Boots Riley

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

NPR

Society & Culture

4.7 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Boots Riley is known nowadays for his work as a writer, but he's been making waves as an artist for years. In his early 20s, he was the frontman and founder of the Coup, a fiercely political hip-hop group from the Bay Area. But in recent years, Boots has made his way over to film-making. In 2018, he wrote and directed his first ever feature film: Sorry To Bother You. If you saw it, you know it is hilarious and scary and insightful and generally very bonkers. And then Boots had another idea. His new show I'm A Virgo takes the word bonkers to new heights, literally. It's a story about a 13-ft-tall giant, a Black teenager living in the Bay Area. But the show's not about his super powers. It's about how he sees himself, and the little personal things about him — like his star sign. I'm a Virgo is a great show, but this isn't an interview about I'm a Virgo. Boots Riley is a writer. And his union, the Writers Guild of America, has been on strike since May. On Bullseye, we'll talk about what is at stake in the dispute between the WGA and the studio heads - represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Plus, we'll get into his early career as a rapper and his roots in activism.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from the Walton Family Foundation,
0:05.1	working to create access to opportunity for people and communities by tackling tough social and environmental problems.
0:12.0	More information is at walton family foundation.org.
0:17.1	Bullseye with Jesse Thorne is a production of Maximum Fun.org and is distributed by NPR.
0:23.6	It's Bullseye. I'm Jesse Thorne. In 2018, Boots Riley wrote and directed his first feature film. Sorry to bother you.
0:41.5	If you saw it, you know that it is hilarious and scary and insightful and generally just completely bonkers.
0:50.0	Like, I can't get too deep into it without spoiling the story, but, yeah, I mean, it is some wild stuff.
0:58.4	It happens in that movie.
1:00.2	And then Boots had another wild idea.
1:04.2	A story about a 13-foot-tall giant.
1:08.4	A black man.
1:09.6	A teenager, really. And not about that 13-foot-tall-man's superpowers
1:16.1	or whatever, but instead about how he sees himself, little personal stuff, like his star sign.
1:25.0	Four years later, I'm a Virgo premiered on TV. Jarrell Jerome stars as Cudy, the aforementioned
1:32.9	13-foot-tall giant. Cudy was born and raised in Oakland. At first, crammed into a normal house
1:41.1	with his aunt and uncle, then in a giant-sized shack out back. He never
1:47.1	shows himself to the outside world. His aunt says the world isn't ready. When the show starts,
1:54.3	Couty turns 19. His family wants him to stay hidden. He decides to go out into the world. What could go wrong?
2:03.9	I'm a Virgo is a fantastic show, and you should definitely watch it. But this isn't an interview about
2:10.8	I'm a Virgo. I mean, we do talk about I'm a Virgo some, but Boots Riley is a writer and his union,
2:17.2	the Writers Guild of America,
2:18.6	has been on strike at this point for the better part of the summer.
	...

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