There are at least two things that Lee Daniels is really good at. The first is making movies and TV shows that people love, including “Monster’s Call,” “Precious,” “The Butler” and “Empire.”
On the set of what he hopes becomes his newest hit, the TV show “Star,” Daniels ricochets from the set to the costume department to a meeting about music.
Music is a big part of “Star,” a series about a racially-diverse aspiring girl group. The inspiration? The Broadway musical “Dreamgirls.”
“I’ll never forget stealing my mom’s El Dorado and driving from Philadelphia at 17 into New York City and sneaking in to see the show, and just how it changed my life,” he told Rocca. “But it’s not really about ‘Dreamgirls.’ It’s about my life when I first came to Hollywood, the desperation and finding myself, understanding what it was that I wanted.”
An even earlier formative experience in Daniels’ life helped inspire his hit series “Empire.” Rocca asked, “Is it exactly what happened, that your father took you when you came down wearing your mother’s high heels and put you in a trashcan?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think your father was just reacting to effeminacy? Or do you think your father was reacting to, ‘Uh-oh, I know what this means for him later on’?”
Lee Daniels.
“Both,” Daniels replied. “Because I think that he as a man was embarrassed to have a gay [son]. I had no questions, I had no problems rather, letting him know, ‘This is how I felt’ at an early age. I was very outspoken. I owned who it was that I was.”
Daniels’ father was a Philadelphia police officer.
How? “Verbally. Physically. He was embarrassed and ashamed. I think in hindsight, he was just more concerned about my future. And so I think that in some strange way his telling me that I was nothing inspired me to be something.”
When Daniels was 15, his father was killed during a holdup. His mother — with five children to support — convinced a neighbor to help her eldest son attend an elite suburban high school.
Daniels said, “I remember going into that environment and being the only black person, and feeling love and feeling like there was absolutely no racism at all for me.”
“Did you make friends fast?” Rocca asked.
Lee Daniels directs Helen Mirren in his first feature film, the 2005 crime drama “Shadowboxer.”
“Oh yeah. I learned to go seamlessly through a black environment to a white environment and to adapt to both. And I think that helped me with my journey, that I was very comfortable in both places.”
The experience gave him the confidence, he said, to move at age 21 to Los Angeles, where he worked as a receptionist at an agency for home health aides. Soon enough he opened his own successful agency.
But…
But what Daniels REALLY wanted was to make movies. So he started at the bottom as a production assistant on the movie “Purple Rain.”
He told Rocca he showed up on the set in an Armani suit, driving a Porsche, smoking a Newport cigarette.
He wasn’t a P. A. for long.
His winning combination of talent, smarts and startling self-assurance propelled him. By age 41, Daniels produced “Monster’s Ball,” which won Halle Berry an Oscar.
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As the director of “Precious,” Daniels earned his own Oscar nomination for getting raw performances from a cast that included a certain diva almost unrecognizable as a social worker.
How, Rocca asked, did he get Mariah Carey to take off her makeup? “Carefully!” Daniels laughed. “I’m a snake charmer. I mean, carefully. Nice and easy. Easy does it.”
“What’s that mean? Was it a hazardous situation?”
No, he doesn’t hold back … which brings us to the second thing Lee Daniels is very good at:
“I gotta tell you, for the record, I’m bored with Hollywood people of color saying Hollywood owes you something. Don’t nobody owe you nothing.”
… provoking and often outraging people with his unalloyed candor, especially on the topic of race.
Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton in “Monster’s Ball.”
“I had to fight for everything, from my very first movie on.”
“You raised the money for ‘Monster’s Ball,’” Rocca said.
“At last year’s Oscars, when there were no black nominees for any of the acting awards, how did you feel?”
“How did I feel? I don’t know that there was anything that was deserving to be nominated. Was there?
“I don’t vote on color. I vote on the movies that deserve to be nominated. You don’t see me running around complaining ‘cause I didn’t get nothing for ‘The Butler.’ You know what? Next. I went on and made ‘Empire,’” he laughed. “I mean, like, you know, see ya!”
Lee Daniels at his home in New York City.
From a fur-lined hammock in his New York City apartment, the 57 year-old Daniels presides over an empire he hopes continues to expand.
“Do I think that there are injustices in Hollywood every day, as they are in America? Yes, there are,” he said. “Not just injustices, but there are atrocities, I believe, that have happened. But is that going to define me? No. And am I gonna get what’s mine? You better believe it, I am! And I will continue.”

