It took two decades to create “Jeen-Yuhs”: On-camera success came faster

In 2019, filmmakers Clarence “Tail” Simmons and Chike Oza, better known as Tail and Chick, walked into Time Studios’ Manhattan office and tossed two bags and a shoebox full of mini DV tapes onto a conference table. Mountain of Shots was a product of more than 20 years when Simmons took on his friend Kanye West, starting in 1998 in Chicago, where West was then the new hip-hop producer, and Simmons was a comedian. Anyone who arranged the cable access transfer call ᲐRex zero. On that day in 2019, Simmons and Oza hoped to find a following to craft the tapes into a narrative that included a journey from the West to new faces of Mercury, the globally recognized figure he is today. After seeing the footage with the duo, Time Studios president Ian Orpheus was shocked. “He said, ‘Hey, we’re on,’” says Simmons.

For Orpheus, who runs Time’s film and television production division, the film has not been processed and exposed, giving him unusual access to one of pop culture’s most controversial figures. “Kudi saw a genius in Kanye that only Kanye saw,” says Orpheus. “They took the most unique photos of one of the most interesting stories. Everyone in the world has an opinion on Kanye West and even the most confident fans didn’t know this story.

Time provided financial resources and legal support, resulting in an intimate documentary series; Jeen-yuhs: Kanye TrilogyWhich in 2021 he sold to Netflix for 30 million dollars. Premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Jean-Yuhs It turned out to be a much deeper resonance than a standard musical biopic about the friendship between West and Simmons and their intertwined but different paths. “Pictures don’t lie,” Simmons said. “We have to tell a real and authentic story. We can’t hide behind anything.”

If you can become an overnight sensation after 20 years working on a project, now it’s Simmons and Oza. This spring, they teamed up with UTA and did new directing gigs, including an as-yet-unannounced script and a high school basketball documentary. All Americans: Games That Changed the Game. They also produce works by other directors, including a documentary sponsored by Time and HBO. infant katrinaDirected by New Orleans filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr., it premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.

“These guys have a real sense of what matters to the audience, what’s important about the subject and how brilliantly they present it,” said Rich Clubek, talented literary partner at UTA Film, part of the team that now represents Simmons and Oza. . “These are very real, earthly boys who are linked to the culture and politics in which we live. They are very observant. “They pay attention and are natural storytellers.”

Simmons, 51, and Ozah, 44, met on MTV in the early 2000s, where Oza produced motion graphics, and teamed up in 2003 to film and produce West’s first music video, “Through the Wire.” “I’m more of a visual perspective, more of an art direction,” said Oza, who graduated from Savannah College of Fine Arts and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. . After “Through the Wire,” the duo shot more music videos for West, as well as Pitbull, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, and Lupe Fiasco, and in 2007 formed their New York-based production company Creative Control; in 2012 they presented ESPN 30 30 film, benji, about the tragic death of a high school basketball player; And in 2015 they shot a documentary about Muhammad Ali for BET. “We take the people who take us, you know what I mean?” says Oza. “We work with everyone who believes in us and with those who believe in us.” Before the pandemic, they exercised creative control over the WeWork space. Now they run it from their homes, along with Simon in Harlem and Oza Jersey City, if they aren’t in the editing room together.

is included Jean-YuhsThey had to choose a difficult story and deal with highly unpredictable subjects. One of the key creative decisions was to involve Simmons in the series, on screen and in the personal voice, where she plans to worsen her relationship with the rapper. When West and Simmons first clashed, West wanted to be the subject of a documentary and for years they considered the final release of the project, but West didn’t want to. Two days before the Sundance premiere, West took to Instagram to demand a final version of the documentary. Time’s producers made a statement when the project broke such speed, Orpheus says, “We trust Coodie.” Eventually Simmons and Oza retained creative control and West settled in, attended the premiere, and blessed the project. “He finally said ‘thank you,'” Simmons said. “It was an incredible feeling.” Regarding their relationship, Simmons now says, “I declare to you. I pray for Kanye everyday.”

The next steps for Simmons and Oza are to mentor young talent, hoping they will encounter fewer barriers and move forward according to their scenario, which was the goal from the beginning. “We reviewed the documents to show that we can tell a long narrative,” Oza said. “Although we were successful in music videos, no one tried to trust us with a film. We should have become students. So we weren’t really prepared. “But 20 years later, ‘we see ourselves as the Cohen brothers or Spike Lee or Martin Scorsese,’” Oza said. “This whole journey prepares us to be able to perform at this level.”

The story first appeared in the May 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.