The Breakfast Club - Devon Franklin Talks 'Flamin Hot', Faith, Healing, Meagan Good, Eva Longoria + More

Episode Date: June 8, 2023

Devon Franklin Talks 'Flamin Hot', Faith, Healing, Meagan Good, Eva Longoria + MoreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yeah. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God. We are The Breakfast Club. We got our co-host, Claudia Jordan, joining us today. Yes, right. And we got a special guest in the building, Devon Franklin. Welcome.

Welcome back. Thank you. How's it going? It's good. Glad to be back. He came in hot, which is good, because he's here to talk about flaming hot. But I don't know what you and Claudia were just talking about. Y'all was just going.

I mean, y'all just had started an interview by yourself. I posted him this morning. OK. And he put a post up about not being someone's priority. Like, no one's too busy

for the right person. If you want to, you know, keep in touch with that person, you'll make time. Yes. So to say. Yeah,

I mean, basically I was just saying that a lot of times the excuse is, well, I'm too busy. And I'm saying. Oh,

I saw that. You talking about Barack and Michelle. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was just using the example that was there ever a time

during, you know, Barack's presidency where he told Michelle, you know what? I'm just too busy to deal with you. I'm too busy to check in on the kids. You can handle that. He probably didn't. It doesn't mean that he wasn't busy and challenging, but because the family was a priority, he prioritized them.

So I'm saying every time we say I'm too busy for something, we're just saying that that whatever that something is or that someone is, they're not a priority. Now, let me ask you a question. So Chloe has been in the last couple of days. Yeah, here we go. She's been having some relationship issues, right? Okay. Okay. Vaughn has prayed about this before, I'm sure. I got ready. It's a non-relationship. That's the thing. So, you know, we open up the phone lines, let people shoot their shots. It just feels like some of the men that she's been dealing with haven't had the time and the effort to put into Claudia. You know, she talked about young men. She said a lot of the men that she's been dealing with haven't had the time and the effort to put into Claudia.

You know, she talked about young men. She said a lot of the young men, you know, are on her. But she feels like the young men just want to smash. They do. And the old men. And the medium men. What advice could you give our sister, Claudia Jordan? Tell me what you're looking for.

Someone that doesn't lie. When I was younger, the checklist was really long. And I'm looking for integrity. Someone that doesn't lie so much I was younger, the checklist was really long and I'm looking for integrity. Someone that doesn't lie so much. Um, a person of their word that seems to be really hard to find nowadays. And they always come in hot with me. It's always, oh, it's too good to be true. And I want to get married. And then the reality of it, they can't sustain the day to day calling back when they say, oh, whatever. So I guess I'm, no one's priority. Like the other day, somebody hit at 10 p.m. and was like, hey, what you doing big head? And then she was like, whatever.

And then she was like, what you wearing? Like it was no, can we go out? It felt very sexual. It felt like that's it. Which we're going to get to that. If I like you,

we're going to get there. Relax, but don't leave with that. I mean, one adjustment might be instead of having like a, what you're looking for, what you're ready to receive.

Because the looking is, it enhances the absence of it. for what you're ready to receive because the looking is is it enhances the absence of it whereas when i'm ready to receive i'm ready to allow what is coming into my life and i know that sounds like a small thing but it's a major thing because people can feel that looking spirit again not saying you have that i'm saying but a lot of times you're out there looking for love people can feel that and they're like uh you know versus like i'm gonna stand in my power i'm gonna stand my truth and i'm ready to receive the right person i'm actually really doing that though in real life because after my last breakup i said i'm giving myself six months okay now i'm not even considering anyone for that like i have to just like have space yeah and let that good

energy come over to me because i do agree with you it does give desperate vibes right right you were kind of low-key in a church way call me desperate no no no never that never that never that no no didn't say that didn't say that those are not the words that came out of my mouth but then now let me ask you another question since we're talking about claudia she also you know was having a thing where you know she's hilarious these are things that she said on there that she was dealing with somebody that was, you know, having a tough time and was kind of depressed. How long do you allow your partner or somebody to be in that mood before you say, okay, there's nothing more that I can do? Well, I think first and foremost, it's like if somebody is going through something, only they can get through what they're going through. And so I think sometimes if we put on, we take the role of like, I've got to help my partner get through this. We may be putting ourselves in a position which we are not qualified to do.

So versus like, Hey, I'm going to be a support system. How can I support you through this? What is it that you need to, from me in order to navigate this period of depression or this anxiety or whatever it may be, and have enough grace and space for that person and what they're going through to allow them to go through it. Because what I've experienced is that when you try to heal somebody or you try to do their work for them, you put yourself in an impossible situation because at the end of the day, that's their journey. That's what they have to experience in life for their own growth and their development. And sometimes as a partner, we unnecessarily make it feel like, well, if that's what they're going through, I got to go

through it too. No, that's what they're going through, I got to go through it too. No, that's what they're going through, and I can be there to help them. But they need to set the terms by what that help looks like. Oh, that's good. We're going to get to Flame Hot, but I need to stay on that for a second because there's so many people dealing with grief. Yeah. And I think one thing that we all think we can do when something happens like death is we have to come to the person's rescue and help the person. There's nothing you can do so i don't think enough people don't know how to show up right and just be support

system so how do they show up and just be supportive you know i in my experience it's about grace and space and so if i give my own self grace and space to feel to experience to live and not judge myself for how i'm feeling in any moment, then I can give that to others. I think so often we're trying to be something to somebody because we don't know what we are to ourselves. So when you talk about that grief process, it's like, okay, we all go through things and navigate loss. And that's just part of life. And the best friendships, the best family ships, the best relationships don't require the person to arbitrarily have a timeline by which they pass through whatever they're going through. I mean, with these traumas that we've experienced in life

are difficult. And for some of us, they take years to heal. So to me, the best way to do that is to first give yourself space and grace for your journey on life. And the second thing is to give that to whomever you're dealing with. Don't, you know, push them or pressure them to have to move through something. If they need to cry, be there. Hey, I'm here. You know, if they need to yell, hey, yell as loud as you want to yell.

