Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Adedeji. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about how you identified some of your key partners/vendors and how you made those relationships work?

To take you on this journey, you have to follow the story closely because finding this team was actually not because I was looking for them, but because the pieces just came together. It was June 2024. It had been a full year since my other mother and mentor The Reverend Dr. Shirlene Holmes had passed. 5 months later, my best friend, T’Shauna Henry, had passed. I took myself on a vacation to Los Angeles to see family, see friends, visit my company at the time’s corporate office, and network. That doesn’t sound like vacation, but I was having a blast. I just wanted to get away from the pressure of responsibilities I had and go see the West Coast again. I had been several years prior for my cousin’s wedding and to tour Los Angeles, but this time I was going solo.

I was on vacation that whole week. So what do I do on a random Thursday? I visited my company’s corporate office, and after a big loss of an employee, cakes and anniversary celebrations, and chatter about the Media and Entertainment side of the business taking a hit, I checked my phone to get details of a show I was to attend that evening with my dear friend and sister, Jacquetta Farrar. Another notification appeared from Jelena from #WGAMix on Discord, co-run by Joseph Mwamba and Jelena Woehr. I clicked, and Jelena was reminding the community that their Miracle Mile Mixer for Writers is that day. I had realized something: I am in Los Angeles at the same time as the mixers I’ve been reminded of for years. I grabbed my stuff and said my goodbyes. I took myself and my persons to La Brea and parked my butt at the All Season Brewery and waited for the event to begin. Early arrivals made it; I had met Joe on Zoom before, but this was the first time in person. Another one of the attendees was Jordan Michael, producer and line producer. This is where everything changed. I sat with Jordan, and we talked industry, and he dispelled everything I thought I knew about the business in less than 40 minutes. Jordan Michael is like Batman or Iron Man, but mixed with your Alfred Pennyworth or JARVIS, he’s the hero and the guy in the chair all at once. Honestly, he’s the independent filmmaker’s James Gunn. He lives and breathes this stuff! He had another venture to attend to, and so did I. I got to talking to everyone around me, and the surprise was I was in from Atlanta and happened to make it to a mixer. It was truly fun. I made it to the musical, A Strange Loop, and the rest was history.

I saw an interview of Jordan Michael and his friends Brandon Loran Maxwell and Kenneth Castillo back at my family’s house in Chatsworth, and I made a fun choice. I asked Jordan if we could be friends. Fast forward to later that year; I then learn Producing 101 from Jordan with reading two important books, “So You Want to be a Producer” by Larry Turman and “Scheduling and Budgeting Your Film” by Paula Landry. I read them cover to cover. We met on Zoom, and he had me do a live demo for Movie Magic Budgeting and Scheduling and review case studies. Then part two of the course was paid after the fires in LA. On the phone in late April 2025, I expressed to Jordan, “I hope we get to work together in the future.” He then expressed to me that he sees that I’m serious and eager, and he passes along a script to me, entitled JACKPOT SUMMER. He asks for my input, and I get to reading. I was moved by the story, so much so that I called Jordan the next day and told him what I thought, what he needed, and how I could be of use. I then developed a document for a potential cast and potential directors, keeping in mind I did not know all the details, but I saw an indie cast a la A24 or Neon.

This was so fascinating to him that he then introduced me to the writer and producing partner of the script, Jeremiah Lewis, repped by Range Media Partners. Jeremiah and Jordan met in late 2024 on Twitter, and at the end of that year, they entered into an agreement, and Jeremiah wrote the screenplay. Jeremiah’s writing is so astute, masterful, and careful. He really makes you love the characters of the script. I then go on to meet Jordan’s other professional friend, Arturo Herrera, a USC alum and business strategist, and he joins Team Jackpot. We then seek out our director. It was a hunt to get a Film Independent alum on board, so much so that I got ahold of his management, but to no avail; he did not respond. We interview and go over some of our other options, but we then meet this awesome and cool connection Jordan made at the American Film Institute’s campus, Eric Wang Schwager. We interview him on a Zoom call about what he does, how he approaches films, and his philosophy. All I heard in my head was “yes,” and after a few days, a couple of meetings later, I sent a message to Eric. He sent me a voicemail excitedly ready to make magic happen. Eric exhibited a lightness and breath of fresh air that could rival the first cool breath of chilly weather. He expressed his ideas for the project, put together a lookbook with some ideas from Shotdeck, and shared it with the team. He’s now our director. Now, the stage is set; we have our director and producing team.

All this happened in the same month I got in, May of 2025. And we got to work. I think things clicked because of the energy of the story and what we love about this business. Jackpot Summer is a story about Elliot Garby, in the poor Midwestern rust belt of northern Ohio, who on his 18th birthday wins a $45-million lottery jackpot off a scratcher. And with this win, he spends the summer, before collecting the earnings, swinging between fantasies about a guy he likes, paranoia around keeping this win a secret, and pressures from his family about going to college. We all can relate to Elliot, whether it’s his unrequited love, his humble upbringing, or just the need to win. We found something in this story that we can connect to. We found something in each other that we could connect to.

