The Real Report - 50 Cent's director Eif Rivera tells WILD 'Power' & Fat Joe beef stories

Summary

Joe and Jada Podcast: The Real Report

Episode: 50 Cent's director Eif Rivera tells WILD 'Power' & Fat Joe beef stories
Release Date: March 19, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this dynamic and candid conversation, hip-hop legends and longtime friends Fat Joe and Jadakiss sit down with acclaimed director Eif Rivera (often called "Eth") to unpack wild behind-the-scenes stories from his career directing music videos and TV shows for icons like 50 Cent, Fat Joe, Nicki Minaj, Mary J. Blige, and more. The episode's heart is Rivera’s firsthand account of navigating industry beefs, especially the notorious Fat Joe and 50 Cent feud, and his journey breaking into film and TV—most recently, directing Al Pacino in "Killing Castro." Rivera, the Bronx native, reflects on the challenges of being a Black/Latino creative in Hollywood, shares practical advice for up-and-coming directors, and delivers wild, funny anecdotes about working with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and Hollywood.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Eif Rivera's Bronx Roots and Artistic Beginnings

• Rivera's foundation: Raised in the Bronx, surrounded by hip-hop culture—graffiti, breakdancing, DJs like Melly Mel.
• Early creativity: Went from graffiti to picking up a camcorder, filming local names (Lord Tariq, Peter Gunz), which led to collaborating with Fat Joe.
  • "Growing up in the Bronx...young, grown up hip hop...graffiti was just another aspect of it." [04:00]

2. First Forays Into Filmmaking

• The first camera: Handheld camcorder shooting friends and local artists; serendipitous progression to working with both Fat Joe and later 50 Cent (Fifth).
• "I started around shooting Lord Tariq...then that led to me shooting Fat Joe because he was just right down the block." [09:08]

3. Caught in 50 Cent vs. Fat Joe Beef

• Unique position: Rivera worked with both Fat Joe (Terror Squad) and 50 Cent despite their public beef.
• Eif as mediator: Candidly discusses how he helped set up the peace meeting and kept both artists in the loop about his collaborations—emphasizing honesty and loyalty.
  • "Sometimes, he [50] don’t say nothing...I kept beating him over the head with it...if y'all really met, y’all would like each other." [10:54]
  • "I told Joe, pull up. Leave everybody outside...I was like, dead this right now...they shook hands, and five minutes later, they joking." [16:49]
• Notable quote: "Let’s see what that is. ‘Cause I think a part of him wanted to squash that beef at some point." [15:50]
• BET Awards chaos: Recounts tense moments backstage: "Felt like Rikers Island back there...that’s when the murder, Rick Ross and Jeezy..." [16:29]

4. Breaking Barriers With 50 Cent: Building a Career

• Rivera’s first “real money” moment:
  • "He told Renee...give Eif all the money from the mixtape...like $35-$40,000...that’s when I said, this shit is real." [13:01]
• On loyalty with 50:
  • 50 Cent never blocked Rivera from working with “enemies”; instead, encouraged him to get his money and experience.
  • "He never blocked my money. 'Go get your money.' The reason why...he wanted me to gain more experience with different people..." [14:12]

5. Transition to TV: Directing 'Power', Overcoming Hollywood Stereotypes

• Initial skepticism: Music video directors get a "bad rep" in Hollywood; producers doubted Rivera could handle scripted TV.
  • "When you start taking shots, I mean, it's a reality...they see is a cat runnin’ around with 50 cent videos..." [20:39]
• Perseverance: Took acting classes to better connect with actors, proved doubters wrong with his skill, and won respect on sets like 'Power', 'For Life', and 'BMF'.
  • "I started kind of telling little stories into the video, like, without dialogue. Little narrative pieces...what really made Hollywood call me was Cardi B's 'I Like It Like That'—1.6 billion views..." [22:21]
  • "They portrayed you to be this...‘50's camera guy’...when they saw I knew everything, they said 'You not that. You really know your shit.'" [26:05]

6. Working With Al Pacino & Making 'Killing Castro'

• How Pacino joined: Fast casting turnaround; intense nerves before first meeting with Pacino.
  • "Not everybody could get Al Pacino, for the record...somebody said it took him years...I was like, damn, I did it crazy." [38:34]
• Inside Pacino meeting: Pacino tested Rivera by reciting all the legendary directors he'd worked with, then tested Rivera’s knowledge of his own script.
  • "He said, you know who saved my life? The rappers. The rappers saved my life." [43:00]
• Why representation matters:
  • "A piece of that...he had to see my work...he knew I come from videos...because of his experiences and rap, he said, ‘Now I gotta get...I’m gonna give him a shot.’" [43:54]
  • Emotional after wrapping: "I got home at midnight...and I cried for two hours...because now...the meetings are different." [48:11]

7. Advice for Aspiring Creatives

• On hustle: "Learn as much as you can. Keep shooting. If you want into commercials, do a Pepsi commercial—just write a scene, shoot it, call it a spec." [49:48]
• Networking + Confidence: Don't be afraid to approach or give creative suggestions to stars; relate to them as equals.
• On acting: "Rivera recommends taking acting classes, even if it’s just a few. 'Sharpen the skills...do small scenes...put your stuff on YouTube or Vimeo, build a base.'" [28:50]
• Preparedness: "Artists want to be in and out...You gotta make sure this shit is ready...shoot the B-roll, shoot other things while they’re late, so you’re always working..." [57:52]

8. Director's Craft: Technical Choices

• Cameras: "For TV and film, the Alexa, like the Venice. That’s what everybody's using right now...but the lenses, it's the look...get a dope lens package before anything." [65:15]
• Lighting & Representation: Importance of having a crew who understands how to properly light, film, and present Black and brown skin.
  • "There's a certain way you gotta light a dark person...use warm temperature...complements the skin." [77:22]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Hip-Hop Saving Pacino’s Career:
  • Al Pacino (via Eif): "You know who saved my life? The rappers. The rappers saved my life." [43:00]
• On Making Peace in the Joe/50 Beef:
  • Eif Rivera: "I told Joe, pull up...leave everybody outside, right? And Fifth left everybody outside, too. They came in...I was like, dead this right now...my brothers...five minutes later, they joking." [16:49]
• On Opportunity for Young Directors:
  • "If you get that opportunity, man, don’t f** it up by taking your money and you’re gonna be sleeping with a thousand strippers and getting high...come to set drunk, smoking...do your 10 hours, then go do your thing...*" [33:23]
• On Loyalty and Working With Both Sides:
  • "I'm not no sucker. I'm not no punk. Like, with Joe...at first, he kind of, like, laughed, but he wasn’t mad...I think a part of him wanted to squash that beef at some point." [15:37]
• On Black/Brown Representation in Hollywood:
  • "We don’t get a lot of opportunities, of course...But for me, I’m building with my people. I don’t need those other shows just for the awards..." [33:02]
• On Beating Industry Stereotypes:
  • "They were like, ‘50's camera guy's gonna shoot the next episode...’ but when they saw I knew everything...they said you really know your shit." [25:57]
• On Directing Artists:
  • "You gotta be able to take charge. Sometimes, the artists don’t know what they want...if you can get them what they ask (like a flamingo in a scene), they’re happy..." [58:02]

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Quickfire & Personal Insights

• Favorite artists to work with (besides 50 Cent): Future, Nicki Minaj [64:27]
• Jay Z or Nas?
  • "Every time I think about Nas, I think of, like, 'Ether' and everything. Nas, man. I’m going to go with Nas. I love Jay, but Queen Smoking. Nas...he's like a secret weapon." [67:14]
• Dream Collab (Dead or Alive): Michael Jackson, Christopher Walken (especially his King of New York era), Denzel Washington [69:01]
• Favorite Movies: Arrival, Training Day, King of New York, Heat, Malcolm X, World War Z, classic gangster flicks and ‘street stories’ like Sugar Hill, New Jack City, Clockers [70:05–71:28]

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What's Next for Eif Rivera

• 'Killing Castro':
  • Finished shooting, starring Al Pacino, moving to film festivals like Toronto.
  • Large ensemble cast from Hollywood and Latin music/TV (Ron Livingston, Diego Boneta, Sholo Maridueña, etc.) [78:19]
• Upcoming project:
  • Biopic on Kimbo Slice, with potential for other high-profile casting (50 Cent initially considered for Kimbo). [80:06]
• Advice for new directors:
  • Keep learning, shoot “spec” commercials, build your network, represent authentically, and don’t waste opportunities.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Rivera's Bronx upbringing & graffiti/storytelling roots – [03:19] – [04:07]
• Getting involved with Fat Joe and 50 Cent – [08:31] – [13:01]
• Mediating Fat Joe & 50 Cent beef, BET stories – [14:59] – [18:38]
• Breaking into TV, Hollywood skepticism – [20:01] – [26:05]
• Directing ‘Power’ and ‘For Life’, advice for actors – [28:00] – [29:51]
• The Al Pacino story & ‘Killing Castro’ – [38:09] – [48:42]
• Advice for young directors, on spec commercials – [49:48] – [51:38]
• Director’s technical choices (cameras, lenses, lighting) – [65:08] – [77:44]
• Quickfire favorites: artists, movies, dream collabs – [64:27], [69:09] – [71:28]
• Upcoming projects: ‘Killing Castro’ and Kimbo Slice biopic – [78:19] – [80:16]

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Final Thoughts

Eif Rivera’s journey is a testament to the Bronx-born creative's hustle, loyalty, and resilience. The conversation blends humor, raw advice, and wisdom as Rivera navigates personal and professional landmines—from industry beefs to Hollywood’s glass ceiling—emerging as a trailblazer for diverse voices. For any aspiring director, artist, or hip-hop head, this episode is a masterclass in perseverance, authenticity, and the unseen work behind those iconic moments in music and television.

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Listen for:

• Hilarious and heartfelt accounts of New York street and industry politics
• Practical, actionable game for young directors, actors, and creators
• Behind-the-scenes on hip-hop beef, mediations, and misadventures with legends
• A celebration of cross-cultural influence, legacy, and lifting up the next generation

Transcript

[Eth Rivera]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Bleacher Report Host]

Guaranteed Human the Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time, scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

I became a millionaire overnight and lost everything that actually mattered.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Hold on, Sophia, did you just say they lost everything after becoming a millionaire?

