Comments (19)

• As someone who is currently a Fellow in Project Involve 2009, and who visits DHD, thanks for putting it out there! Just saw Dawn Hudson who gave us a rousing inspirational speech.

  Comment by John Estrada — Monday February 9, 2009 @ 10:16pm PST  Reply to this post

• Interesting…. “Individuals who come from communities severely under-represented in the film industry”- So does “diversity” in Hollywood apply to people with a conservative political view? Or Christians? If a conservative or Christian applied for this, they definitely fit the bill as being *severely* under- represented!

  Comment by fiestamom — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 12:39am PST  Reply to this post

• How about filmmakers who want to make films of high artistic quality, or entertainment that isn’t mere hackwork? Now those are minorities in Hollywood.

  Comment by Alexander — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 5:26am PST  Reply to this post

• Fiestamom, don’t be silly! Diversity in Hollywood means letting in people who are just as bigoted as the people already there!

  Comment by Dude — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 7:02am PST  Reply to this post

• So I suppose a 20 something Jewish guy from Long Island doesn’t stand a chance.

  Comment by Paloma Pigeon — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 8:42am PST  Reply to this post

• Man, remember when the Drudgereport robots weren’t here? Ah yes, the good ol’ days.

  I’m not sure which is worst: the stereotypes they have about people that work in the entertainment industry or their condescending and smug tone.

  Fiestamom, there are plenty of Christians, Republicans and Conservatives in this industry. However, there aren’t many african-americans, hispanics or asians. Sorry, if you are offended, but it is the truth.

  Where the hell do you think conservative Ronald Reagan came from?

  Comment by chris — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 9:03am PST  Reply to this post

• Right, Fiestamom. Poor Christians are so under-represented. That is unless you count one of the highest-grossing films of all time, The Passion of the Christ. Or the immensely popular Tyler Perry films/TV shows. Or the Veggietales. Or the Chronicles of Narnia. Or the Exorcism of Emily Rose (directed by a devout born-again Christian).

  What the Hell are you talking about Fiestamom??? Sorry that every film out there isn’t made for/by Christian folk. But to say that they’re under-represented is a bit like bearing false witness.

  Comment by El Mono — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 9:14am PST  Reply to this post

• good luck. ive applied several times and its very hard to get in.

  Comment by mike — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 9:21am PST  Reply to this post

• I’m a P:I fellow from the 2006-2007 cycle. It was a very rewarding experience, and it really provided me with the resources to get started in the industry.

  As for “fiestamom” — conservative points of view DOMINATE THE MAJORITY OF THIS NATION! Us “latte-sipping lefties” can have Hollywood, thank you very much.

  Comment by MartinA. — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 10:04am PST  Reply to this post

• time to start polishing off the “gay, holocaust, republicans are evil as i complain how it sucks to be a whiny white person living in suburbia” screenplay

  sure to be accepted

  Comment by drew — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 10:40am PST  Reply to this post

• Instead of pursuing equality and open dialogue about our problems, we keep starting these paternalistic programs which favor “minorities” as of the only handicap a person has in life is not being born white and male. At the same time these programs say that we can’t make it without help.

  This is just another fake liberal lie of the “evil white racist” and the “victim black.”

  So, let me say it: black and white people have issues about slavery and government-sponsored and society-condoned racism. Even those whites who did not actively sponsor oppression benefited from it (directly or indirectly) and many took advantage of it and have built fortunes and industries on it.

  This has lead to an arrogance on the part of successive white generations who only see that blacks have a myriad of dysfunctional problem. What they do not see is the cause and so they believe us to be inherently inferior.

  Fear rules in Hollywood and while no no knows anything, the one thing they can see is race. And if someone has pre-determined that you are deficient, then fear will make them limit you or pass you by.

  These programs cater to that mentality. We will never get over this problem until whites acknowledge their sin and blacks stop using that sin as an excuse for everything.

  Then you could have a program that just accepted whoever was good. So a black person would get in with that Jewish guy from Long Island above.

  Okay, I’m done.

  Comment by NoCountryForBlack Man — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 12:06pm PST  Reply to this post

• Chris, you said “Man, remember when the Drudgereport robots weren’t here? Ah yes, the good ol’ days.” So…. I take it you aren’t one of the ones who don’t like diversity? You only like to read words on a screen that agree with your mindset?

