Film studios will “keep financing” diverse projects because they make money, Will Packer Productions President James Lopez told Yahoo Finance Live.

“It's been proven over and over that diversity sells. And it's good business all around,” he said, adding that film studios aren’t choosing to finance projects with Black casts and crew due to “altruism... It's a business decision, and you know, at the end of the day, it's all about the green.”

“It's all about the performance of the content that's being produced,” he said, noting that if diverse projects no longer work, “you’re going to see a drawback — but I don't think they're going to stop working.”

According to the latest Hollywood Diversity Report, “people of color posted gains relative to their white counterparts in each of the five key Hollywood employment arenas examined in the film sector.” This includes film leads, directors, and studio heads.

But, the study noted, “people of color remained underrepresented on every industry employment front in 2019.”

“And as long as the diversity continues in terms of thought, in terms of story, the audiences will become more and more accustomed to seeing people who look different," Lopez said.

Black and brown actors should get a “fair shot” to play a role, he added, it shouldn’t matter if the actor isn’t from the same country as the character they play, according to Lopez.

“We have to get over these issues within our own community," he said, adding that Forest Whittaker and Morgan Freeman took on the roles of Idi Amin and Nelson Mandela, respectively.

“The best actor for the job should play the role, period. That is my opinion as a content producer,” he said. “I think the producers, the filmmaker, the studio, have to put forth the best cast possible for these projects, and if they happen to be not of that country, I think it's OK."

Entertainment after COVID-19

When the pandemic ends, Lopez said he believes that audiences will be “clamoring to get back into theaters. I just have to believe that once we come out of this, the appetite for in-person entertainment and getting out of the home will be fervent.”

But the threshold for a film that is theater worthy will likely be harder to break given viewing habits that have formed while everyone stayed at home, he said. “So I have a very positive outlook.”

And even if a film is deemed to be good enough for theaters to show, Lopez said films will likely have a shorter period of time in theaters.

“You know, the studios and the streaming platforms will have to strike some overall deals with the exhibitors so that there's a happy medium that basically benefits both platforms,” Lopez explained. “Just like streaming, you know, and digital downloading affected the music industry a decade ago, the television and film industry is going to have to adjust as well.”

Kristin Myers is a reporter and anchor for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.

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