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

That's right. And it gets worse. It's inheriting too much drama week on the OK Storytime podcast so we'll find out soon. This person writes, I just inherited a fortune after losing my mom and now my girlfriend's entire family is coming out of nowhere with her hands out and my girlfriend is is already giving my money away.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

So the girl he wants to marry is already sending money out the door.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

Find out how it ends. Listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Has the news been getting you down? I'm Megan McCardell and I'm here to help. I'm the host of a new show from Washington Post Opinion called Reasonably Optimistic and it's an antidote to the pessimism that's riddling America right now. Every Wednesday I'm gonna talk to people

[Eth Rivera]

who see a path that it does seem to me that there is some awakening of a desire to act together to solve problems where they are. You know, I am a believer in America and it's worth fighting for.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

Join me Wednesdays on YouTube or wherever you get.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Your podcasts bring incredible sound into every corner of your home with the new Whimsound Smart speaker. Get high resolution audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control and modern design in one powerful speaker for just $299. From Quiet Mornings to lively family gatherings, Whimsound makes every moment sound better and feel better too. Create a home filled with sound you love. Ready to upgrade your sound? Shop now at Amazon and search Whimsound. That's W I M S O U

[Bleacher Report Host]

N D the Global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my how we do it. Gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow267's million dollars gaming in an epic global gaming league game showdown. Plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist, Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match right [e-mail] that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Level Up Expo.

[Eth Rivera]

I did the. The Air Pun logo for Pun. Back then I used to do a bunch of logos.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Rest in peace. To Pun.

[Eth Rivera]

I did the Snowman for Jeezy. Like back then I was doing a lot.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay, he didn't get stabbed.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Shut the up.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Movies. Make some noise for ETH Rivera, man.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

E. Favreau, Movie director, music director. Big time. Yeah, we got eth in the building, baby.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So Eth, man, where you from?

[Eth Rivera]

BX.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, the BX. The Bronx, man.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Your whole life.

[Eth Rivera]

The BX whole life. 164th and Sheridan Ave. Oh, okay.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

And what made you want to pick up a camera?

[Eth Rivera]

I was always into art, man. So it was just went from graffiti and drawing and like that to. To just moving images.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, the break dancing and all that.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. I mean, I love movies, so it was the thing for me. Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I remember K Slay used to be recipes to K. Slay. He was big into the graffiti. He used to spray paint and all that stuff.

[Eth Rivera]

Oh, yeah, I got a case, a

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

story, and I watched beach street and all that and all that back in the day.

[Eth Rivera]

Ye. Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Classics.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. So you. That's what it is. Growing up in the Bronx, you know what I mean? In the the 70s and around, you know, all the crews back then. I mean, my block was called the Unstoppable Crew.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

The Unstoppable, Unstoppable Crew.

[Eth Rivera]

Man, you had everybody out there. The DJs used to go in the corner. There was a little church. 165th, right? Melly, Mel. Everybody used to DJ up there, man. So it was. It was embedded in us. Young, like grown up hip hop, you know what I mean? So graffiti was just another aspect of it. Graffiti, break dancing, all that certified plant genius here. Most people see a busy plant shop, but I see a perfectly balanced ecosystem thanks to Genius from Global Payments Inventory. Tracked payments, seamless reviews in one place. Absolutely genius. From sold out crowds worldwide to running this shop, genius grows with you.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

Your monsteras potted, healthy roots, strong growth,

[Eth Rivera]

just like this shot.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

Big league reliability for your business. That's genius. I became a millionaire overnight, but lost everything that actually mattered.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Wait a Minute, Sophia, did you just say he lost everything?

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

That's right. It's inheriting too much. Drama week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, I just inherited a fortune after losing my mom, and now my girlfriend's entire family is coming out of nowhere with their hands up. One sibling wants me to fund their whole lifestyle. Another vanished for four years and sudden suddenly reappeared, and my girlfriend is already giving my money away.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Hold on, Sophia. So the girl he wants to marry is already sending money out the door,

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

and that's just the beginning. He makes a plan, sets up a trust, and finally thinks he has everything under control.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Okay, so things work out then?

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

Let's just say the people he trusted the most are the ones who ended up shocking him the most.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

So does the money end up being worth going through all that?

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

To find out, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lori Siegel]

I'm Lori Siegel, a longtime tech journalist and consider my new podcast, Mostly Human, your bridge to the future.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Anyone can now be an entrepreneur. Anyone can build an app, and it's very empowering.

[Lori Siegel]

Each week I'll speak to the people building that future and we're going to break down what all of this innovation actually means for you.

[Eth Rivera]

What I come to realize is that

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

when people think that they're dating this AI companion, they're actually dating the companies that create this.

[Lori Siegel]

We're experiencing one of the greatest tech accelerations in human history. And look, let's be honest, that can be messy.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

There's no playbook for what to do

[Eth Rivera]

when an AI model hallucinates a story about you.

[Lori Siegel]

But it's my belief that we should all benefit from this moment. Mostly Human will show you how. My goal is to give you the playbook so you can benefit.

[Bleacher Report Host]

The reason I say agency is because if we can give power back to people, then I think that's probably the best thing we can do for your mental health.

[Lori Siegel]

Listen to Mostly human on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show.

[Stephanie Young]

In 2023, former Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd found himself at the center of a paternity scandal. The family court hearings that followed revealed glaring inconsistencies in her story. This began a years long court battle to prove the truth.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct?

[Eth Rivera]

I doctored the test once.

[Stephanie Young]

It took an army of Internet detectives to crack the case.

[Eth Rivera]

I wanted people to be able to see what their tax dollars were being used for.

[Bleacher Report Host]

Sunlight's the greatest disinfectant.

[Stephanie Young]

They would uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing.

[Eth Rivera]

Greg Gillespie and Michael Maranchini.

[Stephanie Young]

My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trap.

[Eth Rivera]

Laura Scottsdale Police.

[Stephanie Young]

As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences.

[Eth Rivera]

Ladies and gentlemen, breaking news at a

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Maricopa county as Laura Owens has been

[Eth Rivera]

indicted on fraud charges.

[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

This isn't over until justice is served in Arizona.

[Stephanie Young]

Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bleacher Report Host]

The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up. March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment. You've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time. Scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Okay, what's your first time picking up a camera, man?

[Eth Rivera]

First time.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Don't worry about murder.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Hold up. And we not gonna do this, too.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Like, we.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You not gonna ask all the questions, brother. We not gonna do this. He always try to take over the whole thing.

[Eth Rivera]

I mean, you gotta, you gotta.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah, you can answer his question, but we not gon.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You asked the next question. All right. What's the first time you picked up a camera, man?

[Eth Rivera]

I had, I had a. Was a. One of them camcorders, a little tape, Remember little tape joints that you pop in there, right? And I was just around the way. And, you know, I grew up in Lord Tariq, Peter Guns, all these dudes from my, my block.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Sound View.

[Eth Rivera]

Sound View and all that. And I started around shooting Lord Tariq and like that around the way, and then that led to me shooting Fat Joe because he was just right down the block.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Shout to Fat Joe.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, Fat Joe.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yo, I'm so happy that everything was settled. Rest in peace to Chris Lighty. Because that was a. That was a crazy one.

[Eth Rivera]

That was crazy.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, that was crazy. You know what I mean?

[Eth Rivera]

You want to touch on that? I mean, Joe had said something in his book, but I could elaborate a little bit more how that whole thing.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, I gotta. I gotta get it. Shout out to Joe, man. I gotta get your book, man.

[Eth Rivera]

What's the name of the book? Fat Joe's Book. Okay, yes, Fat Joe. Fat Joe mentioned it in the book.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

But, yeah, I could touch on it. I know from just the music side when y' all was going through the shit, right? And I had met Fifth by accident, right? It wasn't by accident, but I had did a little project, and he saw. He wanted to meet me. So then I started working with Fifth, and then I told. I think he kind of knew, too. I was like down with Terror Squad and all that. You know what I mean? But we never really touched on it. And then I seen how my relationship with Fif blossomed. You know what I mean? Like, I felt like, yo, like, we cool with each other. It was a creative thing. You know what I mean? And we got to the point where I was just like, yo, man, you remind me so much of Fat Joe. Like, y' all both, you know, funny niggas, you know, hard street niggas, you know what I'm saying? Like, all of that. And I was like, if you got really to meet Joe, y' all would like each other, you know? I mean, because y' all the same, bro. And I was shooting a video one day in la.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

What was Fifth response when you said that, though?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You know.

[Eth Rivera]

You know, Fifth, Fifth. The type of dude, sometimes, he don't say nothing. He just look at you and he. He's processing that whole thought. You know how he is. Yeah, yeah. His eyebrow raises up and he just kind of walk away. So. But I kept beating him over the head with it. You know what I mean? Respectfully. You know what I mean? Because sometimes don't want, you know, revisit shit, whatever the case is. Yeah. So I was in la, man, and. And I was about to shoot a video. It was Fat Joe, Wiz Khalifa and Tiana Taylor. I forgot the name of the record, but Fifth hit me, because by that time, me and Fifth already been rocking. We've been doing. We. I don't know, man. We done. Me and Phil got probably, like, 50 videos in my life.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Let's name the 50 videos.

[Eth Rivera]

Oh, I can't even remember.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I'm trying to remember something.

[Eth Rivera]

I'mma touch. So with the 50 videos, when I met fifth, like, he saw I had an eye, right? So we was just. It was just me and him running around with a camera like it was crazy. Like, we out in the blizzard, you know? 5th don't care.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I remember all that. I remember one of them videos like that. It was a blizzard.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. Like we in a snowstorm. It's just me and him. Everybody, we crazy. So. But we rocked out, and I taught myself how to edit and do all that shit, right? And, you know, then I think the first break I got. And when I say break, I mean actually doing something for a label. Yeah. Because by then, I was just doing with fifth. And then the first time I seen, like, I don't want to say real money. Like, when I. When I felt the money from. On the fifth side.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What you mean you got real money? You said, it's real money.

[Eth Rivera]

It's real money.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So you're saying when you got fifth, you got. With fifth?

[Eth Rivera]

It was real mean. We was running around, right? He was paying me for video and stuff like that. But. But I knew it was different when he did a mixtape for one of the websites. I'm not gonna mention. But he did a mixtape, and then he told somebody in the office. I think he told Renee or whatever. Yo, give Eve all the money from the mixtape. Let him keep that and do videos.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I never knew that one.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. Yeah. So it was like 35, 40,000. I was like, oh, shit. Like, that's when I said, this shit is real.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You get what I'm saying?

[Eth Rivera]

Like, to me, it was a hobby.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So you felt like that was your first big break.

[Eth Rivera]

I was like, o. Oh. Like, I went home and shit.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Like, yo, got you throwing the.

[Eth Rivera]

At my wife. Like, yo, we up, we up, we up.

