Hollywood producer Will Packer credits Beyoncé for teaching him how to deal with rejection.Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for AfroTech; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The Hollywood producer Will Packer credits Beyoncé with teaching him how to deal with rejection.
Beyoncé turned down a role in a movie he was producing five times, Packer said.
He improved the script after each rejection and ultimately got her to change her mind.
The Hollywood producer Will Packer knows rejection is a part of life and work. After all, Beyoncé turned down a role in a movie he was producing five times before he convinced her to sign on to the project.
During an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of “The View,” Packer spoke about what he learned from his experience of getting rejected by the singer.
“Beyoncé told me no. I wanted her to be in this film, and she was very — she’s a wonderful human being but said, ‘Will Packer, I’m not doing your movie,’” Packer told “The View” cohosts, recounting the singer’s words.
Packer, known for films such as “Girls Trip” and “Ride Along,” said he made changes to the script based on the feedback he received from Beyoncé.
“I didn’t go back or push back and didn’t say, ‘Oh no, woe is me.’ And actually, I was making my project better each time,” Packer said.
Although it took him five times “because Beyoncé is very particular,” at the end of the day, he “only needed one yes.”
“You only need one, so whatever your Beyoncé is, right, keep seeing if there is a way to adjust and learn something from the ‘No,’” he said.
Beyoncé changed her mind, Packer said
In the end, Beyoncé changed her mind and agreed to star — alongside Idris Elba — in 2009’s “Obsessed,” the film Packer was producing.
When it comes to handling rejection, Packer’s advice aligns with the guidance the career happiness strategist Amy Nguyen previously described to Business Insider.
“Mindset is important here because rejection doesn’t mean that you are a total failure or a loser,” Nguyen said. “Think of rejection as a lesson and get what you can learn from there so that you can improve yourself for the next job.”
Representatives for Packer and Beyoncé did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by BI outside regular hours.