Mayor Garcetti And Entertainment Industry Leaders Gather To Launch ‘LA Collab’ Initiative
Written by Bel Hernandez Castillo
Latinos know what to expect every year when the nominations for Hollywood’s “highest awards” are announced — not much. This year Hollywood delivered the same old “#OscarsSoWhite and #OscarsSoBlackandWhite.
In an article by Carlos Aguilar in the New York Times he wrote that “Ms. [Jennifer] Lopez was the only Latinx performer with a real shot of recognition in the major categories this year…” However, the stellar performance of Cuban-American actress Ana de Armas in Knives Out was singled out by several critics as deserving of an Oscar nomination — and she too was snubbed by the members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Make that two snubs of two deserving talented Latina actresses.
The few-saving Oscar nods went to Antonio Banderas for Best Actor in Pain & Glory; Mexican Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto for The Irishman; Jonas Rivera for one of the three writers for Toy Story 4; Spain’s Pain & Glory nom for Best Intl Film; and the team of Robert Lopez/Kristen Anderson Lopez for the music and lyrics of Frozen II.
But there was a bigger cause for celebration today, and it had nothing to do with the Oscars.
On Monday January 13th Mayor Eric Garcetti launched the LA Collab which was co-founded with Beatriz Acevedo, founder of mitú and president of Acevedo Foundation, and Ivette Rodriguez, president of AEM.
The goal of LA Collab is to advance Latino access and representation in entertainment through collective impact. An unprecedented effort to connect Latinx talent, executives, and creators to opportunities in the entertainment industry — and double Latino representation in Hollywood by 2030.
It was attended by an impressive list of the most powerful Latinos in Hollywood, and studio and production executives, all there to show support.
The goal of LA Collab is to collaborate with the many established Latino organizations who have been working — some for decades, to address similar goals of inclusion and jobs. Many of the executive directors of these organizations were in attendance.
“Latinos are a powerful force in L.A.’s culture and economy,” said Mayor Garcetti. “On big screens or small, in front of the camera or behind it, our studios, actors, directors, and producers inspire the world with the power of their creativity and imagination — and LA Collab will elevate new voices and empower the next generation of Latinx creatives.”
Since the 60’s the “Decade of the Hispanic” has been proclaimed to be imminent, from local newspapers to national media like Time magazine. Everytime the hopes of the Latino community were lifted at the possibility of change coming, they would collectively hold their breath, only to be once again disappointed when the “decade” didn’t materialize. By the 90’s they became jaded and stopped believing the “Decade of the Hispanic” would ever arrive.
Flash forward, and without any fanfare, the “decade” is finally here.
You could sense it in the packed hall of the ELA Arts Collaborative where the press conference took place. It was standing room only with powerhouses in attendance that included Eva Longoria (Grand Hotel), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), Edward James Olmos, Eugenio Derbez (Overboard, Latin Lover), director Patricia Riggen (Miracles From Heaven), Endeavor Talent’s Alexis Garcia; Writer Ligiah Villalobos (Go Diego, Under the Same Moon), DeVon Franklin (Flamin’ Hot, Miracles From Heaven). Also supporting, but not present at the gathering are J.J. Abrams, Eli Roth, Esai Morales, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Blum, Zoe Saldana and more signing up. The initial funders include Annenberg Foundation, Warner Media, and Endeavor Content
Back in the early 80’s, other than Ricardo Montalban and Rita Moreno, there were no Latinx stars. The star making roles for Latinos were simply not there. It can be said that Gregory Nava and Robert Rodriguez were the seminal directors that inspired the growth of the Latinx talent pool in Hollywood providing many roles in their films. Nava, produced and directed his first film El Norte in 1984, then went on to make Mi Familia (1995), and Selena in 1997). When legendary indie “Rebel Filmmaker” Robert Rodriguez produced (Desperado (1995), El Mariachi (1992) he made sure to employ many Latinos. Nava and Rodriguez cast two of the now most recognizable international Latina stars in their star making roles, Jennifer Lopez in Selena and Salma Hayek in Desperado. Still 36 years later Latinos are the least represented minority in films other than Native Americans.
According to a report by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Latinos represent nearly 25% of the box office. Yet a recent study by USC Annenberg showed that Latino representation has been stagnant over the past dozen years, averaging roughly 3% of all leads and co-leads in motion pictures.
This year, LA Collab will focus on reversing this trend by collaborations with Latinx creators and top producers, filmmakers, buyers, showrunners, and industry allies.
“The near invisibility of Latinos in Hollywood was the catalyst to rally Hollywood behind this crisis to create change together,” said Acevedo, co-founder of LA Collab. “By facilitating unprecedented collaborations between the creative community, studios, buyers and other influential allies, LA Collab will ultimately drive exponential growth for the industry and our community.”
“As a Latina, I want to see more actors who look like me onscreen and behind the camera,” said actor, director, and producer Longoria. “I started my own production company to create content from our community, and I became a director/producer to be in a position to hire people who look like me. With LA Collab, I want to open the door for many more Latinx creators and fuel the emergence of a better entertainment industry that elevates and celebrates the diversity and richness of my culture.”
Several other entertainment leaders from the founding coalition are supporting LA Collab’s mission by providing access and hands-on experience to emerging Latinx creative talent, including Eli Roth, who will support Latinx horror filmmakers via his digital platform, Crypt TV; and Lionsgate’s Pantelion Films and Pantaya, which will actively search for new bilingual voices for their scripted OTT and studio projects.
LA Collab has already secured the following deals for the Latinx creative community:
- A finance development deal for a feature script with Endeavor Content
- A scripted proof of concept deal with WarnerMedia’s 150
- A development deal for a documentary with Shine Global
- A podcast development/pilot deal with Southern California Public Radio’s LAist Studios
- A blind digital pilot deal with pocket.watch
LA Collab has partnered with The Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC) to complete a report summarizing the group’s achievements over the course of its first year, and track the progress of Latino representation with the development of a first-of-its-kind Database of Latino Working Talent in Hollywood as a master tool for LA Collab’s success.
The LA Collab advisory committee will serve to support and amplify the initiative’s mission and projects. Members include:
- Axel Caballero, WarnerMedia, VP, Talent Incubation and Artistic and Cultural Innovations
- Deputy Mayor William Chun, Mayor’s Office of Economic Development
- DeVon Franklin, Franklin Entertainment, President and CEO
- Alexis Garcia, Endeavor Content, Partner
- Ruben Garcia, Creative Artists Agency, Executive
- Lorenza Munoz, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Managing Director of Member Relations and Awards
- Marlis Pujol, Producer
- Genna Terranova, Amazon Studios, Head of Programming and Audience Development
- Mary Vernieu, Betty Mae Casting, President
Other LA Collab supporters include:
- Blumhouse Productions
- Bad Robot
- FREE THE WORK
- Hello Sunshine
- Hispanic Heritage Foundation
- National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP)
- National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
- Sundance Institute
- United Talent Agency
- Women in Film
For more information on LA Collab and a full list of partners, please visit lacollab.org.