[Bleacher Report Host]

We made it.

[Eth Rivera]

This is lit. Yeah. So. So, you know, we just kept rocking. And then the next time was. Remember fifth at that record with Alicia Keys? Dre, what was that song?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

But how do you keep the balance? How do you be friends with 50 cent and fat Joe?

[Eth Rivera]

But hold up something. I'm gonna get.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You know how to. You know how the game is. You can't. You got. Nah.

[Eth Rivera]

But, you know, I think my relationship with fifth, man, and the way fifth operates, you know, it's all about loyalty and everything else, right? You just gotta be honest and loyal and respectful and all that. So I would tell him when I'm about to work with somebody, I'm like, yo, so and so, hit me up to work. And I'm talking about, like, people.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

He don't even like, gotcha, gotcha.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I mean? Like, it's just. He just. They don't see eye.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

He ain't block your money. Like, go get your money.

[Eth Rivera]

Nah, he never blocked my money. He was like, yo, go get your money.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Money.

[Eth Rivera]

Right? So. But see, he saw it differently. Like, I'm seeing it like, you know, like, I'm just hungry to work, and I'm like, there's another artist. So I'm like, yo, I got a so and so. Hit me. And he's like, go get your money. I ain't gonna stop you. But he'll tell you, the reason why he didn't stop me was it was one was the money. But also because he wanted me to. To gain just more experience with working with different people, right? He was like, go get the experience. I'm not gonna stop you. Go work with this person, that person. And then. You know what I mean? And then you come back. You know, it's time to come back. And so that's how we rocked it. So with Joe, you know what I'm saying? He knew I grew up with Joe, but I remember he called me, he was coming back to New York, so he was heading to the airport.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No. You know why I said that to you, though?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Cause I remember when fifth was rocking with Jesse Torero and them.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. And they did shout out Jesse.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, yeah. They did. Did something with somebody that was, you know. And I never seen him again.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I mean, you know, it's a way to go about this, man.

[Eth Rivera]

At the end of the day, it's like, yeah, like. Like. And even with Joe, though, like, when. When I started working with fifth, right.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

How did Joe look at you?

[Eth Rivera]

Joe was. He was like, my thing is, like, where we all come from? Like that, right? Like. Like, I ain't no sucker. Like, I ain't no punk, right? So, like, with Joe, like.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Cause industry will act like they not mad, but they be mad.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

They be mad. Yes.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You know what I'm saying?

[Eth Rivera]

With Joe, I was like, yo, at first, he kind of, like, laughed, but he wasn't mad. He was like, all right, go ahead.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right?

[Eth Rivera]

Let's see what that is. Because I think a part of him wanted to squash that beef at some point.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Being grown men after Chris Lighty event.

[Eth Rivera]

So. Right? So. So when I was talking about all that and then Chris Lighty had passed, and I think that made it even stronger, you know what I mean? And then it was like a week before the BET Awards. That was the LA thing I was doing out there. The video with. With Joe fifth hit me. He's going to the airport. So I said. I said, yo, I'm with Joe. So he said, where you at?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That was a crazy night, too.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. He's like, yo, let's do this.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That was a crazy night.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. He was like, let's do it. Oh, yeah. The BET was.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, yeah. That was. Felt like jail. It Felt like Rikers Allen back there. So I ain't gonna lie. That's when the murder, Rick Ross and Jeezy. It was. It was like, a lot of stuff.

[Eth Rivera]

Nah, listen, so. So I go to my. I was staying by the airport.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So you said you was with Joe when Fifth called you.

[Eth Rivera]

So Fifth like, yo, let's make it happen. I'm not gonna jump on a flight. So I went back to my hotel. I told Joe, pull up. I said, leave everybody outside, right? And fifth left everybody outside, too. And they came in, man. I was like, yo, y' all need just the hour to chicken tenders and all kind of for the room. I was like, dead this right now. I was like, come on, y' all both my brothers. I mean, like. Like, come on. Like, stop. And. And they shook hands. And then, like, five minutes later, they joking, talking about joking and all that. But the public ain't know yet. Like, we just kept on the low, you know what I mean? Then the BET Awards.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That was big.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, that was big. But I remember that was some funny,

[Co-host/Interviewer]

because people probably still thought 50 and Joe had beef at that time then, correct?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Sort of. Yeah, at that time, because I was there. Yeah, they did.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

But. But it was all good, you know?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That was when the gunplay situation happened.

[Eth Rivera]

Matter of fact, let me back up. The BET happened first, and then we had the meeting the second time. Oh, okay. That's what it was. Because I remember. So Joe, it was fun. Funny, because I know, like Pistol Pete and Autumn would at the BET Awards, right? And then Joe would call me. Joe be like, yo, Pete telling me, like, we got a hundred in. I heard 50 pull up, like, a hundred face, too.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, it was on. He would have got me out of everybody.

[Eth Rivera]

I told Joe. I was like, yo, man, you good? Like, I spoke to fifth, you good? And he's driving up from Florida, right? Miami, whatever. Ten minutes later, he called me again. He's like, yo, Peaches, hit me. He said, fifth let all the Terror Squad niggas in. Cause they couldn't get in. And I was like, I'm. Yeah, y' all good?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, I'm. You know, thank God, you know? Cause it could. It could have got ugly any day. Oh.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So look, fifth did that before him and Joe, actually. Okay, okay.

[Eth Rivera]

So I was telling Joe. I'm like, yo, if that's happening, you good. Like, trust me. Like, fifth not gonna go back on his word. So they get there, they perform. But I think when he got up on stage, Fifth banged him on the leg. He Hit Joe on the leg. He's like, yo, we good. Joe still ain't know how to take it.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yo, Joe. Yo, let me tell you something. That was a serious beef. I remember one time leaving the Diamond District, I ran into Pete, right? He said, I ran back then, but I didn't run. Shout out to Pete, that's my man. We can tell the truth now. So I'm with my man Halu, and I'm with somebody else, right? So I'm coming out. He going in, but I ain't gonna front. He had two short Spanish with him that look super grimy. Like, they look like they was with the. You know, they had something. Because they wasn't like. No, they was like, short four foot, but them look like, you know, they had something on. They gonna start doing that. I'll be talking about the machete. Start dancing.

[Eth Rivera]

Word. What about.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What about power, man? Like, how you go. How do you feel like going from TV to. To going to power and name some of the show. Other shows.

[Eth Rivera]

So, I mean, it was.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You made basically videos from doing all this tv. From videos, doing all the TV stuff.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. So, you know what's crazy is, man, like. Like Hollywood, like, music video directors got a bad rep when it comes to Hollywood. Like, crazy bad. Like, you know, you got music directors that went and did movies that just bombed.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Talk about them.

[Eth Rivera]

Who.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Who should bomb?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, we're gonna do that. But. But, you know, they. They go for music videos and they make these films and they bomb, right? Like, they do bad. I'm talking about, like, cats who had $10 million. Cats who got up to 80, $90 million back then, and the movie just flopped.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah, I know who y' all are, but go ahead.

[Eth Rivera]

There's a few of them, right? And so. And so when you start taking shots, I mean, it's a reality.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

They ain't do it how you did it, Eve.

[Eth Rivera]

Nah. So I came in late, right? When I'm saying I came in late, I'm much older. Cause a lot of.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Cause you had the Benny Booms. You had a couple of dudes.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, all these cats. Yeah, the Hypes, the Chris Robinson all shout out to all.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

We could say Belly was a classic, though.

[Eth Rivera]

It's a classic, but he never did

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

another one after that, though. That was just. Belly was a classic, and it was shot in Queens.

[Eth Rivera]

But the way Hollywood looks at things, they shout out to Hype, right? The way. The way Hollywood looks at things like that, if we spend this amount of money, we want to see the return and what do you want to see profit?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

How much you think. How much you think they spent on.

[Eth Rivera]

I don't know. I don't know. You know, I mean, but just give

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

me a figure what you would think. Like, it wasn't. It wasn't that.

[Eth Rivera]

I don't know. I mean, that's back in.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Because you could have a.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Make a classic back then, budgets was getting robbed also.

[Eth Rivera]

So to be honest, I don't even know. Like, I honestly can't even speak on that. But. But that's the thing. It's a business, right? So when you get a cat like me to come in and all they see is a KATRIN, you know, 50 cent videos. And then I got videos. You mean, like, what really. What really started making Hollywood, especially, like, the agencies calling me up was when I got to a level where the video's a lot crispier and clean because I started kind of telling little stories into the video, like, without dialogue. I started adding little narrative pieces. So I think, like. Like, I got signed to by agents once the cardi b joint dropped. I like it like that. That got like 1.6 billion views right now. Right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Wow.

[Eth Rivera]

And so. Because that was, like, clean story, whatever. But by then, I'm already, like, learning how to. How to play with. You know what I mean? And so. But, you know, the challenge is you go there and you meet these people in Hollywood, and they. On some. They'll bring it up. They'll be like, well, you come from music videos, and we had this person, that person, this person, you know, do a movie, and it flopped. So what make you different? Right? Like, how are you gonna be different and make us money?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Mm.

[Eth Rivera]

So what I try to do is I try to not mention those names, and I go for names. Like, there was this cat who used to do a lot of Lil Kim videos that you would think is hype. It wasn't hype. It was this cat named Francis Lawrence.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, okay.

[Eth Rivera]

Francis Lawrence went off. His first movie out the gate was Constantine. They ain't denying legend.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Look at that.

[Eth Rivera]

Then he did the Mockingbird, the Mockingjay films, whatever that was. So you're like, I want to be that cat.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Look, I show you an example of somebody that did this not with the hype name. Like, right?

[Eth Rivera]

And then you also got David Fincher, like a monster director. Right?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

Monster. David used to do videos.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What videos?

[Eth Rivera]

He used to do a bunch of cats. Like, he used to do music videos.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's crazy, because I always. I always thought it was just Jesse, the Terrell Brothers, you Benny, Boone and Hype. I didn't even know there was other dudes too.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Little Wax, too.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, but Little Wax did a movie too. No.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, he did, because he did one fly a word. I didn't even know that when the dude had the perm, right? And he did. I think now he's doing a lot of TV stuff, too. So shout out to him for doing that, because it ain't easy, definitely. You know what I'm saying? And so. But, you know, that's the thing. So with Power, with Fifth, like, for two years, Lionsgate and Stars, they just saw me as the dude next to fifth all the time. Like, they couldn't figure it out, right? And they would call me in for meetings, and I sit in the meeting, and they'd just be looking at me. I'd be looking at them.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Wow.

