In the lively and informative morning panel The Changemakers: Tactics for Equality and Diversity in Film and Television at the Produced By Conference at the Time Warner Center in New York, the conversation focused on the importance of taking action and concrete ideas to ensure that more people of color and women find opportunities in all levels of the film and television industry.
The speakers:
Effie T. Brown
Founder, Duly Noted, Inc.; "Project Greenlight," "Dear White People."
Charles D. King
Founder & CEO, MacRo
Mynette Louie
President, Gamechanger Films
Pete Nowalk
"How to Get Away with Murder"
Lindsey Taylor Wood
Founder & President, Ltw
Moderator Michael Skolnik (President, Global Grind Civil Rights Organizer) opened with several statistics from the 2015 UCLA report on diversity from the Bunch Center: Here
The report looked at 175 films, and 1,015 television shows over two years.
Lead actors: 75 % men, 25 % women
Directors: 94 % men, 6 % women
Writers: 87% men, 13% women
Television show creators: 71% men, 29% women
Lead actors: 83% white, 17% people of color
Directors: 82% white, 18 % people of color
Writers: 88% white, 12% people of color
Show creators 94 % white, 6 % people of color
Cable television show creators: 89 % white, 11% people of color
And perhaps what drew the loudest audience gasp from Skolnik’s last statistic:
CEO and chairs of the 18 studios: 94 % white and 100% men.
Skolnik : The good news is, if there is good news, is that the audience is demanding much more of us, and certainly on television there has been an explosion of diverse audiences on and off screen.
Skolnick asked the panel about some proud moments in their career.
Brown: In ‘Project Greenlight’ you are actually able to see an inclusive crew that looks like America. So, people watching in Middle America, for example, could see that they have a voice and place in film.
Nowalk : I’m proud of lead actress Viola Davis. We created the role together of Annalise Keating. The character is not perfect. The same is true for the gay character, who is also not perfectly perfect. That’s not real or interesting. Viola plays the anti-hero – a character which men always do. She’s a character people love to hate. It’s so nice not to write perfect boring people.
Skolnick asked the panel how their work has changed and how their art changed as the energy in this country has changed.
During his 15 years as an agent at Wme agency days, Charles D. King recounted, “I was always the guy in the room saying, ‘Why can’t the role be this way?'” King also emphasized the importance of making sure talent does not get pigeonholed, citing examples of director Tim Story going from directing “Barbershop” to “Fantastic Four” and how he worked with his clients, including Terrence Howard, Michael Ealy and Paula Patton. “It was almost like the Underground Railroad for a while.”
Nowalk: I don’t write ethnicity into characters. We cast colorblind. In the past, we ignored the race issue; we didn’t speak to it in the script. Viola Davis encouraged me that the world is not colorblind. We got positive feedback for the show. We do address race and use it in strange, manipulative ways that fits the tone in the show. The new PC is let’s talk about it (race).
Louie: What’s changed is my courage and mindset, and not accepting the status quo as gospel. When I started 10 years ago, I was told by companies; ‘Black people don’t sell overseas’ but now I question that a lot more. That attitude is part of a system that is a self-perpetuating racist institution.
Brown: I don’t feel so alone anymore. I remember growing up in New Jersey, looking at images on television. I just wasn’t there. I wasn’t in Three’s Company, Charlies Angels, Give Me a Break -- that was a mammy trope. Good Times wasn’t reflecting my experience. I want to reflect the image of the other.
Later on, Brown added how the aftermath of the Project Greenlight flap was ‘shocking…It started a conversation. I’m grateful, it set a tone. Black Twitter is real. Everyone kept strong.”
Wood: We need to learn how to be better allies and know when to ask questions. We’re not all done addressing these issues. We need to have honest conversations and understand the solutions that are working in other industries.
Concluding the discussion, Skolnick asked the panel for one take away tactic to increase diversity.
Wood: I would love to have conversations over alternative distribution models.
Nowalk: Think about the interns and the assistants you’re hiring. That’s the way to mentor people; hire a diverse group of people. It starts there.
King: Live by what you’re preaching.
Brown: Stop talking about it, be about it. Whatever you’re doing, make sure it’s inclusive otherwise we don’t have any right to bitch about it
Louie: Learn the marketplace and learn the statistics. Read ‘The Ms. Factor: The Power of Female Driven Content Toolkit.’ It puts all the statistics together about women-driven films. It will help you pitch your projects. It shows all the numbers that are in support of women driven films. Be armed with this. If you’re armed with this, you have a better chance of getting your film made.