I'm with you. That to me is how you do it. That's great advice because if you don't have the right tools and you're constantly trying to like help someone heal or be there for them and they're not really ready to receive that, you start feeling rejected and then resentful.

You know what I mean? Like, I'm over here trying to help you out and you're push me away and I'm punishing me for being there for you. But then that's where the ego comes in. Yes. The ego wants to be the savior. Right. And then and then if this person is not receiving the way that I'm trying to bring them salvation from their situation, then I get offended. But then who are we to impose our way on their process versus saying, hey, I'm here. They didn't want to talk to me today. It's not because of me. It's because of what they're going through. And I'm going to be a good support system for them and give them the space that they need versus allowing my ego to then say, well, if they don't want my help, then

I'm not going to help them. Well well maybe they maybe your help is your silence maybe that's your way you help you know so it's like taking the ego out and really trying to be present with the person in that moment do you feel okay i was gonna say that was another church way to say just shut the hell up too i'm translating over here translating things i ain't saying i was gonna say do you feel any pressure you know with your relationship because you are uh a guru, people call you, or because you're a relationship expert that you have to be perfect in your relationship because everybody points everything and looks up to your relationship? Are you that so? No. I think people look at him as. Listen, the beautiful thing about what I do is I'm referred to as so many different things.

I was on Married at First Sight as a relationship advisor, and people come to me for that. Obviously, I've written relationship books. I'm known as a producer. I'm known so many different things. You know, it was like I was on Married at First Sight as a relationship advisor and people come to me for that. Obviously, I've written relationship books. You know, I'm known as a producer. I'm known as many different things. But to your question, no, I don't feel that pressure, you know, at all. If anything, you know, I live the way I live and I teach and from what I know or from what I'm experiencing. And I don't feel the pressure to try to be something to somebody or like, oh, I got to do it perfectly. I mean, you know, clearly, you know, that, that has not been my experience. Um, and that's okay. Right. It's okay. I'd rather teach from a place of truth and what I've gone through than to feel the art, the artificial pressure of like, Oh, I got to do it all perfectly. Who does it perfectly? I was going to ask, you know, in the church, especially

the church, people feel like in all relationship, people should stay together regardless. Right. Even if things aren't working, stay together. People always say, you know, people are so fast to let things go. When do you know it's a time, the right time to let things go? Yeah. You know, I think it depends on every situation. Every relationship is very different. I would encourage anyone to put themselves in a process. And what I mean by that is the first inkling that you get that, oh, I want to let this go. Don't follow that inkling, right? Do what you can do. Therapy, life coaching, counseling, reading, do what you can do to save it. And then you have to

stay in touch with yourself and your spirit. How do you feel? You know, and as you're going through this, you know, is there the possibility for oneness with this person? And if there is fantastic, and if there isn't, let your process determine the outcome. Cause in my experience, sometimes when we get angry about something, we are impulsive and you just start to say, well, this is not going to work. Well, Hey, give it time, put a process around it. And then over time, see what's feeling persists. And then don't be afraid to face whatever reality that feeling reveals. Did it take a long time for you to get to this calm place? Because like you're saying all these things like not being impulsive, but how do you not be impulsive when your feelings are involved?

You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Well, look, you got to look at the, you know, for me, it's like, okay, let me look at my past and when I've been impulsive and what came out of that. Situations and circumstances that I wish I could have back because I may have said something or done something that really wasn't in alignment with my truth or who I really was. So for me, it's about like, all right, I don't want to be that. So, okay, whatever is causing me anger before I act, let me pause and say, well, what in me is getting angry here? And I think that's the thing. A lot of times anger, we don't realize is a secondary emotion, right? So I'm going to feel angry

because I feel hurt because I feel disregarded. I feel unseen. So if we just react on the anger, we may never get to the root of where the anger came from. So this has just come from me and my process of just wanting to learn and to heal and to go through all that I've been through and come through it in a way that one, I can heal. That's the number one goal, right? Anything I'm sharing is because I go through this healing process. And the second thing is in this area of relationships and dating and love and marriage, it's so difficult. It's so hard, right? Like, let's just be honest. So as much as I can share about any tips or tools that someone may find helpful, I'm going to do that. Have you? I was going to ask you because you talk about here. Have you healed? Because I know your breakup was very public.

