Hollywood Inclusive

Mass media has a long history of leaving many voices underrepresented–both in its depiction of race and gender roles and in the degree to which white males dominate the very creation of entertainment. Television writer Kirk Moore (American Crime) and internet producer Deron Sedy (brevityTV) discuss with industry guests how Hollywood fails women and minorities, and what steps can be taken towards positive change.

Hollywood Inclusive 0009 — Kanye Meeting with Trump, Breakthroughs in Inclusiveness, and Does Liberal Hollywood Think Racism Is Solved?

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guest Moira Griffin (@MoiraGriffin) Senior Director of Diversity Initiatives at Sundance Institute.

  • segment 1, Post-election Race & Politics (0:00): We haven’t had a chance to chat since the election, so we chat a little about race and politics in our country today.
  • segment 2, Guest Interview (35:42): Moira tells us about her career in film production, festival curation, and now working at Sundance Institute to help us hear all the voices.
  • segment 3, Progress in Inclusiveness (59:37): We share three stories (hijab, OshKosh, Santa) about recent breakthroughs that will have us seeing some individuals who’ve been previously interrupted.

Join the conversation!  Ask us questions. Tell us where we’ve got it wrong.  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Hollywood Inclusive 0008 — Dr. Strange Director Answers ‘Whitewashing’ Criticism, Lil Wayne, Hollywood’s Paper Consumption

Episode 0008 -- Hollywood Inclusive
Episode 0008 -- Hollywood Inclusive

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guest DMA (@PlanetDMA)

  • segment 1, Story of the Week — Dr. Strange (0:00): Marvel’s Kevin Feige states a new commitment to diversity in comic book movies.  Dr. Strange director Scott Derickson gave an interview to Daily Beast about how he was TRYING to be sensitive to the audience in portrayal of Asian characters, but in doing so made a choice to delete an opportunity for an Asian actor.  DMA questions #WhoWasInTheRoom when approving that decision.
  • segment 2, Guest Interview (23:47): DMA tells us how she shifted from her studies in politics and how it led her into the entertainment industry, then into software, and from there back into entertainment.
  • segment 3, State of the Industry — Casting on Network TV (47:14): An appraisal from USA Today gives grades on cast diversity to each of the major networks, and concludes that money still drives decisions.  Plus, Variety published a piece this week discussing how casting directors now feel pressure to represent today’s America.
  • segment 4, What Pissed You Off? — Celebrities & Politics (1:05:55): Lil Wayne and Susan Sarandon shot their mouths off this week.  Should anyone care?
  • segment 5, Hurray for Hollywood — iPad Script Tracking (1:15:46): A writers assistant has come up with script draft management software that will save tons of paper in the television production process.

Join the conversation!  Ask us questions. Tell us where we’ve got it wrong.  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Hollywood Inclusive 0007 — Health, Stress, and the Entertainment Industry; Fall TV; Jessica Jones

Hollywood Inclusive, episode 0007
Hollywood Inclusive, episode 0007

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  • segment 1, “A Very Special Episode” — Balance, Health, and Making it in Hollywood (0:00): We’ve each had health scares send us to the E.R. this year, and in both cases the diagnosis was mostly… stress.  We discuss the entertainment industry, what it takes to survive, and the quest for balance.
  • segment 2, News In Review — October 2016 (25:06):
  • segment 3, What Are We Watching? — Fall TV (55:31):  We talk Walking Dead, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and more.
  • segment 4, Hurray for Hollywood — Jessica Jones (55:31): Season two of Jessica Jones will be directed entirely by women.

Join the conversation!  What’s your opinion? Where are we right, where are we wrong?  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Hollywood Inclusive 0006 — Representation Numbers, Lena Dunham, & #OscarsSoDiverse

Hollywood Inclusive, Episode 6
Hollywood Inclusive, Episode 6

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guest XAVIER BURGIN (@xlnb)

  • segment 1, Story of the Week — Diversity Studies (0:00): We discuss the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism’s annual report on representation in film for 2015, plus the Director’s Guild’s study on television gender and ethnic hiring practices.  So, we know there’s a problem; what’s the solution?  Do “diversity programs” work?
  • segment 2, Guest Interview — Xavier Burgin (25:06): We talk to Xavier Burgin about his short film work, and about how long-form tweeting helped him build an audience that will ensure his future filmmaking success.  Plus we hear about the time that he challenged Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer on Twitter, and the conference call the three of them had the next morning.
  • segment 3, Hurray for Hollywood — #OscarsSoDiverse (55:31): An Indiewire.com article predicts that “2017 will be the most diverse awards season in decades.”  Following the #OscarsSoWhite online protests in early 2016 — response to the fact that ALL TWENTY acting nominations went to white performers — we discuss whether we can share IndieWire’s optimism.

Join the conversation!  What’s your opinion? Where are we right, where are we wrong?  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Today’s “I’m one of the voices” intro recorded by Cameo Wood, @cameo.  Visit her latest project, realartists.film, @RealArtistsFilm.

