THE BEST OF TASTY CLIPS: Director Hanelle M. Culpepper is in ‘Paradise’ with her craft
By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
“The moment I got the news, I was kind of stunned, thrilled and also a little afraid,” said HANELLE M. CULPEPPER to Tasty Clips at the time of the call to direct the exciting pilot and two subsequent episodes for CBS All Access’ “Star Trek: Picard,” making her the first woman to launch a new “Star Trek” series in its 53-year history.
“I was a little bit terrified because I knew there were very high stakes with this,” the Alabama native admitted. “I’m always a person who strives to do my very best. With ‘Star Trek’ anything less than that is unacceptable. I just wanted to make sure we delivered a show that was pleasing to the fans but pushed it a little bit … and then I called my husband and screamed.”
The then 49-year-old award-winning director was certainly ready with a variety of credits to her name including helming popular television shows “Gotham,” “Counterpart,” “NOS4A2,” “Star Trek: Discovery” and “How to Get Away with Murder.”
She was also a big fan of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
“Basically Data, Riker and Picard were my three favorite characters,” Culpepper said.
Another boon was the hands-on presence of series star and executive producer Sir Patrick Stewart.
“He has a lot of input,” she said. “Of course, he’s connected to his character, but he also is very well connected to what they have developed over the course of several months in telling the story of his reentry into our lives. I really enjoyed working with him.”
Pet projects the director, producer and writer have been developing include a couple of feature films. One is based on the book, “The Miracles of Santo Fico” by D.L. Smith.
According to Culpepper, “It’s about this guy who is a bit of a shyster who pulls one last con and gets caught by the woman who has always loved him. She tells him he must create a miracle for her uncle who was a priest to regain his faith back. So, it’s about this guy faking miracles in this small Italian town and it is very sweet.”
The other is “1000 Miles” co-written by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (“Washington Black“) telling the true, but not well-known story of William and Ellen Craft.
As she relates, “Ellen could pass for white, and so they escaped by her dressing up as a white man and her husband acting as if he was her slave and they traveled first class with the white people in trains and boats and made their way to Boston.”
Culpepper didn’t hesitate when asked if there was another franchise she wouldd like to take on.
“I would love to do the next James Bond,” she boldly said. “My favorite James Bond was Roger Moore back in the day, but I’d be happy to do it with Idris [Elba].”
This year, she has continued to make history by being nominated for a directing Emmy for her work on the gripping Hulu series “Paradise” joining Alex Stapleton (“Sean Combs: The Reckoning”), Julie Dash (“Wanda Sykes: Legacy”), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (“The Gilded Age” “Task”), and Rikki Hughes (“Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable”) in a class populated by the most Black women ever vying as TV helmers.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Culpepper is involved in two limited series on the way: “Anansi Boys” with Delroy Lindo, Whoopi Goldberg, CCH Pounder and Malachi Kirby; and “Neuromancer” with André De Shields, Peter Sarsgaard and ironically the man rumored as the next Bond, Callum Turner.
“Shooting anything is stressful,” she says of her profession. “There’s a lot of prep to do. You never have enough time or money. It’s also a fun job. The thing you have to remember constantly is to have fun and find joy in the process because we’re lucky. We get to make movies and entertain. It’s a great thing.”
For 12 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.
