Today, we’d like to introduce you to King Hollis.
Hi King, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
They say the only thing that can kill a demon is love. When I was young I had plenty of demons, but luckily for me my love for storytelling killed them all. I needed to be free from the darkness of my own story, and the only way to do that was to lose myself in my imagination.
My childhood was filled with violence, abuse, and unfulfilled dreams. So when a short story contest came about at my high school, I entered and I wrote about my journey. I didn’t own a typewriter and home computers were not a thing, so I hand-wrote a story about my childhood friends lost to the streets. I then recorded myself reading the story and added sound effects as transitions for the story arcs. I didn’t realize that this would be the first edit I ever made. I turned in both the handwritten tale and my narration and won district with the first thing I ever wrote.
I didn’t realize that storytelling would become my life’s work. A few years after high school, I was working at a gym, and I met two people who would help change the course of my life. One was a martial artist named David Glaze, who would train me and teach me how to focus. The other was a complete stranger that would convince me to pursue film. A few weeks later, I was at my mother’s home, down and out and on probation. I rented a movie called ” Once Upon A Time in America”. In the film, an older Robert De Niro pulls a brick from the wall and sees a young girl practicing ballet.
When the camera pulls back to reveal his reaction to her beauty, the once 60 year old man is now 14 , young and vibrant, with eyes filled with wonderment as he gazes at his muse. That moment was like magic for me. I literally stopped the movie, slammed my hand on the ground, and said out loud, “I want to make people feel what I just felt for the rest of my life.” From there I pursued college. The only problem was I couldn’t afford school. So I did what anyone would do: I posed as a student at the University Of North Texas for two and a half years.
I was never enrolled but earned keys to the equipment room, won school awards and even got into the yearbook. I also helped the University get a large grant with my work with the organization The Cooperative of Black Filmmakers. CBF was founded by George Tarrant, Edwin Harris and Reggie Sutton. Our work was a key factor in helping UNT secure a larger national grant. This wild ride led me to produce, direct or edit 22 short films and a feature film before I was 26 years old. From there I would go on to become an established commercial and independent filmmaker.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My journey has been a tough ride. My race was, for the most part, was never an issue with the crews I worked with. Although I was once fired off of a movie because the gaffer refused to believe I couldn’t score him weed or coke. Mostly if you worked hard, you were accepted and given an opportunity.
But the higher I climbed the ladder, that would change. All of a sudden, my talent and hard work weren’t enough, and it became clear there wasn’t a space for me in the commercial market. I had to literally create my own production niche. So, I created my own brand of Branded Entertainment content solely out of a need to survive. We started producing and distributing original branded entertainment content worldwide.
Thanks. What else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My specialty is creative integration. I am able to integrate production, creative, and development solutions for almost any type of production. I think what sets me apart is my diverse skill sets and ability to problem-solve. Any filmmaker will tell you we are not only creatives but professional problem solvers.
I think what I’m most proud of is the out-of-the-box approach my team and I have taken to create things over the years. We have not been afraid to go down any lane, from independent film, broadcast television, to hybrid advertising strategies to social justice content, we don’t shy away from any challenges.
I think I want people to know that we believe that storytelling is the jewel in the crown of human connection, and we believe in its power wholeheartedly.
Networking and finding a mentor can have a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Seek out any person who has the knowledge you want or need. Never be afraid to ask questions. If someone has knowledge in their brain and you have access to it, it’s on you if you don’t get that for yourself.
If you don’t know these people keep showing up at industry functions and look up their contact info or cold-call them. Do whatever it takes to sit at the feet of knowledge. This is a hard gig. As Chuck Hatcher once told me, “use everything”.
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