The Sisterhood

AVI WEIDER
I'm Avi Zev Wieder. Welcome to Films Not Made.

AMY HOBBY
Hi, I'm Amy Hobby, and today we have two guests. One is Effie Brown. She's an award-winning film and TV producer and CEO of Game Changer, where she champions inclusion and diversity in Hollywood. The films she's produced include Real Women Have Curves, Dear White People, and the TV show Zombies. She was recently appointed to the Board of Governors of the Academy.

AVI WEIDER
Our second guest — we're also really excited about, is Nichol Bradford. She's the writer on today's project, and she is currently the executive in residence for AI and HI at the Society for Human Resource Management, where she shapes global thinking on human-AI collaboration. Previously, she was a senior executive with roles at Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Vivendi, and Disney.

AMY HOBBY
We're going to have a great show. Welcome to Films Not Made.

So, Effie, can you give us your one-sentence pitch for the project, The Sisterhood? Like if you're in a conference room — how would you talk about the project?

EFFIE BROWN
I don't know why that is shocking to me, that you would ask me that as the first question. And I think that might have been one of the issues we've had. But to me, The Sisterhood is so much more than a book or piece of IP. It's actually a movement. It's a story about what can happen when Black women come together. And it's done in the vein of — because back in the day when we were doing this, we weren't very comp-heavy, and this was longer than my one-minute pitch, but if anyone knows me, I do extra. This was before Black Panther. It was before all of these things. People didn't quite hear it. They didn't quite know.

So for me, it's more than a book — it's a movement. It's about what happens when women, particularly women of color, come together and what they can accomplish. And it's done in the world of a thriller. Think Bourne Ultimatum, think — not Scandal, but the Kevin Spacey Netflix—

NICHOL BRADFORD
House of Cards?

AMY HOBBY
House of Cards.

EFFIE BROWN
House of Cards. Like Bourne Ultimatum and House of Cards, but with sisters who are fabulous and coming together. Longer than one sentence, but it was entertaining.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Yeah.

EFFIE BROWN
Nichol, as the writer, could probably do it better. And don't get me in trouble — you can see her looking at me. Because she's like, oh, it's been a while.

NICHOL BRADFORD
No, no, no, it was perfect. There's so much of my heart and soul in that story, so it brings me joy when other people see it. I don't know what the next question is, but I will say — there have been times in my life, and I've never told you this, Effie — there were times where just you believing in that story, when other things were just shitty, that belief in my story was sometimes the raft. The life raft. And I don't think I ever told you that.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh my God. We're all going to get weepy. But I have to say — I still feel we're going to make this. I feel we were a little too ahead of our time.

It was before The Woman King. It was before Black Panther, it was before there was female empowerment — and women of color empowerment — before it wasn't threatening. When we were starting [pitching], people were like, say what?

AMY HOBBY
You know, Effie, there was a narrative back in the day — probably around the same time — that films like these had no foreign sales value. I had the rights to a book called Third Girl from the Left by Martha Southgate.

EFFIE BROWN
Yep.

AMY HOBBY
I developed it. Colleen Smith wrote the script. It was amazing.

EFFIE BROWN
Colleen. She's great.

AMY HOBBY
She's amazing. I had Viola Davis attached. I had Kerry Washington attached. I walked in with my producing partner at a studio, and there was a foreign salesperson in the room, and they were like, "Do you know how much this film is worth internationally?" And I was like, I don't know, you're the expert. They said: zero. And I was like—

EFFIE BROWN
I'm sure.

AMY HOBBY
It's not zero.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh my God. The audacity that people had. It was brutal. And they probably felt more comfortable saying it to your face.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah. I'm sure.

EFFIE BROWN
Right. All those blank stares of like, wait — they're coming together because their community was being poisoned, and they got together to figure out an antidote? Like, what?

But now I feel like people would get it. And I'm taking another whack at it. It's still alive and still happening. I was like, these motherfuckers weren't ready for us. And now they're ready.

AMY HOBBY
The world has caught up with these amazing projects.

AVI WEIDER
Well, take us back, Nichol — to the inspiration. The first spark. Was there an image, a story you'd read? What's the origin?

NICHOL BRADFORD
The way I paid for my last year of college was I won a beauty pageant. Because I didn't see myself as a beauty queen, I did a lot of volunteering — I would run workshops with girls all across the city, all kinds of girls, all races, all backgrounds. I would talk to them about how to be successful, at least getting through high school to college, because I was a very intense young person for a lot of reasons.

EFFIE BROWN
You're still intense [laughs]. 

NICHOL BRADFORD
I would give these talks because I had a tiara and kids looked at it. I would always ask the teachers to pull aside a subset of girls — the ones who hadn't dropped off yet. They would pull the teenage girls aside who were like, she hasn't dropped off yet, but we think she might. And I would do one or two hour workshops after my main talk.

The one that The Sisterhood came out of: I had a group of girls in a room, and one of the things I would have them do was say to each other, "I'm smart, I'm beautiful, and I can have anything that I want." And they couldn't take it, really.

They couldn't take it. One girl fell into tears when the rest said those words. I remember leaving and thinking — I'm going back to my life, they're going back to theirs. How do you really stay with someone?

Then I remembered — my first year in college, I read Ayn Rand and became an Objectivist for six months.

You know, it's hollow. There is no magic in that world. And I thought — that's the way. Because if Ayn Rand had not written fiction, no one would know who she was. She'd be a minor philosopher on a Wikipedia page. That was really the power of story — to get inside someone's head and have them try on a philosophy, a way of being. That's what fiction, and movies, allow people to do.

So in that single drive home, it came to me like a download: there's this group of Black women, they create a global company — the whole thing at once.

AMY HOBBY
Amazing.

NICHOL BRADFORD
And by the time I got home, it was the story of The Sisterhood. Then I spent sixteen years writing it — about ten years researching and thinking about it.

AMY HOBBY
Holy cow.

NICHOL BRADFORD
How would you actually transform an entire population? What would that mean for everyone? Because I've always been about everyone. The cusp of the action happens because these women become influential beyond their core.