[Eth Rivera]

Like, so what do you do? Like, let me see. With 5th, because 5th used to have me come into. They used to have meetings with execs and the actors and be like, come on. I'd be like, nah, I don't. I shouldn't be in there.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right, right.

[Eth Rivera]

I was like, daddy, like, you mean. I'm thinking, like, I'm not even.5th want

[Co-host/Interviewer]

you in there soaking up the game.

[Eth Rivera]

So he was there. So fifth was like, listen, you see anybody bringing anybody else in here? He was like, no. He was like, I'm the boss. You come through. Because I want them to see when they see you, they see me. When they don't see me around, they still see me through you. That's crazy. So he was like, I want you to get that power. Yeah, right? And even to the point where he had me dealing with the CEO of Stars, like, I'd be like, yo, yo, yo, go. Go chill with him. Go to. Go chill with him and. And go get your. If they're gonna give you money, go get it. But it took a while to get there because, like, you know, like I said, they don't. Like, the first one was. Was. Was Ghost, right? Power Ghost. And they was mad. It was, like, really trying to. With me, you know what I mean? When I came on set, like, the crew said to me, and they told me private the next day. But the first day I was there, they was all acting, funny style. And then.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Who was acting for?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

The crew?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

The actors.

[Eth Rivera]

You mean some of the producers. The crew, like, you know, the camera crew.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay, all right. Got you, Got you.

[Eth Rivera]

So the word was, one day I needed. I was getting driven home, and somebody needed a ride who lived next to me. So I was like, yeah, come on. Like, you can hop in the van with me. And he starts telling me, like, yo, you know, this is how they. How they pitched you to us. So he was like, there was like, 50 cameramans gonna shoot the next episode. Oh. Oh, right.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What the.

[Eth Rivera]

So it was like,'50s camera guy, like. Like, I was just, you know, like

[Co-host/Interviewer]

his personal camera guy, you know, like, he never did anything else.

[Eth Rivera]

So then when they saw, like, I knew everything. Cause what. What I was doing was when they were shooting power, I would go to set and watch how they do it. Then I started taking acting classes so I could understand actors. Cause I. I was like, yo, this is. They bugged out. So I started doing that, and I started.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You actually went and took acting classes?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah, like, a couple of days. Like, nothing crazy.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay. All right. Something to know. Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. So then. But that helped me. When I was ready, then I went in and they. So the crew saw it. It was like, yo, they portrayed you to be this and you not that. Like, you really know your.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Because they. Because they felt you didn't have the resume yet.

[Eth Rivera]

Now you have the resume.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Everybody.

[Eth Rivera]

But that just go to show you, like, how they look at hip hop.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah. You tell people, keep. Keep hustling, keep grinding.

[Eth Rivera]

So, you know, I mean, I did that. And then after. That was for life, right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, for life.

[Eth Rivera]

Even that abc. ABC is owned by.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

That was big right there, man. That was a good move, man. That was big.

[Eth Rivera]

Right? But check it. So ABC and Disney was like, hell, no. It was like, what. What he. What he done? He was at one episode of Ghost, and it wasn't even out yet. It was like, we got nothing. This is not Mary.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Who is he?

[Eth Rivera]

So they was like, no. They kept pushing back. The producers were like, nah, let him do it. We believe in him. And then fifth made a call, too. Like, yo, y' all telling us it's the number one show. If. If. If y' all letting us do our thing, let us do our thing. We telling you, this dude is ready. Like, he already did one. He know what he doing. I go off, I do that. And it's the only episode that got put in at the end of the season for an Emmy and best director. It was the best episode, right? And from that point on, like, every time I do something, it gets put in for Emmys, you know? I mean, like, they know, like. And the actors will tell you. They'd be like, nah. This dude, he know how to talk to actors, and he know how to work the camera. Like, how to deal with the crew.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

People want to know, like, to. You know, a lot of people in the hood want to be actors now because of 50. Everybody run up to me. Everybody got scripts. They want to know, like, what it takes to. To be a good actor. Not just acting, but how do you portray yourself on set? Like, being on time and stuff like that. Not smoking on set or getting drunk or.

[Eth Rivera]

It's. It's all regimen, right? Like, it's crazy because I show up,

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

like, how does your day start?

[Eth Rivera]

I'm gonna tell. Like, I would come to set and fifth will be there before me. Like, fifth's a different type of animal. Like, I don't. Bro, we don't start the seven fifths there at five.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Five in the morning.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah. We ain't surprised. We got a show. We did four or five hours before the show starts.

[Eth Rivera]

So you look at that and you go, man, I gotta, like, I. I gotta be. If you want it, you gotta really, really, really, right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So.

[Eth Rivera]

So the point is in talking to, like, these younger cats that want to come in and want to act and all that, like, just keep doing it, man. Take acting classes, you know what I mean? Sharpen the skills. And if you ain't got money, just keep acting and do it with family and friends. Act it out. Like, you ever seen them videos? Like the little African kids when they be acting and replicating and then they start dancing.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

They get busy now.

[Eth Rivera]

So if you start acting and just doing scenes, do small scenes, you know what I'm saying? Like, somebody just gave me something the other day, and it was like they made a short. It was like 20 minute, whatever. Fifth went crazy. He about to do the deal, right?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I wonder if that's the same thing. He sent us something a little related to New York with some, like, I got a what's going on Kind of vibe right now.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, exactly.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yes, yes. The Y. N's. Yeah, he actually sent that to me. Yay. Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

So that's what I'm saying.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

It's dope. It's definitely dope. Yep.

[Eth Rivera]

But it's cast that took it upon themselves, right?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

They shot it, they put their own. They put together.

[Eth Rivera]

They sell bread for it, right? Nothing crazy to put their own bread. And they went and they did it, man. So it's like. And there's so many outlets, right? So, like, if you. If you really want to do it, man, put your shit on YouTube, put it on Vimeo, whatever. All these little sites, like, for example, Vimeo, even YouTube, you get subscriber Base, right? Just put it out there. Be like, yo, just subscribe. It's 99 cents or whatever. Now you making money off of it too, right? Or you could do the. The other way, where it's like, if people believe in you, you do the. Whatever that thing is called. Like a crowd. Crowd.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Crowd participation.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. Like, right, so you. You could put up money.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Man, you gotta tell these y ends if you come on set, don't drink, don't smoke. Just cause you playing against.

[Eth Rivera]

Right? Right.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Don't mean you got to be gangster on set.

[Eth Rivera]

I don't see. I don't see actors who play gangsters. But then when they turn off the cameras, they super nerds.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Look at that, right?

[Eth Rivera]

They regular, so. And I think you get dudes who are nerds that become actors. And all of a sudden now they think they. That.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, because you. Because you gotta understand, when you outside, they. They. You know, they gonna. With.

[Eth Rivera]

They're gonna see you as that.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Give us one of the wildness. Give us. Give us one of the wildest moments you seen, like behind scenes.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What, on a video?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Video or movie? I met my video shoot one time. You shot with me in future. You was actually about to.

[Eth Rivera]

Oh, he funny, right?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You was about to probably shoot one of these.

[Eth Rivera]

I forgot.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

We not gonna talk about. Popular artist, too.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Eth didn't know who they was, and I guess they wasn't really familiar with who Eth was. And it was about to get left.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, they got mad. So I said, yo, what's up with this? Dancing like that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was popular. I didn't know, cuz, you know, sometimes you see, that's the thing. Sometimes you. You kind of. You black out because all you see, like, you get tunnel vision, right? And you just there to work. So, like, the first time I did power, I came on the block. We was outside. Yo, when I tell you I was in a van driving down. I seen block after block with all the trucks, like all the equipment, and I got to set, and it's like 200 people looking at you and the actors staring at you, right? What we doing? The producer look at you. What we doing? Y' all sort of got that first moment. I. I myself, I was like, yo, this is crazy.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So you was nervous?

[Eth Rivera]

Super nervous, right? What? I. Thank God the scene was inside a car. So I was like, yo, guys, just get in the car. But I was really sheltering myself. And then I spoke to them just to get it out of my system. And then once I did that, then it was A go. After that, it was. You know what I mean? But I think.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

But I think that's a real story right there.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, no, it's crazy. Yo, man, we talk about the movie. I'll tell you another story with that one. But. But you know, the. For these young cats, man, you know, and the wildest shit is like, the. The shit that sucked is when you get the opportunity and you it up.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

And you it up. Yeah. You drop the ball.

[Eth Rivera]

That's the biggest thing, right? Because us, as. As black and brown people, we don't get a lot of opportunities, of course. You know what I mean? And you got.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Especially in Hollywood.

[Eth Rivera]

Especially Hollywood, you got a brother, like, fifth, you know? I mean, like. Like, I've gotten those things where it's like, yo, are you sure you don't want to do these type of shows? And I'm like, I'm cool over here because I'm building with my people.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Of course.

[Eth Rivera]

So I don't need to go do those other shows that, like, just for the awards. I don't. I'm good.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right, right.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I'm saying? So. But again, it's like, you. If you get that opportunity, man, don't it up by taking your money and you're gonna be sleeping with a thousand strippers and getting high, right? And whatever. Coming to set drunk and smoking and all that. Like, you just come on, man. Nobody want that. You didn't work. I mean, do your 10 hours or whatever work. Do you think Go do that afterwards. I mean, but you got to be on point, man. Like, this is so hard.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You know what I wanted to ask you? How you think directing change from, like, 2005 to 2025, like now, how you think it changed?

[Eth Rivera]

When you say change, like, better.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What are you talking about?

[Eth Rivera]

No, no, when you're saying, like, like, like what we see now versus, like. I mean, I think. I think it's changing because there's more of us getting involved, right? And when I say us, you know, again, black and brown people, right? You know, we really taking it serious and really trying to learn the craft. Ryan Coogler and all these other cats, right? Like, man, you see them and that inspires you, right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You're like, yo, yeah, what's my man that did Sinners? They like Ryan Coogler. Yeah. What else he did?

[Eth Rivera]

Because they said he did Creed. He did one and two.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, that's cool.

[Eth Rivera]

He did Fruitville Station was his first joint.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

He worked with Michael B. Jordan a lot. I guess they kind of do everything together.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, I seen him crying when Cassinis did real good first week. Did a lot of millions. And I seen he was like, tearing

[Eth Rivera]

up like, yo, nah, man. Cause what it is, I mean, the deal he worked on with that movie where. Cause remember he did Black Panther Creed and all that, so he made them billions. Now he's doing Sinners. He owns it after 25 years. His deal. He owns the movie. So now that's a legacy. That's for his kids.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Kids.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Look at that.

