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Piece of The Pie is a new TMZ franchise that presents fantastically talented people who are having trouble making their mark in the entertainment industry.
Our goal here is to raise awareness on behalf of marginalized voices and creators – people who have great stories to tell – and make sure the people who pull the strings in the sector see what they’re at the table bring. That goes here.
Nakia Stephens is an award-winning filmwriter and filmmaker who found success in telling stories back home in Georgia, but she has overcome obstacles to getting a job in Hollywood, where she says the boardroom and pitch meetings look very different from Atlanta.
Nakia chronicles her difficulties in breaking into Hollywood with TMZs Loren, Italy explaining one of the most striking differences she has noticed between Atlanta and Tinseltown is the lack of executions and other people in power who resemble her.
Despite some solid references – creating her own screenwriting label, Damn Write Originals, and producing 20 of her screens – – Nakia says it has been almost impossible to get a green light for her screens in Hollywood, where major networks seem to tell unique Black stories.
When she enters a pitch meeting and sees a lack of different faces, Nakia knows the odds are against her.
The problem, Nakia says, is that you need Black people to tell Black stories … and Black storytellers and advertisers should have the same opportunities as everyone else, because their stories matter, too.
