The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Radha Blank on "The Forty-Year-Old Version"

Episode Date: May 2, 2021

Writer, director and actor Radha Blank talks about her critically acclaimed film "The Forty-Year-Old Version," its semi-autobiographical story and the obstacle of industry gatekeepers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. Really? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News, listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Radarblank, welcome to the Daily Social Distanc show.

Thank you for having me. I'm such a fan. Everyone is a fan of yours. I should be the one who's thanking you because I'm going to read a list of just some of your latest achievements and all the accolades that your film is garnering. You have the New York Critics Best First Film Award, the Sundance Directing Award, the LA Critics Next Generation Award, the Black Critics Rising the the Rising Star Award. Everyone has been showering you in your film with so many awards. I feel bad that I don't have an award. I should just give you one here. I'm giving you the World Cup. Congratulations, Saratah, you have won the Daily

Show World Cup award. Oh my goodness. It has been quite a ride for you. Are you just surfing on this wave of success? I'm doing my best Trevor. I mean it's weird because it's all happening in a square in a virtual world and so many times I'm not even present to receive an award but you know I go on Twitter and that makes things all the more real just in terms of people in their celebrations of the project. But it's been interesting to celebrate anything when so much crazy is going on in the world. Right. But I try to find a way.

I try to find a way. Well, for those who don't know, your film, the 40-year-old version, is truly in my opinion a cinematic masterpiece and it's a story loosely based on your life and your journey as a black woman who's a playwright struggling to make her name in an industry that keeps blocking her out and it's heartfelt it's funny it's beautifully shot for you you know as the person who wrote directed and starred in this film I mean I'm sure a lot of it was personal to you. Why did you want you? you? Why did you want, you want you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi tho, tho, tho, thoes thoes thoes thoes tho, tho, tho, th th th th th th th th th th the th the their th, their their their, their, their, their, their their their their, their their their their their their their their their thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, thi thi, the as the person who wrote, directed, and starred in this film, I mean, I'm sure a lot of it was personal to you. Why did you want to, you know, I think be at the helm of all of those aspects? Well, it wasn't something I was planning to do. I just felt like in order to tell a story in this way,

I had to take control, very much like my protagonist. Things weren't going swimmingly well for me in my career. I, unlike her, I have not choked a theater producer, but I have felt the urge to choke many of the gatekeepers, and I had gotten fired off of a film job, one of my first screenwriting jobs, and I just, I felt like I needed to take my voice back. And so, in order to not get fired, I just I felt like I needed to take my voice back and so in order to not get fired I decided I would play every role so that I couldn't

you know what I mean? I know exactly what you mean. What's interesting is this is a tale about somebody doing their best to try and achieve their dreams even beyond their so-called sell-by dates you know and And then in telling that story you have achieved that success. Do you sometimes think about how surreal it is that the film has ended up in many ways fulfilling the central narrative of the story? Yeah, I mean every single day, I there are moments that happen that feel like I'm actually in the film on my character's journey, because very much like my character I've had a lot of the film on my character's journey. Because very much like my character, I've had a lot of the same obstacles in my way,

whether people thought I wasn't, you know, cover girl or lead material, or I didn't have a look, or you know, you hit 40 and you should be put out to pasture. I really do hope that the messaging of the film, especially for black women is that you don't age out of your passion.................. and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, to, to, to, to, the, to, the, the the the to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, the, the, the, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, the the the the the the the the the the the thi.a, thi.a, you, you thi.augh, toe, too, too, too, tha, too, tha, they, they, they, they, they, the messaging of the film, especially for black women, is that you don't age out of your passion. And if you have the notion to tell a story, do it. You know, take control, you know, follow the lead of many of our DIY filmmakers like Spike Lee, you know, and find a crew and shoot that shit.

Can I say shit? I like that. You should put that on a shirt. . Shoot that shit.. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that shit. I that's. I that's. that's. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's. that's. that's that's that's that's that shit. that shit. that shit. that. that. that. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. I. I. I. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's, that. I's that. I's that. that's that's that's that's that's th. that's thee. that's thea. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that. that. that. that. shirt, shoot that shit. Shoot that shit. I think that's a fantastic slogan to go with. I would love to know what it's been like for you as a creator. You know you always wanted to break into Broadway. You always wanted to write, you are a playwright. You wanted to break into this world. But it has felt like for many, not just yourself, that there are gatekeepers who determine what stories should and shouldn't be told. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. And th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho. tho. tho tho tho tho tho thoe. thoe, tho. the. the, tho--I tho that that that that that tho. that that th. the, the, the. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. that's the. that's the. that's the. thea. that's that's that's to thea. to to to to to to theeeea that thea thea. the th and shouldn't be told and how they shouldn't and shouldn't be told and you've always bucked that trend almost at your at your detriment. In working through that in telling that story, yeah? Well you know I feel like while a lot of the people in those

