TAMPA, Fla. — Where there’s a Will, there’s a way.
That line works especially well when you’re Will Packer, a south St. Petersburg native making history this weekend as he produces the 94th Academy Awards.
Known for films like Girls Trip and Straight Outta Compton, the 1991 St. Petersburg High School graduate will be one half of the Oscars’ first all-Black producing team.
10 Tampa Bay’s Emerald Morrow spoke to the filmmaker ahead of his big night.
NOTE: This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Emerald Morrow, 10 Tampa Bay: You're at the helm of Hollywood's biggest night. What does this moment mean to you as a St. Petersburg native?
Will Packer, producer: I am doing a lot of these interviews talking to a lot of press. I love it. That's all part of the process — it's nothing like talking to home. I will tell you that this is definitely special. To be a young man grew up there in St. Pete, product of the ‘Burg, you know, the Tampa Bay community and to be here, you know, helming Hollywood's biggest night. It's quite an honor. It means everything.
Reporter: How did your time in St. Petersburg and at FAMU influence you?
Packer: Oh, there's no question here. Listen, I learned focus. I learned tenacity, I learned ambition. You know, I was…a product of the public school system. Even in high school, I was always very competitive. I was Mr. St. Pete high school and student body president and active in all these different organizations and clubs. And the same thing is true when I went to FAMU. I continued to kind of find my voice and hone my skills, and so my upbringing in Florida…1,000 percent it has helped create the person I am today.
Reporter: Producing The Oscars is a massive project. What have these last several months been like for you?
Packer: Oh my God…I produce movies and television all the time. This project – this is like producing 10 movies at once. That's what it's like. It is extremely arduous, very labor-intensive. It's so much scrutiny is on the Oscars, right? Everybody has an opinion about the Oscars…I got an opinion, too this year. It'll be my opinion, and my perspective, and my vision that you'll see on the screen. I just hope people watch it, have a good time. I want to be fun. I want to be celebratory. That's what I'm looking forward to.
Reporter: Tell me a little bit more about your approach to this year's Oscars. What are we going to see that's going to specifically have Will Packer’s touch?
Packer: One thing I have to tell you is that I felt like the Oscars for too long have felt like it's just this kind of…insider event and not an entertainment event for movie lovers everywhere. It felt like it was for Hollywood, by Hollywood… But that's not how I feel like we should be approaching this.
You’ll see entertainment value in the show, throughout the show. We are going to have music on the show. We are going to have people that aren't in the movie industry, but are movie-lovers be a part of the show as well.
I wanted to be a show that whether or not you're somebody that watches all the Oscar-nominated movies every year.
Reporter: This moment for you and Shayla Cowen as the first African American duo co-producing Oscars is huge, and a far cry from the Oscars boycott and #OscarsSoWhite hashtag we saw several years back. What is the importance of diversity in The Academy, and the importance of this role that you are taking on?
Packer: Imagery matters. Optics matter. Representation matters…For us to be the first all-black producing team to handle Hollywood's biggest night—it's big, it's huge. Somebody will see that. Somebody will watch this interview, who grew up like I grew up and will say, ‘You know what, I don't have the Hollywood pedigree. You know, I look like Will Packer more than I look like some of the other folks who have traditionally run Hollywood, but Will Packer can do it, we can do it. That's what I want.
It's obviously not just about this. This is a night for everybody, but I'm proud of the fact that it is our differences and embracing the differences and embracing folks from communities that haven't always had a voice, that haven't always had a seat at the table. Bringing us all in makes us stronger.
Reporter: Anything you want to say to anybody here in St. Petersburg, particularly to those young people that you mentioned, who may be watching this and may not know the path to get where you are?
Packer: Keep working and keep working hard. That's the thing. Your hard work will pay off. I sat right where you're sitting, and I'm very happy, very honored and very blessed to sit in the seat that I sit now. Everybody starts someplace, and I didn't have a lot of Hollywood connections. I still don't consider myself a Hollywood Insider. That doesn't matter. Because when it was time for me to go to work, I worked hard and I don't care if that was at Maximo Elementary School, Bay Point Middle, or St. Pete High School. I put the work in and it paid off. That's what I would encourage my young people to do.
Reporter: Any last words before the show?
Packer: Y'all tune in. Don't miss the opening. Get there on time. Tune in watch it. It's gonna be a fun night.
For those looking for a place to dress up and watch the show, the Tampa Theatre is hosting its 23rd "Hollywood Awards Night" complete with a limo ride, red carpet and "paparazzi." Tickets start at $25.
St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch is also hosting a watch party in partnership with the Carter G. Woodson Museum at 2240 9th Avenue S. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Emerald Morrow is a reporter with 10News WTSP. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@wtsp.com.