The Oscars are over, and I feel
more hope than ever. For the future of
film…and ultimately, hopefully, humanity. It's a natural high and I'm enjoying
the buzz.
It wasn’t the fact that there
were so many great films pegged for awards that no
matter who won, we had reason to celebrate.
It was that the films and, more importantly, those making them were
manifesting a movement toward something greater; not only manifesting it in the
work, but expressing it—loudly, boldly and eloquently—even in
their acceptance speeches.
The message of the movement? We
all must work together to make the world a better, more unified, more embracing
place; for only in coming together can we hope to enjoy the universal strength,
equality and love required to make all good dreams come true.
This is the goal to which we are
headed…if these artists keep leading the way.
And if we listen to them and follow their lead.
So…I beg you…for the sake of us
all…listen…
"The greatest thing our industry
does is to erase the lines in the sand and we should continue doing that even
when the world tells us to make them deeper."
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of
Water
"…we tried to take a step
forward toward a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in
movies that look and talk and live like they do. Marginalized people deserve to
feel like they belong. Representation matters."
Lee Unkrich and Darla K.
Anderson, Coco
"I stopped writing this
movie about 20 times because I thought it was impossible…I thought no one would
ever make this movie. But…I knew if someone let me make this movie, that people
would hear it and people would see it."
Jordan Peele, Get Out
"We all have stories to tell…I
have two words to leave with you tonight...inclusion
rider." *
Frances McDormand, Three
Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
*An inclusion rider stipulates
that the minor roles of a film reflect the demography of where the film takes
place. Name actors who have leverage in negotiations can put this into their
contracts and improve representation of women, minorities, LGBTQ individuals
and people with disabilities in film.
