Matt Damon is aiming to address the lack of diversity in Hollywood via Pearl Street Films, the production company he runs with Ben Affleck.
Collaborating with the team that ran a Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at USC’s Annenberg School, Pearl Street Plan to change the way casting is conducted in Hollywood. The study at Annenberg detailed representation of diversity in the entertainment industry, both in front of the camera and behind.
Damon’s efforts come after he claimed to have a wake up call during the latest season of HBO’s Project Greenlight, which was a reality show about the production of an independent movie that Damon and Affleck launched in 2001.
The team looked at who entered the Project Greenlight Facebook contest, which was open to filmmakers who wished to submit three-minute films for consideration as upcoming projects on the show. Contestants needed a Facebook ID and needed to be over 18 year of age. In addition, they could not be a professional director. The projects were put to a public vote with the final decision being made by a judging panel.
Damon was surprised when only 2% of entries came from ethic minority backgrounds and 8% were women.
In an interview he said: “That shocked us, because that wasn’t the spirit with which we put it out there. It was like ‘come one, come all.’ But it was predominantly white men who showed up and entered. That was a real lesson for us.”
Pearl Street called on Annenberg for help. Damon added: “They were like, ‘it’s crazy that you reached out to us because we identified you as two of the five people in this business who could actually move the needle if you change this stuff in writing.’ We were looking for real ideas — practical things that could help.”
Pearl Street and Annenberg put together ideas to solve this issue including putting in clauses in contracts to make it a priority to look at all the roles on a film and cast with diversity in mind.
“If you actually codify that, there can be demonstrable changes,” Damon said.
The director of new superhero movie Suicide Squad – David Ayer – told reporters in NYC that he is proud of the film’s diversity.
The DC Comics-based flick opens on Aug. 5 and stars Will Smith, Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Jay Hernandez, Margot Robbie, Adewale_Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Karen Fukuhara.
During a press conference Ayer said: “I grew up in South LA, I grew up in a really diverse neighborhood,” Ayer said. “I was the only white boy, that’s how diverse it was. And it’s the world I know, it’s the world I live in, but it’s also the world we all live in, and I feel like on-screen, kids need to see people that look like them.”