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It’s a tale of unrequited teenage love terrorised by giant animated monsters in the chaotic streets of Metro Manila.
Saving Sally tells the story of Marty, a young aspiring Philippines comic book artist, played by Enzo Marcos.
He falls in love with his best friend Sally, a gadget inventor – portrayed by Filipina actress Rhian Ramos – who is also the centre of Marty’s universe.
The story quickly unfolds with stunning cartoons which tell the story of Marty’s lonely world.
Like every love story, there are numerous complications and challenges for the hero.
Namely defending the love of his life from a beastly rival and her difficult parents, who take the form of monsters because to Marty, that is simply what they are.
« Sadly, Marty also has the innate ability to do nothing about everything despite his vivid fantasies of defending Sally from the big bad world, » described the film’s director Avid Liongoren.
While it has been described as a « typical teen movie about love, monsters and gadgets », the film also touches on serious issues prevalent in Philippine society.
« On the surface, it’s a fun and straightforward love story, with good laughs and visual gags that reference Filipino as well as Western pop culture, » said screenwriter Charlene Sawit-Esguerra , who wrote and conceptualised the film.
« But it also touches on darker themes like physical abuse and escapism.  »
After an arduous 10-year journey and a series of setbacks, the team’s efforts paid off. Saving Sally gained an entry into the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
The annual festival serves as an outlet to better promote local talent in the Pinoy film industry. But the MMFF sadly still could not save Sally.
The humble film was not widely shown in local cinemas.
Its creators said the answer could lie in the nature of the domestic cinema industry.
Largely unregulated, Philippine cinemas have built a notorious reputation for favouring commercial successes movies like Hollywood blockbusters and « manufactured » romance dramas.
« They pick the films that they think people will watch. So it is more of a perception that since ours is a small, non-studio film, no-one would want to watch it, » explained Mr Liongoren.
Ms Sawit-Esguerra said « demand » was often a deciding factor before a film could be considered for screening.
« Theatre owners here think that local audiences will only watch films starring big-names and A-list stars, produced by major studios. Saving Sally has neither, » she said.
« Because of this, many cinemas don’t want to take the risk and would rather see how audiences responds to our movie first.  »
To film critic Oggs Cruz, another problem with the film lay in its animation, the very thing that its makers fought so hard to create.
« While most Filipinos enjoy animated films, the animated aspect in Saving Sally doesn’t favour its commercial ability, » he told BBC News.
« It is an adjunct of the main characters and I don’t think it has any effect in its marketability. Sadly it won’t entice children or adults.  »
« A lot of Filipinos are proud of their heritage but ironically, they would rather watch the latest Star Wars movie than support local film festival entries.
« It’s a losing situation for the film makers whose work will get pulled out for more commercially viable movies that will earn more money.  »
The show’s creators turned to the power of social media and launched an online campaign to save Sally, calling on audiences to contact theatre owners demanding they screen the film.
« Let your voices be heard. Please help us make noise and reach out, » read a Facebook post on the movie’s official page which drew close to 50,000 reactions and was shared more than 10,000 times.
Thousands of curious Facebook users and fans began to show their support for the film by leaving comments and writing posts using the hashtags #ShowSavingSally and #ImSavingSally .
« It was worth the wait and our money. Great storytelling and amazing animation – good job, » gushed Dicay Galvez from Makati city who shared his joy in finally being able to catch the film.
« I cannot imagine the love and passion that went into this film, it may be a typical love story but the entirety of the movie itself is a work of art, » wrote Ace Antipolo in an Instagram post .
« Big movie companies in the Philippines just don’t put this kind of effort anymore but the efforts of a small group of people who worked for 10 years just to complete this beautiful masterpiece will be cherished forever.  »
« I guess business is business but I just don’t understand why some cinemas saved spots for other movies over Saving Sally. Please show it in Bacolod, » said Fraire Acupan.
Given its animation-meets-real life component which plays out heavily, and its slacker hero, Saving Sally has drawn comparisons with popular 2010 geek sleeper hit Scott Pilgrim vs. the World .
But will Sally see a similar indie cult following to that which Scott Pilgrim enjoyed?
Its makers said the public response « has been incredible » and fan demand played a crucial role in boosting the film.
Saving Sally was shown on around 50 screens to begin with, but was expected to close at 86 screens.
« Theatres have relented to the barrage of messages from Filipino youngsters wanting to see our film, » said Mr Liongoren.