Sure. Have you got a chance to heal? And how are you doing mentally? Mentally, I'm doing much better, you know, but the process to that, like I can sit here before all of you and have this interview and be calm and introspective and all that. But that comes from a process, you know, I mean, there are nights, you know, I'm crying myself to sleep. You know, there are moments when I've been angry, but I've allowed myself to feel whatever I felt in order to heal. Because in my experience, when I'm like not facing what I'm feeling, then I'm trying to find something else to help me get through the pain. And who do you talk to? Man, I got, man, listen, I got a therapist that I've been working with for

years. I got a life coach that I've been working with. I have great friends, you know, in my life who have been very, very helpful to me. And they are there for me whenever I call. Because it has to be the toughest thing because, you know, your spouse, your wife, or your husband is usually your best friend that you can go to for anything. So when that person's not there, it's like that has to be probably one of the hardest things ever because it's like, do you still have that trust for all those people that you name? You know, because your spouse is usually somebody that you can tell your deepest secrets to. Whatever your insecurities are, they usually know. So that has to be difficult.

I mean, listen, I would not wish divorce on anybody it is one of the most difficult and uh painful things you can ever experience so you're right you know like because then also it's like it's a weird thing you know it's like you're used to being with somebody just on a friendship level day every day every day and then you're like i don't even talk to this person. It is the strangest, most difficult thing to navigate. And the only thing I can offer is take it one moment at a time. Not even a day at a time, a moment. Do you regret writing a book like The Weight? Because you know you and Megan wrote a book called The Weight,

a powerful practice of finding the love of your life and the life you love. Sure. Do you regret that? Are you going to offer? No, of course. Why would? No. Shut up.

Refunds. Refunds. Stupid. Boy. Listen. Refunds. Charlemagne. Stupid. Boy. Listen, okay. Okay. Give me the name of your first book again. Black Privilege.

Black Privilege. Okay. So in 10 years, when that changes, when your perspective may shift, are we going to come back and hit you? No, that's true. So anyway, my point is, of course I don't regret that. You know, we wrote that book. It'll help somebody when

they're in that moment listen the value of delayed gratification is always going to be a message that's going to help somebody and we put that message into the world from a place of love and that's where we were and no of course and i think that's the challenge with life to look in the rear view instead of the front view one thing that's right crazy about breakups with your best friend it's like you share everything with that person every single day. That's the first person you call when you get good or bad news. And then when you break up, it's like the person is dead, but they're alive. They're still out there, but they're dead in your world.

Do you and Megan still talk? Are you still friends? Yeah, we're still, man, of course. You know, I mean, the love for us has not gone away. You know, it's just, it's just changed form. Y'all so cute together. Well, hey, you know, I can't say anything to that. I want to translate that laugh. I wanted to get to Flamin' Hot before all of this,

but since we're here, does it upset you when you see her out and about with Jonathan Majors? Upset me? No. No, if she's happy, that's a blessing. Wow, you've done a lot of work. That's a grown man, man. I need to be like that. Because I think most people would be like,

damn, I hope he doesn't get the next movie. I hope the next movie flies. There's a little bit of hate. There's a little bit. But here's the thing. Whatever, if that was the case, so if I had that perspective, whatever I'm putting out,

that's what's coming back. So I'm not putting, I don't have any ill will to anyone in that regard because I don't have any ill will towards myself in that regard. So no, there's no hate. There's got to be some emotion, though. I don't know if hate towards myself in that regard. So no, there's no hate. There's gotta be some emotion though. I don't know if hate is the right word

or upset is the right word, but it has to be something you feel. Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, there are feelings and I'll leave it at that. True. He may have said he cried himself to sleep some nights. He did not say that. I didn't say I cried myself over that.

Why y'all doing this to me? See, Envy and Claudia, y'all over here like, you know. We try to get you off your block a little bit like, come on, tell us the real, tell us how mad you were that one time. Tell us you cursed Jonathan Mays' career. Don't get that movie. Yes, another one got pulled from you. No, no. Jesus Christ, Claudia.

Don't hate over here. Let's talk some Flamin' Hot. Flamin' Hot. Because I am very interested in this movie. Because what made you want to tell the story of Richard Montanez? What's the name? Montanez, right? Montanez.

Montanez. Yes. He's the creator of the Flamin' Hot. Yeah, he's the driving force behind the success of it. So about seven years ago, a friend of mine texted me and said, hey, I have your next movie. And I said, okay. I mean, I didn't really think much of it because pretty much everybody says that.

And I said, fine. Since he reached out, I'll take the meeting. So the meeting was with Richard Montanez and his wife, Judy. And at the time, Richard was one of the top executives working for Frito-Lay and Pepsi. And I just said, tell me your story. And he told me how he started as a janitor working for Frito-Lay. You know, he's the son of a Mexican immigrant. And this job was a great job for him, you know, because it was a chance for him to provide for his family.

He said, but as he was doing the job, he knew that there was more for him and that the job, the factory started losing jobs and he wanted to save jobs. And he said, this company does not appeal to my people, you know, Mexican American community in Southern California. He said, if there was a spicy product and I could market it to my community, it would save jobs at the factory. And so the CEO gave him a shot to take the Flamin' Hot product and market it to his community. And his genius of doing that is ultimately what led to what we now know as Flamin' Hot and the success of the brand. It's a billion dollar brand. He went from being the janitor, becoming one of the top executives at the company. He's referred to as the godfather of Latino marketing. And at the end of the meeting, I just said, yes, I will make your movie. Now, I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I was so inspired and motivated by his story. Here he was

a janitor and becomes one of the top executives in corporate America. And that story was so inspirational to me. That's why I wanted to do it. You know, I mean, I'm in Hollywood. I produce movies specifically for the purpose of inspiration. You usually don't hear that because usually they take the janitor's idea or they take somebody on a totem pole that's low their idea, and they never get the credit, they never get the money, they never get the accolades. But you're saying that this guy got the accolades, he got the money, and he got what he was supposed to get for creating that

because you usually don't hear that. I mean, think about it. He was there at the company for 42 years. Oh, he knew all the dirt. He knew all about the dirt. They owe him a favor. He said, try to take this from me if you want to. Right, but you know.

