Trial to begin in studio bias case
The government's first lawsuit against a Hollywood studio alleging racial discrimination is set to go to trial today, pitting Universal Pictures against a former first assistant director of its hit movie "2 Fast 2 Furious."
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Universal four years ago on behalf of Frank Davis, alleging that he was fired because he is African American. The suit alleges that Davis, who had been directing for 12 years, was fired without cause, over the objections of the director, the Oscar-nominated John Singleton, who also is an African American.
Universal denies the charges.
"There is absolutely no basis to these allegations," said a Universal spokeswoman, who asked not to be named. "We are confident many witnesses will testify that Mr. Davis' firing had nothing to do with race but was solely due to his poor performance as a first assistant director."
The case could provide a rare glimpse into the hiring and firing practices of Hollywood studios. Complaints such as this one rarely become public.
Employees in the insular film and television industry worry that taking legal actions against the major studios can mark them as undesirable for hiring. Studios are reluctant to have their personnel practices open to public scrutiny in court.
"Most of these issues never come to light, but it is something that the commission had heard about for many years," said Anna Park, head regional attorney for the EEOC's Los Angeles office. "It took the bravery of Mr. Davis to bring that to light. Unfortunately he has paid a price. We owe it to him to let a jury decide the issue."
The commission seeks back pay and punitive damages as well as court-enforced monitoring, oversight of the studio's hiring and firing practices and anti-discrimination sensitivity training.
Davis has joined the EEOC's suit, alleging that his civil rights were violated. Davis is seeking damages estimated at several million dollars.
"This will show that the film industry does in fact discriminate," said John E. Sweeney, Davis' attorney. "They need to change their ways and come along into the modern world."
At a hearing Friday, the studio tried to settle the lawsuit, according to people close to Davis, Universal and the commission who asked not to be named because the talks were confidential. However, the parties could not come to an agreement, in part because the studio asked that the agreement be confidential and the government refused.
