About this episode
Charles D. King is the founder and CEO of MACRO, a multi-platform media company representing the voice and perspectives of Black people, indigenous people, and people of color. Some of their projects include Dear Mama, Mudbound, Fences, and Judas and the Black Messiah, produced with Proximity Media and Warner Brothers. Formerly a partner/senior agent at William Morris Endeavor, Charles was the first Black partner in the company’s 100+ year history and the first ever Black partner at any major talent agency. In 2021, when Judas and the Black Messiah was nominated for Best Picture, Charles became part of the first ever all-Black team of producers nominated for an Academy Award alongside director Shaka King and Proximity founder Ryan Coogler. The team worked closely with an esteemed group of Black creatives, activists, and executives including Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and Niija Kuykendall, then SVP of Production at Warner Brothers, now VP of Film at Netflix. Charles and Ryan talk about how they first met (2:40), the role of an agent (5:34), Charles’ transition to founding MACRO (10:27), Charles’ role in the launch of Proximity (23:30), the making of Judas the Black Messiah (26:00), and their Prox Recs for working in the entertainment business (40:03). Learn more and read the transcript of this conversation at ProximityMedia.com . CONNECT WITH PROXIMITY MEDIA: Follow us on Twitter , Instagram , and TikTok . We’re also on YouTube . Learn more at ProximityMedia.com . Text PROX to 510-998-3176 or head to subtext.to/prox for updates on new episodes and latest projects from Proximity Media. CREDITS: In Proximity is a production of Proximity Media. Producer: Paola Mardo Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Paola Mardo Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana Episode Editor and Production Assistant: Polina Cherezova