[Eth Rivera]

So he owns all of the movies, huh?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

He owns Black Black.

[Eth Rivera]

He owns Sinners after.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

No, he don't own Black Panthers. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Now I was just confused.

[Eth Rivera]

So now he owns. It's like a record deal. So now he own it. So after 25 years, and in his deal, I think he get, like, first dollar, once they make their gross, whatever their budget was, boom, he gets the first dollar, right? So shout out to him, which ain't normal. You know what I mean? So. So. But that's what I'm saying. You do shit like that, that's power, right? So now you start like, okay, how do I. That helps me, right? I help the next guy.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So you feel like that that's what drives your creativity? Because that's what I was gonna ask.

[Eth Rivera]

Murders. No, no, no.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's all the questions. What drives your creativity?

[Eth Rivera]

Nah, I think. Listen, man. I think for me, the creativity is. I went to art school, right? I went to. On design. And like, I said, I was always graffiti and like that. Comic books and all that. And so I could draw, like. I could draw like a. Like, I could drop. You know what I mean? You know, I did the. The air Pun logo for Pun. Back then. I used to do a bunch of logos.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Rest in peace. To pun.

[Eth Rivera]

I did the Snowman for Jeezy. Like, back then, I was doing them, okay?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Oh, yeah, I know that you did

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

the Snowman for Jeezy. Yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

That's crazy.

[Eth Rivera]

Look at that.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

In the airplane.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, like. And I did a bunch of other ones. Like, if you. If you. Jeezy mentioned in his book when I made the snowman, Joe mentioned, like, yeah, like. Like that's what I was doing back then. Album covers, logos for cats.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's crazy.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay. Look at that.

[Eth Rivera]

So I was always into the.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So you made the Snowman?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, with Jeezy.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

It just said it's in Jeezy book

[Eth Rivera]

jam.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Who made this happen? Me.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Shout out to JP And Marcus, man.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I mean?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Shout the team out.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, shout the team out, man. Not You?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. I mean, but the creativity, man, I think it just comes from, like. Like just being out, seeing everything, living life.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Well, talking about that. You got something that you working on, that. That. That Castro.

[Eth Rivera]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We just finished that. We about to.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Oh, it's finished.

[Eth Rivera]

It's. Yeah, it's about 98 done. Like, it's just a lot of the VFX and like that.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You know, DJ Khaled got something to do with that. I seen him posted on the gram.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You ain't know that.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I ain't know. Look, everything.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Everything.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Why you want to bring that up?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No, I'm just. No, cuz I was talking to him the other day and I'm like, I could never be mad at C, because his loyalty was to Joe, and my loyalty was to 50 at the same time. You know what I'm saying? So even if we still.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You and C. Going to have to sit down and talk about.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Not even if we don't talk, because, you know, it's cool. It's Joe. Everything is cool as peace. Nobody got hurt, no bullets fly, nothing happened. So that's the best part of it.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You know what I'm saying? It's just little old war stories that, you know, Eth.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I think you need to make that happen.

[Eth Rivera]

Nah, Khalek, listen, man. Challenge my brother, man. Like, you know, so.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So he did play a part with the Castro.

[Eth Rivera]

So. So I started this movie right? Before I got it was through Romulus Entertainment. Before I got it was another director attached. Wasn't the right person. Right. Like, it was just. It wasn't working out. So I came in and I cast, you know, like, the movie, like, within two weeks. Like, we already had all the actors, you know what I mean? Right. And one of them being Al Pacino. Right.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So not everybody could get Al Pacino,

[Eth Rivera]

for the record, not. Not the first time.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah, there you go.

[Eth Rivera]

Just for the record, I just saw an interview with. I think it was Scorsese. Somebody said it took him years, him and Al years, to finally do something together. And I was like, damn, I did it crazy. You know what I mean? But, yeah, so, like, we wrote this part, you know, the writer, Tommy, and a couple other cats. And, you know, we kind of tweaked it to be out like how Al would do it. And so we sent it to his agents and he was interested, right? So he was like, yo, this is the first time saying, like, yes, man, appreciate that. But, yo, so. So he read it and he wanted to meet with me. Right. So like a half hour, you know, let me meet him and see what he's about. So I'm for, like, a week straight, like, nervous.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah,

[Eth Rivera]

yeah. I'm like, yo, I'm glad when you

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

say you nervous, because it's like, you know, that's the humbling part about it. It's like how you said you were scared on your first shoot. Mad people outside. This is way different than a video, you know what I'm saying?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, No, I was. It was. I mean, you know, the funny thing is when you meet these different artists, even back then, like, with fifth, you know, I was nervous, like, you know, I mean, like, the big dogs, you know, I mean, like. But with him, you know what I mean? That. And this is life changing. So I went to the restaurant where he wanted to meet, and I get there, like, a half hour early. Cause I'm like, let me just chill out. I drank, like 40 cups of coffee by now. I was. And I go to sit down, and I put my bag down first. I go in. I'm like, who you here? Like, reservations. I was like, alfred Pacino. Like, literally under his name.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Wow.

[Eth Rivera]

So I go in the back and I put my bag down and shit. And all of a sudden I hear, there he is. And I turn around, It's Al right behind me. Oh, like, he's right there. Like, he coming in. I'm like, oh, like, nah, this is. Like, this is different. Come on, bro.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You know, we'd be starstruck.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

Like, I was like, yo, but, you know, you gotta be cool.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So.

[Eth Rivera]

So he sat down. And I remember I'm texting the producer under the table. Like, where you at? Cause you know, I need a backup. I was like, I'm here, dolo with this cat. Where you at? That he finally get there. But. But we talking. And, yo, it was crazy because he started naming all the directors he ever worked with. Like, he was throwing it in my face. He's like, yo, so you heard of Martin Scorsese? You heard of, you know, Michael, man, He just kept name dropping these big dudes.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Of course I heard of them.

[Eth Rivera]

And I'm like, yeah, but I know what he was doing. And so he started telling me stories. Or he started off with Serpico. So he's like, you know, when I did Serpico, you know, back then, you know, he was saucy, whatever he was doing. And see, he. You know, he woke up and he had a joint next to him, and he was like, I know I do nothing. Cause she was still dressed or whatever, right? And his phone was ringing, and he had to go to premiere. And he's like, yo, so it was crazy. I gotta go to the premiere. And I'm like. Like, I'm still saucy. And while he's telling, yeah, I'm saucy this and that. And then. So scene 49, when I'm walking down the hallway, could you explain that to me? I said, oh, he's doing the vet actor. Like, actors do that. Like, they be mad cool with you joking and all that. And all of a sudden, they.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's crazy.

[Eth Rivera]

No, Fifth that done that to me. Like, Fifth would be like, yo, we be talking the night before. Like, what we doing the next morning? He's dead serious. Yo, what we doing? Why. Why the we doing that? Like, And I'd be like, yo, my man, what's going on here?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right, right.

[Eth Rivera]

But it's a different. No, we working now, definitely. Right?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And so I'm not your man no more.

[Eth Rivera]

So he went into, like, the scene. I was like, oh, but I knew the script inside out. So I was like, yeah, this is what happens. Boom, boom. Then he started talking about Scarface. Yo, you know, when I did Scarface, you know, they killed me for that. Like, the. The critics. But I have people calling me.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's my favorite. I watched that. Listen over a thousand.

[Eth Rivera]

I'll get to that. So look, he says it. It almost destroyed his career.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

They killed him for that meeting.

[Eth Rivera]

Who?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Who? His peers and things.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

People.

[Eth Rivera]

Hollywood. That was like, what you doing? He leaned in and he grabbed my forearm, right? Put you on form like this to me. Grabbed my arm. He said. Now, the first time y' all hearing his first time saying it publicly, yeah. He said, you know who saved my life? I said, who? The rappers. The rappers saved my life.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Wow, wow, wow.

[Eth Rivera]

Rappers. Yo. And I looked at him right there,

[Co-host/Interviewer]

like, wow, look at that.

[Eth Rivera]

So I think a piece of that. I was like, he had to see my work. He knew I come from videos. He's. I could only imagine his people, the agency, whatever you talking about an Academy Award winner, yo. Like, don't post it. This come out.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Like, who? Like who? No, we not. I don't think you need to be working with him, Al. But because of his experiences and rap got you.

[Eth Rivera]

I think he said, no, no, no. Now I gotta get.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I'm do this. I'm gonna give him a shot. I'm gonna give him a shot.

[Eth Rivera]

And, bro, he said that. And I was like, oh, right.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And.

[Eth Rivera]

But we. And then we just kept Talking about the movie and shit like that. I always had a vision. I was telling the producer, Brad. I was like, yo, when Al come on set, we got a scene outside is what we doing during the summertime. It's gonna be hot. So for whatever reason, like. Cause I'm. I'm sort of spiritual. For whatever reason, I said, yo, I'm gonna get them beach chairs like that Jay Z photo when he's in the projects on a beach chair. I said, I'm gonna shares and I'm gonna sit down with Al and eat ice cream. I don't know why I was thinking about that, right? Ice cream. It was like, yo, you crazy. Like, what the Is wrong, right? Yo, we sitting down at the restaurant after we talk about work. He said, you hungry? Let's get some fries, man. He's order mad food that we eating. I ain't even realized, you know how when you go to catch or whatever and they bring you to plate of ice cream and everybody just take their spoons, bro. That's what we was doing towards the end. We eating ice cream. I didn't realize.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Eve said, my vision came to life.

[Eth Rivera]

Yo, I know, you know, the. The producer. We go outside, we walk out to his car, and he's like, congratulations, you had your ice cream with Al.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, bro. Them two right there. It's just classic for everybody. Scarface.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I agree.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Carlito's way. He. The list goes on and on. So just to be sitting there with Al Pacino, bro. Yo, that's. Come on, bro.

[Eth Rivera]

Now, listen. He's from the bx. So we hit it off crazy. We tell him, man, he's from the Bronx.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I never knew that. I definitely never.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

He wish he was from Brooklyn, though.

[Eth Rivera]

He from the bx. So we. We talked a lot about. About that. And he would say to me, like, yo, I'm doing this book. Like, you and me should just go drive around the Bronx so I can reminisce. And I'm like, yo, whenever you're ready. Oh, like, we click. Like, we click to the point.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

That's dope.