For more information visit Here
Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, Susan Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College Suny, and presents international seminars on screenwriting and film. Author of Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! and The Savvy Screenwriter, she is chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a consulting company founded in 1990 where she works with writers, filmmakers, and executives worldwide. www.su-city-pictures.com, http://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog...
The speakers:
Effie T. Brown
Founder, Duly Noted, Inc.; "Project Greenlight," "Dear White People."
Charles D. King
Founder & CEO, MacRo
Mynette Louie
President, Gamechanger Films
Pete Nowalk
"How to Get Away with Murder"
Lindsey Taylor Wood
Founder & President, Ltw
Moderator Michael Skolnik (President, Global Grind Civil Rights Organizer) opened with several statistics from the 2015 UCLA report on diversity from the Bunch Center: Here
The report looked at 175 films, and 1,015 television shows over two years.
Lead actors: 75 % men, 25 % women
Directors: 94 % men, 6 % women
Writers: 87% men, 13% women
Television show creators: 71% men, 29% women
Lead actors: 83% white, 17% people of color
Directors: 82% white, 18 % people of color
Writers: 88% white, 12% people of color
Show creators 94 % white, 6 % people of color
Cable television show creators: 89 % white, 11% people of color
And perhaps what drew the loudest audience gasp from Skolnik’s last statistic:
CEO and chairs of the 18 studios: 94 % white and 100% men.
Skolnik : The good news is, if there is good news, is that the audience is demanding much more of us, and certainly on television there has been an explosion of diverse audiences on and off screen.
Skolnick asked the panel about some proud moments in their career.
Brown: In ‘Project Greenlight’ you are actually able to see an inclusive crew that looks like America. So, people watching in Middle America, for example, could see that they have a voice and place in film.
Nowalk : I’m proud of lead actress Viola Davis. We created the role together of Annalise Keating. The character is not perfect. The same is true for the gay character, who is also not perfectly perfect. That’s not real or interesting. Viola plays the anti-hero – a character which men always do. She’s a character people love to hate. It’s so nice not to write perfect boring people.
Skolnick asked the panel how their work has changed and how their art changed as the energy in this country has changed.
During his 15 years as an agent at Wme agency days, Charles D. King recounted, “I was always the guy in the room saying, ‘Why can’t the role be this way?'” King also emphasized the importance of making sure talent does not get pigeonholed, citing examples of director Tim Story going from directing “Barbershop” to “Fantastic Four” and how he worked with his clients, including Terrence Howard, Michael Ealy and Paula Patton. “It was almost like the Underground Railroad for a while.”
Nowalk: I don’t write ethnicity into characters. We cast colorblind. In the past, we ignored the race issue; we didn’t speak to it in the script. Viola Davis encouraged me that the world is not colorblind. We got positive feedback for the show. We do address race and use it in strange, manipulative ways that fits the tone in the show. The new PC is let’s talk about it (race).
Louie: What’s changed is my courage and mindset, and not accepting the status quo as gospel. When I started 10 years ago, I was told by companies; ‘Black people don’t sell overseas’ but now I question that a lot more. That attitude is part of a system that is a self-perpetuating racist institution.
Brown: I don’t feel so alone anymore. I remember growing up in New Jersey, looking at images on television. I just wasn’t there. I wasn’t in Three’s Company, Charlies Angels, Give Me a Break -- that was a mammy trope. Good Times wasn’t reflecting my experience. I want to reflect the image of the other.
Later on, Brown added how the aftermath of the Project Greenlight flap was ‘shocking…It started a conversation. I’m grateful, it set a tone. Black Twitter is real. Everyone kept strong.”
Wood: We need to learn how to be better allies and know when to ask questions. We’re not all done addressing these issues. We need to have honest conversations and understand the solutions that are working in other industries.
Concluding the discussion, Skolnick asked the panel for one take away tactic to increase diversity.
Wood: I would love to have conversations over alternative distribution models.
Nowalk: Think about the interns and the assistants you’re hiring. That’s the way to mentor people; hire a diverse group of people. It starts there.
King: Live by what you’re preaching.
Brown: Stop talking about it, be about it. Whatever you’re doing, make sure it’s inclusive otherwise we don’t have any right to bitch about it
Louie: Learn the marketplace and learn the statistics. Read ‘The Ms. Factor: The Power of Female Driven Content Toolkit.’ It puts all the statistics together about women-driven films. It will help you pitch your projects. It shows all the numbers that are in support of women driven films. Be armed with this. If you’re armed with this, you have a better chance of getting your film made.
