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Debra Martin Chase is one of the few African-Americans finding succes by putting dreams on the big screen
As usual, Debra Martin Chase is looking fabulous. Her silk scarf and soft Icelandic wool sweater complement her deep caramel skin and shoulder-length brown hair. Also as usual, she's excited about what she's doing. "You'll love it!" says the Hollywood producer about a possible project: a TV movie or weekly series that's based on the popular Barbara Neely mystery novels featuring an African-American maid who is also an ace detective. "She's a wonderful character. The books have almost achieved cult status."
It won't be easy for Chase to find a network to greenlight the project. Hollywood is reluctant to back shows with strong African-American female leads, and few African-American actresses have enough power to push the project through.
But Chase, who's also a Harvard-trained lawyer, isn't afraid to go after what she wants. "She is not a shrinking violet," says Frank Price, a former chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures. "This is a business in which you've got to aggressively pursue opportunities and fight for them, and Debra is good at that." He first met Chase at a lunch in 1990, and a few months later she asked him to hire her as his executive assistant, even though she'd only been in Hollywood a little more than a year.
Chase's success has been the result of tenacity, talent and timing. Case in point: On the way to Columbia's cafeteria in April 1992, she spotted Denzel Washington and decided to introduce herself. "At that point I normally didn't approach stars, but a voice said, `Go meet him.' " He suggested a meeting with her the next day. "She's a smart woman and a real go-getter, so I said, `Yeah, sure; let's talk,' " Washington recalls. A week later, Chase was running his production company, Mundy Lane Entertainment.
"I learned a lot from Denzel," Chase says. "One of his mantras is `Let the work speak for you.' He said that if I did good work, I'd be one of the top producers. Period."
Now, with movies like The Preacher's Wife,...