The entertainment industry and Hollywood, in particular, is personality and fame-driven, meaning talents often go unrecognized if they do not have an influential backing or support. Production companies, casting companies and every shot-caller in Hollywood are interested in the antecedents of their casts and crew, therefore leaving no room for new stars to emerge. As Larry Harris posits, as a person of color, “nobody wanted to work with us, not even as an extra.” This discrimination, according to him, prompted him and his creative partner, Leonard Martin, to establish ArieCan Productions, a free for all production company.
ArieCan Productions was founded in 2017 by Larry Harris and Leonard Martin, who decided that the best way to create quality content that spoke to their audience was to do it themselves upon realizing that the film industry paid less attention to creatives who have done nothing of note. ArieCan Productions, since its inception, has funded and created projects like Chapter 2, ‘The Web Series, a series that is available on digital streaming platforms. And work is ongoing to see to the timely release of newer projects, most notably two groundbreaking shows, Secrets, a dramatic series and Dear Diary, a comedy series, all in February 2022.
With particular reference to the Baltimore area, Larry and Leonard are on a mission to establish a strong entertainment culture in the city and build ArieCan into a household name that will open doors of opportunity for natives and residents of the Baltimore community. Noting that, even though the community is filled with talents, companies are unwilling to showcase their talents. Meaning, “regardless of color, race or gender, what counts is the talent, and as far as ArieCan goes, everyone deserves a chance.”
According to Larry, ArieCan Productions represents opportunity in diversity. As a company owned by people of color, it presents an opportunity to every underrepresented person or group, composition-wise and in terms of content, “ArieCan is so diverse in its storytelling our target audience is literally everyone. From young to old, our stories are relatable to everyone.” Larry explained. While he admits that ArieCan does not cherry-pick the personnel it works with, “We are focused on creating great and meaningful content that we haven’t had the time to focus on anything else but success.”
“The motivation to build ArieCan was that no one wanted us to be in their series, not even as an extra. And that was the best thing they could have done. So, we took those no’s and decided to create our own company. We are a company that hires for talent and nothing more. So many people have been told no based on everything but their talent. But with ArieCan Productions, talent speaks volumes.”
On the company’s projection for the next few years, Larry said, “We see ArieCan Productions being a premiere powerhouse company in Hollywood. We also see ourselves having multiple #1 shows and winning awards.”
Learn more about ArieCan Productions by visiting its website.