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WARNER BROS.
Constance Wu stars in 'Crazy Rich Asians' |
After years bemoaning the lack of people of color in significant movie roles, 2018's films showed some progress being, according to a new report.
With little less than two weeks before the Academy Awards, Hollywood is starting to pat itself on its back for the progress made in diversity and inclusion because of the wild success of Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther.
"It is clear from the findings that 2018 was a notable year for storytelling with female characters and individuals from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups," says the report.
A research brief from the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative seems to indicate that there is a connection between box office success and an increase in films with casts that better reflects the U.S. population.
More important to the movie industry's bean counters, these two films are being credited to helping make 2018 a profitable year at the U.S. box office, with a 4% increase in ticket sales from 2016. Black Panther, a Marvel product with a black theme with black protagonists, broke box office records; Crazy Rich Asians, with an all-Asian and Asian American cast, grossed about $240 million worldwide, the highest grossing romantic comedy in over a decade.
Of the 100 top-grossing movies of 2018, 40 featured female leads, 8 more than in 2017, and 28 featured people of color, an increase from 21 a year ago. (A movie like Crazy Rich Asians with Constance Wu in the lead, checks both those boxes.)
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| ANNENBEERG INCLUSION INITIATIVE / USC |
Though there is clearly an uptick in the percentage of underrepresented leads and co leads in 2018, the overall percentage is still below U.S. Census (39.3%) by 11.3 percentage points, stated the report.
Given the apparent display of inclusion in 2018, is it a coincidence that the domestic box office hit a record $11.9 billion? The study authors believe there is a connection. "2018 offers hope that industry members have taken action to create content that better reflects the world in which we live, and the box office seems to have rewarded them for it," Annenberg Inclusive Initiative founder and director Stacy L. Smith said in a statement.
"The data shows us that it is possible for change to be achieved – companies must not grow complacent but continue the progress they have made in 2018 and in the years to come."
And that's the real test. The impact of Crazy Rich Asians in a high-stakes business will be if it can have a longer range effect in Hollywood's greenlighting decisions. Based on projects underway or under development, it appears that the movie industry's honchos are opening their minds - a little.
Disney's live-action version of Mulan, which will feature another all-Asian cast and directed by Niki Caro, a New Zealand woman, is under production and set for a 2020 release.
Building on the momentum of CRA's success, the film's director, Jon M. Chu, is living up to his statement when the film premiered when he said, "It's not a movie, it's a movement." Already, a second and third sequel based on CRA author Kevin Kwan's trilogy are being planned. He is also teaming up with Ivanhoe Pictures on a movie about the Thai cave rescue mission in an effort to avoid whitewashing and he's planning a bio-pic of Arnel Pineda, the Filipino lead singer of the rock band Journey.
Next up is another romance based on the YA novel by Korean American Nicola Yoon with TV stars, Blackish's Yara Shahidi and Riverdale's Charles Melton, a Korean American, The interracial love story is set for general release on May 17 this year.
Crazy Rich Asians leading man Henry Golding will be the romantic lead in Last Christmas opposite Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke will be released, of course, around the holidays.
Hoping to duplicate the success of Searching, the John Cho starrer which was the third leg of Asian August, are a couple of films that premiered at Sundance and hopefully will be released this year. The two movies generating considerable buzz: The Farewell dramedy starring Awkwafina and directed by Lulu Wang about an Asian American woman's search for family and identity and director Justin Chon's Ms. Purple, about Asian American siblings working out their relationship.
"I don't think the success of the movie should dictate whether or not there should be Asian Americans in film," Awkwafina said to CBS News before CRA's premiere. "I don't think Crazy Rich Asians will be the last, no matter how it does. It's part of a larger cultural shift in Hollywood in the last two years. People show up for these movies and express anger when movies don't accurately reflect them."
Given the apparent display of inclusion in 2018, is it a coincidence that the domestic box office hit a record $11.9 billion? The study authors believe there is a connection. "2018 offers hope that industry members have taken action to create content that better reflects the world in which we live, and the box office seems to have rewarded them for it," Annenberg Inclusive Initiative founder and director Stacy L. Smith said in a statement.
"The data shows us that it is possible for change to be achieved – companies must not grow complacent but continue the progress they have made in 2018 and in the years to come."
And that's the real test. The impact of Crazy Rich Asians in a high-stakes business will be if it can have a longer range effect in Hollywood's greenlighting decisions. Based on projects underway or under development, it appears that the movie industry's honchos are opening their minds - a little.
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DISNEY
Chinese actress Liu Yifei plays the legendary Mulan in her first Hollywood movie. |
Disney's live-action version of Mulan, which will feature another all-Asian cast and directed by Niki Caro, a New Zealand woman, is under production and set for a 2020 release.
Building on the momentum of CRA's success, the film's director, Jon M. Chu, is living up to his statement when the film premiered when he said, "It's not a movie, it's a movement." Already, a second and third sequel based on CRA author Kevin Kwan's trilogy are being planned. He is also teaming up with Ivanhoe Pictures on a movie about the Thai cave rescue mission in an effort to avoid whitewashing and he's planning a bio-pic of Arnel Pineda, the Filipino lead singer of the rock band Journey.
Next up is another romance based on the YA novel by Korean American Nicola Yoon with TV stars, Blackish's Yara Shahidi and Riverdale's Charles Melton, a Korean American, The interracial love story is set for general release on May 17 this year.
Crazy Rich Asians leading man Henry Golding will be the romantic lead in Last Christmas opposite Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke will be released, of course, around the holidays.
Netflix has at least two movies planned: Always Be My Maybe a rom-com starring Randall Park and Ali Wong, due out this year and has a sequel to surprise hit To Every Boy I Ever Loved, starring Lana Condor, the third film of Asian August.
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| Awkwafina stars in 'The Farewell.' |
Hoping to duplicate the success of Searching, the John Cho starrer which was the third leg of Asian August, are a couple of films that premiered at Sundance and hopefully will be released this year. The two movies generating considerable buzz: The Farewell dramedy starring Awkwafina and directed by Lulu Wang about an Asian American woman's search for family and identity and director Justin Chon's Ms. Purple, about Asian American siblings working out their relationship.
"I don't think the success of the movie should dictate whether or not there should be Asian Americans in film," Awkwafina said to CBS News before CRA's premiere. "I don't think Crazy Rich Asians will be the last, no matter how it does. It's part of a larger cultural shift in Hollywood in the last two years. People show up for these movies and express anger when movies don't accurately reflect them."
Real inclusion - in other words - will be when we no longer have to report on Asian Americans in film as a "trend."
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