|
The annual UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report
looked at 88 films released in cinemas last year and found that
21.6% of lead roles were filled by minorities.
That was down from 27.6% in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic
shuttered theaters and upended the movie business.
"In an era of economic uncertainty intensified by the pandemic,
studios pushed for theatrical 'surefire hits' that relied on
nostalgia and previous intellectual property," said the report
by the University of California, Los Angeles.
"Instead of forging ahead with more inclusivity and new
narratives, studios seemed to limit their theatrical offerings
in 2022, which also limited the opportunities for certain
filmmakers," they added.
Hit films with diverse casts last year included "Black Panther:
Wakanda Forever" and "Everything Everywhere," which won the
Academy Award for best picture.
Streaming was a slightly more level playing ground for people of
color. More than 33% of lead actors in 99 streaming films were
minorities, the researchers said.
Minorities were defined as people who were Black, Latino, Asian,
multi-ethnicity, Native American or Middle Eastern that account
for 43.1% of the United States in 2022.
Additionally, the interest in streaming films about women of
color increased. The UCLA study noted that the two films
streamed the most in 2022 were "Turning Red" and "Encanto,"
which are both animated films about girls of color.
However, white men still hold the greatest authority over large
industry projects and make up 73% of film directors for
theatrical releases.
Progress remains most accessible to able-bodied people in
Hollywood, the study found.
While around a quarter of adults in the United States have a
disability, actors with disabilities consisted of roughly 9% of
lead roles in theatrical films and 6% in streaming films, the
researchers said.
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Lisa Richwine and
Richard Chang)
(Photo: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and
Jonathan Wang win the Oscar for Best Picture for "Everything
Everywhere All at Once" during the Oscars show at the 95th
Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.,
March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.]
|
|
