Four Devastating Quotes From the NYT's Hollywood Diversity Piece
Today, the New York Times published an excellent piece called “What It’s Like to Work in Hollywood* (*If you’re not a straight white man)” that’s filled with insights from a variety of actors and artists, all of whom fall in the “underrepresented in the industry” category.
The Times’s Melena Ryzik interviewed women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community, all of whom spoke frankly about the prejudice and ignorance they’ve encountered at various points in their careers, as well as the crucial support that helped them keep their dreams alive.
The piece absolutely should be read in its entirety. But here are four particularly compelling quotes that highlight the biases that have long-existed and still exist in Hollywood.
From actor Wendell Pierce: “In 1985, I’m sitting in the casting office of a major studio. The head of casting said, ‘I couldn’t put you in a Shakespeare movie, because they didn’t have black people then.’ He literally said that.”
From Karyn Kusama, director of Jennifer’s Body: “The marketing department wanted Megan [Fox, star of “Jennifer’s Body”] to do live chats with amateur porn sites, and I was like, ‘I’m begging you not to go to her with this idea, she will become so dispirited.’ It was fascinating to have the writer be female, the director be female, the stars be female, and my head executive be female, and then we get to the top of the mountain, all those [male] marketing people.”
From actress America Ferrera: “I had just won [a top award at Sundance], and [my manager] wanted me to audition for the Latina chubby girl in a pilot. She wasn’t even the lead; she was just the sidekick, with the same joke in every scene. I said, ‘I’m not going in for that.’ When I ultimately left him, he [told] another of my reps, ‘Somebody should tell that girl that she has an unrealistic idea of what she can accomplish in this industry.’ That was someone I was paying to represent me.”
From John Ridley, screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave: “[In a mid-1990s] meeting, I was determined the lead [for a film] would be a black woman, and I remember the executive saying, “Why does she have to be black?” And me saying: “She doesn’t have to be; I want her to be black. Why would you not consider it?” It was stunning that they were so comfortable [saying that] to a person of color.”
To read more, head on over to the Times site.
