Producer Roxanne Taylor Talks Staying True To Indie Film Roots as Hidden Empire Film Group Expands

Hidden Empire Film Group has been setting screens on fire over the last few years. Some of their most recent titles include the gritty New Orleans cop thriller, “Black and Blue” which starred Naomie Harris (Moonlight) and Tyrese (The Fast and the Furious franchise), and the sexy psychological thriller, “Fatale” which stars Michael Ealy and Academy Award winner Hilary Swank.

Executive producer Roxanne Taylor is at the helm of this Black-owned production company along with her husband, writer/director/producer Deon Taylor.

During a round table discussion with the African-American Film Critics Association, I asked Roxanne about transitioning from an indie film company to working with major studios.

“We are still independent. I’ve been an independent filmmaker my entire career. I’m making movies at a very small price point. “Fatale” was made for under $7 million. The studio did not give us this money. We raised this money. We went out to the talent and begged. We tried to get them to believe in our vision and the story, to make them want to come on and make this movie with us. It’s really hard. When you’re making movies for an audience, you have to make sure that you are humanizing these characters so everybody can relate to them. 

For me, your name – which is the backdrop of this movie (Fatale) – all you have is your name and reputation. Especially for Black and brown people, which is what we are constantly fighting for, so for me, it’s about leaving a legacy…”

Watch the rest of Roxanne’s response, and check out the entire discussion.