The diversity crisis in Hollywood may rage on, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continues to try to open up access to the entertainment business for people from underrepresented communities and give some a foot in the door at the most critical moment — when college graduation is in sight and the job market is looming.
For seven weeks this summer, 107 college students from across the nation convened in Los Angeles for internships at places like HBO, Warner Bros., Dolby Laboratories, Universal Pictures, IMAX and AMC Networks, in addition to film screenings and weekly panels on various aspects of the film industry from people at the top of their fields.
Notable speakers this summer included cinematographer Janusz Kaminski ("Schindler's List"), production designer K.K. Barrett ("Her"), "Sorry to Bother You" director Boots Riley and actress Lily Collins, who dished on the casting process. Cinematography and production design students even got to work with Daryn Okada, an academy governor, to recreate a scene from "Mean Girls," which Okada shot.
The program, now in its second year, continues to evolve. In addition to giving spots to over 30 additional students, this year Academy Gold added a Production Track program for students interested in cinematography, production design, post-production and film editing.
The statistics remain dire in the entertainment business job market for anyone who isn't a white, straight, able-bodied male. A survey from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found that of the top 100 grossing films of 2017, two percent had female cinematographers and 14 percent had female editors. And according to the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, across 1,100 of the top grossing films over the past decade, 64, or 5.2 percent, had black directors and 38, or 3.1 percent, had an Asian or Asian-American director.
Academy Gold is an industry-wide effort to infuse the entertainment business with diverse talent at the early stages of a career. The film academy, which puts on the Oscars, has been criticized in the past for the lack of diversity in its membership ranks, and has been making strides to correct over the past two years. In addition to inviting new members with an eye toward inclusion, the Academy Gold program is addressing the issue at an earlier stage.
Academy Gold wrapped its summer program this past weekend and sent its second class of alumni back to finish their college educations armed with a designated mentor for eight months, contacts, peers and even a few new career ideas.
"A lot of students who came in thinking they wanted to do one thing have said, 'You know what I think I might be interested in cinematography or editing,'" said Bettina Fisher, the academy's director of educational initiatives.
Tatianna Sims, a 21-year-old New York University student from New Jersey, interned this summer with Marvel Studios in the VFX and post-production department.
"The greatest thing about this program is hearing about first-hand experiences from people who have amazing careers," said. "From the outside, it looks like this gilded place where no one can enter, but when speaking with a lot of the panelists you see how achievable a lot of your goals are."
Twenty-six entertainment businesses funded the program, which not only ensures that interns are paid, but also provides stipends for over 30 students to help with living expenses. It proved "life-changing" for Vaughn Arterberry, a 22-year-old aspiring director from Oakland, Calif, who interned in production and development at Focus Features this summer before he starts at the University of Southern California Film School in January.
"I wouldn't have been able to afford to live in LA this summer without some help financially," Arterberry said before a panel on film financing and distribution. "I'm extremely grateful for what they've done."
Some alumni are already seeing the benefits of their Academy Gold experience and the mentorship with a film academy member that follows.
Jordan Moss, who interned in the accounting department of Paramount Pictures in its pilot year and aspires to be in animated feature development, said he's most grateful for the peers he met.
"I believe that these are the people who are going to be running the industry some day," Moss said.
Program administrators want to start tracking the development of their alumni as they hopefully get jobs and rise in the industry.
"We have made significant progress and we look forward to pushing this program forward and expanding it to more students in the future," said Edgar Aguirre, the academy's director of talent development and inclusion. "At the end of the day, this is going to be an opportunity to guide and develop the next generation of leadership in this industry."
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining.
The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the U.S. and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space.
“Today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? What could you possibly be hiding,” she asked. “It’s baffling. And it’s a shame.”
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the resolution as “absolutely absurd and politicized,” and said it didn’t go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space.
Russia and China proposed an amendment to the U.S.-Japan draft that would call on all countries, especially those with major space capabilities, “to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space, and the threat of use of force in outer spaces.”
The vote was 7 countries in favor, 7 against, and one abstention and the amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum 9 “yes” votes required for adoption.
The U.S. opposed the amendment, and after the vote Nebenzia addressed the U.S. ambassador saying: “We want a ban on the placement of weapons of any kind in outer space, not just WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). But you don’t want that. And let me ask you that very same question. Why?”
He said much of the U.S. and Japan’s actions become clear “if we recall that the U.S. and their allies announced some time ago plans to place weapons … in outer space.”
Nebenzia accused the U.S. of blocking a Russian-Chinese proposal since 2008 for a treaty against putting weapons in outer space.
Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of undermining global treaties to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, irresponsibly invoking “dangerous nuclear rhetoric,” walking away from several of its arms control obligations, and refusing to engage “in substantive discussions around arms control or risk reduction.”
She called Wednesday’s vote “a real missed opportunity to rebuild much-needed trust in existing arms control obligations.”
Thomas-Greenfield’s announcement of the resolution on March 18 followed White House confirmation in February that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.
Putin declared later that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the U.S.
Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote that the world is just beginning to understand “the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space.”
It could destroy “thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world — and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services we all depend on,” she said.
The defeated draft resolution said “the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger for international peace and security.” It would have urged all countries carrying out activities in exploring and using outer space to comply with international law and the U.N. Charter.
The draft would have affirmed that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must comply with their obligations not to put in orbit around the Earth “any objects” with weapons of mass destruction, or install them “on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space.”
The treaty, ratified by some 114 countries, including the U.S. and Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.”
The draft resolution emphasized “the necessity of further measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, with appropriate and effective provisions for verification, to prevent an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.”
It reiterated that the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, has the primary responsibility to negotiate agreements on preventing an arms race in outer space.
The 65-nation body has achieved few results and has largely devolved into a venue for countries to voice criticism of others’ weapons programs or defend their own. The draft resolution would have urged the conference “to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive program of work.”
At the March council meeting where the U.S.-Japan initiative was launched, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades.”
He said the movie “Oppenheimer” about Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the U.S. project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb, “brought the harsh reality of nuclear doomsday to vivid life for millions around the world.”
“Humanity cannot survive a sequel to Oppenheimer,” the U.N. chief said.
United States Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses members of the U.N. Security Council before voting during a meeting on Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
FILE - U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Tokyo. The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Wednesday, April 24, 2024, on a resolution announced by Thomas-Greenfield, calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space. It is likely to be vetoed by Russia. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)
