Houston native, writer, filmmaker, director, and writer Courtney Glaudé was not expecting the success he received after his vision for the BET+ thriller, The Reading. The film, which stars actress and comedian, Mo’nique, has thrust the visionary into a well-deserved spotlight.
Executive produced by Fox’s Empire, Lee Daniels, the film was released on BET+ on February 2, 2023. It has since been ranked as one of the top 10 movies nationwide and on IMDb. Not bad for a guy who didn’t take the conventional route to study filmmaking. As a matter of fact, Glaudé exclusive with d-mars.com revealed why his road to cinematography wasn’t the same as others,
“You know, I didn’t go to school and study filmmaking. I learned a lot through YouTube and really taught myself what to do. I’m a creative so I had other people around me to get there but the discipline I had really helped shape things for me.”
The idea behind The Reading came from a moment Glaudé had after watching New Edition alum, Bobby Brown, interact with a child medium,
“Bobby Brown was getting interviewed by a medium and [the medium] was a kid and the kid didn’t know who Bobby Brown was, he said. “It was his reaction to it, I was like ‘I want to write a movie where a medium gets a reaction like that.”
When asked about how he felt regarding the metric of success post the film’s release, Glaude said, “It still hasn’t hit me, you know? Like I ‘see’ it happening, but it still has its surreal moments for me. And as a filmmaker, as a creative, this is one of the many highs.”
Glaudé’s said he shot the film and received critical feedback from Daniels on how to perfect his craft. “He invited me over to his house and would be like ‘Now you see this here? What were you trying to tell the audience? If you’re going to this then take out that and if you’re going to do that, take out this.’”
However, the independent film’s main character, played by Mo’Nique, sold the movie. “She was so great to work with and she said, ‘Don’t give this part to anybody, it’s mine.’” The director’s instincts paid off and so did the film.
Shot in Houston, Glaudé detailed how he rediscovered beauty in areas of Houston such as the rural landscape of Humble to the historic parts of Third Ward saying, “My city houses some recognized Black people in their greatness and shooting the film reminded me to appreciate this backyard of mines.”
The director may have flexed his skills behind the camera but another project he was attached to was Retrospective Reflections Of A Life: An Evening Of Poetry & Prose With Antwone Fisher. Debuting as a one-night special benefitting the poetic event benefitted Highways & MoSamp Entertainment in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 2002 self-titled film starring Denzel Washington.