But no, he listened. His success is unprecedented. It's amazing. And to be able to do this story and tell this true story. I mean, you know, look, Hollywood people love superhero movies in Hollywood. I get it. But the thing about superhero movies is

you can't put on a suit of iron and fly through New York and save it. You can't do it. But you can be like Richard, having a heart of service, having a vision, wanting to provide for your family, wanting to provide for your company and find success. And that's why I'm so excited about the movie because you would never think that a product like Flamin' Hot Cheetos has something inspirational or value behind it. How does this movie tie into your faith? Because it's not like it's Hot Cheetos for Christ. Shut up, man. Shut up. The Lord may like Flamin's not like it's Hot Cheetos for Christ. Yo, shut up, man. Shut up.

The Lord may like flaming Hot Cheetos. Hot Cheetos. Right. That's a new support group. I'm never coming back here. This is enough. Enough is enough. I mean, how did it tie into your faith?

In the film. I mean, well, first and foremost, you know, just on a macro level, you know, my father died when I was nine years old of a heart attack when he was 36. And it was a combination of my mom didn't have money for therapy. So it was a combination of going to church and watching entertainment that became my therapy. And as I navigated movies like, you know, Color Purple and Back to the Future and Rocky, I was like, listen, if these movies are inspiring me, I want to go to Hollywood and produce movies that can inspire others. So just the mere fact that here I am in Hollywood, you know, producing inspirational movies. That's a testament to my faith. Just the fact that the movie happened and what I intended to do when I came to Hollywood, you know through a journey of faith, which is very similar to his real journey of faith,

where he starts as a non-believer, doesn't see the value in it, and then by the end, he understands the value of prayer and what it means to have a relationship with God. So it's there, but it's not something that we lead with. We just let people discover it when they see the film. Being a film and TV producer, but also being Devon Franklin, the spiritual leader,

do people feel like, I'm not even gonna not even going to bring this project to him because this may not be his speed? Sure. You know, I mean, you know, before becoming a producer, I was an executive for Columbia Pictures, which is a division of Sony Pictures for 10 years. And a lot of times people would not bring me things if they weren't, if they thought, oh, well, you know, he's the black executive or he's the Christian executive and I'm not going to bring him something that isn't black or Christian. And so for me, I'm like, it's cool. You know what, what people bring me is what they bring me. But at the

end of the day, I'm about creating my own, you know, even as an executive, I created my own films. I mean, films, you know, like Jump in the Broom and Heaven is for Real. I mean, those are movies that I champion and put together on my own. So even with Flamin' Hot, I met Richard in a meeting and I told him I was going to do his movie. So, you know, I found a writer. I sold it to a studio. I developed a script. I hired Eva Longoria to direct it. I produced the film and now I'm out marketing the film.

So, you know, on some level there are people that will make a judgment about who I am and that's okay. My thing is I'm not going to rest on their judgment. I'm going to create my own opportunities. So you're not against movies that come to that don't have anything to do with faith? No, of course not.

Not at all. So if someone came to you for a movie that's totally off-brand, you're okay with that? Well, off-brand just depends on if I connect to it. So if I connect to it, it's not off-brand. But you're not doing the Human Centipede Part 4? Hilarious. I don't think so, but you never know.

If there's something inspirational about it. I saw parts 1 through 3. It's inspirational it's terrible okay all right how has it been since the strike uh you know what the strike everything's been kind of very calm you know i mean it's kind of like one of those things where it's like the whole industry uh is navigating and waiting to see how it works out so all we can do is just wait you know the dga just uh you know signed and i think they're going to start the studios are going to negotiate with SAG. And then my hope is that the writers get what they're asking for and that cooler heads prevail, and we can all get back to the business of making entertainment. SAG just voted to strike, though.

Say it again? They just voted to strike. Yeah, well, that's just more of giving the board the authorization to go to strike if a strike is necessary. It doesn't mean that they're actually going to strike. Last time it did so much damage to Los Angeles and the industry. A lot of people outside of the acting world, the vendors

and everybody else, a lot of people were damaged financially from the strike. Yeah, no, I mean, this is a fact. I mean, and the longer it goes, the greater potential for that is true. So my hope and prayer is that ultimately it gets resolved and everybody feels like they got what they needed out of it. It's to be done though yeah a lot of things have changed with

streaming and everything in the industry a lot of people are not getting the money they should get yeah absolutely and what's your thought on uh chat gpt and everybody using that to create scripts and to do so many different things you know it's it's one of those areas that i'm still learning about in terms of understanding uh you know the ethics and how writers perceive it, and understanding that from what I've been, from what the writers I've talked to, they're like, well, ChatGPT can't create on its own. It's going to survey what's already been created to then create. And I think that's where the issue comes in.

