Former Academy prez Cheryl Boone Isaacs and music legend Quincy Jones are teaming up to share an important part of Hollywood history. The two are working on “American Film: The Black Experience,” a documentary that will explore “the untold story of African Americans in the entertainment industry,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
Jones announced the project at the Ischia Film and Music Festival, which Boone Isaacs also attended.
“We’re in the process of starting to do a documentary now called ‘American Film: The Black Experience.’ [Boone Isaacs] invited me to be co-producer with her,” Jones said. “I’m very excited about that.”
Boone Isaacs added, “I think what is important is the backstory of us in the entertainment business, whether it’s film, music, or television.” She emphasized that she wants “to get the story out of the contributions that have been made by so many, not just the celebrities, which even that backstory has not been told enough; and the relationship among folks and growing and working together in order to improve.”
The exec offered an example of what kinds of stories she’d like to tell in “American Film: The Black Experience,” citing sound designer Willie D. Burton, who is tied with Jones as the second most Oscar-nominated African American. He’s received seven nods and took home trophies for “Dreamgirls” and “Bird.”
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American to win an Oscar. She took home the prize for Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for “Gone with the Wind.”
“There are so many of us that people don’t know about, which is what we are going to bring forth and tell the world,” Boone Isaacs emphasized.
It sounds as though “American Film: The Black Experience” will offer a comprehensive look at contributions that have gone largely unrecognized, and serve as a much-needed primer on Hollywood history that few are familiar with.
Throughout her tenure at the Academy, Boone Isaacs was outspoken in her support of making the Oscars more inclusive.
“It’s up to all of us to ensure that new faces and voices are seen and heard, and to take a shot on the next generation the way someone took a shot on each of us,” she said. Under her leadership the Academy invited an unprecedented number of women and people of color to its membership.