I spent about ten years researching it, then finally put pen to paper. But the story is actually the exact download. The details changed, but all the major beats are pretty much the same as when I was twenty-three.

AMY HOBBY
That's amazing. You hear that a lot about creative inspiration — it sometimes just comes, all at once, fully formed. And then there's doing the work.

NICHOL BRADFORD
There's a lot more to life and being human than is obvious. It is kind of strange that a twenty-three-year-old woman would have an entire download of how to do a thing.

AVI WEIDER
How does it move from book to adaptation? Was it going to be a feature, a TV thing? And what year are we talking about?

EFFIE BROWN
I don't do things in years. You know.

AVI WEIDER
Okay, What presidential administrations are we talking about?

EFFIE BROWN
I was still drinking then. That's what I'm saying. I've been sober for nineteen years. That's how long ago it's been.

I remember one of the things I loved about Nichol and this material was that it was before there was a metaverse. We were literally like — this is a community. It's not only a movie, it's books, it's activism, it's workshops for women and young girls. When Nichol talked about amplifying your innermost — you are beautiful, you can have anything you want — I get vibrationally freaked out. Like, all of these things can happen? And with her background in video games and gaming—

AMY HOBBY
You were so far ahead of your time, right?

AVI WEIDER
You're talking about platform IP.

EFFIE BROWN
We were trying. And this is where I'll take ownership — I might have been too like, "we can do everything," and people didn't know how to latch on. They were a bit like, we just know how to do a series. Is this going to be like Buffy?

They didn't quite know. And for a movie — Tyler Perry was just coming on the scene. Viola wasn't even a thing yet.

So we were doing like, the boardroom approach. What I love about this book — and the movie — is that it's brilliantly set up as an ensemble. We know now that stars want to be part of a television series but don't want to carry the entire thing. So you have Vivian, you have these people who can come in, and you can cast it up.

We didn't know what it was going to be, and that might have been the thing where people couldn't latch on. We even tried it as a web series. We tried a lot of different things, and people were just like, don't get it.

And this is where it gets personal. It broke my heart when people didn't see what we saw — and when they were actively against it. It broke my heart, and I wanted to protect the baby. I was like, I will protect the baby.

So I think this is a blessing — you coming out and being like, hey, is there a movie you didn't get made? I was a little resistant at first, like—

Oh. I think it's time to come out again. It's time for The Sisterhood. And also — I'm much more established in my career now. I have much less patience for nonsense.

AMY HOBBY
Deck. Guys, you sent us your deck, which is part of our show. And I was so impressed — you had focus group materials, marketing proposals. This is what I think filmmakers need to start doing now. You really set out the case: the audience, all of that.

AVI WEIDER
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

NICHOL BRADFORD
I mean, it's market research. One of the other things that's different now — when I first worked on this, I was in video games. I always loved action, adventure, thrillers. But I also really liked character development.

And I was getting sick and tired of stories where women weren't heroic. In action and adventure then, women were always the mirror to a male lead. Only recently — in the last seven years or so — has that started to change.

EFFIE BROWN
If they were lucky. If they weren't the wife or the—

AMY HOBBY
Sister or—

EFFIE BROWN
Always a satellite.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Around him. Or if women were central, it was basically what I call the "get a man, got a man, oh please can I have a man" type stuff. If a woman was central, it was her relationship to a man. And if she was present, it was usually as a foil to show some level of character development for a man on a mission.

And I was like — why can't women save the world? Why can't women actually save?

EFFIE BROWN
Women have to.

NICHOL BRADFORD
I really wanted that. I wanted to see something where I was in the middle of it. And now, across Netflix and Amazon and films, women are in these central roles. But the thing I haven't seen yet — which is really a core part of this book — is that in it, they face a danger, but they solve it together.

I can't think of any media where women are sharing power effectively under crisis.

EFFIE BROWN
I love that. Talk about that. I can't say that enough.

AMY HOBBY
Because that has to happen now.

NICHOL BRADFORD
They don't agree about the solution. So it isn't Kumbaya sharing power — like, you get the brownies, I'll bring the popcorn. They're strong, intelligent women. Some are married, some aren't. They all have healthy relationships. They have a variety of origin stories. And when they face this challenge, they have very distinct, differing points of view about how to get it done. It gets really tense. But they have respect for one another, they love one another, and they have a shared goal. So no matter how rough and tumble they get with each other, it's towards the goal.

The one thing I haven't seen yet is women sharing power together to accomplish a goal.

AMY HOBBY
Did you guys work with a casting director? What were your thoughts there?

EFFIE BROWN
What we did is we went to a couple of directors — and I also want to high-five Nichol again. What Nichol did with the marketing of this book was incredible. Each book had a separate number. If you were gifted the book, you could log on to a website with your book number — like 1152 — and you could join this community.

AMY HOBBY
So incredible.

EFFIE BROWN
It sounds great, but we were just a little too ahead of things and couldn't get the traction. People really liked it, but the people who could greenlight weren't greenlight-able yet. The Black women directors who are doing shows on Netflix now — they were just starting out then.

AMY HOBBY
Were you looking for a woman director? Were you prioritizing that?

EFFIE BROWN
Always. I'm a firm believer in: you can't make something about us without us. Period. It was very important that there were women of color behind the scenes — Nichol as the originating IP, me producing. Looking for someone to write the script and direct was a little too much for people.

Now, in light of this administration, I feel now is the time for something like this. Film is action. Who's ready to make this? We were looking more for a director. And nowadays, the woman who was coming up before and wanted to do this has reached back out again — maybe as a limited series. Everybody's got a bit more judgment behind them, but we didn't have that then. And I was much younger in my career.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah, no, you have some.

EFFIE BROWN
Now I know what to do to make this happen. Coming out like this will be our coming-out party. Every actress of note has a production company. Every actress of note wants meaningful producer participation and ownership — which is also a core part of what Nichol's book is about.

AMY HOBBY
Ownership—

EFFIE BROWN
More ownership. And stop asking permission to earn your own money. If you have your own money, you don't have to ask. Okay, I'm preaching, get me off.

