News

Few of the people of color invited to the executive table in Hollywood are in a position to greenlight projects, an NAACP-commissioned report by sociologist Dr. Darnell Hunt finds.

Hunt started with UCLA’s 2020 Hollywood Diversity Report documents, which saw film leads nearly triple for people of color and quadruple on the television side, but little growth for behind-the-camera talent. The report also found, “there were no Black CEOs or members of the senior management team at the major studios in early 2020, and only 3.9 percent of major studio unit heads were Black.”

To get more perspectives from the C-suite, Hunt, who is dean of Social Sciences and a professor of Sociology and African American Studies at UCLA, spoke to a representative sample of Black executives described as “highly accomplished, behind-the-scenes personnel” in the entertainment industry.

“Black executives did not have final say on the fate of a project,” the report states.

The WGA West will host a Juneteenth panel discussion on Friday, June 19. “Though this day historically commemorates Black liberation and community,” the guild said, “members of all backgrounds are encouraged to join this important conversation on race and racism in America.”

The virtual panel, “Juneteenth 2020: From Pandemic to Protests,” will be moderated by Ali Le Roi, creator of Everybody Hates Chris and Are We There Yet? It starts at 2 Pm. Guild members can register here to take part.

Panelists include:

• Melody Cooper

• Berwick Mahdi Davenport

• Charles Murray (writer-producer)

• Janine Sherman-Barrois

• Rashad Robinson

The 90-minute panel is being presented by Shonda Rhimes and Glen Mazzara, co-chairs of the guild’s Inclusion and Equity Group, and by Committee of Black Writers co-chairs Michelle Amor and Hilliard Guess, and vice chair Bianca Sams.

The Inclusion...

The Writers Guild of America West Committee of Black Writers has challenged Hollywood to revolutionize its hiring practices immediately in the wake of companies asserting support for the Black Lives Matter campaign.

“As Black Americans, professional screenwriters, and members of the Writers Guild of America West Committee of Black Writers, we are grieving, we are angry, and we are unapologetically demanding systemic change,” the letter began. “We read your statements on your commitment to Black lives and have been compelled by passion and duty as your peers to respond.”

The letter comes amid nationwide protests calling attention to police brutality and systemic racism. The Back Lives Matter movement regained momentum after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25 after a Minnesota police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes.

“We join you in conversation on how...

In an open letter to Hollywood, the co-chairs of the WGA West’s Committee of Black Writers said today that they are grieving, angry and “unapologetically demanding systemic change” throughout the industry in the wake of nationwide protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“We need to revolutionize the way our industry hires writers,” – Michelle Amor, Hilliard Guess and Bianca Sams wrote. “The entertainment industry needs to implement forward-looking project development and staffing practices, including attracting, developing, mentoring, hiring, and retaining the next generations of diverse writers, directors, producers and executives, at all levels.”

Calling for action, not words, they told industry leaders that “either you commit to a new, institutionalized system of accountability with and to Black writers, or you prove that you’re putting on just another strategic, virtue-signaling performance deemed necessary to survive the times.”

Here is the letter in its entirety:

Dear Hollywood,

As Black Americans,...

The Writers Guild of America West has issued an open letter from its committee of black writers, the first time the guild has released a statement specifically from one of its committees, that calls on Hollywood and the studios to do more than just issue statements of support and actually prioritize the hiring of black writers.

The three-page letter penned by Wgaw Committee of Black Writers co-chairs Michelle Amor, Hilliard Guess and vice chair of the committee Bianca Sams invokes “The Birth of a Nation” as a symbol of generations of oppression in Hollywood and cites a 2020 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report that says black writers received only 5.6% of all the writing jobs among 2019 films.

“Some have tried to blame this on a shortage of Black writers, yet there are at least 808 self-identified Black writers in the Guild; we have been here, ready to work,” the letter reads. “We need to...

In today’s film news roundup, “Waiting for the Barbarians,” “Don’t Tell a Soul” and “Daddy Issues” get distribution and the African American Film Critics Association is launching a virtual Strong Summer 2020 programming slate.

Acquisitions

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to Ciro Guerra’s feature film “Waiting for the Barbarians,” starring Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, Mark Rylance, Gana Bayarsaikhan, and Greta Scacchi.

Goldwyn said the film was originally slated for a theatrical release, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it will be released on cable on-demand and digital platforms in August.

Rylance plays a magistrate in an isolated frontier settlement on the border of a large empire who looks forward to an easy retirement until the arrival of a colonel (portrayed by Depp), whose task it is to report on the activities of the “barbarians” and the security situation on the border. The colonel’s ruthless interrogations...

Exclusive: CBS has put in development dramas Vanishing Point, from writer Breen Frazier (Criminal Minds), and The Honorable from Everybody Hates Chris co-creator Ali Leroi and Michelle Amor (Playin’ for Love). Both hail from Jay and Phil McGraw’s Stage 29 Productions and CBS Television Studios, where Stage 29 is under a first-look deal.

Written by Frazier, Vanishing Point revolves around a cavalier but brilliant behavioral psychologist and his methodical FBI agent ex-wife, who are forced to reteam on a missing-persons case that in fact might be the spark they need to rekindle their relationship and finally locate their own teenage son, who disappeared years before.

Frazier executive produces with Dr. Phil McGraw, Jay McGraw, Julia Eisenman for Stage 29 Productions, along with Marc Provissiero for Odenkirk Provissiero, and Lee Schneller and Jeremy Evans.

Chicago mayoral drama The Honorable is written by Leroi and Amor. In The Honorable, the young, idealistic...

People often think they know how to make the best decisions when they’re working on a project in an area they have previously garnered success in. But after going through a harrowing, yet equally rewarding, experience, they realize how much they still have to learn, even in subjects they’re seemingly already proficient in. That gripping recognition is relatably presented in director and producer Robert Townsend’s new romantic comedy, ‘Playin’ For Love.’ The filmmaker, who also starred in, and co-wrote the movie’s script with Michelle Amor and Cheryl L. West, crafted an engaging sports comedy that proves that two seemingly different adults can truly bond when they finally accept that they [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Robert Townsend Talks Playin’ For Love (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

Of Boys and Men directed by Carl Seaton (One Week) and written by Michelle Amor is a minor, very modest, low budget, family film drama which was independently produced and financed and shot three or four years ago entirely on the west side of Chicago. The film was screened at a couple of film festivals then seemed to disappear. Well that is until I saw it this week on DVD since the film is coming out on Jan. 25 through Warner Bros home video.

In fact DVD might be the best way to see it since as a film it’s a totally unremarkable, rather cliched ridden and totally predictable movie. And yet it’s quite watchable, well acted, reasonably engaging and if you’re looking for a pleasant, safe, nice family film full of all that positive possibility that won’t offend you and or hold any unexpected surprises then...