So I think it's something that we've got to look at. We need to, first of all, be educated on it, but look at it, because that would be very detrimental, you know, to writers who have spent their life, you know, creating and then to have a technology that uses their creation to create, but then they aren't compensated for that. I think it's the devil. I don't think it's of God at all. Is that right? That's what I've been saying. I just don't, I just don't, I think it's going to cause more harm than good. And I think forget, forget you know writing scripts and stuff what if you

know somebody lets you hear a phone call of somebody that you love talking crazy about you and you know it's them and another person that you know and you walk in the room five minutes after hearing that call you while out and you know right right right right right yeah i didn't even that's a scenario i had not even what. What if a world leader, you know, threatens another world leader via AI and it's not even real? By the time these world leaders figure out, you know, that's not real.

They already sent a nuke. A nuke might be on the way. We don't know is what I'm saying. I don't think... We have enough confusion right now. Absolutely. With the fake news. No one knows what's real or fake anymore

across the board in all areas. Now we got this entering the chat. It's going to obliterate the lines of reality and fantasy. Right now they're blurred. Sure. This is going to obliterate it. And lose jobs. Wow.

And cost a lot of jobs. Man. What was your experience with Flamin' Hot Cheetos before this movie? Did you like them? I literally had no experience with them. Really? I knew of them, but I never had one. But how about now?

Well, I mean, now I've had too many that I want to share. But once I heard his story, and once we actually set up the pitch, I mean, sold the pitch to Searchlight, I was like, yo, I gotta try them. And so as I tried them, I was like, oh, I get it now. They're pretty amazing. And you were saying that as you was on the toilet.

While burning. Right. As an adult, you're not supposed to be eating i know but man listen when we made the movie there was like we had to recreate the frito-lay factory and so we shot the film in albuquerque new mexico and uh and so i'll never forget we were on set the first day that we were shooting the scene with the cheetos coming out flaming hot cheetos coming out of the the factory and there i am behind the camera you know eating the cheetos and i said I said, this is crazy. But they are addictive. And so I just had to stop.

I said, you know what? I love this product. I'm going to eat it once in a while, but I'm going to stop. But I do hope that families, when they stream the film, because this is the first movie in the history of Disney that is going to be on Hulu and Disney Plus at the same time. It's the first movie that they put on both platforms. So I'm hoping that families will be eating Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Doritos and all the

popcorn and all that while they watch the movie. Because I think, you know, it just kind of makes the experience that much better. And how was Pepsi and Frito-Lay? Were they involved with the process? Are they cool with everything? You know, I wouldn't say they were involved, but, you know, we definitely have, you know, kept the lines of communication open and, you know, they've seen the movie and, you know, are supportive of the film.

So it's been a good relationship that I've been navigating for years now, probably about four or five years. Why give them all that free product placement? I mean, is it a lot of free product placement? Well, in theory. It has to be. I mean, this is definitely going to, I would believe, get people to want to use the product.

But it wasn't so much about free product placement. It was about telling Richard's story. And because Richard's story was so amazing and inspirational and motivational, if the cost of doing Richard's story was a promotion for Cheetos and PepsiCo, then so be it because his story was certainly worth being told. Why Eva Longoria? Man, because Eva, you know, this is the testament when you talk about faith. So I had the script and I was looking for a director.

I sent the script out to 20 directors. Twelve directors came in to me, the most directors I've ever had on any project I've done, even when I was an executive. And I did not know Eva. I got the call from her agent. And her agent said, hey, you know, I know you're looking for a director on Flamin' Hot. I want you to meet Eva Longoria. And I was like, well, what part does she want to play? And she's like, no, no, she doesn't want to be in the movie.

She wants to direct the movie. And I'm like, okay, well, has she directed a movie before? And she was like, well, no, she hasn't directed a movie, but she directed television. I said, well, look, I'm not going to pass up a chance to meet Eva Longoria, so yeah, have her come in. So I didn't have any expectations. So Eva walks in, you know, she's wearing her glasses,

and she has a script in a binder and almost every page of the script is dog here. And for about two, two hours, she starts telling me, you know, how does she, how she would want to fix the movie and what she would want to do to elevate it, to make it more authentic. I didn't even know at the time until then that she has a master's in Chicano studies and her confidence and her clarity of what she wanted to do and her vision. When we finished the meeting, I said, the director just showed up.

And then I called the studio and I said, look, I found our director. And they said, who? I said, Eva Longoria. They were like, well, has she directed a movie? I said, no. I said, but just because she hasn't directed a movie does not mean she's not the director. Because Eva didn't come in the room to meet with me asking for a job she operated as if she had the job and so i said great this is our director and i said to the

studio i said listen i'm going to bring her in i'll bring you some other options but i'm telling you she's the director and eva put together this brilliant you know presentation about what she wanted to do with the film and we took her in i took her into the studio and they and she blew them away and they agreed they said she's the director and everything that she said she wanted to do from that first meeting, that director presentation is everything that she did. And I think so often, you know, especially in Hollywood, um, opportunity is not distributed equally and the movie covers that. And so the idea that we would hold the hold against her, if I held it against her or the business held it against it, she hadn't directed a movie,

we wouldn't have a great film. Versus saying, well, just because you haven't done it doesn't mean you can't do it. And let's put some process around you if you have the vision and the tenacity and the confidence to do it.