NICHOL BRADFORD
You made me think — there are two things that are also just on time. One is that the origin story for the women in the book is that they had deeply internalized that no one is coming to save them.

EFFIE BROWN
Yes.

NICHOL BRADFORD
If we want a thing, we have to build a thing, create a thing. And I think where we are in the world right now, everybody realizes that no one's coming to save anyone. I think that's actually a good thing. What I've seen is the willingness to partner, for people to build together. I'm seeing calcification around systems and institutions fall away, because as long as there's this fantasy that someone — maybe the federal government — is going to come and save you, people can delay their own action.

EFFIE BROWN
Agency. Yes, agency.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah.

NICHOL BRADFORD
So with that, it's very much a story about a group of women who say: we are going to build and create goodness together in our communities. We're going to be methodical, strategic, disciplined, focused, and we're going to do it together.

I think that is going to land on fertile ground in a way that wasn't available a little while ago.

The second thing that's really important: I spend a great deal of my time on the future of work. I advise global organizations on human and AI implementation, and I invest in technology for human potential. I organize a big event called Human Tech Week, which brings together people looking at the future of health, the future of work, and the future of cities — the touch points for human flourishing. How do we leverage AI and technology to support humans to heal, grow, and thrive?

With the future of work and what's happening with agentic AI and everything else, there's a thing around collective ownership — a modern version around collective ownership and tokenization. But what never goes out of style is leverage.

EFFIE BROWN
Preach.

AMY HOBBY
That's super interesting.

EFFIE BROWN
Yes. Yes.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Leverage is about people working together. Leverage never goes out of style. What the women in the book do, looking back, is they really understand how to create, co-create, leverage.

And that leverage is about really good systems — ones where everyone actually benefits. People talk about win-win, but they usually mean it as a nice way to get you to accept their terms.

But a true win — in the book, at the right moment, every member gets shares based on very clear and transparent criteria. It's this idea that when the ownership of the thing is distributed to every person who benefits, then there is no heart to strike at. Because it's in too many places.

AMY HOBBY
I'm learning so much on this podcast.

EFFIE BROWN
That's what I'm saying. Right. Yeah.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Absolutely timely.

You're starting to figure that out around the future of work too. I think it will land.

EFFIE BROWN
Yes. I agree.

AMY HOBBY
Did you guys do studio meetings? Did you have any?

EFFIE BROWN
I think it was close at HBO. I feel like — and keep me honest — it was at HBO then. I know we went to YouTube because they were doing content. And I'm trying to remember if there was someone else. Do you remember, Nichol? This was pre-Netflix.

AMY HOBBY
We like to hear a funny story. You don't have to name names, but what was the moment?

EFFIE BROWN
What's funny to me — and I do like funny — is that this was truly a breaking of my heart. I remember this one meeting. There was a young white woman there who just didn't get it.

She just was like — we did a teaser, we had something really blowing up, a woman walking through. We had a trailer.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Trailers.

EFFIE BROWN
We did everything we could to be like, you will get this.

AMY HOBBY
We made one for you.

EFFIE BROWN
Dying to see.

Like, we had — that's what I'm saying. We did everything we could. I had this moment where I had to go back to God and be like, what is meant for you is meant for you. Everything has a season. And I'm like, I think this is our season. We were a little too early, but that was the meaning.

I want to say it was at YouTube. I could see the glassy look in her eyes — like, what is this? And when I get nervous, I talk a lot more. I started getting her even more confused.

And the woman director in the meeting was like, Effie — she had no idea what you were talking about.

NICHOL BRADFORD
They don't get it.

EFFIE BROWN
I can't understand something for you. I can present it to you and show you. But I can't make you understand it if you don't get it.

AVI WEIDER
If you don't give a shit.

NICHOL BRADFORD
It was interesting because the book does something — it gets inside your head. People read it at the level they needed to be at. And what I get from women — not just Black women, but women in general — is they would say, "I've decided to bet on myself." They'd read the book and if a woman was on the cusp of something amazing, that included betting on herself. If she read this book, she'd bet on herself.

AMY HOBBY
I love that.

EFFIE BROWN
It's going to be time. I do feel like now — we were just ahead of our time and everything is a building block. And I think we also have a bit more capacity now for empathy and grace — to say, you're not there yet, but we're going to get you there. We're at such a tipping point. It is 2026, dear Lord.

People are already just—

AMY HOBBY
We tend to ask — what would you do differently now? Looking back at the younger you, is there something you would or could have done differently?

NICHOL BRADFORD
We did everything. Everything possible. It was really just a matter of timing. And one other thing, Effie, that I just realized is different: the older people now are different, and the young people are different too.

They're like — this system doesn't work.

EFFIE BROWN
100%.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Jobs out of college—

EFFIE BROWN
This system is rigged. I do feel that.

NICHOL BRADFORD
It no longer touches the ground.

EFFIE BROWN
100%.

NICHOL BRADFORD
People are really different. There's a light. People are hungry for a path through where we're at. So yeah — if we should take this out again, I think the world—

EFFIE BROWN
No, no — yes, and I'm really grateful that you guys did this. Films Not Made. Truly. Because you could hear the tenor of my voice when you called — I was low-key offended that you would even ask me. I had to have a come-to-Jesus about it.

AMY HOBBY
I was like, if she's not coming on the show, Avi — all her projects are getting made, or she thinks they are.

EFFIE BROWN
I mean, it was really beautiful. And thank you for having the grace to be like, come on, girl. Everything happens for a reason.

AMY HOBBY
We have to believe. We have to.

EFFIE BROWN
We have so much creative—

AVI WEIDER
Force of—

AMY HOBBY
Will and reason, right?

EFFIE BROWN
It really is will it into being. That's why I was like, I'm doing a Grace Jones movie and I'm doing this. Okay.

AMY HOBBY
Let me know if I can help with that Grace Jones movie, because—

EFFIE BROWN
I love her. And I think she should be in The Sisterhood. That's what I think. Let's talk about that. That's casting.

AMY HOBBY
You didn't reach out to any cast, right? Or did you?

