QUOTES by Courtney A. Kemp
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Show-running is a very difficult job that includes so many responsibilities; I'm working with the actors, working with directors, writing, making decisions like, 'What fabric is that sofa gonna be?'
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
Obviously I'm not from 50's background - I'm from Westport, Connecticut, which is as far away from his background as you can get, right? Growing up in Westport, for a long time I was the only black person living there for miles.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
Not many people get to create a television show that actually makes it on the air.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
Comedians are on the road so much that when they're just getting to act and sit in one place, they're really grateful and just ready.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I remember watching episodes of 'The Sopranos' and being filled with dread knowing what was coming or anticipating what was coming. I don't think that that's always a bad thing. I think sometimes the audience needs a little catharsis held away from them.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
It... does... not... have... to... be... pointed out all the time. Like, 'Isn't it great that you're black, and you're a woman?' Isn't it great that the show's good? I would just love for it not to be a thing - for it just to be, like, super norm.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
Any underrepresented audience loves to see themselves on TV, but what's more important is that we're writing about universal themes - good versus evil, can you change yourself? These themes resonate for everyone.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
There's a difference between talent and skill. You might have writing talent, but skill is learned. You have to practice. I remain teachable. I was sure that I didn't know everything. People who work with me will tell you I don't think I know everything. I watch people sink around me thinking that they knew everything.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
My experience as a black woman in the industry is simply that often I was the only one in the room. Often I would be the only woman and the only person of color. Sometimes I would be one of several women but the only person of color. Sometimes I would be one of several people of color, but the only woman.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
When people watch 'Power' and they find out the showrunner is black, it's not surprising. What is surprising is that I am a woman and my background is not particularly urban.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I'd say it's far more challenging to be female and be a showrunner. People are not surprised to see a black person running this show, but the female aspect is the thing that I get asked about.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
It was not something that ever occurred to me, to be able to be in TV. I was very lucky.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
When human beings say they have power, it always makes me laugh a little bit.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
There are so many different things that create an alchemy of success. Just like there are so many different things that create an alchemy of a failure.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I had very much wanted to be the very first black female editor-in-chief of 'Vogue.' Barring that, I wanted to work at 'Entertainment Weekly.'
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
The revolution is that we can be anything. We don't have to be one thing or the other. The idea that it is my responsibility to represent only good black people... I mean, what are you talking about? That's not a character - that's a polemic.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
If you look at the back pages of 'New York Times Magazine,' and they talk about these 6.5-million-dollar condos with a great view, like you're going to pay for a great view. Well, the top floor of the projects have a great view, too.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
New York is the center of the world. I grew up in Connecticut, outside of the city, and my father commuted to the city for work.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
There's always going to be a part of me that wants an Emmy. Truthfully, I'm probably more motivated by people being entertained. I'm more motivated by people being like, 'Oh snap! Did you see that?'
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
There's hip-hop music in 'Power,' but the show is not about the hip-hop industry.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
It's ridiculous that we let broadcast and cable shows compete against each other at the Emmys. They are not the same animal.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
Every writer should be able to write anything if you do the research and you're sensitive enough to ask the questions.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I am not going to say that only people of color can write people of color, because that means only white people can write white people, and that's not OK.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
When I was pitching 'Power,' I had an executive say, 'Well, I already have a black show.' He said that right to my face.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I had to figure out that finding my place was not about race but about creativity, and connecting with other artists helped me find my voice.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
In college, I didn't know whether to hang out with the black kids or the white kids, and then I found the theatre kids, and I was like, 'Oh, it doesn't matter.' We were all weird and listening to Morrissey and wearing Doc Martens so that was my tribe.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
My parents were 30 years older than I was, and my parents had my brother and I ten years apart. My parents grew up in segregation, and they both lived in all-black neighborhoods and grew up with large black families. I didn't have any of that, and I didn't understand feeling so differently and being treated so differently.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I always wanted to make a show that had everything I wanted to watch, as opposed to just one or two things.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I am a black woman, and I'm proud of that, but as a showrunner, I want to think about what makes me unique beyond my race.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
If I weren't a showrunner, I'd be a much more accomplished mother; if I were not a mother, I would be a much more accomplished showrunner. I have to be okay with getting a B in both.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
If you are other, you don't think twice about hiring people who are other.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I think it's really cool that someone could have ovaries and the presidency. Growing up, I thought I could never be president because I was black and female. Now I know that's wrong. Within my own lifetime - that's different. Within my lifetime, interracial couples are more common. Within my own lifetime, biracial folks are able to claim that.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I'm seeing more and more people of color do what I do as showrunners, and that's so great. I would love to get to the point where we don't have to talk about it anymore.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
Being a showrunner is doing a bit of everything. It's not just writing. It's also management: managing actors, managing producers, managing a crew, being kind to people, being a good boss, observing deadlines.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I don't want to be seen in a way where all I can do is what people expect of me.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
As a writer of fiction, you don't ever want to limit the characters you create to the life you've lived. That's insanity to me.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I think as long as I can tell you a story about people that you understand, it doesn't matter if you don't like what they do; you understand why they did it.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp
I don't write scenes where one person is right and one person is wrong. It's very much by design that everyone has a point of view that you as an audience member can understand.
Quote by -Courtney A. Kemp