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

Mahalia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

We are fortunate to have curated a portfolio that contains a number of meaningful projects; however, our latest film production, Premonition, is one of our most memorable projects to date. Premonition is our company’s first SAG-AFTRA film as well as our first feature film. We tapped veteran actor and film industry legend, Bill Duke, to join our cast in addition to having a member of our family- owned and operated business, Mallian Butler-my daughter, lead as one of the stars of the film. We are thrilled about this production, as we feel strongly that it is a quality production, but we also secured multiple distribution licenses for the film. Premonition follows an affluent African American family whose daughter, Camilla Hardin, suddenly begins experiencing premonitions which will ultimately lead her alert her to her impending abduction and possible murder.. She races against time to convince her parents that her premonitions are real, but will they believe her before it’s too late? Premonition is a feature length psychological thriller, and it is currently available on multiple cable, SVOD and TVOD platforms, to include: Amazon, Pime Video, Google TV, Comcast, Charter, Cox Communications, Vubiquity, etc., and it’ll be available on Tubi, Peacock and other outlets by January 2024.

Mahalia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My baptism into the entertainment industry was definitely unexpected and unconventional. My daughter, working actress Mallian Butler, is the catalyst that led to my becoming active in the business as a writer, director and production company owner. My daughter’s career in the business began when she was a mere 9 years; she’s now 17 years old and is known for the work she’s done on Black-ish, Family Reunion, Mistletoe in Montana, and productions hat have aired on BET, Netflix, Lifetime as well as productions that have been distributed through our family owned and operated production company. It was during my time on set with her that I became intrigued with the inner workings of the film and tv business and became inspired to get busy not only writing content, but also producing it. The transition, for me, was seamless due to my lifelong passion for creative arts. My experience as nurse practitioner, business executive leading teams in large corporations, and small business owner effectively prepared me adequately expand my professional repertoire to be inclusive of film and television ventures. We launched our family owned and operated production company, Axiom Talent Management and Productions, in 2017, and we produced our first scripted pilot tv show, Legitimately Mallie, in 2019. We’ve been busy producing since that time. Our latest film production, Premonition, is a SAG feature film that is currently being distributed through multiple outlets to include: Amazon Prime Video, Google TV, Comcast, Spectrum, Cox Communications, Vubiquity, YouTube Watch, etc. The film will be released on Tubi and Peacock in January 2024. We thrilled to have secured such a robust distribution slate for our first feature film, as it is a testament to the quality of our production. The film stars Mallian Butler and Bill Duke along with a tremendously talented ensemble cast.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Immediately on the heels of having completed our first film production, which taught us many invaluable lessons, we’d begun gaining traction in terms of interest in the pilot. However, shortly after having seen an uptick in meeting activity with executives, our progress and efforts were quickly stymied with the introduction of Covid-19 during late 2019 and early 2020. As a result, we saw the need to pivot, consider other means of remaining active and move forward with producing content. Through the figurative pain of navigating Covid-19 restrictions and coming to terms with our new norms, our eleven-episode, scripted podcast series, Legitimately Mallie, was created and distributed. It is the spin-off of our television pilot, Legitimately Mallie, and it is currently streaming on multiple podcast platforms to include Apple, Podbean and a number of other outlets. It was through that hiccup, that we recognized our resilience and came into the realization that anything is possible when you’re driven by purpose and passion. Following the release of the Legitimately Mallie podcast series in 2020, we went on to produce a short film, P.O.W.E.R.S in 2021 and now Premonition in 2022. We are currently in the pre-preproduction phase of two features that will be released in 2024 and we’re preparing to launch, AXIOM TV, which is our broadcasting network. Considering our journey, which has been wrought with challenges, it really comes down to perspective, resilience and perseverance, as far as we’re concerned, we had two options, either quite or push forward. I grateful we went with the latter of the two, which is commonly the road less traveled.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was thinking everything needed to be perfect before taking the first step toward getting started. In many cases, to include the point of project completion, the perfect environment remains elusive or even non-existent. Waiting for the ideal moment, team, “yes” from the right person, financial support, will often time sabotage your project and any hope of your dream/goal ever becoming reality. Procrastination is nothing more than fear disguised as motivation and, in some cases, the illusion of progress through never-ending research and planning.

Because I was a slave to that sort of “stinking thinking,” during the formative years of my production company, I paid 3 times more the cost needed to produce my first pilot. Sadly, new business owners, just don’t know what we don’t know, and we pay top dollar for valuable lessons. Since that time, we’ve learned the lessons that were intended for us to grow as a company, we’re now taking calculated risk, and we’re consistently hitting projected goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.atmprod.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/axiom_productions
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AxiomTalentManagementandProductions

Image Credits
Professional Photo of Mahalia Jackson-Butler: Whitfield Films Movie Poster- Rhianna Mack No other photos require credit