Industry Insider: Westbrook Inc and The Freedom of Artistic Expression
westbrook inc.
Westbrook Inc. is an entertainment production and development company that was founded on the principle of prioritizing the artist and their vision. Will and Jada Pinkett Smith were only half of the team that founded Westbrook Inc. in 2019. The married duo are established in the entertainment field as artists as well as producers, so this business venture further falls in line with that career trajectory. The other two founders of the team during the company’s conception were Miguel Melendez and Kosaku Yada. In 2022 Will and Jada Pinkett Smith would sell 10% of the stake of the company to Candle Media. Candle Media was founded and currently operated by former executives from the Walt Disney Company, Kevin Mayer & Tom Staggs.
Many of the Smiths’ personal projects are developed at Westbrook such as the notable and critically acclaimed Facebook Watch Series, Red Talk Table. The three-generational roundtable analyzes societal issues through a philosophical and psychological lens as navigated through the experiences of friends, family, and themselves. There aren’t an excessive amount of properties within Westbrook as the entity is crawling out of its infancy stage. However, the IPs that are under the brand are impactful to the cultural zeitgeist across media. In 2021, Will Smith’s King Richard told the narrative and dramatic retelling of Richard Williams’ coaching of tennis legends, Serena and Venus Williams. The film earned Will Smith a BAFTA, Critics Choice, Golden Globe, Oscar, SAG Award, and NAACP Image Award for Best Actor. King Richard helped solidify Westbrook on the map for its phenomenal quality and ambitious storytelling. This continued on with the reboot of Will Smith’s iconic 90s series, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with the 2022 version taking on the mantle by simplifying the name to Bel-Air. The reboot is regarded as a re-imagined and more narrative-heavy version of the original story. The series had warm reception throughout its first season being one of the most-watched series on Peacock in 2022.
Westbrook prioritizes independence and freedom for the growth of their narratives, which is honored through their vast distribution amongst their properties. Further amplifying the moral code of the company would be through its subsidiaries and their primary focuses. Overbrook Entertainment is a music, film, and television production company that was originally created by Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998. The company previously held contracts with Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment before finding its place under the Smiths’ full control at Westbrook in 2019. Overbrook’s longevity in the entertainment sphere has encapsulated much of the Smiths’ careers over the last two decades. Overbrook co-produced films such as Hitch (2005), I Am Legend (2007), The Karate Kid (2010), After Earth (2013), Focus (2015), and Bright (2019). The company also had a helping hand in the soundtracks for Wild Wild West (1999), Love & Basketball (2000), Men in Black II (2002), and Annie (2014). Although Overbrook holds a large catalog of content, there is more to Westbrook’s reach when looking at its other subsidiaries.
The international components of Westbrook are largely invested in Telepool. Telepool is a global entertainment distribution and licensing house that largely functions in Munich, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland. The company spans more than half a century's worth of content as it had its start in 1963 and ever since has operated as a global conglomerate. In 2021 the Smiths acquired the business in order to expand their production internationally. With full control of Telepool this would also grant them the full range of mobility within Germany’s largest entertainment market. Telepool would also grant access to global screen and video busters, and two distribution centers.
Even though Westbrook has a 5-year history, the Smiths have introduced their company to a 60-year lifespan and strengthened the company forwards and backward. The global strides have outlined the prestige and fortitude that has expanded the legacy of Westbrook. To have a large section of their professional careers sorted under one structure that is owned by the family themselves serves as an aspiration for the freedom they live by. The Smiths have broken away from artistic limitations by remaining loyal to the art and the betterment of the dynamic progressive experience of that art.
