Producer Becky Morrison Looking to Bring ‘Light’ to Show Business

There’s no question that show business is not the healthiest industry. The past few years have shown the world just how harmful it can be to the people working in it.

Becky Morrison, who runs the production company The Light and has worked on Netflix spots, the movie “I Am Legend” and a Lexus commercial starring Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, knows the darker side of show business all too well.

“You see all these things as a result of the toxic culture: Me Too, Time’s Up, Oscars So White and what happened on the set of ‘Rust,’” Morrison told the Journal. “They happened as a result of the culture of production, which doesn’t care about people at all. It only cares about profit.”

Morrison is looking to change production culture with The Light. She is committed to four ethos: Inclusion, sustainability, agility and enjoyability. She hires people who don’t normally get the chance to work in production because of the business’ homogeneity, and she wants to change the industry from the inside. 

“Diversity, equity and inclusion often center around hiring, but we’re still bringing them into a system that is toxic,” she said. “What we are looking to do, in addition to bringing underrepresented people into production, is change the way production is done to make it more equitable, inclusive, human-centered and kind.” 

Along with hiring underrepresented people, Morrison strives to create a better working environment for her employees. Her dream is to transform the decades-old model the business was founded on. 

“A few guys with top hats and mustaches created the production process and system we have now over 100 years go,” she said. “By studying the history of production, I became very aware that it’s not only possible, but also probable, that we can create a new way to do production for the next 100 years.”

On The Light’s website, there is a brief history of production, and how it mimicked Henry Ford’s assembly line to churn out movies fast for audiences. This model, Morrison argues, doesn’t work anymore.

“The paradox of our business is that sometimes after a day on set making dreams come true, the crew is left feeling abused and exhausted,” her site states. “The problem is: this process is extractive. By focusing only on efficiency and profit, it ends up depleting our industry’s most valuable resource, creativity.”

Morrison and her team are certainly creative. They’ve made sleek and modern commercial spots for “Star Wars,” JCPenney, BBC America and BET featuring celebrities like Bill Murray, Fred Armisen and Cara Delevingne.  

The producer grew up watching movies with her dad, whom she calls a “cinephile.” He’d make popcorn every night and sit down to watch TV and movies and quiz his daughter on old films. She received her training from New York University, where she studied film and television.

“We were a Hollywood-centric family,” she said. “When I got into NYU, I realized I could have a career in film production.”

While she was attending school and living in the city, she would see productions shooting in the streets and want to be part of them. 

While she was attending school and living in the city, she would see productions shooting in the streets and want to be part of them. 

“It was all around me,” she said. “But I couldn’t figure out how to get in.” 

Then, one day, her friend had a production assistant job she couldn’t take, so she called Morrison. It was Morrison’s first gig as a PA. Since she was always available, she started getting more and more jobs. That was 20 years ago. Job by job, she worked her way up to start her own successful company. 

Entrepreneurship is in Morrison’s blood. Her grandfather owned a very famous New York deli, The Gaiety Delicatessen, which was open for over four decades. 

“When people ask me where I’m from, I say I’m a New York Jew,” Morrison said. “I’m a fourth-generation New York Jew.” 

Morrison, whose family came from Eastern Europe, attended Hebrew school, had a bat mitzvah and went to The Brotherhood Synagogue in Manhattan when she was younger. Today, she describes her religious beliefs as more spiritual than anything else. The spiritual name of her production company, The Light, is no coincidence. 

“The whole goal of life is to bring more light,” she said. “We need to allow the light inside of us to shine. I love the frequency and energy of the light. People say, ‘I work with the Light.’ We really get to be a beacon of light in this industry.” ■