So this movie shows, you know, that not only is she a brilliant director, but all of us, when given the right opportunity, can do more with it than others think. Plus that's parallel with Richard's story, right? Very much so.

Exactly. Exactly. How much does her parallel with Richard's story, right? Very much so. Exactly. How much does her being evil on Gloria help though? Because if a director comes in there with that same energy, that same ambition, but she's not evil on Gloria, do you still look at her the same or him the same?

Absolutely. I always make the decision about who the director is based upon the process. This is something, I basically learned how to make movies in part by working make the decision about who's who the director is based upon the process you know i mean this is something you know i've basically learned how to make movies in part by working with will smith and you know he's been a mentor and a friend for years and and a lot of the movie making process and the story making process and just committing to the process i learned from him right his thing is like look if you commit to the process the process will lead you to success and so when it

comes to a director on all the films that i've made, I do that. And I don't I don't say, oh, just because if I if I were to say, oh, because it's Eva Longoria, then that's going to mean fill in the blank. Then I could do the story of disservice in the movie of disservice. So for me, I commit to the process. If another director showed up and that's who they were in the process, reveal that that was the director. That's the director. So for me, it just was an added value that she happened to be Eva Longoria in that, you know, she's a global superstar and, you know, a beauty icon and all of those things were just added value,

but they weren't the reason the decision was made. Was that abnormal for a director, a potential director to come in with all those pages marked like that? Was that impressive? Was that the part that- It was impressive. I was like, I was impressed and I was depressed at the same time right i'm like wait a minute yes at that time

i've been working on the script for years and so you know she comes in and it's like well this this could be different and this could be changed and so on one level i was like man but she was right but she was right she was right she was right i can't i cannot knock either and working with her has been amazing i mean mean, just awesome. Have you done your passion project yet? Or what is your passion project if you haven't? You know, this is, I mean, I would say all of the movies that I've done so far have been, you know, passion projects because there's so much passion required to not only sell

a film, but to get a film made. Every film that gets made in Hollywood is a miracle. And if me as a producer, if I'm not passionate, it cannot happen. So, you know, I would say that Flamin' Hot is probably, you know, the, so far, you know, the greatest example of my passion because I'm so passionate about using entertainment to uplift and inspire people. And having a movie like this allows for that to happen. You know, but I don't know if I've made my quote unquote signature passion film yet. You know what it would be? You know, listen, I'm a huge Muhammad Ali fan.

And I would love to find a way into his story and do a movie on his life. And what that would look like, I don't know yet. But that's definitely something when I think of the type of films I would like to do. He's just a figure that always resonates with me and someone I continue to draw inspiration from. And so to do a movie on his life would be amazing.

Manifest it. Manifest it. That's it. So when is the movie? When can people see this movie? June 9th. June 9th. It's available on BET Plus and Amazon Prime, right? No, no, no, no. This is on Disney Plus and Hulu.

Disney Plus and Hulu. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Disney Plus and Hulu. You got to deal with BET Plus. I have a couple projects with them. My next season two of Kingdom Business, which is a show I executive produced with Kirk Franklin and Dr. Holly Carter, will be on BET Plus end of this year. And then I'm actually acting in a film that will be on BET and I think BET Plus by the end of this year.

All right. Are you going to write about everything that you've been through, your divorce and everything else? Or is that a story you're still processing? You know, I would say I'm still processing it. You know, I don't know that I would ever do a book on divorce. You know, the next book I'm working on is called One of One, which is the truth about being single. And, and the idea, you know, behind that book is that we're all single. Some may be in a couple, some may not be. But so often, if you, if I don't know how to, a couple is made up of two good

singles. And the couple is only as strong as the singles that make it up. And if I don't know how to a couple is made up of two good singles and the couple is only as strong as the singles that make it up and if I don't know how to be one with myself how can I learn to be one with another? And so so the book is about you know there's nothing wrong with being single you got to get rid of the stigma because even when you're with someone you're still single and you're still an individual. You seem like such a good human I have so much work to do myself when i leave here we all got work no what he said is we don't talk about that enough because it's always this pressure be a union be a union when you when you get married you have to be one but here's the thing if i don't if i have not been practicing being one with myself if i have not been practicing being loving with myself, if I have not been practicing

giving myself grace and space, it's very hard for me to be loving with another. It's very hard for me to give that person grace and space. It's very hard for me to let them be who they are if I don't give myself the freedom to be who I am. So this idea of being one of one is to say, I am one of one. I am valued. I'm worthy. I need to get to know who I am and give the process of discovery the same process I would give in a relationship. Because in my experience, so often when people are traditionally single, they squander that period of time looking for somebody. And they falsely believe if I'm in a relationship, my life will be better. If I'm in a relationship, I'll be happier. But if you are not happy without someone, I guarantee you, you won't be happy with someone because the practice of happiness has to be self-created.

People can enhance our happiness. They can make a contribution, but we have to be the creators of it. And I think so often in relationships, one of the reasons why they don't work is because we overburden the relationship. We want the relationship to do something it was never designed to do, which is do something for us that we don't do for ourselves. And so whenever we're in a relationship, let's say I'm not being loving, or let's just say my happiness is dependent on my partner, even though they consciously may not be aware of it, subconsciously they know it and they reject it. Like, no, no, I'm not your source. I can't be your source. God can only be your source. Because the day that I make you happy, the next day I'm going to make you mad. So if I allow someone the power to control my happiness, not only will I be manipulated,

but I actually will never be happy. So this book, One of One, is really about unpacking what does it mean to be happy? What does it mean to understand your value? And then how can you apply that to love, relationships, career, so on and so forth. Because at the end of the day, we're all single, right? We come into this earth single, we're going to die single. If I want to be in a great couple, there's nothing wrong with it. But let me be a great single. Claudia, you know, you keep talking about how calm he is. That's one of the reasons why.

