Hollywood's Inclusion Efforts Must Be Central to Its Work (Guest Column)

Rain Valdez Watching “Soapdish” as a child in the 90s was the first time I saw what life could be like for a transgender actress. Montana Moorehood, an actress on a soap opera played beautifully by Cathy Moriarty, is forcibly outed as a transgender woman to her co-stars.

Gail Lerner Editors Note: Earlier this week, Prentice Penny, showrunner of HBO’s Insecure, wrote a guest column this week for Deadline reflecting on the recent string of high-profile comedy series pulling older episodes featuring blackface scenes. In it, he wrote about Hollywood’s “sliding scale” that made it possible for so many episodes of so many series to make it through all layers of approval to the air with the offensive material.

After the Hollywood success of Priyanka Chopra and Mindy Kaling, the inaugural 1497 Writers Lab, which offers mentoring from leading filmmakers for underrepresented South Asian screenwriters, has selected its mentors. Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, Aneesh Chaganty, who will direct the upcoming Lionsgate thriller Run, and Iranian-American director Maryam Keshavarz will help develop feature film scripts at the talent incubator.

David Israelite Guest ColumnistIn this guest column, David Israelite, president & CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners, argues in favor of the CASE Act, which would create a board within the U.S. Copyright Office to decide copyright disputes rather than going before a court. A songwriter’s work is only as valuable as her or his ability to enforce their rights.

Storme Warren On July 6, 2020, we lost a Country Music Hall of Famer, Grand Ole Opry star, guitar virtuoso, fiddle playing icon, proud American and my friend.This year marks my 37th year in broadcasting. Thirty of those years I’ve been solely focused on the world of country music.

Rod Lurie Editors Note: Journalist-turned-filmmaker Rod Lurie just oversaw the release of The Outpost, an adaptation of a book by CNN host Jake Tapper on the courageous stand made by a small group of U.S. soldiers against hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

Prentice Penny Editors Note: Prentice Penny is the showrunner, executive producer and frequent director of HBO’s Insecure, which recently wrapped its fourth season.

Carlos Aguilar As a freelance film critic working in Los Angeles for the past seven years, and a resident of the city since I came from Mexico in my early teens, I’ve been lucky to find supporters at publications and film-related institutions who’ve found value in my work and insights.That’s why three years ago when the Trump administration rescinded DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) — the Obama-era program that offered temporary protection to nearly a million undocumented youth — I

Gerren Crochet We can save America’s soul, together.The killing of George Floyd hurt millions of people very deeply and personally – some of whom finally were waking to their unique privilege, and others who had spent years screaming into deaf ears of the silent majority. One reason that video was such a catalyst this time, as opposed to hundreds of other recent times, was because a modern-day lynching unfolded before our eyes in a familiar three-act structure.

My son was declared dead at exactly the second that I had the creative epiphany of my my life. A few minutes earlier, after his mother and I decided to disconnect the myriad machines keeping him alive, one to every organ in his body, we stood there, all of us, and waited for the last movement of his chest.

Terry Flores The Television Academy has finally listened to our pleas — well, sort of. The org recently announced plans to expand the number of comedy and drama Emmy nominations from seven to eight, acknowledging that the volume of eligible programs continues to rise.As a matter of fact, according to the TV Academy, Emmy submissions for 2020 have increased by 15% over the previous competition year.

Pete Hammond Awards Columnist/Chief Film CriticThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has released its annual list of invitations to join the organization, and surveying the  new class of Oscar voters it is clear they are aiming in a big way to continue erasing the stigma of not being inclusive , particularly in terms of women , international members,  and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities.

Lena Waithe Money is the only language that people in Hollywood understand. The only way we’ll see change in an industry that benefits from systems of inequality as they exist today is to hit people in their pockets.We need mandates for inclusion.

Laurel Stearns A week ago, I hopped on a Zoom call not knowing what to expect. The Town Hall-style conference was for a newly formed non-profit organization called The National Independent Talent Organization, or NITO (www.nitolive.org).

Marcus Lemonis For the past decade, I’ve dedicated myself to helping small business owners all across America achieve their dreams of running successful, profitable businesses that serve the communities in which they live. From a pie shop in Key West, Fla., to a toy store in Santa Claus, Ind., and dozens more in between, they all share the same desire to succeed and the same drive to overcome obstacles.

For motion picture exhibitors laid low by COVID-19, the resurrection of the drive-in theater is more an exercise in desperation than nostalgia, a back-to-the-future gambit seeking to dip into the only safe-space revenue stream for theatrical cinema. Of course, catering to moviegoers encased in vehicles has the added appeal of avoiding the nightmarish protocols that theaters under roofs must abide by: socially distanced seating, masking of moviegoers, and disinfecting the premises.

Bambadjan Bamba A constrained sigh — a fleeting release. My reaction to the Supreme Court voting in our favor to block the Trump administration from ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), last Thursday, was one of surprise.

Ri-Karlo Handy EDITOR’S NOTE: Ri-Karlo Handy is the co-founder of Sunwise Media, a production company based in Pasadena.  Over a 25-year career in the entertainment industry, Handy has been an editor and producer for networks like BET, MTV, and OWN.

Broaching the subject of race when you’re not the most powerful person in the room is one of the toughest parts of being a Black professional in Hollywood. That’s especially true in the writers room, where stories are told and culture is made.