For more information visit Here
Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, Susan Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College Suny, and presents international seminars on screenwriting and film. Author of Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! and The Savvy Screenwriter, she is chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a consulting company founded in 1990 where she works with writers, filmmakers, and executives worldwide. www.su-city-pictures.com, http://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog...
- 10/29/2015
- by Susan Kouguell
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: Jessica McNamee, a regular on USA Network’s comedy Sirens, has cuffed a role in CHiPs, writer-director Dax Shepard's adaptation of the old NBC series for Warner Bros. She is set to co-star as Lindsey Taylor, described as a stunning yet tough young California Highway Patrol officer who takes quite a shine to Ponch (Michael Pena) and vice versa. A capable and courageous professional, she joins Ponch and Jon (Shepard) on their death-defying, high-speed…...
- 9/30/2015
- Deadline
Reviewed by Chris Wright, MoreHorror.com
Directed By: Scott Derrickson
Written By: Scott Derrickson & Paul Harris Boardman
Starring: Doug Bradley (Pinhead), Craig Sheffer Joseph Thorne), Nicholas Turturro (Det. Tony Nenonen), James Remar (Dr. Paul Gregory), Nicholas Sadler (Bernie), Noelle Evans (Melanie Thorne), Lindsay Taylor (Chloe), Matt George (Mr. Parmagi), Michael Wiles, Sasha Barrese (Daphne Sharp), Kathyrn Joosten (Mother), Jessica Elliot (Young Joseph’s Mother), Carmen Argenziano (Captain), J.B. Gaynor (Young Joseph)
If you listen to some fans of the series, every movie after the fourth film is not worth watching. With that viewpoint being told so often, I went into this movie with lower expectations. I thought my expectations couldn’t get much lower with “Hellraiser: Bloodline” which was a bit of a mess that even the director removed his name from it. I was pleasantly surprised at how much of an improvement this was! I am aware the term...
Directed By: Scott Derrickson
Written By: Scott Derrickson & Paul Harris Boardman
Starring: Doug Bradley (Pinhead), Craig Sheffer Joseph Thorne), Nicholas Turturro (Det. Tony Nenonen), James Remar (Dr. Paul Gregory), Nicholas Sadler (Bernie), Noelle Evans (Melanie Thorne), Lindsay Taylor (Chloe), Matt George (Mr. Parmagi), Michael Wiles, Sasha Barrese (Daphne Sharp), Kathyrn Joosten (Mother), Jessica Elliot (Young Joseph’s Mother), Carmen Argenziano (Captain), J.B. Gaynor (Young Joseph)
If you listen to some fans of the series, every movie after the fourth film is not worth watching. With that viewpoint being told so often, I went into this movie with lower expectations. I thought my expectations couldn’t get much lower with “Hellraiser: Bloodline” which was a bit of a mess that even the director removed his name from it. I was pleasantly surprised at how much of an improvement this was! I am aware the term...
- 10/17/2013
- by admin
- MoreHorror
We’re always good for a gooey Lifetime Movie with 2009’s Accused at 17, Mti has got one that reads like it fits the bill—well, the title does at least.
Mti will issue the mystery-drama Accused at 17 on DVD on Aug. 2 for the list price of $24.95.
Nicole Gale Anderson (r.) is in a helluva lot of trouble in Accused at 17.
Here’s what it’s all about: When high school teenager Bianca (Nicole Gale Anderson, Make It or Break It) finds out her boyfriend has cheated on her with a classmate Dory (Lindsay Taylor, Hitman’s Run), she’s furious and out for revenge. Bianca and her best friends, Fallyn (Janet Montgomery, Black Swan) and Sarah (Stella Maeve, The Runaways), team up to play a prank on the girl to make her pay. But the trio’s plan to simply frighten Dory goes awry when she doesn...
Mti will issue the mystery-drama Accused at 17 on DVD on Aug. 2 for the list price of $24.95.
Nicole Gale Anderson (r.) is in a helluva lot of trouble in Accused at 17.
Here’s what it’s all about: When high school teenager Bianca (Nicole Gale Anderson, Make It or Break It) finds out her boyfriend has cheated on her with a classmate Dory (Lindsay Taylor, Hitman’s Run), she’s furious and out for revenge. Bianca and her best friends, Fallyn (Janet Montgomery, Black Swan) and Sarah (Stella Maeve, The Runaways), team up to play a prank on the girl to make her pay. But the trio’s plan to simply frighten Dory goes awry when she doesn...
- 6/10/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.