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" 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. "

Related Quotes:

" We use the word 'urban' to mean black or Latino, but that's not what the word means. It actually means 'from the city.' I'm not from the city. I'm from the suburbs of Connecticut. I grew up with mostly all white people. "

Courtney A. Kemp

White

Latino

Mean

" Every writer should be able to write anything if you do the research and you're sensitive enough to ask the questions. "

" I thought I was going to be a professor; then I ran screaming from there into magazine journalism. "

" 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. "

" I knew I wanted to write professionally and get paid. "

" 'Power' would never have gotten on the air if the folks at Starz weren't saying to themselves, 'This is an underserved audience.' It was a financial decision, not a benevolent decision based on a need to change the industry. "

" I always like to write myself into a corner. I think the best stuff comes from only having a few ways out. "

" I really do love male characters, in some ways, for the fact that they get surprised when they're vulnerable. Women are more surprised by their strength. "

" 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. "

" Not many people get to create a television show that actually makes it on the air. "

" Wherever I go, stuff accumulates. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Wherever

Stuff

" 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. "

" 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. "

" There's this idea that you can have it all, but in my opinion, you can't - not if you're a perfectionist. "

" 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. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Place

Finding

" I always ask the actors, 'What have you never done before?' "

" It was not something that ever occurred to me, to be able to be in TV. I was very lucky. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Lucky

" 50 and I are extremely close, so all that social media drama? It's just for the show. "

" You don't keep your job if you don't make a great show. "

" 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. "

" The show runner's the boss until the network shows up. And then they're the boss, because it's their money. "

" 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?' "

Courtney A. Kemp

People

" The story always leads you where it's supposed to go. "

Courtney A. Kemp

You

Where

" The impetus for 'Power' was me writing about my dad, who was an advertising executive and very interested in image. He thought that perception was reality and what people thought of you was what was real about you. "

" 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?' "

Courtney A. Kemp

Difficult

Job

" The Shawshank Redemption' isn't a movie about a black guy and a white guy who become friends - it's a movie about freedom. At the end, the cathartic experience of seeing our own emotions reflected back to us, that's the purpose of storytelling. "

" When we started on 'Power,' I was committed to respecting the differences among Spanish dialects: Dominican, Nuyorican, Mexican, etc. I wanted the language our characters spoke to be as specific as possible, to reflect New York as it is. "

" I love Pusha T and The Clipse. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Love

I Love

" 50 Cent is a brilliant marketer. "

" 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. "