[Eth Rivera]

Like, yo, if I'm not shooting, can I come to set just to hang out? I was like, yeah. So he. I. I had him for like, 10 days or something like that. And we were prepping the office. He's a funny dude. And he would look at me like, yo, you know. You know. You know, bad Bunny. And I was like, yeah, it's my man. I worked with him. He said, oh, he's dope what about the Weeknd? You know, Weeknd. Like, he's. Yo. He was, like, intrigued, really into that. He's into that.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I think the first thing I would ask Al Pacino was like, how the. Do you just act like that? Like Scarface when he's like a coffee up real nice? Like, how. Fuck, come on, bro. That was like, classic shit. Like, you know, I would ask him first of all, all about Scarface, because that's my hands.

[Eth Rivera]

I shot him out when I wrapped him out, because I think he was 82, 83. Just had a baby.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

He just had a baby. I was just about to say that. He just had a shout out. Shout out to Al Pacino. He still had that baby. Congratulations.

[Eth Rivera]

He had a lot going on, right? And he came to work every day, man. I think people gonna really bug out when they see his performance. Like, he killed it. And we had this thing, man. Like, we had a language. So, like, he was doing one scene, and we were always talking about stickball. So in the bx, play stickball. So every Bronx, every neighborhood in New York has two sewers. So when you plan on one end of the sewer and you hit it to the next block, then you hit the third and fourth sewer. So he'd be like, you ever hit three sewers? I was like, yeah, sometimes the ball will go on the roof, right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's Goldie.

[Eth Rivera]

So when we was doing the scene, I was like. I would yell across the room, and he was doing a scene like Heat, when he was against Robert De Niro, sitting down at the table, and I yelled. I said, al, give me three sewers. And he'd be like, three sewers coming up, baby. Like, no, he was on point. So the last time, like, the last day I had him, we rapped him out. We rapped. I got home, like, at midnight.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Just so y' all clear. We talking about my guy, East Ferreira's movie, Castro.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah,

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Pacino.

[Eth Rivera]

We. I got home at midnight after I wrapped him out, yo, and I just sat on my workout bench and I cried for two hours.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

God bless you, man.

[Eth Rivera]

God. I was b. Because I'm gonna tell you why.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You blessed, man.

[Eth Rivera]

I'm gonna tell you why. Thank you. I'm gonna tell you why, though. What I was saying before about Hollywood, now, the meetings are different. You understand? For sure. Now when I sit there, they can't look at me. Be like, who you work with? Yeah, yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

It's a little different. Yeah, it's a little different now.

[Eth Rivera]

So you sit there, and it's the confidence because now you go, look, y' all only got two. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, the living legends. I do that. I mean, you got a few others, but.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No, you got others. There's plenty, but, you know, it's still active. We can say Arnold Schwarzenegger and a whole bunch of other names.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, right.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So.

[Eth Rivera]

So that's still act. So now you sit there and you go, y' all threw one at me, right? The universe threw one at me, dealt with it. He loves me. Hit him up. Hit up his whole team. They're gonna tell you, right? What you gonna tell me now? Now what you see, I'm saying. But. But it's been. It's. It's always a challenge. It's always something new. You. I mean, even, like, for you to get the next thing that. Well, we got to see what. You did it, right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Resume it.

[Eth Rivera]

Don't. It don't. Is. You know, it's hard. You did that, man.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

That's dope.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Is a tricky business, man.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

What would you tell the next. The next young director coming out of New York? What advice would you have for them?

[Eth Rivera]

Learn as much as you can. It's okay to look at everybody else's work and. And try to copy it and try to figure out how they did it. You know what I mean? So, like, you could learn how the camera work, look at the angles, look at the lighting and all that, right? But also, like, just keep shooting, bro. Like, keep shooting. Like. And even if you want to get into TV or something like that, or commercials, right? Or even music videos, like I told people all the time, you want to get into commercials, Do a Pepsi commercial. How? I don't have no agent. I have nothing.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah. How do you do that?

[Eth Rivera]

You go get a Pepsi bottle, you go write a scene out, and you shoot it.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Wow.

[Eth Rivera]

And it's a spec. That's what you call a spec commercial. So now you shot it, and they're like, oh, you did this? It's. This never aired. Like, nah, but it's a. It's a spec.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

How much. How much is my check for that? For the. For the commercial? You think of it? I'm just thinking.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Don't be surprised.

[Eth Rivera]

It all depends, right? Like, now you get picked up by an agency or whatever, and any Pepsi really wants you to do it.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

It.

[Eth Rivera]

I think that the. A going rate for a director to do a commercial is. Is usually like 25,000 a day.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

So, like, you ready?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right?

[Eth Rivera]

But. You know what I'm saying?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

But.

[Eth Rivera]

But you go. It's the same thing. You go shoot a short. Go shoot the homies. Go shoot a scene like somebody got cancer, aids, or whatever. Shoot that and. And show the emotions in that. Right. You know what I mean? What happens? Just make it up. Whatever. Just write it, make it up, shoot it.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Real life shit.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah. And then just send it out. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, you're not just standing around with a camera, ain't gonna do nothing, like, waiting for work.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No, that's a good idea. I never knew that was that easy to just.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, you do a special commercial. You know what I'm saying?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

It's called a spec. Pay attention, people. Get your money up.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I'm saying? But for me, I started with the camera, like I said, shooting Cats, and I loved it, man. I just kept going and kept going and kept going until, you know, I mean, I think the first. My first video going back to fifth was when he did the Alicia Keys and Dre joint. And he said to me, I'm gonna tell you right now, he kept it real. I'm gonna tell you right now, you ain't gonna get this. They don't know you. Interscope don't know you. They're not gonna give you the money, but I'm gonna give you these records off my album. You gonna do these for real? And I was like, oh, shit. And that was my gateway.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Look at that.

[Eth Rivera]

Through fifth, I got into Interscope, and then we started doing videos.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's crazy. Cause 50 don't like too many people, so.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, you were one week. In one week. In one week. So everybody started calling like, yo, who the fuck is E. Favera? In one week, I dropped two videos. And when I say everybody, I mean, like, video commissioners and video reps. They was like, who the is this? I dropped two videos in one week. It was 50 and Kendrick.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I remember that.

[Eth Rivera]

We up. I think we up.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, we up.

[Eth Rivera]

And then I dropped French Montana and Nicki Minaj freaks.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, okay.

[Eth Rivera]

So when I dropped those two, it was just like, poof.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Name some more, man. Name some more. We want to know some more videos you did now. You and Big. You big time move. I don't know.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what the thing is? I don't follow up. Like, I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. Like, look at the hits and all that. Like, you know I did one, right? I did a couple with you.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah, we did a couple. Of course. Yeah, we did one. Young Ma, Future me.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. Got some work In Yeah, with Future was like when he had that mixtape.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I did videos with E. All right, calm, Calm down.

[Eth Rivera]

I'm just letting you know.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I'm just letting you know.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

We did some G Unit videos. I'm trying to remember. You did.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So he trying to remember. I know he tried to remember.

[Eth Rivera]

We did.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Did so many videos, man.

[Eth Rivera]

So. But you know, I mean, I worked with, you know, Drake. Like I said. Kendrick.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What Drake? What Drake video you did?

[Eth Rivera]

Him and Future. We did the Mexican joint. Which one used. I think used to it or something like that.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

One of those.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah, one of five.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

And then what you did with Kendrick,

[Eth Rivera]

the him and 50.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh yeah. Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

Then Nicki Minaj did a bunch with her. You know what I mean? I was. I became one of her. Like. Like she was regulars. Like. And how I got into Latin Southside. No, cuz, Queens.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You know, it's Queens versus.

[Eth Rivera]

But I tell you, because of Nikki, I got into the Latin market.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, okay.

[Eth Rivera]

So that's when I met Bad Bunny. So it was a record called Creepy.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Why you say because of her? Why, why you say that?

[Eth Rivera]

Cuz it was a Latin record. It was Faruko, Bad Bunny. And I forgot who else? And then they put Nikki as a feature and they put Travis too, as a feature. Oh, so Nikki was like, I don't know, none of their directors. It gotta be Eth.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Look at that.

[Eth Rivera]

And they brought me in and I did that. And then from there, then I started working with Bad Bunny. We did a couple fire. Yeah. And a couple of J. Balvin and like that we started working.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So damn, you blessed, man. You a real person.

[Eth Rivera]

Nah, I think, man, I appreciate that, but I think really it's more like

[Co-host/Interviewer]

put the work in, man.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, look, look to the new directors out there that want to do videos or whatever. Like, bro, you can't be scared, man. Right? You can't be scared to talk to the artist. Like that's the whole thing. Like, find that one artist that want to rock out with you. Right? Rock out with him with me and Fit, for example. But I was never scared of fifth. Like, to the point I'd be like, yo, because you know Fizz, he's like a robot.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, he's intimidated.

[Eth Rivera]

He'll sit there and you don't scared

[Co-host/Interviewer]

to have a conversation with him.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So he'd be like, explains you. I think this should go like this or something like that.

[Eth Rivera]

There's one director who was like, yo, I'm hungry. So I left him there and he would call me. I'm like, go tell Fifth you hungry. Go get something to eat.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, so you see, said he hungry and you told him.

[Eth Rivera]

I told him, go eat. And he never came back.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

He's scared.

[Eth Rivera]

No, he never came back. Why?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

He just. Why? He just Mickey D's or something.

[Eth Rivera]

Like, bro, he never came back. That's how intimidating Fifth was. Was. And Fifth was like, yo, never bring that cat around me again. And that kid this up could have been doing power right now.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Look at that.

[Eth Rivera]

But that's my point.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

It's like, yeah, but you bugging out. You could have just went.

[Eth Rivera]

Got.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, you could have went.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Got a Big Mac. Some. Some

[Eth Rivera]

with Nas. Like, everybody, like, they.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I think they respect Nas because, you know, I'm Queens all day.

[Eth Rivera]

I did a couple joints with Nas. But I remember the one we did that was, I think, before his time. Time was French Kanye, Nas, the one they jumping over Big Ass Jumbo.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember that.

[Eth Rivera]

I remember that. So I remember fire.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

And they had dirt bikes.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

So, yeah, it was like, yo, I'm tired. Everybody taking these videos of just regular jet sitting on the wing of a jet.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[Eth Rivera]

He's like, let's hit the biggest plane we can get. So we went to the Mojave Desert and we went to the airplane graveyard, and it was just.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, that was a sick video. French. That was. I think that was on French album.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, I gotta. I got a video back then of Kanye talking about, yo, this is the best. Best time I ever had on set. But I think it's because, like I said before, man, like, you can't. You gotta, like, be there and tell the artist. Like, that's the whole thing about directing. You gotta be able to take charge. Because sometimes the artists don't know what they want. You know what I mean? Like, they don't know. I was working with this. With this artist, high profile, going through some shit right now where he kept asking me, how does it look? My first time working with him, right? I was like, you look good. He would run down, look at the monitor, go back up, do his shit, come back down. Like, it was getting annoying. So the third time he came down, I put my hand on his shoulder. I said, yo, you good, bro. And he looked at my hand, looked at me. We was good. After that, everything was like, yo, whatever. Eve want to do, whatever.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Because I know videos could. Shooting the videos, what do you think? Like, gets annoying sometimes. You know, you got people in your way. You got women everywhere.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, look, man, it's It's.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

It's a lot of work. People think it's a game.