Because when you start going to therapy and you start doing the work on yourself. Yes, sir. You realize whatever anybody else got going on, don't got nothing to do with you. That's right. That's just projection. That's it. You know what I else got going on, don't got nothing to do with you. That's right. That's just projection. That's it. You know what I mean?

That's it. Absolutely. It sounds like complete yourself instead of looking for the relationship to complete your life. Well, that's a myth. And that's what people are so depressed. This idea of like, oh, you complete me.

No. That's a scary thing, actually. It is. It's like, no, I don't want to complete you because I don't even know. I can't do that. I don't have the power to complete you. Only God and you can do that work.

And so the idea is that if you have two people that know how to be one with each other and then they come together, the process of becoming one doesn't mean it won't be difficult, but it will be that much easier because they understand what that means. And so for me, I really want to empower more individuals, specifically those that identify as being traditionally single, to own this period of time. There's nothing wrong with you. Don't squander it looking for someone. Look for yourself. Find yourself. And if you never get into a relationship, that's not an indictment that something's wrong with you at all. A relationship status has nothing to do with whether you're lovable or not. Love yourself and let that be enough. And so this book is about that. And if you are in a relationship, I think this book will enhance being in a relationship because in a relationship,

we try to rob somebody of their individuality at times. And a great relationship will preserve individuality, not take it. Is that what happened in your marriage? No, I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. Did you learn this after the fact? I would say that everything that I write about is a culmination of what I've learned in

life, not specific to one experience, but all the experiences. And so for me, you know, being able to talk about this book, you know, and have this concept of the book, it was ironic. It was like becoming traditionally single again, then taught me what it means to be single. And the importance of recognizing that we're single even if we're in a relationship where we're married means that i have to cultivate that individuality and then bring that individuality to whomever i'm with whomever i partner with and that's not something i learned exclusively from the marriage that's just something i've learned from life experience would you get married again absolutely one thing i love about the new

faith leaders like yourself sarah jake, you know, Torrey Roberts. Yeah. Y'all don't act perfect. No. You know? And that's why I love the bishop too, guys. I don't think the bishop comes off as perfect. Do you think that is something that, like, you know,

hurt the church coming up, you know, and why people probably strayed away from religion at one point? Because I feel like a lot more people are coming back to the word and coming back to faith because y'all are not appearing perfect. Yeah, I mean, you know, I think growing, I mean, I've been in the church my whole life. So, you know, growing up in the church, I think that there was a premium put

on not being vulnerable. There was a premium put on presentation. And I think that that, you know, on some level, even though it may have worked, and I say that in quotation marks, I think it did damage because, you know, then we go through life performing and presenting instead of living. And so, you know, I think, again, you know, I mean, I'm Pastor Sarah and Pastor Torea, my brother and my sister, and, you know, known Bishop for, you know, almost 20 years.

So that's, he's family. And I think that there is, you know, desire to just be truthful and to be transparent and to be honest and to leave from that place. And this thing called life, none of us have it figured out. It's an experience. Even God, none of us have God figured out. God is beyond our comprehension. And so we do the very best that we can do. I do the best I can do to articulate concepts that are on some level. It's how can you even articulate who God is and do that from a place of humility, right? Like it's not, listen,

what I've learned through this experience and what I've learned through this divorce is like, listen, I'm not trying to get through life perfectly. I just want to get through life truthfully. I appreciate that because I was one of the people definitely turned off

by the seemingly standard of perfection. Sure. And if you feel like you're a flawed individual, which we all are, but a lot of people present like they weren't, especially in the church. How could you even feel like you could be amongst those people knowing the flaws you have, right?

And then people in the church are not admitting to anything. So we appreciate when you can say, I've been through this, I've done this wrong. We like it. We need more of that. Thank you. No, and I think it's important and I think it's okay. Right. I mean, flaws are what make the diamond valuable.

That's right. And flaws are what make us valuable. Flaws are what make us one of one and it's okay. Like, Hey, I'm one of one and I have my challenges and that's all right. Like, and I don't know that if I hadn't gone through what I've gone through, that I would have the appreciation I have for me, you know, just to say, Hey, you know what, Devon? Hey, you're on your journey. Uh, you're figuring it out. You, you know, you've given yourself the grace and space to heal and to process all you've been through. And along the way,

you know, I get a chance to share what I'm learning. And for those that benefits, great. What do you think your biggest flaws? You know what? I think my biggest flaw is really, uh, I tend to be very, very hard on myself. I think that's what we all are. Yeah, right? I mean, you know, it's just that idea of like I want to do everything right and I want to do everything perfect. And, you know, going back to when I was a kid, like just this idea of, you know, achieving my way and not feeling my way

and then beating myself up if I didn't achieve at a certain level or if I missed the mark or I didn't get a certain grade and then bringing that into my career. And so that's one of the flaws that I work on, beating myself up if I didn't achieve at a certain level, or if I missed the mark, or I didn't get a certain grade, and then bringing that into my career. And so that's one of the flaws that I work on, which is giving myself grace and space instead of talking to myself in a way that I would never allow others to talk to myself in a positive way.

