Will Packer: 'Obsessed' Producer Says Film's Success Helps Black Hollywood

Beyoncé and Idris Elba aren’t the only ones “Obsessed” with their latest film. Nearly $28.5 million dollars worth of weekend moviegoers were equally caught up with Sony Screen Gems’ love triangle gone awry, a classic spin on the early 1990’s film “Fatal Attraction,” which starred Michael Douglass and Glenn Close.

However, the biggest winner of them all is producer Will Packer, who’s enjoying his second No. 1 blockbuster.

“It feels absolutely incredible to have a No. 1 movie. You work so hard to bring a film to reality, and in large part the success or failure all comes down to one weekend. So many things have to line up perfectly to have an opening like this. It’s a true blessing!” said Packer, who celebrated with family and friends at the New York premiere last week. “‘Stomp The Yard’ was my first No. 1, “Takers” is next.”

The lucrative business of urban films is not just about the dollars and cents, but weilding power among Black Hollywood’s elite actors and actresses who don’t have the dearth of roles that are often reserved for their White counterparts.

“This bodes well for films by and featuring African-American talent,” says Packer. “Hollywood is very reactionary, and I guarantee we’ll see other films with similar themes and faces in the near future. This is a very good thing for Black Hollywood.”

Packer, a Florida A&M University alum, is the cofounder of Rainforest Films, a production company, and has produced films such as “Trois” and “Stomp the Yard.” He just produced his first action flick, “The Takers,” about a group of bank robbers who come together to pull off one last  $20 million heist with a recently paroled cohort, only to be detracted by a hard-boiled detective. The film, scheduled to hits theaters in 2010, features Michael Ealy, Idris elba, Zoe Saldana, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, T.I. and Hayden Christiansen.