[Eth Rivera]

It's a lot of work. The thing is, like, the artists want to come be in and be out.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

So you got to make sure this shit is ready, right? Because you don't waste no time. That's the first thing.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So say if all this come late, how the you field?

[Eth Rivera]

You got to already be shooting other definitely.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, okay.

[Eth Rivera]

Shoot the B roll, shoot the model, shoot the cars, whatever it is, start shooting. You know what I mean? So when they get here, then you move over, shoot them out, get them out of, and then keep shooting. You know what I mean? Like, right? And then I always tell for the new cats, I always say this like, a artist is always gonna want one thing, right? Yo, I need. I need to be on a boat for this scene, whatever it is. Flamingo with some dumb. Yo, get the flamingo. Cause you could get them that and then you got them after that, they happy. Nah, this got me the flamingo.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I need him for the next joint idea. I need an elephant on this one.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I want a flamingo. I want an elephant. And you have that there. Yeah, gonna with you.

[Eth Rivera]

Look, tell the crazy shit. Mary J. Blige, we know a lot of the same people, right? Angie Joe, right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Definitely.

[Eth Rivera]

And so I never worked with her, and I've been in parties with her and all that, say what's up? But never really spoke. We go to shoot Ghosts and I said to her, yo, it's crazy. Me and you never worked on a video.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And she said, here we go shooting the movie now.

[Eth Rivera]

She said to me, that's cause you were meant to do bigger things with me here.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Wow.

[Eth Rivera]

I was like, wow.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Shout to Mary J. Blige.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Shout out to Mary J. Blige.

[Eth Rivera]

And then ever since that, we done shot like four videos. Videos. Four or five videos.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Like, yeah, right. That's right.

[Eth Rivera]

That's right. But it's like, again, it's like artists want to be in and out. You tell them what you're gonna do, you show them what you're gonna do, they get there, they expect it, right? And they gone. And then I edit all my own, so I already know what I need. Same thing with tv. I know what I'm shooting, I know what I want.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

But that's just smart because another director will probably be beefing, like, why the. The artist ain't here. I don't work like this. And you. You. You said you shooting every already, then

[Eth Rivera]

it ain't for you.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Let me ask you one thing. Who's your top three favorite rappers to work with?

[Bleacher Report Host]

The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time, scores, breaking news, and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.

[Lori Siegel]

I'm Lori Siegel, a longtime tech journalist, and consider my new podcast, Mostly Human, your bridge to the future.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Anyone can now be an entrepreneur. Anyone can build an Apple, and it's very empowering.

[Lori Siegel]

Each week I'll speak to the people building that future, and we're going to break down what all of this innovation actually means for you.

[Eth Rivera]

What I come to realize is that

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

when people think that they're dating these AI companions, they're actually dating the companies that create this.

[Lori Siegel]

We're experiencing one of the greatest tech accelerations in human history. And let's be honest, that can be messy.

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[Eth Rivera]

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[Lori Siegel]

But it's my belief that we should all benefit from this moment. Mostly Human will show you how. My goal is to give you the playbook so you can benefit.

[Bleacher Report Host]

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[Lori Siegel]

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[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

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[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

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[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

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[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

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[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

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[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

Let's just say the people he trusted the most are the ones who ended up shocking him the most.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

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[Sophia (OK Storytime Podcast Host)]

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[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

First of all. Hold on. Murder your Russian. First of all, it's Queens versus Brooklyn. It's our quick fire segment. And he want to know who's the top three rappers you considered you work with but he worked with so many. So that's a political industry.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I'm asking him the question.

[Eth Rivera]

I'm going to tell you this, I'm going to tell you this. Like I never had beef with no rappers.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay?

[Eth Rivera]

Meaning like I've never been on set to a point where it's just so out of control. You're like, man, this person, I'll never want to work this person again.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right?

[Eth Rivera]

So I don't have none of those experiences, man. I think everybody was, was for me, fun in their own look.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Besides fifth, let's keep fifth out of it. The top three, your top three favorite to work with.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

He worked with so many.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I just want to know. And sometimes you get good vibes with people. So I just want to know.

[Eth Rivera]

Like your vibes. Crazy is mean. Future was one of them.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay, right.

[Eth Rivera]

Future was, you know, cuz he, he come with creative.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right,

[Eth Rivera]

Man, who else? I used to love working with Nikki too. And people used to be scared of death.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah, she, she moved with an iron fist. We've been around A couple of her events.

[Eth Rivera]

We see how she y.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Listen, everybody you worked with, he worked with. It is a big name. I'm gonna ask you a director question. Camera wise, lens wise. Sony versus Canon. Which one do you pick?

[Eth Rivera]

Man, there's so many different lenses, though. Like, it's hard to say because it. It all.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What camera would you use?

[Eth Rivera]

The Sony. Okay, so like, I use.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

He trying to break it down. It be the lenses, but look for

[Eth Rivera]

TV and film, the Alexa, like the Vent. Venice. That's what everybody's using, right? Sometimes they use the Sony and other stuff, but I feel like for me, the Venice is. Is one of the best.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What's the Venice?

[Eth Rivera]

Cameras.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

The Venice. That's.

[Eth Rivera]

What is the Venice?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Sony.

[Eth Rivera]

No, what's the Venice? Yeah, Sony fans. But the lenses, it all. It all depends on what you want to see, right? So, like, what I mean by that is the look. So when I did the movie, we did lens tests, so we got a whole bunch of different lenses coming in. And look for the right look, the texture of the film, because every glass is different. You know, them shits is more expensive than the camera.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No, I know. I know the lens.

[Eth Rivera]

I know that. Like, if you're gonna get anything like me, let me just. God, keep banging the lenses. Before anything, you had a dope lens package, any camera, you know what I mean?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So you do lens tests. And what's the process with that? How long does that take you? You know that you.

[Eth Rivera]

You come in and like, for example, if I have the camera here, we're going to swap out a bunch of different lenses, see what the room look like before, and then, you know, that's what you're going to get and that's what you're going to shoot the movie with.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And then our cameras is good, right?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

All right, cool.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Come on, Marcus.

[Eth Rivera]

Color skin.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Know what's going on.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So we still on the Quick Fire segment. Jay Z or Nas? No, that's always a questionable shop.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Let's go with Queens.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You new to you from the Bronx. You could just answer it and be just true to yourself. Jay Z or Nas?

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I put into that is also relationship. I know them both.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Minus your personal relationship. Just as a fan.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

He's from the Bronx, so this is a difficult question. He's not from Brooklyn.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

It's okay, man.

[Eth Rivera]

It's so hard, right? Every time I think about Nas, I think of, like, ether and everything. Nas, man. I'm gonna go with Nas. I love Jay, but Queen Smoking. Nas. Nas. I feel like Nas is Like, he's like a. I mean, they both, man, but, like, Nas is like a secret weapon. Like, that dude just sit there. If he, like, lock in, he gonna.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

They wasn't inviting you to the Roc Nation Brothers anyway, right?

[Eth Rivera]

I wasn't invited.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Cop. You heard? Cool.

[Eth Rivera]

Now, somebody said to me. Somebody said to me, well, I didn't think, you know, you that type of person want to come out to that. And I was like, thanks, Lenny. S.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

All right, cool. Let me ask you a question on a Quick fire segment. It's a long. It's been a long day on set. You've been working with all these actors, and, you know, you know, you want to wind down. You're gonna do dark liquor or white liquor, like. Or some wine or, like, what do you.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Cigar, kayak or tequila?

[Eth Rivera]

Nah, I don't drink to after I rap because this is what happens. Like, when you done with the day.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah, that's what I mean. After. After.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. I mean, I'm a. Somebody's trying to put me onto tequila because I'm a vodka dude. Okay. You know, I mean, I drink vodka, but they trying to put me. Screw me to tequila, man. I had a bad experience with tequila, so that's why I kind of stay away from it. Nah, me up. I mixed. I mixed. Mixed them.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

You can't mix them.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

I was drinking vodka, and then somebody's like, nah, you gotta try this.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

And then I was tripping, man.

[Eth Rivera]

I was tripping.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I had one of those dream collab, Dead or alive that you never worked with. Like, your dream collab meaning what?

[Eth Rivera]

Music videos. Music videos.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Somebody was dead, alive. Michael Jackson, Prince, whatever it was, or an actor.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Somebody you thought about working with that you just didn't work with.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Richard Pryor, somebody you would like to work with.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I think of the era? Era, right? Like, I would love to work with somebody like Michael back then. Or like, I think of, like, Christopher Walken and King of New York.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right?

[Eth Rivera]

Right. Like, but he. Matt old right now, so.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right.

[Eth Rivera]

Got you, like, in that era, right? Or even like Denzel, like, come on, Denzel.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Like, we need you, you know, we need you to name at least five of your favorite movies from all times. Because, you know, I watch a lot of movies. Like, I told people, they didn't even know there was a Superman 3. And Richard Pryor was in that, right? And that was like his breakaway movie, you know what I'm saying?

[Eth Rivera]

Because.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Because Superman was like, the biggest thing in the 80s.

[Eth Rivera]

Nah. You know, I did some movies that I Watch over and over, man. Like.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Like Uncle Buck is another one for me, you know?

[Eth Rivera]

But I watch a lot of sci fi too. Like, I'm into sci fi.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Sci fi.

[Eth Rivera]

I'm into the aliens and all that. Yeah, me too. But come on.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You talking about movies like Scarpage?

[Eth Rivera]

No, no, I'm a name my movies. Like for example. What? One of my favorite movies.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You asked him his choices, man.

[Eth Rivera]

One of my.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

He said it don't matter.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

His. His.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No, his preference.

[Eth Rivera]

Like, one of them is, for example, arrival. You might think it's boring. That is.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Is that about aliens? About some aliens arriving the Earth?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That's cool.

[Eth Rivera]

But you got that. You got Training Day, right?

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Training Day. Sound like that King of New York.