Right now, I am learning how to produce. Christine Vachon of Killer Films said, “Producing can’t be taught, but it can be learned…” So I’m learning as I go, and I’m getting quite good at this. And it’s all really because of the team I’m on. Jordan, Jeremiah, Eric, Arturo, and I are ready to go to the moon and get this movie off the ground. So, like I said, it’s not like I was searching for them; it’s kind of like we found each other.

Michael, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well, allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Michael Benjamin Adebisi Kehinde Adedeji, and I am a creative professional based out of Atlanta, Georgia, and part-time in Los Angeles, California. I got into the media and entertainment space back in my early days of college. I am a classically trained actor, a director, and right now I brand myself as a Writer/Producer. I went to school dual majoring in business and theater, but my mentor, Reverend Dr. Shirlene Holmes, told me to drop the theater degree and focus on business. From then on, she took me under her wing, and I got to co-produce and co-direct stage plays with her. Additionally, she mentored me through playwriting and screenwriting, with further mentorship, briefly, with the executive producer of The Walking Dead, Tom Luse.

I got a chance after college to join the Organization of Black Screenwriters, under David Byrd’s leadership, and honed my skills in writing and professionalizing my approach to the film business. I became an admin of my own Writers Group on the platform and entitled it Atlanta FX, where later we broke off and built our own independent writers’ room, Black Lens and Pens (with Jacquetta Farrar, Jacelyn P. Johnson, and Livingston Steele). I am active in a writers’ group formed by legacy writer Cindy Begel and led by Mercedes Augusta, where we read and give feedback to each other’s work. Recently, I joined a new group, the Unstarving Artist’s Club, helmed by Noelle Scindian, furthering my pursuit of community.

On my website and for my organization, The World Rumble Company, conceived in 2008 and founded and registered in 2020, I offer services for production partnership, line producing, project and campaign management, business consulting (not just film industry exclusive), and industry super connection. We have about 20+ scripts in development and some in co-production. I absolutely enjoy helping creatives; I follow the Issa Rae Doctrine, where I network across and build from there. My core skill is strategic planning and management, which I leverage to your advantage, identifying core competencies and key opportunities for you to capitalize on. Which is all part of my consulting and partnership with you. The website has been revamped for ease of use; please take advantage of the resources. If you need anything, feel free to reach out to me.

In essence, I’m an aggregator, a connector, and a producer, and I love to serve the community. Once we can identify the missing pieces to your business, brand, or steps in your endeavors, now the real work begins. I’ve always believed that if it can’t serve me, then who am I to deny anyone of that opportunity to elevate? It pays off, eventually. And I love the good karma.

I’m really proud of my network and community. I’ve always been community-minded. It can be hard at times, because I’m so in my head and always on the go, but if I need anything, I can rely on the people in my corner. I balance it by having a tight, close-knit set of friends and a large community whom I engage with from time to time. Another thing I’m most proud of is my perspective. I did not develop this overnight, as I’ve always been an oddball. I did not succumb to frivolous and silly ideologies; I’ve remained open-minded. It comes with being from several marginalized communities and also a survivor of bullying. I love writing avant-garde, psychologically surrealist, and absurdist dramedies with complicated and unconventional leads who arc in non-linear ways but always end up right where they need to be. If you want to read and take a look at my work, I’m always happy to do a swap or share.

Key things to know about me and takeaways:
– I lead and am led by faith.
– I’m serious and always ready for the challenge.
– I am a dog dad to the best boy, Domingo!
– I love to have fun. In fact, it’s imperative that I have fun.
– I have a background in business management (people, organizations, and talent), advertising technology, and marketing.
– I co-manage the Estate of The Reverend Dr. Shirlene Holmes with her sister and heir, Annette Holmes-Hanley, and have access and legal right to her plays and work.
– If you’re interested in working together, I’m easy to get ahold of. Or if you need a pep talk, motivation, or to be delivered to, I can do that for you too.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission, at the end, is to leave a lasting legacy where I leave behind films and a media portfolio of IP so rich that it lasts for generations. I’m essentially building my own Disney. I am a mogul in training, and I want to give people something to laugh, cry, and think about. I know it seems cliche, but cliches are cliches because they are true. You amass power not to hold it over others or exploit people, but to help people free themselves. And that is the goal at the end of the day. I think I’ve always wanted this; I have been telling this story much more recently because I’ve become less afraid to. But when I was a kid, I was intrigued by the TV Guide. The magazine, the rolling page on screen, and eventually when DirecTV and Comcast had a “Guide” button. And when I put two and two together—mind you, I’m a child—I realized that’s all the TV shows playing from early in the morning to late at night. I grabbed my brother and roped him into my schemes, and we curated our playtimes. I would build elaborate sets out of stuff around the house, other toys, board games, and miscellaneous things. I would take my action figures and stage them as if they were TV shows. Thus, after a combination of playtime, watching cartoons and anime, and reading books, I made up this fictional company, The World Rumble Company, and made it a reality. It’s been 18 years of the World Rumble Company, 6 of those years as a registered entity.

