We were lucky to catch up with Michael Adedeji recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I started writing back in high school, I didn’t understand a single thing about playwrighting, but I was in Drama Class and we were given a picture and we had to write about it. I wrote a piece about a child with cancer, bed-ridden in his room, that overlooked a cornfield and a carnival in the distance. I don’t know where this came from, it was so dramatic. I just know I longed for the carnival and so did the child.

Fast forward to my Junior year of college, I picked up screenwriting. I’ve always created things, from visual art, devised pieces, videos, but I didn’t think of screenwriting as a form of marrying all my passions into one. I was working on this god awful production and I knew I was bigger than that, bigger than the whole thing. I sat my behind down in a large room with one computer, launched Google Docs and plugged in this Add-On for Screenplay Formatter. I didn’t think to use Celtx, nor could I afford Final Draft, so I just started writing. And thus a script I wanted to write for months got the first few lines. I remember it clearly, March 5th, 2018. I wrote my very first pilot.

But here’s the kicker, I didn’t know what I was doing. I seldom ever do, but that’s been helpful in progressing. Moving on, I had two mentors in college that kind of helped me get a grasp on this writing track, one in playwrighting, an esteemed professor, now emeritus Dr. Shirlene Holmes, who spiritually and professionally got me together. Then around the same time I started writing screenplays and TV shows, I met Tom Luse, one of the Executive Producers of the the Walking Dead. Dr. Holmes was instrumental in bringing out my creative ferocity further, and Tom was instrumental in giving me the business and helping me understand my blind spots.

If I knew what I know now then, then I would have joined more local/national creative organizations while I was just getting started because writing is cool and writing good is even cooler, but honestly the most important skill in the Film Industry is networking: It’s who you know and who knows you.

The most important skill I did learn was search for the opportunities and more will come your way. This was actually a factor of networking. My mentor, Dr. Holmes and I would walk the campus and she would tell me to “read the walls, there is always something out here for you.” I got most of my opportunities because I paid close attention and still do.

And what got in my way of learning more? Me, being marginalized by insecurities and doubt. The fear of not taking those risks and making big strides. Or even the lack of seeing how far I’ve come by the subtle risks I did take. There are and were still lessons I’m learning from the roadblocks in my path.

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?

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Michael Benjamin Adebisi Kehinde Adedeji and I’m a creative mind based out of Atlanta, Georgia. I was an aspiring actor and director out of high school until college where I started doing it for real, now that I’m out, I tend to lean more into writing and on the page is where I learn to be better actor, better director, and better person.

I have a multi-media production company named The World Rumble Company that I dreamed of starting since I was 12 years old, In June of 2020, I started the company in hopes of helping other creatives under the “Issa Rae Doctrine,” a term I coined in reference of her service to herself and the dope creative folk she rose up with. I help in script consulting, producing, screenwriting for hire, collaborations, education and business strategy development and consulting. What sets me apart from others, and I cite my good friend and colleague, Jon Oscar Gary -screenwriter out of Los Angeles, “Dude, I love your candor and brutal honesty.” It’s that, I don’t give it harsh, I just tell it like it is. with an angle to better serve you. Sometimes brutal honesty can be diminishing, I do it to bolster you up and get you ready.

I want people to know this, if there is something you want, you can have it. I have a website and there is one page where I list nothing but resources and groups for people searching for their next opportunity, tribe, or whatever. I also want them to know, if you need it I will put you in front of someone or find it. Because there is no greater joy in seeing you thrive in the industry you want. There is space for all of us, the golden gates of Hollywood doesn’t know that it’s best investment is wasted, it’s us. We have all the talent and the material and the audience deserves to see fresh, hot, new content.

We also don’t even need Hollywood, because there are so many coalitions, companies, etc doing work aside from there that you can put your content/ work anywhere. Streaming made that possible and so did the countless rejections we face on the daily. I quote my good friends Shaquayla Mims and LaToya Okungbowa “You have the power to create, so why not you?”

