Why Black-Ish Creator Kenya Barris Wanted You People To Be His First Feature Film As A Director
Writer, producer, and filmmaker Kenya Barris has had a hand in some of the most talked-about movies and shows of the past decade. From creating "black-ish" and its spin-offs, to penning the 2017 hit comedy "Girls Trip," to writing reboots and sequels to popular movies like "Coming To America" and "White Men Can't Jump," Barris stays busy — even if his projects often court controversy. Surprisingly, though, Barris' new Netflix rom-com "You People" is the first film the prolific writer has also helmed as director.
In an interview with Forbes, Barris explained why he hasn't taken a seat in the director's chair for a feature film until now. "I've been asked to do one a bunch of times, but I knew whatever it was that I directed, I definitely wanted to write," the filmmaker said. "The things I had written before they asked me to do, I felt like I was in the middle of running shows." Barris revealed that he was asked about directing "Coming 2 America," the 2021 sequel to Eddie Murphy's hit 1988 comedy "Coming To America." Barris co-wrote the screenplay for the sequel, but told Forbes, "I didn't think it was the right movie for me to do."
'If I have a vision, I should try to do it'
In short, it sounds like Kenya Barris' hesitation to take on a feature film directing gig came from wanting enough creative control over the project to make it worth the commitment. "Ultimately, I had experiences where I was writing and getting them made, and I didn't like what I saw," he said to Forbes. "I was like, 'If that's what you're going to do, I should just do less is more, and if I have a vision, I should try to do it and see what I felt was in my head when I was writing it.'"
Barris was famously the first high-profile filmmaker to leave a major deal with Netflix on the table when he left his nine-figure, multi-year deal at the streamer earlier than anticipated in 2020. "I just don't know that my voice was Netflix's voice," he told The Hollywood Reporter. Still, "You People" is a Netflix Original, and Barris says the final product — a film about an interracial couple with a cast that includes Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, and co-writer Jonah Hill — matches his vision. "I'm glad I got an opportunity to do this because this is how I saw the movie in my head," he told Forbes.
Barris wants to go the theatrical route next
Kenya Barris' works have frequently garnered headlines not just for their actual content, but for the circumstances surrounding their release. In addition to leaving the Netflix deal to collaborate with Paramount (in the THR profile he said the streamer "became CBS," and that he wanted to do edgier, more highbrow projects), Barris also left Disney in 2018, not long after ABC shelved an episode of "black-ish" about the state of racial inequality during the Trump presidency. Both Disney and Netflix have since released additional projects with Barris on board as a writer, including "You People."
Speaking with Forbes, Barris made it clear that the next time he directs, he's interested in working on a theatrical project. "Moving forward, if I had my choice, I would want to do box office movies for a few different reasons," Barris said. "One is that I'm a big show and prove contextual guy, and with theatrical movies, you have the box office, and it either worked or didn't." Netflix famously doesn't make many of its viewership numbers public, instead self-reporting audience statistics with unorthodox measurements like "minutes watched." He pointed out that projects resonate differently across streaming and theatrical, and said that "You People," which /Film's Josh Spiegel gave a lukewarm review, tested well with theatrical audiences.
"When I was making TV, I knew I was making it for TV, so you shoot it differently," Barris also noted. "When making a film, you make a film for a theater; you don't make a film for streaming, or at least I didn't." Next up, Barris is set to direct a reimagining of "The Wizard of Oz" for Warner Bros. "You People" is now on Netflix.