Ms Sawit-Esguerra said: « Saving Sally surpassed what it was expected to earn, according to Industry experts. It also made it to the top four of the festival films based on how it did at the Philippine box office.  »
She also added that they have received offers for a North American release but that has not yet been finalised.
« We’ve also been invited to film festivals in Portugal, Spain and Belgium, » she said.

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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (UPI) — Mad Families , an original comedy film starring Charlie Sheen , Leah Remini , Finesse Mitchell and Naya Rivera , is to premiere on Crackle this Thursday.
Directed and produced by Fred Wolf from a script by Wolf and David Spade , Mad Families « centers on three families — one Hispanic, one African American, one Caucasian — who find themselves annoyingly sharing the same campsite during a busy Fourth of July holiday weekend, » the streaming service explained in a press release. « After realizing it was all because of a silly booking error, no one volunteers to vacate. So, they try to co-habitate peacefully, but shortly thereafter, madness ensues. From there, the male family members turn to a series of outlandish camp competitions to determine the one family who gets to stay. As the hysterical contests occur, the brassy, biting Charlie Jones begins to take the lead in learning what’s really important in life.  »
The cast also includes Juan Gabriel Pareja, Charlotte McKinney, Chris Mulkey, Clint Howard, Chanel Iman, Barry Shabaka Henley, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, Efren Ramirez and Danny Mora.

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Hollywood is gearing adult for this year’s Golden Globes – one of a biggest nights in a party calendar.
The rite is traditionally seen as an indicator of that films will do good during a Oscars.
La La Land leads a margin with 7 nominations, followed by Moonlight (six) and Manchester By The Sea (five).
The Globes also cover TV – and this year sees British actors including Claire Foy, Tom Hiddleston and Thandie Newton hotly sloping for trophies.
The awards will be handed out in Los Angeles from 17:00 PST Sunday/01:00 GMT Monday during a rite hosted by Jimmy Fallon .
La La Land, that stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, tells a story of a jazz pianist and an determined singer who are chasing dreams of stardom in Los Angeles.
Its nominations embody best comedy or low-pitched film, where it faces foe from Florence Foster Jenkins, Sing Street, 20th Century Women and Deadpool.
The low-pitched is also in a using for best screenplay and best director, while Stone and Gosling have both perceived behaving nods.
Its executive Damien Chazelle told a BBC : “I grew adult amatory those aged Hollywood musicals, and what we wanted to do was to take that form of film-making we consider of as aged fashioned and see if it could be updated and regenerated for today.”
The best play film difficulty is expected to be some-more hotly contested, with Moonlight and Manchester By The Sea a frontrunners.
Moonlight tells a story of a immature happy black male flourishing adult in an bankrupt community in Miami.
British singer Naomie Harris is nominated for best ancillary singer for her purpose in a film – a partial she primarily wanted to spin down.
“I didn’t wish to do it since we didn’t wish to play a moment addict – we wanted to execute certain images of women in ubiquitous and black women in particular,” she told a BBC final month.
“So we stupidly was about to contend no, though afterwards a executive said, ‘I’m fundamentally seeking we to play my mum’, and we thought, I’ve never had anyone ask me to do that before, and it’s his story.”
Moonlight is also nominated for best director, best screenplay, and best ancillary actor for Mahershala Ali.
Meanwhile, Manchester By The Sea, that stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges, has already been named best film of a year by a National Board of Review.
Florence Foster Jenkins, that stars Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, and Lion, with Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel, have 4 nominations apiece.
In a radio categories, The Crown’s British star Claire Foy is nominated for best heading play singer for her description of Queen Elizabeth II in her younger years.
The Crown has been done by streaming use Netflix with a reported £100m budget.
Thandie Newton, who appears in HBO play Westworld, is nominated for best ancillary TV actress, as is Olivia Colman for The Night Manager.
Her assignment is one of 4 for a BBC view drama. Tom Hiddleston is adult for best TV play actor and Hugh Laurie is adult for best TV ancillary actor, while a uncover itself is nominated for best mini-series.
Other British contenders embody Riz Ahmed, who is adult opposite Hiddleston in a TV play actor difficulty for The Night Of, Charlotte Rampling for London Spy, and Matthew Rhys for The Americans.
The People vs OJ Simpson leads a radio nominations, with 5 in total.
Follow us on Facebook , on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts , or on Instagram during bbcnewsents. If we have a story idea email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk .

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