Gotcha. Hey, we good. You good. You good, man. Now, this is all crazy. That's how I talk to myself. You good, bro. You good, man.

Come on, man. You up. Relax. It went the way it was supposed to go you're right where you need to be chill man you cool like that's how i deal with my flaw because that flaw of criticism you're not good enough you you're you're never gonna make it you're not as good as this person that voice in me has been one of the loudest voices and i've just been learning in this season to rewrite that script for that voice so that it's more productive instead of destructive my good sister uh rachel edwards she's actually the showrunner for the beat show she was showing up for my late night show whenever i get into my funks and i start you know talking bad

about myself she'll say don't talk to my friend like that. Yes. I like that. I love it. It brings you right back to center. It does. It really, really does. Don't talk to my friend like that. And the idea that she would reference you and who you are as her friend, then it makes you think, well, am I being a friend to myself? So if this person can acknowledge what type of friend I am, can I then acknowledge the friend I am to me? That's a weird- Why is it so hard for us to be good to ourselves sometimes?

And sometimes we're better to other people than we are to ourselves. But I think it's because we've been conditioned to not feel good by our, not when I say by ourself, within ourself. You gotta go to the right school. You gotta get the right job. You gotta marry the right person.

You gotta live in the right neighborhood. You gotta drive the right car. You gotta go to the right church. You have to be a part of the right social group. And then when you do all of this, you will be happy. It's not true. It's not true. So I think a lot of times we don't find that happiness within ourself. We don't look in the mirror and love who looks back at us. And as a result, we go on this search for things that never fulfill us versus saying, I'm going to love me. I'm going to like me. I'm going to be happy. Regardless if I got a dollar, a million dollars, I'm going to be happy and I'm going to let that happiness come through because I don't think it takes a lot to be happy. If anything, things block our happiness. And I think the key is learning to love who we are so much and find peace in it that we let that happiness out and we don't let any false idea block what is already natural to us, which is to be happy.

Babies have no problem being happy. They come into the earth, they're happy, right? Like just that's the natural disposition of a baby. That's what makes them so magical. It's as we get older, these things block us because we buy into these false ideas. Oh, I need all these things to be happy. And that's just not true. I know you got to go, but you know know we're all born in the 1900s so it was much easier back then to give ourselves

positive self-talk but now when you got social media yep and you got so many people offering their opinions when people come with these narratives does that affect you in any way you know um i'm sure it does right like you, and I think the thing about social is that it's a powerful tool, but it's something that has to be managed like anything else. And so part of the management for me is, you know, taking messages in and seeing what's out there, but managing how much time I spend there. Because a lot of times, you know, one of my good friends, Chrissy Metz, she told me this saying, you know, compare and despair. And if I'm spending too much time on social media, I inadvertently find myself in comparison mode and that's just not healthy for my mental health. So I do think you can navigate social media successfully. And I just try to manage how much time that I'm on it. And again, it goes back to that voice. So if I'm seeing something and I say, wait a minute, I want that

opportunity or why didn't that happen? Devon, you're right where you need to be. You're good. It's all right. Bless that person. You know what I mean? Like, instead of being like, oh, I want that. That's cool. But like, have a positive attitude about it. But it only comes from me because I'm not on it all the time, all day and really give

myself a chance to experience it and then step back and experience life. Yeah, we need you to end with a prayer, brother. Oh, I would love to. That would be amazing. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you, dear Lord, right now for anyone listening to this prayer, dear Lord. We just thank you, dear Lord, for Claudia. We thank you for DJ Envy.

We thank you for Charlemagne, first and foremost, that you are using their voices to uplift and inspire the culture, dear Lord. I pray right now for each of them as they navigate this show and all the things you're bringing to them. I pray that they would have the confidence of you and to know that you are with them every step of the way. And I pray you would guide them and keep them in ways that they can't even imagine. I pray right now also for anyone listening to this or watching this, that this is a divine appointment. You're not watching or listening by accident. You're watching and listening because there's a plan and a purpose for your life. I pray that you would have the courage and the confidence to pursue it. Even as you experience conflict, conflict is what makes your story great. I pray that you would know that you are great.

I pray you look in the mirror and you love who looks back at you. I pray the next time you pick up the phone to take a selfie, that you would pause and acknowledge the love that looks back at you in your phone. If you're listening to this prayer, it's because you're blessed, you're ordained, and you're destined. In the name of Jesus, I pray, respecting all religions. Amen. Amen. We appreciate you for joining us, brother. Make sure you check out Flamin' Hot on Disney+,

June 9th. Disney+, and Hulu. Alright, it's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Thank you, brother. Thank you. I almost want to be cured of my gambling problem now. Oh, wait. We just need you to sit for one more second. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right. Well, keep it locked. We got more with Devon Franklin when we come back. It's the Breakfast Club on BET. Don't go anywhere. We got more with Devon Franklin when we come back. It's the Breakfast Club on BET. Welcome back.

Now let's get into our interview with Devon Franklin. It's the Breakfast Club on BET. Sit. Done. Photo? Yeah, let's get into our interview with Devon Franklin. It's The Breakfast Club