Write on, Create on, my brothers and sisters.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Actually, my current role working in Advertising is a whole pivot. But, I learned from my attorney that this is actually really good to learn about the TV Ecosystem beyond just production. It was in the pandemic, I was freelancing my services and I could not for the life of me get larger contracts, just a lot of small ones. I had some awesome colleagues who would pay me to get their work seen and reviewed. I found other small gigs to do while trying to maintain, but that was really an act of God. I love telling people this part, so I was on Tik Tok and I was watching @theericklouis promote a Town Hall for those wanting to work in the Communications space. I thought nothing of it and I applied in February. I booked it on my calendar for March and I showed up to this Virtual Room of a couple hundred other Black recent post-grads and college students. From there I listened to a bunch of speakers discuss how important it is to be Black in the Communications, Advertising, and Entertainment space. After spending several hours learning and talking it over with peers. I signed up a few days later for this thing called “The Boyd Initiative.”

I kind of went about my business after that and later that month, of March, I got an email acceptance to join Cohort #22 of the Boyd Initiative. Now, I’m an inquiring person, but I also like to mess around and find out. So I signed up again, so I could see what these classes were about. There are so many facets to the industry, so I knew maybe I could land a role to stay steady and still pursue my dreams of being a filmmaker. Yet, part of me was torn inside because I’m giving up this freedom, but the price of freedom was so taxing, and unstable. Though, you’re only as free as you want to be, so I took this leap of faith. Spent 2 weeks learning about Advertising Technology and Marketing and lo and behold I end up in meetings with companies doing interesting work.

I gain a mentor, his name is Dennis, he is a VP of a prominent digital magazine company. I work on my interview savvy and I sell it each and every time. Some offers weren’t checking the boxes, others didn’t give more incentive or taking me to places I wanted to go. But, one day, after several fails, I had an alumni from the previous cohorts reach out to me after applying to a position and offered me a chance to interview. Now, they were not m top choice, but like I said, I’m curious and I’m also a little on edge here, so let’s take the shot. I meet with this Recruiter/ Alum and we have a real candid conversation about what I want to do, now I am also a trained actor, so being genuine and about it means you also have to sell it. So, I did and we had a blast. Our interview went over a bit because we were keeping it real. Then comes the silence again, I don’t hear back from them for 3 weeks. “The pressure is getting worser and worser.” However, I’m strong enough for any battle. I get a reply in my DM from the recruiter and he says “You still want the job?” I said “Yes,” even though it was a long wait. I somehow get into interviews back to back with several ranking members of this company and I nail each interview.

Now, I’m not against 9 to 5 jobs, I’m just more of a my schedule, my rule kind of guy. So, I’d work long hours for myself and the glory of a production or what have you versus this structure. But, I took it as a challenge. I’m still young, I got time, and I am going to get there someday –to my calling. This pivot was such a groundbreaking move in my life. I was scared, excited, and nervous. But then I got to the job and I was met with open arms. I learned the company I work for deals with TV data and in a peculiar area of TV. Which like I said, my attorney says this is beneficial. And my admin of my organization, The Organization of Black Screenwriters shared the same sentiment. I knew I was on the right track. And people I looked up to in the industry who’ve worked in Ads all have promising careers, and so I know this is a springboard to gain knowledge and leverage it for the next role.

And heck, I’m doing good enough now on this side of TV, I know when I fully step foot back on set and running shows of my own, I’ll be doing hella good there too.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

To me, it’s the social aspect of rooting for your friends, watching them grow and knowing you’re so close. You just have to believe in yourself and see how important you are. We need to be humble, because this is humbling industry. We need to treat each other like royalty and with so much–deserving respect. Emphasis on deserving.

It’s so powerful being us. Everyday we get a chance to make someone’s world view change, influence others, and turn something intangible, tangible.

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits
Personal Image: Credits to T’Shauna Henry; [email protected], IG: @tshaymae; @creativittea