Television Producer Anthony Maddox: What I Learned Working With Diddy
Lounging
in the posh 24/7 restaurant at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los
Angeles, Anthony Maddox is relaxed, but alert. Maddox, the co-founder
and chief creative officer of Mad Vision Entertainment, which was
started in 2005, has been on the forefront of urban television and
music culture for years.
Since moving
to Los Angeles less than a year ago, Maddox has taken Mad Vision
Entertainment to new heights, namely by purchasing the Soul Train
brand, a move that he hopes will not only cement the company’s status,
but shine a proper light on urban music.
Formerly
the executive vice president of film for Bad Boy, Maddox created the
“Diddy Runs the City” documentary, “Bad Boys of Comedy” for HBO and
consulted on the “Making the Band” series. Basically, he was key in
helping Sean “Diddy” Combs make the transition into television and
film. Let’s take a look at what he learned from the mogul.
Failure is not an option.
“Working for Puffy was a proving ground because he doesn’t have the
propensity for failure. He doesn’t expect [failure] from his employees
and he really pushes you to get the best out of yourself and the
partners you align yourself with.”
Follow through is a must.
“My propensity to work hard and be a perfectionist, to follow through,
to be engaging in terms of everything that I do, to really push the
envelope in terms of my creative potential and not settle for less … is
what I took from my time with him.”
Never settle.
“… Nothing was ever just settled on with the first pass, whether it’s
clothing, music, television, merchandising, he was always pushing for
perfection. What I learned from watching him is there is this
tremendous amount of detail that he puts into everything that he does.”
–jh