EFFIE BROWN
No, it was more director. It was more about the director.

NICHOL BRADFORD
You know, as you talked to people who were coming up — they were all very interested.

EFFIE BROWN
I'm talking about greenlight. Like, there were actors who are now able to greenlight something — then they were doing a Sundance film or just starting on a TV show. There were certain people who were into it.

But when I'm thinking about getting something set up, I was going more after the director. And then the directors were like, let me see the script. And there wasn't a script yet. But now it's like — hey, Tiana. Hey, Angela. 

AMY HOBBY
They have production companies, they have a power base.

EFFIE BROWN
And also, just from being in rooms with them now — everyone's like, this is hard to do on your own. All those celebrities kind of want to be like, wouldn't it be great to do something together? Our own Ocean's Eleven, but behind the scenes and in front of the scenes. And really, it's now possible, there’s a listening. Anyway — we're going back out. We're doing it. Thank you.

AMY HOBBY
Avi, take it away.

AVI WEIDER
We take all the stuff you sent us — your script, your marketing materials, character descriptions, all of it, the deck — and we put it through our own AI pipeline. We're going to share the deck now.

SPEAKER (DISCLAIMER)
Films Not Made uses AI to reimagine movies that were never produced. All development materials, pitch decks, trailers, and posters are AI-generated. Any likenesses of real people are speculative and synthetic. No real actors participated in their creation. This is cultural commentary, not endorsed by any individual or studio referenced.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh my God, they did cast Kerry and Angela. 

AMY HOBBY
Kerry and Angela.

EFFIE BROWN
Go. I love it. Look at that. Yeah.

AMY HOBBY
And there's a security guard in the back that looks like he’s peeing in the corner.

AVI WEIDER
This is the title page — which highlights—

AMY HOBBY
We like to describe things for our audio listeners.

AVI WEIDER
Kerry Washington right in front of a glass-and-steel, very modern entrance to some kind of high-tech building. A wetted-down street just outside. And it's Washington, D.C., I think — is that the Washington Monument?

AMY HOBBY
Oh, yeah. There's a monument right there. AI loves a wet-down, by the way. Every deck.

AVI WEIDER
And it says, in a gold embossed font: The Sisterhood, a film by Nichol Bradford and Effie Brown.

Okay. We asked the system to give us a logline and a pitch. The logline it came up with is: after their founder is assassinated, a secret sisterhood financing a vaccine that could collapse the global drug economy is targeted by elite trusts controlling governments and cartels —

EFFIE BROWN
Forcing our partners. Right. Okay. Yes.

AVI WEIDER
— forcing a hard security chief to choose survival or independence.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. Can we just have a moment? How relevant is this right now? Okay, go ahead.

AMY HOBBY
I love the pitch because they always come up with comps. This is in the vein of The DaVinci Code meets Widows.

EFFIE BROWN
Interesting.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. Interesting.

AMY HOBBY
The Sisterhood is a propulsive conspiracy thriller about power and refusal. A covert network of women of color has quietly built wealth, intelligence, and influence while funding a vaccine that would destroy the drug economy sustaining a global underclass. Their founder is murdered. Rival trusts that control markets, cartels—

And this is amazing—

EFFIE BROWN
I would watch this immediately.

AMY HOBBY
I'm already queuing it up.

AVI WEIDER
A globe-spanning—

AMY HOBBY
As investigations close in and bodies fall, the sisterhood must decide whether to accept protection from a seductive European power broker or risk annihilation to remain free. It's a thriller about who really runs the world — and the cost of saying no.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. Somebody write me a check. Call me. Call me right now. If you can't tell — this is it. Okay, go ahead.

AMY HOBBY
And there's a picture — very design-forward.

EFFIE BROWN
I see the boardroom and the ring.

AVI WEIDER
The rings. There are these rings.

AMY HOBBY
There's a glass of whiskey or something.

AVI WEIDER
Yeah.

AMY HOBBY
A big ice cube. And what's in front of it?

AVI WEIDER
Are you making up technology, Nichol?

EFFIE BROWN
I'll take you back to the early—

NICHOL BRADFORD
Early 2000s. Basically it was like a computer screen on a circle. They could see all their data in these molecules that they would use. This was pre-Google Glass.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay, I think they stole your idea. They read it and they couldn't—

AVI WEIDER
Wait.

EFFIE BROWN
All right. So far, so good. Okay, all right.

AMY HOBBY
This is the part where we go—

EFFIE BROWN
This is where it goes sideways.

AVI WEIDER
We ask it for a style, and it comes up with these—

EFFIE BROWN
Gilded Age? Like, what?

AVI WEIDER
These style names are like those Netflix sub-mini genres.

EFFIE BROWN
Warm power interiors. Yeah, I like that.

EFFIE BROWN
It says "gilded safety, until they don't."

AMY HOBBY
More rain-slicked streets. Every deck. It gets us every time.

AVI WEIDER
The camera lives close to faces in moments of trust and snaps wide to reveal surveillance, distance, and threat.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay, okay.

AVI WEIDER
Control positions, shallow depth for secrets, deep focus for exposure. Lighting is motivated — phones, monitors, streetlight spills — so the world feels watched. The color palette: obsidian blues, bruised purples, punctured by gold. Like hope under pressure.

EFFIE BROWN
It's a bit—

AVI WEIDER
A bit florid, but you know.

EFFIE BROWN
I wonder, right?

AVI WEIDER
So then we move right into casting. At the top we have—

EFFIE BROWN
Who's first?

AMY HOBBY
Washington.

EFFIE BROWN
Yes. Huh?

AMY HOBBY
Danielle Deadwyler. She was in Till, right?

EFFIE BROWN
Yeah. Till, The Piano Lesson, and she did that great Canadian zombie movie. Yes.

AVI WEIDER
Good picture of her. She's like, practicing karate—

EFFIE BROWN
Outside, in the rain.

AVI WEIDER
Yeah.

EFFIE BROWN
And she's sweaty.

AVI WEIDER
She's the chief of security, so she's got to train.

NICHOL BRADFORD
I'm having such an incredible experience looking at all of this. Like — yes. Like they would all be great.

