Paramount's Diversity from 2000 to present and beyond
Some of our volunteers did a diversity head count of top-billed lead actors from Paramount movies from 2000 onward. We posted the results this weekend on Racebending.com
From 2000 to 2009, 86% of Paramount lead roles were given to white actors and 77% were given to male actors.
Over a 10 year period from 2000 to 2009, we found that Paramount did not produce a SINGLE movie starring a Latino, Asian American, or Native American actor. Ironically, even though Paramount did not give any Latino or South Asian actors top billing from 2000 to 2009, Paramount did cast actors who are white to play Latino and South Asian lead characters, so Airbender isn't even the first recent film they've done this!
Actresses of color fared the worst. Only one movie released in 10 years starred an actress of color-Queen Latifah in Last Holiday (2006). Out of 30 lead actresses, only one actress-Queen Latifah-was a person of color. There are currently NO films in development at Paramount with an actress of color attached to star.
We learned that 89% of this decade’s Paramount films will star a white actor, and 94% will star a male actor. (We hope these numbers may change as more movies are put in development. We could only count films that have already determined the ethnicity of the lead actor eg. Captain America, Teddy Roosevelt, etc.)
Paramount promised Asian American advocacy groups diversity stats over six months ago. Could this be why they never delivered? And again we ask, if not in a franchise like The Last Airbender, pretty much tailor made for actors of color to star, then when?
For more information, read the full article on the Racebending.com site here.
From 2000 to 2009, 86% of Paramount lead roles were given to white actors and 77% were given to male actors.
Over a 10 year period from 2000 to 2009, we found that Paramount did not produce a SINGLE movie starring a Latino, Asian American, or Native American actor. Ironically, even though Paramount did not give any Latino or South Asian actors top billing from 2000 to 2009, Paramount did cast actors who are white to play Latino and South Asian lead characters, so Airbender isn't even the first recent film they've done this!
Actresses of color fared the worst. Only one movie released in 10 years starred an actress of color-Queen Latifah in Last Holiday (2006). Out of 30 lead actresses, only one actress-Queen Latifah-was a person of color. There are currently NO films in development at Paramount with an actress of color attached to star.
We learned that 89% of this decade’s Paramount films will star a white actor, and 94% will star a male actor. (We hope these numbers may change as more movies are put in development. We could only count films that have already determined the ethnicity of the lead actor eg. Captain America, Teddy Roosevelt, etc.)
Paramount promised Asian American advocacy groups diversity stats over six months ago. Could this be why they never delivered? And again we ask, if not in a franchise like The Last Airbender, pretty much tailor made for actors of color to star, then when?
For more information, read the full article on the Racebending.com site here.