Champagne Supernovas” about fashion icons Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen with show makers Rollin Jones and Sheila Callahan.
As I began to find increased success, my precognition proved correct: the more successful I became, the more I felt like an insider in society—but what about other minorities who felt the same way? I often think of Norma, the girl from my high school, and how the outcome of her protest against the principal would have been very different if he had just listened to her.
This is what we must do.
As we share and listen to other people’s stories, we get closer to each other, and lay the groundwork needed to inspire the next generation to develop their stories in a way that is true to them.
Our views begin to align with each other. Stories are one of the tools that will help us reach a new reality in which everyone is on the inside, and everyone has an equal playing field to be anything they want – even the boss.
Johnny Lane is a film producer, financier, distributor and aggregator in Asia and North America. He is also the Director of Filmula Entertainment and the Producer of the Clandestine Award.
Throughout the month of May, diverse Articles and stories from notable AAPI artists, craftsmen, and entertainment personalities will be published to celebrate the impact of AAPI’s entertainment and artists on the entire world.
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