EFFIE BROWN
Yeah. Yes.

AMY HOBBY
They're hired.

EFFIE BROWN
All of them? Yeah. I love Danielle Deadwyler. I also think Teyana would be super cool. Lashana Lynch — would be amazing. But keep going.

AVI WEIDER
Keep going.

AMY HOBBY
Here we go. Vivian.

AVI WEIDER
Vivian.

EFFIE BROWN
Yes. Angela. Angela. Oh my God.

AVI WEIDER
Angela Bassett.

AMY HOBBY
She's authoritative.

EFFIE BROWN
And Aunjanue Ellis — she should bring the heart, and she's still a badass. Shut the front door. Viola!

AMY HOBBY
Viola!

EFFIE BROWN
Love Viola. But you can't quite see her here. You know, she just feels like she's done this.

NICHOL BRADFORD
I love this.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh, my God, I love it. Okay. Let's talk about her movie. Nichol, I'm working with you. All right?

AVI WEIDER
She's great. There we go. You can pass the deck right to her.

EFFIE BROWN
Exactly.

AMY HOBBY
The financial mastermind. She's typing, and it's raining again.

EFFIE BROWN
Very Blade Runner. And there's a man walking in one of the background screens — looks like—

AVI WEIDER
A security intruder.

AMY HOBBY
She's going to have to—

EFFIE BROWN
She's ready. She's awake. I want to see more.

AVI WEIDER
Here's Pamela Currington Griffin — original sister. A woman passing in White power circles whose exposure risks love, identity, and the mission itself.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay, let me think — you know who would be great? Rebecca Hall. And I know Ruth already did this with Passing, but — or that girl who was in Sinners. She has to really — anyway. But I love all of this because, regardless, this is with Black people. We know Ruth Negga and Zazie Beetz, girl — you're not passing. But anyway.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah.

AVI WEIDER
We move onto George Griffin — venture capitalist, Pamela's husband.

AMY HOBBY
Oh my God.

EFFIE BROWN
Oscar. Javier. Pedro.

AMY HOBBY
Pedro. I follow a whole Instagram channel that's only Pedro dancing.

AVI WEIDER
Amazing.

EFFIE BROWN
I love them all, trust and believe. But — Oscar Isaac.

AMY HOBBY
According to AI. We have on screen — his face is redacted.

EFFIE BROWN
He's like the Epstein files.

AVI WEIDER
Like he got himself redacted.

EFFIE BROWN
I hope he's not in there. Okay, great.

AMY HOBBY
In New York, and it's raining.

AVI WEIDER
He's upset about something, that's for sure.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. And Halle — or Ariel? The Little Mermaid. Hilarious. There's no—

AVI WEIDER
That's—

AMY HOBBY
I don't know. F1 there's a lot of other things.

EFFIE BROWN
No Country for Old Men. Okay, baby.

AMY HOBBY
Weird stuff. Yeah.

AVI WEIDER
And Donna. Harry.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh, my God, that was the greatest. All of it.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah. Right.

EFFIE BROWN
Love. The keeper. She was in that great addiction film.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah.

AVI WEIDER
Oh yeah.

EFFIE BROWN
Now it's great. I love Uzo — Uzo Aduba. Yeah. That's right.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah.

EFFIE BROWN
And Cynthia Erivo — shut the front door. Yes. Totally.

I love her for this. Not Wicked — but, you know, it's okay. It's fine.

AMY HOBBY
The Kitchen. Wicked. Or, you know.

AVI WEIDER
It's fine. The AI's doing the best it can.

EFFIE BROWN
It's doing the best it can. Let her go. Okay. So far, not bad. Don't blow it yet. Okay, great.

AVI WEIDER
All right. And Chuck?

EFFIE BROWN
Yes. Yeah.

AMY HOBBY
Got some test tubes. Oh wait, we've moved.

EFFIE BROWN
I don't know why there are all those White women on the wall, but okay. Anyway.

AMY HOBBY
He's judging. Interesting.

AVI WEIDER
He's looking for clues.

EFFIE BROWN
Magnifying glass, I guess.

AVI WEIDER
He's like Sherlock Holmes.

AMY HOBBY
Wow.

AVI WEIDER
Is this a clue?

EFFIE BROWN
Oh, my God, that's hysterical.

AMY HOBBY
John David Washington?

EFFIE BROWN
He's amazing. And Aldis — you can't go wrong with any of them.

AMY HOBBY
Aldis was in Black Adam, right?

EFFIE BROWN
And also in Cross, which is on Amazon right now — a huge series. And yeah, I got Wonder Man. You know?

AMY HOBBY
Your cast has you totally greenlit now.

EFFIE BROWN
All I'm saying is — send this to me. I'll put my name on it and we'll go.

AMY HOBBY
Take it. We'll provide it.

AVI WEIDER
And here's our power broker.

EFFIE BROWN
He's—

AMY HOBBY
He's in a museum.

AVI WEIDER
He's our man.

AMY HOBBY
In the museum.

EFFIE BROWN
The love that I have for Mads Mikkelsen. Oh, my God.

AVI WEIDER
He's the man.

AMY HOBBY
I don't know why — Indiana Jones? Because he's basically—

EFFIE BROWN
He's in everything.

AMY HOBBY
Did you see Another Round?

EFFIE BROWN
When I say my love for him is filthy — I can't even talk about it. But I love the brick phone that's sitting there.

AMY HOBBY
He's got the brick phone and a whiskey.

EFFIE BROWN
Still whiskey. But he's wearing a wonderful black—

AVI WEIDER
Hat. At the museum. This is from—

NICHOL BRADFORD
The first time Tanya and Renee meet is in a museum where he owns most of the things. He says they're there "on loan," and he gives her a satellite phone — which is why I think that image is so accurate. It's like a satellite burner.

EFFIE BROWN
Yeah.

NICHOL BRADFORD
For them to coordinate, because he actually wants to consolidate the trust. So he's going against his own people and planning to use The Sisterhood to do so.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh, my God, I love this.

AMY HOBBY
So he's a good guy?