Hollywood Inclusive 0005 — Richard Sherman’s Press Conference, Emmy Diversity

hollywood-inclusive-0005-wide
hollywood-inclusive-0005-wide

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guest EVETTE VARGAS (@vargasgirl)

  • segment 1, Story of the Week (0:00): Richard Sherman abruptly ended a press conference in order to call attention to police brutality and clarify a position of support to Colin Kaepernick’s protest.  Kirk tells about a recent racist encounter and the police response he encountered.
  • segment 2, Guest Interview (22:30): We ask Evette about her experiences in moving from New York to Hollywood and establishing herself as a multimedia artist, and how she translated that success into creation of a web series that was nominated for two Emmys.
  • segment 3, Guest Interview, part two (46:32): We learn about Evette’s (third) trip to the Emmy’s last Sunday, and what projects she has coming up, plus her answers to our Two Essay Questions.
  • segment 4, Hurray for Hollywood (1:02:04): We react to the Daily Beast article proclaiming the “Most Diverse Emmys Ever” and talk through some of our favorite winners and moments.  Praise to Regina King who won her second consecutive and kicked ass, and to Julia Louis-Dreyfus who broke the Comedy Actress Emmy record previously held by Mary Tyler Moore and (not Carol Burnet as Deron said, but) Candice Bergen.  Where is the genre pendulum going to swing next?

Join the conversation!  Ask us questions. Tell us where we’ve got it wrong.  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Today’s “I’m one of the voices” intro recorded by Lavetta Cannon, @sassybfpodcast.  You can check out her podcast on iTunes.

Hollywood Inclusive 0004 — Kaepernick’s Media Coverage, Age Bias in Hollywood, & Naked Extras

Hollywood-Inclusive-0004
Hollywood-Inclusive-0004

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  • Segment 1:  Our story of the week is Colin Kapernick and the media coverage his story has seen.  We approach it from the point of view of a TheUndefeated.com article that suggests lack of diversity in sports reporting has something to do with out the story is being addressed. But first we look into Frank Somerville, a San Francisco new anchor who took to Facebook to confess a racist moment, despite being father to a black daughter.
  • Segment 2: SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris (who played Andrea on Beverly Hills 90210) is leading the charge to support legislation that would allow actors to remove their age from online casting services and sites like IMDb.  Legal precedent, however, is the lawsuit by Junie Hoang, who sued the Amazon-owned property and lost.
  • Segment 3: Greg Berlanti will be bringing a Black Lightning superhero show to TV (although Gotham showrunner Bruno Heller says superheroes don’t work on TV.)  Plus, the new fall shows that have us the most excited, including one that involves requiring its actors to agree to genital-to-genital touching. (FINALLY we have a legit reason to tag a show with the term ‘dry humping.’

Join the conversation!  Ask us questions. Tell us where we’ve got it wrong.  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Today’s “I’m one of the voices” intro recorded by Angie Keuper.  See her campaign to fund a documentary called “Finding Your Fairytale.”

Hollywood Inclusive 0003 — Race & Gender Casting, Zendaya as Spider-Man’s Love Interest, & Internet Trolls

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  • Segment 1:  Starting with Bryan Fuller’s choice of conscious casting approach in American Gods for Starz, (Variety Article) we explore when a role should and shouldn’t be race-specific.
  • Segment 2: Zendaya is the new Mary Jane Watson.  Do comic book movies need to stay faithful to their source material?  Does that include race of characters?  Is “controversy” over casting choices created by the media?  (Like in this NBCnews.com article?)
  • Segment 3: Lucy V Hay of Bang2Write invited us to create an article about ways a writer can encourage diversity and inclusion, so we do it right here in the show.

Join the conversation!  Ask us questions. Tell us where we’ve got it wrong.  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Today’s “I’m one of the voices” intro recorded by Emily Lawrence.  See her Kickstarter campaign.

Hollywood Inclusive 0002 — Ryan Lochte, Nate Parker, Netflix

Hollywood-Inclusive-0002
Hollywood-Inclusive-0002

Podcast: Download (Duration: 37:43 — 52.4MB) | Embed

  • Segment 1:
    • What Pissed You Off? — Kirk expounds on the white privilege displayed by Ryan Lochte and friends.  Want to read a terrible article?  (Sporting News says we all lie, so just go with it.)
    • Nate Parker — What responsibility do people of color have to support the work of people of color?  When does that responsibility become
    • Deron said ‘Kessler’ as Amy Schumer’s writer, but he meant Kurt Metzger.  (Metzger and company discuss the matter on their show, Race Wars, in an episode called “Rape Wars.”)
  • Segment 2: Deron points out that the ignorant and the racist need to be part of the conversation, too… up to a point.
  • Segment 3: What are we watching?  Turns out, Netflix!  And Kirk shares his love of reality TV.

Join the conversation!  Ask us “What’s Your Favorite ______?” (You fill in the blank.)  Record our opening.  Ask us questions.  Tell us your take on what we discussed.  We’re on  Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Today’s “I’m one of the voices” intro recorded by Rafael Alejandro.  See his Kickstarter campaign.

Hollywood Inclusive 0001 — Kenya Barris, Ava Duvernay, & Welcome!

hollywood-inclusive-0001-wide
hollywood-inclusive-0001-wide

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Welcome to our first ever episode! Kirk & Deron want to invite you to the conversation.

  • Segment 1: Black-ish creator Kenya Barris recently told reporters, “I will be so happy when ‘Diversity’ is not a word.” (Jezebel article)  We discuss why we agree, and why we kept that word out of the title to our podcast.
  • Segment 2: Deron & Kirk introduce themselves, and discuss their motivation in creating this podcast together.
  • Segment 3:
    • Hurray for Hollywood! —  Ava Duvernay is set to become the first female director of color to helm a $100M movie.  (Vanity Fair article)
    • Tools, Tips, & Trends — Upcoming writers preparing to write a spec episode, comedy is the new drama.  (Vulture article)

We want to hear from you!  Go up to the ‘Participate’ tab at the top of this page for ways to communicate with us, or find us on Twitter: @kirkwrites79 and @digitalderon.

Today’s “I’m one of the voices” intro recorded by Laura Sommers.  Visit her Seed & Spark campaign.

Copyright 2024 © Deron Sedy