positions are well-meaning they tend to cater to the audience. There's always this kind of dance in terms of what's being programmed. And then when the black place show up, it seems to be a black story that caters to their membership's idea of what an authentic black story is. I mean, hence the song Poverty Pornoverty Porn, where I'm kind of raising a lens on the industry's celebration of black pain. Yes, they're always gonna be gatekeepers, and I do think we should call people out when there are racist practices

or things that are keeping marginalized people from getting on these stages, but I say don't wait on those people, you know, to affirm you. You know, a good friend of mine, her name is Deny Guerrero, you may know her as me shown. She once said to me, yeah, the zombie slain girl. She once said to me after I had been rejected by yet another theater, she said, stop trying to make these people love you, right. and they. And so they. And so they, and they, and th and th and th and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, thi, thi, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, th. they're, th. to me, to me, they're, toda, to me, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they, stop trying to make these people love you, Ryder, go where the love is. And so I think that for storytellers,

yes, it's great if we can get Marvel stories or get the biggest studios to get behind our storytelling, but what do we do if they don't? You know, we have to figure out ways to, and I think that to be a part of the landscape of storytelling. Everyone can't do a Marvel film, you know? When you look at your journey, you spent a lot of time knocking on the doors of Broadway, and yet it seems like the film industry has welcomed you with open arms in celebrating your project.

Do you see yourself now going fully into the world of film, or do you see yourself coming back to Broadway in some way, shape or form? you know some of them the the the the the th th th the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the theateateateate, the, theateateate. the. tho tho thoome. thoome. thoome. the. the. the. the. the. the. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thiiiii. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the, the, the an the an thean, theananan, thean, theanan, theananan, thean, theananananan, throwneanan, throwneananan you see yourself coming back to Broadway in some way, shape or form? You know, some of them theater producers, they call in me now, you know what I'm saying? It's like, you would think I was on some slim fast diet and I lost a little weight and now they all up in my DMs. But you know, I hope there's an opportunity to tell story there. I think my voice tends tend th th th th th th the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their their. their their. their their their their theater. theater. theater. theater. theater. theater. their theater. their theater. their their their their their their their theirtell story there. I think my voice tends to be lean more towards social justice issues in theater, and I do want to tell those stories. But I did this to break into the filmmaking business. I know people think, because I'm in my own film, that maybe this was my audition for other roles, actually, no.

This is just me being strategic. You know what I mean? Even though I'm oisterized. But I wanna make film. I wanna make film. I wanna compete with major filmmakers of our time. When someone is watching this movie, they might ask themselves, okay, who is rata blank? Is she an actress? Is she a filmmaker? I found myself going, is she an undercover MC?

Because it seems like a joke in the film. But I mean, you know, Rademus Prime has got some rhymes. Trevor, I got bars. I mean, you know, the 40-year-old version is an origin tale. And I have always been an MC and you know, I remember telling somebody I wanted to do a movie about a woman who decided to become an MC at 40 and their first inclination was to laugh

and I kind of got offended by that because it's like, why is that so funny? You know what I'm saying? Why is it uster Rhymes, Ghost Face, and all these other MCs can rhyme in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, some of them. And why couldn't I get some to some, thinnec, and I will always be one. And I got some stuff coming up, I got some stuff coming up for the naysayers who think that it is just a joke. But yeah, I feel like th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I the the the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thin, I still still thin, I thin, I thi, I still th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, the. the. the. the. the. the. th. the. the. the. thoo. the. the. the. th. yeah, I feel like the culture, I'm the same age as the culture and why can't, you know, I still have something to say, I get that at some point it was youth culture, but hip hop has evolved to include people from different parts of the world, different, you know, kinds of lifestyles. And so, you know, I'm here to rep for the over 40 MC. Because we, we do exist. Yeah. the ti. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, thi. I, thi. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, thi. I'm, I'm, I'm, right, right, I th, I th, I th, I th, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm th. I th. th. th know I'm here to rep for the over 40 MC

because we we do exist yeah album title shoot that shit shoot that shit that's what I'm saying and you got a whole merch line you got to come and drop 16 I'm coming through are you kidding me my growing afro you know you know what you're saying man the flow from the flow from the flow from the flow you don't even understand right what the flow the flow from the I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th the the the th th th the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the I I I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th th th th th th th th the th th th th th th th the th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the? Man, the flow from the fro? The flow from the. You don't even understand right now, Rata. What? The flow from the fro? Keep it warm in the dough?

What? Come to, come too. Oh, man, you got me. You know what? I'm gonna go write rhymes right now. You get back to your press tour. You get back to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to to to the to to the to to the the to the to the the to the the the to the the to the the the the the the the the the th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the flow. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th... I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. th. th. th. th. thoooooooooooooooooooooo. the. the. the. throw. throw. the. the. the. th. th. the. to winning those awards. Thank you so much for joining me on the show, Rata. Thanks for having me, Trevor, this was awesome. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weekn't. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And subscribe to the daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.

This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.