So, each connection, each opportunity, and each level I get to are all contributing to the greater good. And because of those who’ve come before me, I know it’s possible. Issa Rae, Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King, David Zaslav, Bob Iger, Byron Allen, and Irving Thalberg, to name a few inspirations.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Okay, these are several years of experiences tied together, so let’s get to the root: not everyone is trusting and good for you. If you peep something’s off, get the hell out of there and never look back.

An early instance was when I was in college. I and some friends of mine were collectively traumatized by this guy who tried to sell us a dream that we were going to be the next team to land a show on HBO after Game of Thrones. A few of us, of the Black persuasion, were skeptical and held our breath. I think we were playing around for the plot. But serious about telling stories. It came to pass that he might have had some antisocial and personality disorders. I don’t aim to misdiagnose folks, but it was expressed to me from a teammate. I then moved into espionage mode; my role was being compromised because I think he felt my heart was not in it anymore. I had to quickly fix that and repair the “trust” because I was suspicious of his behavior. It was until I found out how he was treating his girlfriend and his writing team and deceiving us that I was turned all the way off, and I knew I had to start doing my own thing. He had lied about one of our partners, who was a great writer and fascinating person, stating that they caught them smoking weed on top of the state-of-the-art Creative Media building on Georgia State’s campus. Once I told our writing partner about the allegations, they expressed to me that they were not true. I learned about the abuse and the verbal assaults thrown in the writers’ room, which had gone unnoticed until I put clues together as to why I was begged to stay and sit in on a session. Which made him act correctly… This prompted my friend and me to go to the Executive Director of the facility and speak about this, and he told us that there are cameras up there, and if that was happening, they would have already taken action. We then planned a meeting—me, the deranged CEO, and the executive director—and once I shared my part, I left, left the group chats, and left it all behind. My trust and my kindness were betrayed, and it felt as if my time was wasted. So, I stopped being friends with him and went about my college career. He also, allegedly, made a comment one Thanksgiving about how he was involved in a home invasion shooting (he made the shot at the burglar) that never made into the news, and he feared if the project got too big, it could potentially be targeted because of him. Looking back on everything, it’s laughable and frightening.

The next three were all in the same summer, summer 2025. I had a realtor, as I was in the market to buy a house. She was recommended to me by someone I deeply care about and helped me a great deal. The realtor and my family were set to buy a home, but some paperwork and details were not together on our end to put an offer together. She went on vacation with her friends over the weekend; we’re trying to assemble the details. Once we got off the phone and I told her about the need to get the earnest money, she had dialed me again, but she did not know I was listening on the phone. I overheard her discussing personal and financial details with her friends, talking about my family and specific details about us, and it damn-near broke my heart. I began crying on the line, silently, because I put my trust in her because of the recommendation, and we had spent a month working together already. This was the real her on the phone. I went and consulted my aunt, my cousin, and my mother. We terminated our contract and let that situation go.

The next situation happened a few weeks later; a business partner and used-to-be best friend, whom I lived with, disrespected my mother and treated her like she was an unwanted guest in our home. She was visiting and staying with us to house-shop in Georgia. On top of that, we’re on track to being nearly evicted from our home because in early January his parents/landlords had gotten an eviction notice on the house we were renting and did not tell us until a court hearing had occurred. The court hearing did not go in our favor, and now we scrambled to get our affairs in order. After being removed from the situation, leaving that all behind and even dissolving our partnership. This all is to say, I put my trust in people for years, and sometimes the discernment comes as a lesson after the hurt. But the discernment comes, no less.

I learned after the series of unfortunate events that there are people who will use you, abuse you, and take your kindness as a way to take advantage of you. And lord it over you, and I won’t ever allow myself to be susceptible to that again. Yes, there will be evil people to face and to go through, but I must be mindful of the red flags and go the other way. You, reading this, must be mindful of the red flags and go the other way. It’s not worth going through the hell; if you can avoid it, do that. To quote James Baldwin, “People are too various to be treated lightly.” So I take my relationships much more seriously now than ever before. And, even after all that, I still try to trust people, just this time with discernment and wisdom from past experiences. That’s the key.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.worldrumbleco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lordmichaelis_777
• Linkedin: Https://www.linkedin.com/in/madedeji777
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/WRCoMichaelis

Image Credits

Image 1: WABE, Tiffany Griffith, A Closer Look with Rose Scott. (Present: Rose Scott, Jessica Imhotep, and Brooke Sunenreich)
Image 6: Domingo, taken by Matthew Adedeji.
Additional Images: No credits.