Sing Sing paid ~$150/day
Colman Domingo earned approximately $150 a day on the film Sing Sing, which he also co-produced, describing it as a labor of love.
Where this was said
Rustin, The Color Purple, and Becoming a Leading Actor
At 51:51 · chapter starts 47:40
Rustin was, Domingo explains, a role that met him at exactly the right moment. Bayard Rustin — the brilliant, openly gay organizer of the March on Washington who was perpetually sidelined despite his genius — mirrored Domingo's own career experience of showing up, doing excellent work, and being treated as utilitarian rather than central. [1] — Colman Domingo "Colman Domingo shot Rustin, Sing Sing, and The Color Purple in overlapping succession, and the combination ignited what he calls his 'leadi…" 49:50 When the role arrived, it felt like a mutual recognition: 'I know this guy. I've lived with him.' Then came Sing Sing, shot partly overlapping with Rustin pickups and then The Color Purple — three films in rapid succession that together ignited a 'true leader on set' phase. Sing Sing was a $150-a-day labor of love with formerly incarcerated men who had lived the story; Domingo poured his soul into it in ways that make him reluctant to rewatch it, because seeing it takes him straight back to the somatic memory of making it.
What It Means to Lead With Empathy on Set
Colman Domingo argues that an actor who leads with love and empathy doesn't just perform well — they transform a set's entire ecosystem. Even playing villains like Joe Jackson or a pimp in The Color Purple, he finds the human truth first. That refusal to judge is why Steven Spielberg, Ava DuVernay, and others keep returning.
Rustin, Sing Sing, Color Purple: The Trio That Made Him a Leading Man
Colman Domingo shot Rustin, Sing Sing, and The Color Purple in overlapping succession, and the combination ignited what he calls his 'leading actor phase.' He had always been the Equity deputy on theatrical sets — the person everyone went to for advocacy. Now he finally had the roles to match the leadership he had always quietly carried.
Similar snapshots
AI novel 'Call Me, I'll Hide the Body' sold for $2.4M
A novel called 'Call Me, I'll Hide the Body' triggered a 14-publisher bidding war and sold for $2.4 million before critics alleged it was predominantly written by AI.
John Mulaney cold-texted Robby
John Mulaney cold-texted Robby Hoffman out of nowhere to offer to produce her Netflix special, which became Wake Up.
Posed as a courier to pitch HBO Canada
Robby Hoffman posed as a courier to hand-deliver her spec script directly to the president of HBO Canada early in her career.
Two Netflix specials filmed in one night
Robby and Mulaney filmed two shows in one night for the Netflix special; after the first they knew they had it, so the second was a victory lap.
250–300 shows per year
Jimmy Carr performs up to 300 shows a year, often doing two shows per night, which he says reduces nerves rather than increasing them.
Comedy optimal speech: 92 BPM
Jimmy Carr says that speaking at roughly 92 beats per minute is the optimal cadence for comedy and public speaking, including political speeches like Obama's.
The oldest joke is ~4,000 years old
The oldest recorded joke appears in a Roman book called 'The Lover of Laughter' and is still funny — a barber asking how a man wants his haircut, who replies 'in silence'.
Overton window expanded by comedians
Jimmy Carr argues that comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Dave Chappelle have permanently expanded the conversational Overton window on sex, politics, and taboo topics.
Lion King musical: $11B lifetime gross
The Lion King musical has grossed over $11 billion in its 30-year run, making it the single highest-grossing piece of entertainment in history across any medium.