[Eth Rivera]

I love King New York.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I'm saying? Heat another one. Of course.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

Right. Yo, one of the. I mean f. Best performances was Malcolm X. Denzel was.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That was a classic.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Spike Lizzy.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. What else? I'm trying to think what.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Spike Le's doing another one with that, man.

[Eth Rivera]

You know, it's another movie I. I love. I could watch over and over and over. Because I just think about what if that really happened. Is the Brad Pit joint. World War Z. Oh, yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

That was a cool.

[Eth Rivera]

Zombies run everywhere. Like Banana.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I thought she was going. Oh, you know, I like that.

[Eth Rivera]

The.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Okay. Gangster movies. Some of them fun.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, the gangster movies is dope. Like, you know, the Sugar Hills and all that. Like back then, right. Like, it's. I mean, I kind of wish. And this.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I try to tell f. But there's a classic. This.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, the classic. But. But I just kind of wish we could still do some of those.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right?

[Eth Rivera]

New Jack City. The.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

The.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You know, I mean, you got the power. You can recreate some of these things.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

But.

[Eth Rivera]

But just that ever. Right. Like Clocker. Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Clockers was about. Oh, come on, New Jersey drive.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on. Like, you know, just telling our stories. You know what I'm saying? Like you could do the fantasy or whatever.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

But of course.

[Eth Rivera]

About telling those stories. Like. Because that was. I guess for us. Like that was our era. You mean? I don't know. I don't know what it's like.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Do you watch the old. Old movies? Like the Mac and like, you know, was a classic for me. That's old. Like 70s movie was bad Boy with Sean Penn when he beat the dude with the soda bottles back. The soda cans. Was that in the Bronx too? Was. No.

[Eth Rivera]

I don't know.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No, it was in Chicago. That's where that was At.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, but like, you know, I go back and watch the old and all that.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

I know you watched the Mac.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. I can't remember, but yeah, Goldie, come on. Remember that? You know, coming America.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah. You like Uncle Buck, though? Uncle Buck is a classic for me. John Candy.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

I don't remember Uncle Buck.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

You don't know about. That's a classic. Him out just.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

We don't know Uncle Buck over here, bro.

[Eth Rivera]

We don't know.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So you ain't remember Rodney Dangerfield back in the day?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Uncle Buck, man.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

John Candy. You don't know.

[Eth Rivera]

Oh, that's what it is. Uncle Buck. John Candy.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah. John Candy. Come on, bro. He was funny.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

But, yeah, I mean, you know, I just. I. For me, I just want to make that is. Is. Is that we could relate to as a people. I mean, like. Like, you know, it's funny, man. You see these movies, these war movies like that, but you don't never see it from our perspective. You know what I mean? That's. That's my thing. I'm like, I want to do this, so I want to do this. And why can't I have. Every time we see, like, a military movie or whatever, it's in Special Ops and. And a bunch of white dudes running in there.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

You'll never see our people in there

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

playing a part, 50s, appreciated.

[Eth Rivera]

Because.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Cause I always say. I say I never knew. What about stars?

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Not to sound cocky or nothing, but I never knew about stars till 50 started doing everything over there.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

So, I mean, the reaction y' all got from Power power was what, eight years, seven year runs?

[Eth Rivera]

I think 10 years by now.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah. Got Raising Canaan out right now. Killing it.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. Nah, it's gonna keep going. And it's crazy, man.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

It's up there. To me, like, it's up there with, like, classics, like the Y ass supreme nose 100.

[Eth Rivera]

But that's the thing, right? Like, like, the reason why that works so well, because you got a guy like 50 who gonna tell you. Nah, like, I forgot there was a scene with somebody drinking syrup. They had to. Cough medicine and the cup and all that. And the Sprite.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

And Fifth was the one that told me that's how you do it. Right? And then, like, I was. We was doing. We did bmf. They were trying to figure out how to. To how to cook Coke. And I was like, come on, like, show y' all whatever. You mean, like the water in the pot. I think that's the thing. A lot of these TV shows that they go off and they try to do these, like gangster or try to tell our stuff. When you see the people that's really behind it, you're like, yeah, you don't

[Co-host/Interviewer]

know our story like that to tell it.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, Denzel said it. He was like. When he. The interview, he was talking about, like, somebody asked him, like, would you have made a movie like Schindler's this Versus. I forget the movie he was talking about, but he was like, you know, as. As a black director, whatever. He goes, you know, we know what a hot comb will smell like. Like, you know, And I said the same thing. Like, if I would, you gonna do something Latin, like, you understand, like the hot rice and beans, how the mom's gonna be cooking it, how. You know what I mean? Like, all that stuff. Like, you gotta understand what that. What that is. So you got to hire the right people. Sometimes they just, you know, you don't have the authenticity. Like, you don't have authentic people. They just. They slap together, and then you're like, oh, yeah, they're gonna go out. You know, how many scripts that I got that I'm like, yeah, this ain't it.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

No, I understand, because you ever seen the documentary, I think it's called first one on the Cash Call? Denzel Washington, a lot of actors. It's great. I watched it.

[Eth Rivera]

And.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

And. And it had like. Like, black Megan. Good black actresses and black actors. Then first one on the cast.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah. Number one on. Number one on the call sheet. Something like that. Something like that.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

And it was talking about, like, Jamie Fox's first time, you know. You know, with DJ and go. In certain movies, they. The first one, that's when you're the priority. Like, I'm the priority here.

[Eth Rivera]

You're not out of here. You look at Patina Miller, she's. She's the priority, right? Like, it's Makai as, you know, Patina Miller or, you know, going back to Ghost is Tariq. He's the number one. Like, he's. He's. It's really. Whose perspective are you watching this movie or this show through?

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

That's the number one of the show.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Got you.

[Eth Rivera]

You know what I'm saying? And. But it take. I mean, it take a lot to be that number one. That's what that show was about.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Yeah. So we watching that show, and. And. And the women on the show was saying, like, sometimes when they. Vivica was talking about how she was on Independence Day. She didn't like the way her hair looked. She looked crazy. Picture her hair. But when she's on set of maybe some Tyler Perry's doing something that, you know, black people is directing, that they got the right people doing their hair and they makeup. These people might not do your hair and makeup the way these people do. So it was an interesting documentary, man.

[Eth Rivera]

Right? It's about the people behind the camera, behind the scenes. Hair, makeup, wardrobe, like, right? You got to have the right people understand that, you know, I mean, how to comb the hair, how to get it straight, you know? I mean, all that stuff, makeup, you know, same thing with lighting and everything else. It's a certain way. You got to light a dark person, right? Brown skin, whatever. You got to know how to light them. Because I would never use, like, a green light for, like, a highlight. Because what happens, you put green, all of a sudden, you look at the skin, look like a zombie.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Me, right?

[Eth Rivera]

Like, the skin looked bad. And it's like, yo, you can't use green. Like, you know, or you. Not even blue. Like, you could. Like. I think there's certain shows that do that. But. But reality, the. The dark skin, like, when it's brown, you gotta use warm temperature, like the yellows and the. You know what I mean? Like, the cool warm, and it complements the skin.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Come hear that Shooting me.

[Eth Rivera]

Yeah.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Like, make sure y' all got that lighting right in this.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Don't have us look like ain't no zombie on here. Learned a lot today, man.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Tell the people what you got coming up next, man. What you working on? What you got coming up next? Slow down, brother.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Right, you right. I'm let you. I'm gonna let you.

[Eth Rivera]

First of all, God, we got the

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

mics that you clip on this, like, one of our first episodes. And everybody, we just gotta. You just gotta have them the distance.

[Eth Rivera]

No, but now, so. So the Castro movie, Killing Castro.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

We going to festivals with Al Pacino, y'.

[Eth Rivera]

All.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Let's look forward to that big time.

[Eth Rivera]

The cast is crazy. Oh, like, the cast land was in Beale Street. She was the leading ass. She was also.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

The old guard she was to come to America. That's right.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

That's right.

[Eth Rivera]

Then I got the kid from the blue beetle, Sholo, Mary Duenna, who's also in Cobra Kai.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Oh, shout out to him, right?

[Eth Rivera]

We got. Man, Ron Livingston. You got Diego Bonetta. Like, he's a huge Mexican star, bro. We got Frankie Faison.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Okay, okay.

[Eth Rivera]

Kendrick Sampson from. Man, what was that show on hbo, Name of the show. But you got Kendrick.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So I heard you. I heard you mention the film festival because some people think this is easy. So look, the film is shot.

[Eth Rivera]

Shot.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So now you still got to go down.

[Eth Rivera]

So now you got to go to the festival. Sometimes you go there with a distributor if they've seen a movie beforehand. So they'll buy it. And you go there.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Eth Rivera]

Or you go there to sell it. Okay, so if we go to, for example, Toronto Film Festival, that's international, so you're gonna get a lot of buyers. So, like, you'll get like Amazon, Netflix or whatever. They're gonna say, okay, we're gonna buy, we're gonna run international. And then we also want to do the States because it's all about distribution. Distribute the movie, you know.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

What's the main question of the show, though, before we close out? Murder? You trying to ask when are we gonna get in something?

[Eth Rivera]

You ain't lying.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

We.

[Eth Rivera]

We. All right, here we go. So right now, I'm working on another film project.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Okay.

[Eth Rivera]

And I'm a good alien. I'll let y' all know. But. But the story is going to be the biopic. Okay, Throwback, you ready for this one? All right. Kimbo Slice.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, make Murder Fight Kimbo Sl.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

That's fire.

[Eth Rivera]

That's going to be Miami. That's going to be like mma, ufc. People think you're going to get all that backyard, like, yeah, you going to see that, but you going to really see the journey. Like, word.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Remember when he punched that one guy eye out his head? That was like.

[Eth Rivera]

So, you know, originally I had it and then Fifth was going to play that role. And so I'm. I'm g. Have to ask him to play it again.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Oh, no. You could have let. Well, let Murder Fight Kimbo fight out of here. I'm good on that road. Get another.

[Eth Rivera]

But, you know, it's gonna be. It's gonna be a bunch of man.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So you keep us in mind.

[Eth Rivera]

Keep us in mind.

[Bleacher Report Host]

Good luck surviving the offseason, football fans.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

At first I was afraid. I was petrified. Football's over. It's like a part of me just died inside.

[Eth Rivera]

200 days till football's back but tonight I won't just cry Cuz I've got a ways to play and that's the

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

place with Hard rock.

[Eth Rivera]

Bet I will survive.

[Bleacher Report Host]

Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Must be 21 and physically present in Florida to wager. Terms and conditions apply. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please call 1-833-Playwise.

[Eth Rivera]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Interviewer/Co-host (possibly Marcus)]

Guaranteed Human.