EFFIE BROWN
Are any billionaires good guys?

AVI WEIDER
Then we have some storyboard frames. Storyboards.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh my goodness.

AVI WEIDER
It's a wreck.

EFFIE BROWN
The accident. How did we forget Regina King? Yes. Okay.

AVI WEIDER
We've got some police looking at files again, and—

AMY HOBBY
Magnifying glass casting.

AVI WEIDER
Still with the magnifying glass. Gee whiz.

EFFIE BROWN
That's just his thing. We're going to be fine.

AVI WEIDER
He's got to make sure it's all—

NICHOL BRADFORD
The bottom right is after Tonya and Renee have basically killed the bad guy, and Tonya is collecting DNA to tie the knots for the HSBC case — so they can know he killed a bunch of other people. She's connecting the dots.

EFFIE BROWN
Because Tonya is thorough.

AVI WEIDER
We have some poster ideas. You guys could go right out with these.

AMY HOBBY
The first one — you'd set it up at Netflix, I guess.

EFFIE BROWN
I love that the White man's at the top, though. First Sisterhood poster. Hilarious. And he's wearing a monocle. Thank you.

AVI WEIDER
That's how you know he's the bad guy.

EFFIE BROWN
But he's above all the women. Okay. Got it.

AMY HOBBY
Variety, though.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. That is a—

AMY HOBBY
Razor-sharp thriller that hits like—

EFFIE BROWN
It's the truth. Okay. The Sisterhood — Sundance and Toronto.

AVI WEIDER
That's the more festival-prestige version.

AMY HOBBY
Night at The museum meets—

EFFIE BROWN
Night at the Museum. And she's making a call.

AVI WEIDER
Hollywood Reporter: "elegant, devastating, and quietly revolutionary."

EFFIE BROWN
Not quietly. No. No quiet.

AMY HOBBY
Shout.

EFFIE BROWN
They're scared of women, so quietly doing anything is fine. As long as we get the job done.

AVI WEIDER
The last one is—

AMY HOBBY
Neon picked it up. Maybe Cannes.

EFFIE BROWN
All right. Tom Quinn.

AMY HOBBY
Tom Quinn. Kicking it up. "A knockout genre film with a conscience."

NICHOL BRADFORD
One thing I would definitely change: this should be a film by Effie Brown and Nichol Bradford.

EFFIE BROWN
You know what, girl — we got this together and that is going to be a film.

AVI WEIDER
That's a legal AI thing.

EFFIE BROWN
It's all good. I just want the baby to get done. And this is so good.

AMY HOBBY
It's raining. There are microphones.

EFFIE BROWN
An anus. I know there's a ton of — there’s a metal anus.

AMY HOBBY
And the whole thing.

EFFIE BROWN
I don't know what's happening, but it's okay. It's a very cool vibe.

AMY HOBBY
Very blue. Very—

EFFIE BROWN
There you go.

AVI WEIDER
Then we have some bios—

EFFIE BROWN
Oh. Oh my God. Is that me? I am much more pulled together now than that. Thank you very much.

AVI WEIDER
You're on the back lot there.

AMY HOBBY
You're on the back lot.

EFFIE BROWN
I'm on the back lot with the satellite phone and the clipboard.

AVI WEIDER
Clipboard — so you mean business.

EFFIE BROWN
Exactly. I need my assistant behind me and I need to be in my red dress. All right, let's see. "She's produced acclaimed features." Okay, I love it. We're going to get my figure together — I want to be a little more glamorous. Okay, keep going.

AVI WEIDER
It says: Effie Brown is an award-winning film and television producer and an industry leader in inclusion-driven storytelling. She's produced acclaimed features including Dear White People, Real Women Have Curves, and But I'm a Cheerleader, and has been a visible advocate for equity both on screen and behind the camera.

Brown is also the CEO and majority owner of Gamechanger Films, the equity fund launched to finance narrative features directed—

EFFIE BROWN
Only that last part — it's only partially true after Covid. Things took a turn. But it's all good.

AVI WEIDER
We have one for Nichol too.

EFFIE BROWN
Let's see if she's a supermodel.

AVI WEIDER
Compare and contrast.

AMY HOBBY
Nichol looks like a supermodel. You're both in trench coats, which is—

EFFIE BROWN
She looks like a supermodel in that. She has a clavicle and everything. And she's sitting writing in a notebook.

AVI WEIDER
She's writing in a notebook. She's in the museum.

AMY HOBBY
Well, you're the producer — you're outside in the rain with a clipboard.

EFFIE BROWN
I mean.

AMY HOBBY
I feel that. It says—

AVI WEIDER
Nichol Bradford is a creator and executive working at the intersection of story, technology, and human potential. She has an MBA from the Wharton School, teaches and lectures in academic settings including Stanford, and is affiliated with Singularity University as faculty expert focused on human transformation and responsible AI.

Bradford is also the novelist behind The Sisterhood, bringing a systems-level lens to power, institutions, and liberation. The engine that drives this adaptation.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. All right. They won with her. Good job. We'll keep all of this. What do you think, Nichol?

NICHOL BRADFORD
You know how they say it's hard to see the picture when you're standing in it? It's always interesting to see how things read from the outside. And reading that, you're like — yeah, that's...All of this is true.

EFFIE BROWN
Right? Like, this is it. All right. Thank you.

AVI WEIDER
We've got one more page. A wrap-up. Why this story? Why now?

It says: The Sisterhood lands in a moment when institutions feel both omnipotent and broken, when surveillance is normalized, addiction is monetized, and truth is a battleground.

EFFIE BROWN
Yes.

AMY HOBBY
Why now?

AVI WEIDER
The real fear: not that power is chaotic, but that it's organized. A secret network of women of color builds an alternative system — wealth, protection, care — and is punished for it. The twist isn't the conspiracy. It's the refusal to collaborate with oppression. And a vaccine that could collapse a global drug economy. Suddenly this isn't just a thriller. It's a reckoning.

