Eva Longoria on the ‘Transformative Change’ That Comes When Communities Are Reflected On-Screen

Why did I ask you to do this? Now, I have to follow that. I should just say thank you and get off the stage. Thank you so much, Kerry [Washington]. I asked Kerry to do this, because I wouldn’t have directed Flamin’ Hot if it wasn’t for her...Kerry and I have a feature at Universal, and we were looking for a director, we would interview directors, and we would leave a meeting like, no, that’s not it. And Kerry would turn to me, and she goes, “Why don’t you direct this?” And I was like, no, I can’t direct this. And then we have another meeting, and she was like, “Why don’t you direct it?” And I was like, “No, we need somebody like Paul Feig. We need somebody who knows female comedy.” And so we got Paul Feig to come in, and we pitched him, and he goes, “Eva, I don’t know why you’re not directing this.” And Kerry’s like, “I said that”...and while we were developing that, I got the script for Flamin’ Hot, but it was because I finally got a shot, and Kerry believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. And that’s important, and I wouldn’t be on the cover of this magazine today if you didn’t, so thank you, Kerry, I love you.

I want to thank Nina Garcia and ELLE for honoring not only me tonight, but all of these women in Hollywood. What a gorgeous group of women. It has to be the most diverse night they’ve ever had on the cover of this magazine, to see a true reflection of who we are as a country, as a world where many colors, where many sizes, where many people, and to see three Latinas on a night like tonight is pretty amazing.

I also know that America [Ferrera] and I wouldn’t be standing here tonight if it wasn’t for the badassery that is Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer outworked, outhustled, and outsmarted everybody in the room just for us to have a chance to be in this room, so we thank you, Jennifer.

I also noticed this really big theme tonight. The theme is agency. Every single one of these ladies on the cover shared the idea that we are more, that we have the power to make our own choices and tell our own stories. We have an unwavering faith in all our abilities to do it all in an industry that always wants us to stay in our lane. And I think we know that power is not given. We have to take it. And to see a room like this tonight shows that we’re finally claiming our power, not only in this industry but in society and in the world. And it does start with our industry.

This is a really scary time in our world. So much has happened. And what we do in this town matters. You know, people in Washington change laws, but here, we change culture, and culture changes those laws. Policy affects people, people that we are reflecting in the world, and so if we want to see transformative change, we want to see the images of ourselves reflected back at us on the big screen, and as a woman and as a Latina, I understand the importance of these images, mostly because they influence other communities about us, whether Black or brown or Asian or gay or disabled, other communities learn about us through movies. But most importantly, it teaches our own communities about ourselves. So if our Latinos are only seeing each other in a negative way, we’re not doing them a service. And so, for me, I did say Hollywood decides what heroes look like, and I think when we say, what does it mean that this year was the first year we had a Latino superhero in the history of movies in Blue Beetle? If we never get to be superheroes, have we been telling young Latinos that we did not think they were capable of greatness? We’re 20 percent of the population and five percent of characters on the big screen. Does that mean our stories aren’t worth telling?

For me, directing Flamin’ Hot was a response to that challenge, that not only superheroes but everyday heroes and protagonists, they never look like that. They didn’t look like my dad. They don’t sound like my tío. Nobody sounds like my tío, but you know. It was in Richard’s story and telling his story in Flamin’ Hot, I knew I had the opportunity to show the world, look, we’re so much more than what you’ve seen. We’re capable of so much, and our lives have value, we add value to this country, and it was an honor to tell Richard’s story. It was a gift, and it was also responsibility. And for many female directors in the room or directors of color, you know we don’t get a lot of bites at the apple. We don’t get the same amount of opportunities to tell our stories, and we are held to a different standard when we do tell the stories, because we’re not allowed to fail when we do it. You know, a white man can direct a $200 million movie, fail, and get another movie. We can’t.

So when I was in prep on this movie, I felt this immense pressure to get it right. I felt the weight of every female filmmaker’s dreams upon me and on my back. And I don’t say that was to say that ego; I say that with true humbleness. And I say it, because I welcomed those dreams. They fueled me to be my best every day. And when I was on set, I was never alone. When things got really hard, Patty Jenkins was right here on my shoulder, holding my hand. When I was tired, Ava DuVernay was right here, pulling me out of my chair. When I was behind the monitor, questioning if I was doing the right shot, I had Patricia Cardoso, I had Patti Riggen, I had America Ferrera, whispering in my ear, “You got this.” You were all there...Because wherever we go, we represent each other. Your struggle is my struggle, and your win is my win. Greta’s box office win this year was our win. So tonight is about celebrating these wins, but it’s also about getting back to work. And the change we want is in this room. You know who hires other women? Women...Anybody who’s in a position of power, who has the opportunity to curate a list of possibilities, a list of positions, a voice of influence: hire her, hire her. You’re not taking a chance, you’re giving her an opportunity. You’re not rolling the dice. And I don’t know, for women, we always feel like they’re taking a chance on us. No, we’re getting the opportunity that we’re prepared for. So I just want to say it’s not by chance we’re in this room together. Let’s make it count. Thank you so much, and to all the women here: congratulations.