Can CodeBlack Change Hollywood's 'Cliched' Approach To Black Viewers?

Can CodeBlack Change Hollywood's 'Cliched' Approach To Black Viewers?
PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 23: Scott Royster and president and CEO of Codeblack Entertainment Jeff Clanagan poses for a portrait at the Getty Images Portrait Studio during the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2006 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 23: Scott Royster and president and CEO of Codeblack Entertainment Jeff Clanagan poses for a portrait at the Getty Images Portrait Studio during the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2006 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

For 15 years, Jeff Clanagan sold comedy specials and faith-based movies to people watching at home. When the home-entertainment market collapsed a few years ago, he began to chart a new path for CodeBlack Entertainment.

He joined forces with Lionsgate, home to Tyler Perry, and decided to focus on something new: quality. CodeBlack had always released movies for African-American audiences, acquiring 15 to 20 movies a year and selling them at Wal-Mart and other retailers.

His new bosses asked him to make less with more, releasing fewer movies each year but diversifying his output, producing and distributing a wider array of films for the same market. He’s still producing comedy specials, but also starry films like “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete.”

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