And there's an opening promise for the project: The Sisterhood survives, exposes the frame-up, and refuses the devil's bargain. The rogue killer is unmasked. The trusts are revealed. And the women choose sovereignty over safety. Final note: the vaccine is within reach, and power now knows there's a force it can't buy or bury.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. Give me the money. Someone reach out to me. I will give you the wire account information.

AMY HOBBY
We have a caller! We have a caller!

EFFIE BROWN
Okay, I have to say — yes, I was—

AVI WEIDER
Operators are standing by.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay.

AMY HOBBY
1-800—

EFFIE BROWN
Thank you for seeing it. That's exactly — but imagine trying to do that fifteen years ago. You know what I mean?

AMY HOBBY
It's really interesting, right?

EFFIE BROWN
Those people who are now greenlight-able — they weren't even doing that. They were just starting out.

AVI WEIDER
So we also have a trailer.

AMY HOBBY
I haven't seen the trailer because I'm not allowed.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay. You did really well with the deck. All right.

AVI WEIDER
We'll talk about it after.

AMY HOBBY
And we'll talk about that.

[TRAILER AUDIO]

If you are listening to this, my role is finished.
Do it.
These beams were supposed to be solid.
We've been infiltrated.
I am my sister's keeper.
We require your best. No excuses, no limits, no fears.
The administration reports that Homeland Security is investigating a group called The Sisterhood.
This can't get out. I want you to get inside. Find out what they are.
Has the missing protein.
It's a vaccine.
We end dependency.
Power doesn't fear you. It owns you.
They think they can stop the business.
Whenever we are challenged, we must be prepared.
Yes. I am a Black woman.
A proud one.
Why did you kill Monique Marshall?
She wasn't just killed.
She was tortured.
They ordered me to seduce you.
Try it.
I don't think you're criminals. I think you're the target.
The trusts need to stay powerful.
They'll frame you. Move!
We are our sisters' keepers. Now and forever.

[END TRAILER]

EFFIE BROWN
Oh my God.

AMY HOBBY
Amazing.

EFFIE BROWN
Wow.

AMY HOBBY
It's a lot. It's a little long for a trailer.

AVI WEIDER
Maybe it's an extended trailer.

AMY HOBBY
Extended trailer.

EFFIE BROWN
You know what? It's obviously better at decks. It's okay. 

AMY HOBBY
Yeah.

EFFIE BROWN
No strong suit here. But, Nichol — you're the AI genius.

NICHOL BRADFORD
I actually started crying a little during it. Because this started for me in 1994 — and to actually see it. See it. It's incredibly moving.

From an AI standpoint, there's only one super weird thing — when she did her roundhouse kick, her legs suddenly moved like—

AMY HOBBY
Yeah, there's always some little weird things.

NICHOL BRADFORD
It was at the end of the kick. Just the way it finished.

AVI WEIDER
We're going to bring on our film executive.

ASSISTANT (SOPHIA)
Hey, everyone, it's Sophia. Anne's finishing up on her end and asked me to jump in so we don't waste your time. Quick heads up — we've only got ten minutes today. It's nothing work-related; her dog has a vet appointment that got bumped up. Rescheduling means a three-week wait, and if you've ever met Anne's dog, you know that's not happening. Hard stop. But she is very into The Sisterhood — brought it up twice before coffee. She'll come in hot on character and tone the second she's on. So Effie, Nichol — start wherever feels natural. She'll be right here.

EFFIE BROWN
Oh, my God, you have to go first, Nichol. I'm a little — I don't like this. This was a lot for me at the end of a two-hour session.

[hold music]
 
AVI WEIDER
We've got Effie and Nichol here. We sent over the project — The Sisterhood. I hope you had a chance to look at it. I know you're busy. Anne, if you just want to start off and give us your top-of-mind thoughts on the project—

EXEC (ANNE)
Hey, Amy. Avi. Effie. Nichol. Great to see everyone. Thanks for sending over The Sisterhood. I love the ambition here, especially the focus on female friendship with that supernatural twist. But I am seeing the ending stack up — a bunch of reveals and reversals. By the time we hit the cemetery scene, it's almost too much for a first watch. Have you thought about spacing those payoffs earlier, or is the density at the end intentional? Want me to dive in on structure next?

EFFIE BROWN
Thank you so much for your thoughtful insight. Right now it's a book, and we have a couple of different ways to go. We could do a feature — ninety minutes to two hours — in which things would be parsed out very differently. Or if we were a limited series, say, six one-hour episodes, we could spread that very dense section at the end over three episodes — three hours. It really depends on your appetite, whether it be a feature or a limited series.

EXEC (ANNE)
From what I see, the sheer volume of twists and character reveals — especially in the last act — feels almost tailor-made for a limited series. The feature version risks feeling rushed, especially with all the lore and the shifting alliances. Do you have a gut sense of which format you're more drawn to creatively, or is this still totally open?

EFFIE BROWN
I think we would love to do a limited series that could possibly lead into a longer series or an anthology. We have enough for a solid six to eight one-hour episodes.

EXEC (ANNE)
I love that. Six to eight hours gives you real room to breathe and lets each secret land. Looking at the trailer beats, you've got at least four major reveals — the attic, the old diary, the ritual scene, and the cemetery. That's plenty to anchor a season. Do you have episode-by-episode outlines, or is that still in development?

EFFIE BROWN
We have thumbnails for episode-by-episode outlines, but we're looking for a studio or network partner to collaborate with. We're not intractable, but we definitely have a thumbnail design of what these episodes could be.

EXEC (ANNE)
That's smart. Having flexibility with the outline makes you a stronger partner for buyers. With the thumbnails, I'd suggest making sure each episode has one must-see set piece — like the attic or the ritual — so you can pitch clear episode hooks.

AVI WEIDER
What do you think about casting? How important would that be, given what Effie is outlining? Who do you think could anchor this?

EXEC (ANNE)
Casting will be everything for this. In a limited series balancing friendship and high-stakes plot, you need stars with real chemistry who can ground the fantastical with emotional truth. One anchor with broad recognition — think Regina King, Thandie Newton, or Gugu Mbatha-Raw — plus at least one rising or international name to open doors with buyers. Do you already have anyone on your dream board, or are you hunting for types right now?

