Diaz is running with her expanded role overseeing development and production of Showtime and MTVE Studios content. As part of her commitment to investing in BIPOC and women creators, Diaz entered a jv with producer Lashan Browning to launch production company Antoinette Media, the first partnership to come out of the $250 million incubator commitment she made in 2021.
“What I loved most about ‘Barbie’ is it showed the power of a female-created, female-led, female-driven piece of content at the box office. It consumed the zeitgeist.”
What’s something you admire about Gen Z? So much! They believe they can change the world and they are using new media platforms make a huge impact on storytelling. Whether through TikTok or social platforms, they have an entrepreneurial spirit that encourages them to create content and get it out there. They are very confident in who they are and their identities. They have shattered the labeling of past generations – certainly of mine. I love that they won’t stand for being stereotyped in any way.
They have boundaries and they are really clear about them. I wish I had some of that when I was younger. What they will and won’t tolerate is exhilarating. They are changing the nature of work—creating a whole new work culture that prioritizes their idea of balance.
They are normalizing mental health. We are experiencing a mental health crisis in this country, but Gen Z places a high value on their mental wellbeing and is talking about it. We have a deep heritage in mental health storytelling; but it’s amazing to see how this generation doesn’t have the stigma we experienced even a decade ago. From Euphoria to Wolf Pack, we’re seeing much more authentic and nuanced stories and representation that is resonating with this generation and driving meaningful change.
What book on leadership do you recommend and why? Play Like A Man, Win Like A Woman by Gail Evans. This book is more than 20 years old but the lessons it taught me then remain with me today. It provided me with essential insights and tools for how to leverage power in the workplace. The book was the first time I heard of “imposter syndrome.” I was living with it – walking around with it on my back—and it was getting in my way of achieving success. A lot of the ways in which I felt shut out were endemic. This book normalized all of it – validating that it was an experience and it’s real. And importantly, it taught me how to address it.
