ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120113
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: GARY DRETZKA KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
In the parlance of the movie industry, you might say that last year's protest of Hollywood's minority hiring practices opened big in an exclusive pre-Academy Awards engagement, but ran out of gas when it went wide.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson railed loudly against the fact that only one out of 166 Oscar nominees was black. The reason so few blacks were chosen - as People magazine pointed out in an article that prompted the Jackson-led Oscar night protest outside the ABC affiliate in Hollywood - was because so few people of color are working in Hollywood.
Jackson also threatened to lead a boycott of studio-produced movies that ``didn't tell all of America's stories.''
But almost as quickly as momentum built, it faded. Though the controversy managed to raise a few hackles, little has been resolved since then, and minority hiring in Hollywood has increased only slightly.
What remains to be seen, then, is what reaction will be prompted with this year's Academy Award nominations.
Jerry Velasco, president of Nosotros, an organization that represents Latino actors, feels little progress has been made in Hollywood. ``[Latinos] are still in the same place,'' he said. ``We're still way behind in hiring practices.''
``It's basically business as usual,'' agreed Guy Aoki, co-founder of Media Action Network for Asian-Americans. ``We had this nice meeting with Leslie Moonves, president of entertainment at CBS, but then he tossed us to his assistant, who didn't know what went on in the first meeting.''
Though the issue of minority hiring in Hollywood would seem to have an impact only on those groups directly affected by the industry's shortcomings, Todd Boyd, author of the forthcoming book ``Am I Black Enough For You: Popular Culture from the 'Hood and Beyond,'' disagrees. ``There's a direct connection between the people who work in the film industry and the product that comes from the film industry,'' he said.
``It is important for our culture to indicate the breadth and vastness of diversity that the country embodies,'' said Boyd, a professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television. ``The only way we're ever going to have any sense of representative democracy, as far as popular culture is concerned, is through representation in positions of power relative to creative decisions, financial decisions and the overall process.
``Without black people in any significant positions of power, we're simply going to get a replication of what we have seen already. It will remain one-sided.''
And the only way minorities will gain any of these positions of power is through the efforts of those people of color already working in the entertainment industry, according to Eddie Wong, who was the Rainbow Coalition's Oakland-based media coordinator during last year's protest efforts.
``We realized that it was the people actually working in Hollywood day to day - in the various guilds, caucuses and advocacy groups - who were really going to carry this battle,'' Wong said.
``The problem is that the Reverend Jackson is involved with so many issues, and we let the momentum die out,'' added Velasco.
From a producer's perspective, the campaign for diversity seemed to lack clout, both with studios and audiences.
``Sure, things have happened, but I don't know if any of them are in response to what happened last year,'' said Preston Holmes, president and CEO of Def Pictures. ``Whitney Houston has a production deal with Disney, Babyface has one with Fox, and there are rumors about Magic Johnson getting one. ... But I don't think anyone would be surprised if African Americans were shut out of the Academy Award nominations again.
``I'm more concerned about getting more opportunities for black actors and people who work behind the camera. There's a ripple effect: As more black people get a chance to make films, they'll hire other blacks. We still have a long way to go, but it's happening.''
Last fall, the Screen Actors Guild announced the results of a five-year study that showed that the overall number of minority roles cast under the union's contract had risen to 19 percent in 1995 from 15.4 percent in 1991.
The percentage of employed male black SAG performers increased to 12.7 percent of the guild total from 10.7 percent, black women to 13.2 percent from 10.2; Latino actors to 4 percent from 3.1, Latinas to 3.3 percent from 2.5; Asian/Pacific males to 1.9 from 1.5, while for females it held steady at 2 percent; and Native American males to 0.6 percent from 0.5, females to 0.4 percent from 0.3.
But even though Eddie Murphy already has been honored by the nation's film critics as best actor for ``The Nutty Professor'' and Cuba Gooding Jr. nearly stole the show from Tom Cruise in ``Jerry McGuire,'' it may not be enough.
Because the size and racial makeup of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences haven't changed much in the last 12 months, it is possible that similar voting patterns will repeat themselves.
Academy Executive Director Bruce Davis feels his group has a good track record ``of inviting new membership from all minorities, if they demonstrate the expertise to be members.''
``For example, there are no black directors who have done two major pictures who aren't already members of the academy. The problem, perhaps, is at the other end of the pipeline, where more black directors should be getting more chances to direct.''
As one example of progress, Bob Reid, a director-member of the Directors Guild of America and co-chairman of its African-American Steering Committee, cited the Cooperative Committee of the DGA Fellowship Program. This committee came out of contract negotiations last year between the directors guild and the employers. Among other things, it provides an avenue for new members to submit pre-evaluated tapes to various decision-makers in the industry.
``The proof, of course, will be when [minorities] get positions in companies,'' Reid said. ``If none are hired as the result of this program, then we know what the truth is about the willingness of the industry to embrace all of its members.''
Zara Taylor, executive administrator for employment diversity at the Writers Guild of America, thinks it's probably still too early to tell if there's been progress on hiring.
``We've heard that there's more of a call for minority writers and performers ... but we know of no increase in hiring of people of color to write in films or television,'' she said.
In fact, Taylor said, her group found only four minority writers among the top 10 rated television shows. And on shows that were predominantly black, the guild discovered that almost two-thirds of the writers were white.
``The only movement for writers and filmmakers of color in movies is in the area of independent pictures, which aren't covered by the guilds at all,'' Taylor added.
Indeed, the recent Sundance Film Festival showcased quite a few more minority-themed movies than it had in the past. But the difficulty usually comes later, in finding distribution for those films and money for any subsequent work by the artist, according to Def Pictures' Holmes.
Some minority filmmakers are making movies for premium cable networks and finding behind-the-camera work on network dramas. HBO has used blacks in many behind-the-camera positions. Forest Whitaker, for example, directed ``Strapped,'' and Paris Barclay directed ``The Cherokee Kid.'' Danny Glover, meanwhile, produced ``Deadly Voyage'' and Laurence Fishburne produced ``Miss Evers' Boys.''
LENGTH: Long : 132 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Cuba Gooding Jr. (left) had a high-profile role, nearlyby CNBstealing the show from star Tom Cruise, in ``Jerry McGuire.''