YARA SHAHIDI
‘grown-ish’ star doesn’t use her voice just to hear herself talk
NEW YORK – Yara Shahidi believes that all studio parking spaces should be created equal, so having to park a little further back from set would be a small price to pay in the name of inclusivity. h “Actors are literally numbered, and as much as they say it’s not in order of importance, they have a tendency to be,” said the “grown-ish” star. “I forget what set it was, but your proximity to the set, like your parking spot, was based on your number… The first thing that we said even before I was an EP, but just the lead on the show, is that it’s important to smash all hierarchy.”
Abolishing old Hollywood norms is not a calculated objective for Shahidi, who also serves as an executive producer on the “black-ish” spinoff, but a byproduct of growing up in a millennial generation with inclusivity threaded into their world.
While “grown-ish” follows its collegiate characters as they navigate young adulthood,
Shahidi wants the series to also serve as an incubator for the young, talented minds behind the show.
“What I love most about ‘grown-ish’ is really what happens behind the scenes – the introduction of new directors, of people from differ
ent spaces being able to use this as a launching pad for their own aspirations,” said the 21-year-old. “I’m looking forward to what that ripple effect will be for all of the shows that will come from the brains that have worked behind this.”
“Grown-ish” recently began airing the second half its third season. Filming wrapped at the end of 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic and social justice movement, the two global events that defined 2020.
But Shahidi, who also juggles her time reading scripts with studying textbooks as a Harvard student, says the show still remains topical with its youth-led prison divestment storyline, and the constant ebb and flow of young people figuring out their lives.
The title of activist is often interchangeable with Shahidi’s actor title. Last year, her We Vote Next nonpartisan organization was active in encouraging young people to vote, and it’s often mentioned that Oprah said she hopes to be alive to see Shahidi become president.
“I really have to put my ability to focus really on my support network of incredible folks that have really helped me because I’d like to say that it is a walk in the park, even balancing school and work, but it takes a lot of people advocating for what I want,” said Shahidi.
“So many of my peers aren’t given the space to be heard and listened to and not just in entertainment, but largely, whether it’s a school environment, whether it’s a home environment. And so the idea that I’ve been given multiple spaces in which I’m actively listened to is definitely a privilege.”
But despite her position as lead and executive producer, being young and a woman – particularly a Black one – doesn’t guarantee that her ideas are always taken seriously.
“We’re still in conversation with – I don’t know how many people – like, ‘I don’t know if you heard me the last time, but this point that I made wasn’t just to hear myself talk. It’s because it’s important to me.’”
Recently, Shahidi kicked off Facebook Watch’s Black History Month special “Forward: The Future of Black Music” and appears in the new Will Smithhosted docuseries “Amend.”
She’s lending her voice to the upcoming animated “Paw Patrol: The Movie” and will star as Tinker Bell in Disney’s “Peter Pan & Wendy” film, as the company strives to make some of its classic stories, most portrayed by white characters, diverse in its live action remakes.
Shahidi is part of a swelling group of young Black women in Hollywood, including Zendaya and her “black-ish” TV sister, Marsai Martin, who are producing projects and starting productions companies to ensure authenticity within their stories.
Shahidi’s 7th Sun Productions company, which includes her businesspartner mother Keri Shahidi, is currently developing a new series called “Smoakland.”
“There are times in which we are absolutely misheard by the people around us. And I think that, layered with just being two Black women in this industry, that can have ripple effects. And so, it’s been important in those times to be of a team and to be a part of this duo where we’re OK sitting down to have those tough conversations,” said Shahidi of her mother-daughter team.
“I think what’s been especially freeing is that I know by no means do I represent in totality what it means to be a young Black woman, and it’d be unfair to present me as the representation of that. But through production, it is not limited to what characters can I or can I not play.”
The first coach firing of the NHL season came Wednesday, when the Montreal Canadiens pink-slipped Claude Julien.
Who’s No. 2? Every puck pundit, radio yammerer and podcast host wants to know. Such is the nature of the game’s bloodlust.
After a hot start, the Canadiens slid to the middle of the North Division pack. A 2-4-1 slump was enough to get Julien kicked to the curb (or “Coups de pied sur le trottoir” as they say, ever so poetically, in Montreal). Qui est le prochain? (Who’s next?)
It’s fair to say that lot of eyes are now cast, with wonder, toward Columbus.
you in groups,” Tortorella said. “We try to prioritize when we are able to maybe speak to them face-to-face. We’re making decisions that way.”
It is less than ideal, especially for teams like the Blue Jackets, who have a lot of new names, faces and personalities for Tortorella and other coaches to learn after significant roster upheaval.
“How much information they do get?” Tortorella said. “Which is the most important information that you need to do eyeball-to-eyeball vs. doing the virtual meetings, which has really been … it’s really been crazy for me. As a guy that’s old-school and just wants to go face-to-face with the players, it’s really different for me.”
According to the NHL’S release about the enhanced measures, the use of video conferencing for team meetings had already begun to spread across the league’s footprint in North America. Making it a mandatory practice was a logical step, but that doesn’t mean all coaches or players are fans of it.
Tortorella, for one, has an idea for what the NHL can do with its mandate about video conferences for team meetings once the pandemic is officially declared over.
“I hope it gets trashed right away when we get healthy,” he said. “When we get healthy and the world gets healthy and the pandemic is gone, I just hope this game doesn’t go to that virtual stuff. And that scares me, because I think sometimes that (stuff) just takes the personality out of it — the stuff that I think you really need to do face-toface.”
Players aren’t exactly fond of it either, including those in their 20s who are considered tech-savvy.
“It’s a new thing that we don’t have any meetings in the locker room, where everyone can see each other and you can discuss certain situations when the video is on (a screen),” said Gabriel Carlsson, a 24-year old defenseman prospect still trying to earn a regular NHL role with the Blue Jackets. “I mean, it is what it is. It’s nothing we can control. You’ve just got to deal with it the best way.”
Carlsson said the actual viewing of video breakdowns on a mobile device is fine, but having interactions about specific clips can be a challenge. For example, think of a typical Zoom call and the “raise hand” function, which can occasionally malfunction or mysteriously be turned on or off without notice.
Now, apply that to an entire hockey team of NHL players and coaches, who are all trying get on the same page about things that happen on the ice. Sometimes, it might be easier to explain certain things in person.
It’s just not practical during a pandemic.
“We all know Zoom,” said Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno, who is solidly in the camp of those not bothered by the protocols. “We didn’t know anything about it a year-and-a-half ago, but now we all are pros on it … and, honestly, it’s stuff that at the end of the day doesn’t matter.
“You can either focus on all these new protocols and how it changes (things) or you can just adjust and adapt like everybody is doing in the world, and find a way to get the job done.”
Reinforcements to Cleveland
Injuries to Liam Foudy and Kole Sherwood left the Cleveland Monsters with just 10 forwards healthy enough to play against the Rockford Icehogs on Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
The Blue Jackets’ American Hockey League affiliate also lost an additional forward, Nick Lappin, and defenseman Dillon Simpson to injuries in the first period. The Monsters managed to win 6-3, but help was needed. The Blue Jackets obliged, assigning forwards Zac Dalpe and Ryan Macinnis from the taxi squad Sunday – when Cleveland was supposed to host Rockford in the conclusion of a back-to-back set.
The AHL postponed the game on Sunday due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Monsters. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger