About 35 aspiring minority screenwriters, directors and producers--some claiming that racism is rampant in the film business--attended their own kind of pep rally this weekend. Frustrations were vented, gripes were made, complaints were lodged, but the session was short on solutions.
Spawned by Writers Guild of America findings that minorities make up only 2% of employed WGA members, Saturday's American Film Institute Alumni Assn. Writers Workshop seminar in Culver City focused on financing minority-themed projects--projects that panel members agreed are severely lacking.
"It's been very hard for black directors and . . . black writers," said Dale Pollock, vice president of production for A&M Films, addressing the predominantly black audience on what he termed the "institutional racism of Hollywood." "When you're dealing with studios on a minority project, you're dealing with their preconceptions and it can be very difficult.
"A film can appeal to two audiences (both black and white) simultaneously--but (a big studio) has problems assimilating that idea."
Panel member Steven Fayne, an entertainment attorney representing the Completion Bond Co., which guarantees motion picture financing, also blamed Hollywood's large studios for the low number of minority films.
"Studios have historically always been conservative . . . and that may be where you get into the racism," he said. "They're only going to do a certain number of films they consider as black oriented. . . . Studios are run by white men--so women have trouble and minorities have trouble."
Fayne continued: "Studios tend to view black writers as being acceptable (only) for black-themed films. So you've got to do some crossover work to convince them (otherwise)."
The seminar's three minority speakers never outwardly referred to industry conditions as a product of "racism" as did Pollock and Fayne. The three stressed working within the system to prove individual worth.
"We may have to live with the system--it won't change overnight," said independent producer Carol Akiyama, a former senior vice president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. "We have to work within the system to be successful."
Akiyama advised versatility--such as writing for TV as well as feature films--and maintaining faith and passion in one's work, but admitted, "There aren't as many minority writers out there as there should be."