  Comment by Anonymous — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 12:30pm PST  Reply to this post

• El Mono, hate to burst your bubble with facts (oooh!) but those films you rattled off as being produced by Hollywood were actually independents. For example, nobody in Hollywood would give Mel Gibson five bucks to do The Passion so he had to use his own money. Gee, that’s something Spielberg has never done – use his own damn money.

  In regard to conservatives in Hollywood, show me one of them and I’ll show you someone who’s too afraid to open their mouth in case they get blackballed from the industry.

  Comment by Mahogany — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 1:48pm PST  Reply to this post

• “In regard to conservatives in Hollywood, show me one of them and I’ll show you someone who’s too afraid to open their mouth in case they get blackballed from the industry.”

  Mahogany, sadly, you are so right.

  Comment by NoCountryForBlack Man — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 5:12pm PST  Reply to this post

• How about Women being under-represented, there’s no denying it…black white or in between. Gender inequality has no color borders.

  Comment by Fem-me — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 6:14pm PST  Reply to this post

• Thanks Mahogany. Until you pointed it out, I had no idea that Mel Gibson was an indie outsider when he made Passion (pre-drunken hate speech rant). The rest of the projects I listed ALL had backing from major outlets. Those are the facts (oooh!).

  Secondly, Spielberg has indeed put his own money into films, namely Schindler’s List. And Francis Ford Coppola even mortgaged his house to pay for Apocalypse Now.

  And as to your third inaccurate comment, there are TONS of conservatives and Christians in Hollywood who are open about their beliefs, and yet somehow manage not to get blackballed. Scott Derrickson (director of The Day the Earth Stood Still & The Exorcism of Emily Rose) doesn’t hide his faith, nor does he have to. And neither does blockbuster producer Ralph Winter (X-Men). Or multi-millionaire Tyler Perry. Or Martin Sheen. Or Kristen Chenowith. Or the Veggietales guys. Or super mogul Rupert Murdoch. And on, and on.

  Wanna know why? Because Hollywood has a lot more tolerance than most of you in the bible belt. We take all kinds here, not just the ones who agree with us. Kinda like the place the Founding Fathers set out to establish a few hundred years ago.

  Isn’t it time you guys hung up your persecution complex? The only color Hollywood cares about is Green. If conservatives and Christians came out in droves to support conservative or faith-based films, Hollywood would sit up and take notice (how else do you explain Tim Allen?). But when Nativity Story was released in the wake of Passion of the Christ, it got CRUCIFIED! It came in 4th place to a trinity of hold-overs, and it did not rise from the dead. Whose fault was that?

  Comment by El Mono — Tuesday February 10, 2009 @ 6:50pm PST  Reply to this post

• “Cultural/Racial Diversity”, Schmultural Diversity.

  The only diversity that has any true authenticity is intellectual diversity.

  All the rest is political hack/jive, demagoguery a.k.a., racist divisiveness.

  Comment by Don C. — Wednesday February 11, 2009 @ 12:23am PST  Reply to this post

• El Mono, “The only color Hollywood cares about is Green.” Is that so? Can you explain to me why Hollywood keeps making anti Iraq War movies that *tank* at the box office? Do the titles Grace is Gone, In the Valley of Elah, Lions for Lambs ring a bell? Money driven, my fanny. PS- Martin Sheen ain’t a conservative. LOL

  Comment by Fiestamom — Wednesday February 11, 2009 @ 4:33am PST  Reply to this post

• Fiestamom – UH…what? Hollywood doesn’t purposely make movies to tank at the Box Office. They kept making these anti-war films as the war has become unpopular and, thus, they were under the mistaken impression that a built-in audience was ready for these films. Hollywood is definitely money-driven; it’s a business after all. If they’re not profit-minded, then I’m calling the SEC as they’re doing a disservice to their shareholders. And El Mono wasn’t saying that Martin Sheen was a conservative; rather that he wasn’t being blackballed for his views (which happen to be liberal).

  As far the actual topic of this post, I’m a Diversity Champion from MGM MIRAGE when I worked in Las Vegas, and we learned that diversity is accepting other people,no matter what their gender, race, orientation, etc. “Not on my watch” became our mantra as we pledged to stop bigotry and close-mindedness when it infiltrated our daily lives. “Diversity” also includes white males as some are gay, straight (even though I hate that term), religious, not religious, etc. Diversity to me means a collection of all people from different backgrounds working together. That’s how we achieved success in Las Vegas and that’s how Hollywood achieves success today.

  Comment by JD — Saturday February 14, 2009 @ 11:16am PST  Reply to this post