EFFIE BROWN
We're actually in talks with a few actors. We're thinking Teyana Taylor, Angela Bassett — we love the idea of Regina King, who might also like to direct. So we have plenty of actors who would love to be part of it.

What I'd love to do with the time we have left: are you wanting to finance and be our partner on this project?

EXEC (ANNE)
I'm not a financier myself, but I work closely with partners who come in at different stages — sometimes early, sometimes once there's a package or a studio on board. Are you open to attaching talent with "if comes" to help drive those financing conversations, or are you set on hard commitments up front?

EFFIE BROWN
I'm perfectly fine with an "if come." We're looking for partnership and collaboration, but with a streamer or network — someone who already has distribution output. Nichol and I have the studio and production side on lock. We're definitely looking for a partner with distribution capability.

EXEC (ANNE)
That's the right strategy. Streamers and networks want to see both creative vision and real package heat. "If come" talent offers can move those conversations forward fast, especially with names like Bassett or King. Are you getting traction with any distributors already, or is that outreach just starting?

EFFIE BROWN
Well — we were wondering how you could be helpful in that regard.

EXEC (ANNE)
Got it. Where I can really help is shaping the pitch materials — episode map, casting deck, financial comps — so when you go to streamers or networks, you're bulletproof. I can also make introductions to a few execs who are looking for exactly this kind of project.

EFFIE BROWN
Okay, that's—

EXEC (ANNE)
Based on pitch deck feedback, or am I on target?

EFFIE BROWN
Thank you so much. I think we're very good on the pitch deck, the trailer, and the creative vision — Nichol has provided such wonderful depth with her novel. What would be helpful is actually connecting us with executives who have financing. We could be looking at a bidding war. Who are those people, and can we get their contact?

EXEC (ANNE)
I wish I could hand out direct numbers, but for both legal and practical reasons, I can only make those introductions directly — always a warm handoff, never a cold contact. I absolutely know who's buying right now. Are you looking at streamers — Netflix, Amazon, Hulu? Or would you consider cable nets like FX, or premium like Starz? That helps me target the right execs for your world.

EFFIE BROWN
I'd love to focus on Netflix or Mubi, as they have great international reach. Amazon, FX — which is now a division of Disney — and Hulu could also be interesting. But basically, whoever can see our creative vision and move quickly to catch this moment — that's where we want to go.

EXEC (ANNE)
That helps a lot. I'm close with execs at Netflix Current Drama International, Amazon, and Hulu Originals, and I know the Mubi acquisition—

ASSISTANT (SOPHIA)
Nichol, I'm so sorry to cut in — Anne just had to bolt for the vet. Honestly, I think she was one more good pitch point away from canceling on the dog entirely. She held on till the last second. Thank you both so much for walking us through The Sisterhood. I was taking notes and I have to say — just personally — the dynamic you're building is really compelling. Not that anyone asked me, but they should. Anyway, if you want a next step, send over whatever materials best capture the central relationship and tone. A few pages, a lookbook, whatever you've got. We'll read it tonight and come back with notes. Thanks again. Really appreciate you both making the time.

EFFIE BROWN
Thanks.

AMY HOBBY
That assistant is so high energy, I can't take it. But someone—

EFFIE BROWN
Should hire her, because she's going to be running the studio.

AMY HOBBY
Exactly.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Why did Anne not think she could write checks? Is that sort of like—

AVI WEIDER
Not the shot caller, I guess.

NICHOL BRADFORD
I was sitting here thinking — why isn't Anne writing checks?

EFFIE BROWN
I know. I should have asked — and where am I pitching? I didn't ask. I was more concerned about myself and our project. True narcissist.

AMY HOBBY
She wouldn't give you those numbers, but—

NICHOL BRADFORD
She was fairly certain she couldn't write checks. So I just sort of—

EFFIE BROWN
She was like, I can connect you. I can — I don’t need another creative voice. We need money.

AVI WEIDER
I need to hook her up to the financial agent.

EFFIE BROWN
Hook her up to The Sisterhood. Be like, Anne — bet on yourself, girl.

AMY HOBBY
Yeah, exactly. You can do anything.

EFFIE BROWN
Stop working for the man bringing us down. Come on in.

AVI WEIDER
So, Effie — we know you have to run. The last question we ask everybody: could we make it now?

EFFIE BROWN
Could we make this movie now? One thousand percent. And can I also say — before I high five you that I really love that deck. I would give you a passing credit for sure.

AMY HOBBY
Special thanks! 

EFFIE BROWN
I’ll give you special thanks. I love how they phrased certain things, which made us think about the project differently — a fresh perspective. Because we've been with this for so long, it's like, oh right. When Nichol was like, we are creating a new system — yeah, we really are. So that's the thing.

I'd love to get that deck. And it was lovely to see the trailer. For pre-viz — for certain things like the opening assassination — we might use it. There's a way to cut this into a one-minute sizzle reel that could be really interesting. Like, oh, oh, oh.

AMY HOBBY
Right now I can see those points. Exactly.

EFFIE BROWN
Yeah. I think a four-minute pre-vis would be killer. But I have to tell you — I'm very heartened by this conversation, by the pitch deck, by the teaser. And I'm just really grateful to have talked about this project again and gotten our game face on for when we go back out. I'm really appreciative.

NICHOL BRADFORD
Thank you for sharing those materials with us. It would be really interesting to imagine how people would want to be on your podcast once—

AMY HOBBY
You get greenlit. You'd be extra popular. Yeah, yeah.

AVI WEIDER
That's what we're hoping for.

EFFIE BROWN
Films Not Made—

AMY HOBBY
We want—

AVI WEIDER
We want it made.

AMY HOBBY
We want it made.

EFFIE BROWN
I love it. Thank you, you guys.

AVI WEIDER
You've been listening to Films Not Made. For an even better experience, check us out on YouTube where you can see all the new materials, including the pitch deck and trailer.

SPEAKER
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AVI WEIDER
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SPEAKER
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AVI WEIDER
Thanks again for listening and watching. We'll see you next time.