Warner Bros. to address diversity issues with Directors workshop.
Following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Hollywood is doing whatever they can to increase diversity in Tinseltown.
Warner Bros. has revealed a new program to help new and underrepresented filmmakers.
The Warner Bros. Emerging Film Directors Workshop is set up to give aspiring directors a chance to develop their skills in a nine-month intensive fellowship program.
“It’s really for anybody who is looking at the system and saying, ‘The unfair part is that I can’t even get started,’” said Greg Silverman, president, creative development and worldwide production, Warner Bros. Pictures. “So get started with Warner Bros.”
Aspiring directors will be partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures executive mentors and work with them through the entire film process, from pitch to final cut and even a movie premiere. The movie will be revealed during a film festival on the Warners lot and is aimed at showing the complete work to agents and executives associated with the film industry.
Warner Bros. new diversity program follows J.J. Abrams production company and Ryan Murphy’s diversity push in Hollywood. In fact, this program is designed to recreate feature films in the production process to give aspiring filmmakers a real-life experience in the film industry. The workshop will have participants pitch, write, or work with a screenwriter, and develop a script for a short film (3-10 minutes). Once they have a final script, filmmakers will work with the production to prepare, cast, create a budget, film and edit the short film. Warner Bros. will cover all production costs and salary for filmmakers for the duration of the workshop.
Warner Bros. will be selecting five filmmakers with the goal of finding applicants outside of mainstream channels. The studio is giving each short film a $100,000 budget.
“We wanted to have more diverse voices; it’s a better way to connect with our diverse audience and with the world,” said Silverman, adding the program wants to address some of the structural inequality of the business. “There were logjams way down the line before we even saw people.We wanted to start at the first step and give people a leg up, to address the system holistically.”
Source: THR
