event presented by City National Bank brought in experts from across the industry on July 15 to discuss the importance of making entertainment more equitable for both those in the spotlight and behind-the-scenes.
“It’s not like you’re making money from advocating for songwriters – you’re not. Everything we do that benefits songwriters, benefits us,” Gerson said of Universal. “You don’t get the same benefit financially, and yet you found this passion to advocate for songwriters and I want to applaud you for that because it’s made a tremendous difference.”
By amplifying the voices of her filmmakers, Brown hopes to further diversify the stories that are told about women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and people of color. “It’s really important to humanize the portrayals of people of color, specifically Black people, because historically the portrayals of us, especially in film have been very narrow,” Franklin said. “One of the ways to show that Black lives matter is not always doing movies that are political or about social justice. While those are important, it’s also important to provide a spectrum of content and entertainment that shows the well-rounded nature and perspective of people of color.
There’s also a need for equity on the corporate side, as Coffey pointed out. City National Bank is building a mentorship program to help give opportunities that ensure that this is a movement, not a moment.
CityNational AMAZING!!!
CityNational Shut up. You make your movies we’ll make ours. Inclusion shouldn’t drive a film unless it’s core to the story you’re telling. This is why Hollywood puts out BAD movies—they have a pre-determined agenda. No one wants a black, female Batman.