FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 15, 2018
CONTACT:
Clarissa Corona
213.718.0732
communications@nhmc.org Statement: Alex Nogales Announces Action Plan Targeting Film Studio Executives "As many of you know, NHMC and its Action Network are protesting the exclusion of Latinos in film both in front and back of camera. The Latino community is now 18% of the nation's population and represents 1.5 trillion in purchasing power, and 24% of all ticket sales at the box office. Yet, Latinos only had 3.1% of the speaking roles in films produced by Hollywood's top studios in 2016. The number of Latinos in back of camera were equally dismal and both numbers have barely budged during the last ten years.
Let me be very clear, our fight is not against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that presents the Oscars. It is against the six Hollywood studios - Paramount, Warner Bros., Sony, Universal, Disney, and 20th Century Fox - whose top executives neither greenlight films with American Latino themes nor hire American Latinos in prominent positions in front and back of camera.
We have attempted to meet and work with the film executives at those studios during the past six years. Only one studio responded. That is unacceptable. If the remaining studios and their executives remain silent, NHMC and its Action Network will, on March 24th, publicly target those executives by name and launch a nationwide boycott against the worst studio and their films.
This year, another Mexican director won the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars. This brings the Oscar count up to three Mexican directors who have won Oscars during the last five years. We are very proud of them and their brilliant films, but they are also not hiring American Latino actors nor behind the camera American Latino professionals, not even mentoring them. All three directors are a disappointment to our community, especially to me since I am Mexican-American. Be it as it may, the primary culprits in the exclusion of American Latinos are the film executives at the six studios and it is at them that our protest and demonstrations are aimed.
#OscarsSoWhite rightly casts a harsh light on Hollywood's hiring practices. That campaign increased African American participation in an industry that is predominantly white. We commend and fully support that progress. But the #OscarsSoWhite struggle to diversify Hollywood is lagging behind when it comes to Latinos and other communities of color, and NHMC has no choice but to continue #OscarsSoWhite until the film industry reflects Latinos and all other diverse communities that make up today's America."
For interviews, please contact Clarissa Corona, at communications@nhmc.org or at 213.718.0732.
### The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is the media watchdog for the Latino community, ensuring that we are fairly and consistently represented in news and entertainment and that our voices are heard over the airwaves and on the internet. We exist to challenge executives and influencers throughout the entertainment and news industry to eliminate barriers for Latinos to express themselves and be heard through every type of medium. NHMC works to bring decision-makers to the table to open new opportunities for Latinos to create, contribute and consume programming that is inclusive, free from bias and hate rhetoric, affordable and culturally relevant. Receive real-time updates on Facebook, Twitter @NHMC and Instagram @NHMC_org.
