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To say that Boots Riley is an unlikely showrunner is an understatement. The Oakland-based filmmaker, hip-hop MC and political activist is probably the only self-identified communist in the entertainment industry. With his latest comic provocation, the absurdist seven-episode miniseries “I’m a Virgo,” Riley brought his brand of anticapitalist urban surrealism to Prime Video, garnering widespread acclaim during a summer of labor unrest.

“Virgo” follows the adventures of Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), a 13-foot-tall Black teenager who was raised in seclusion, as he emerges into a surreal, dystopian present-day Oakland. Speaking from his Oakland home, Riley explained why he’s not planning to compromise, no matter which megacorporation is bankrolling his project. Television The Prime Video series about a 13-foot-tall teenager living in Oakland was created and directed by Boots Riley.



June 22, 2023 You haven’t left Oakland, and both “Virgo” and your previous “Sorry to Bother You” are set there. What makes this city so important to your artistic process? I’m a better artist when I’m here. I grew up here.

I know what each building means, and I have a reason for choosing locations other than just what the lines and colors look like. The general way that film and television is made is about making every place into no place. And that way it can easily be molded and sold to be anything.

But I believe that the more specific you get, the more you make someone feel attac.

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