The National Hispanic Media Coalition partnered with the National Latino Media Council to launch a boycott of Paramount Pictures for its abysmal lack of Latino talent in front of and behind the camera.

According to a Twitter post by NHMC, the studio has the worst record of hiring Latinos in the industry.

Several people have signed a petition to boycott the studio until it makes changes.

 

The campaign came the same day the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released it’s study analyzing the 100 top-grossing films of 2017 and the on screen prevalence and portrayal of females, people of color, those within the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities.

According to the study, 64 of the 100 movies did not feature a Latina speaking character.

“Latinos can no longer wait for the film companies to, as they say, bring us into their films ‘organically.’ Latinos must be part and parcel of the film industry,” said  Alex Nogales, NHMC president and CEO, said in a statement. “The talent is there and as a community, we need the positive stories and sensitivity of our actors, writers, and directors to counter the anti-Latino rhetoric and actions of the Trump administration who has influenced a large portion of the population to look at us as the dregs of society.”

The Latino in media advocacy groups chose Paramount Pictures after another  study conducted by NHMC and UCLA’s “Hollywood Diversity Report” found that in 2016, none of Paramount’s 12 films in the top 100 from 2016 to 2017 featured a Latino writer, lead actor or director. A lackluster three out of 100 featured a Latino actor within the top eight billed actors on IMDb.

The studio improved slightly in 2017 with one Paramount film of its eight in the top 100 featured a Latino director. However, none had a Latino lead actor or writer.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, members of the NHMC and NLMC met with Paramount COO Andrew Gumpert in late June to discuss the studios plans going forward and the potential signing of a memorandum of understanding that would outline how the studio would improve inclusivity. According to the NHMC, Gumpert would not sign it.

In a statement to THR, Paramount Pictures told the magazine it had several projects in the works “ensuring representation in front of and behind the camera in upcoming films such as “Dora the Explorer,” “Instant Family,” “Bumblebee” and “Limited Partners” — and welcome the opportunity to build and strengthen relationships with the Latinx creative community further.”

Author: Armando Davalos

Armando Davalos is a life-long nerd, whose love of comics spans 45 years.
As a father, he feels it’s his obligation to pass along this love of nerdom to his children.

Tagged: /////