After causing a disastrous diversity scandal on the most recent iteration of his reality show “Project Greenlight,” it seems like Matt Damon has learned his lesson and is taking steps to address the ongoing diversity crisis in Hollywood.
Folks will recall that during the season premiere of “Project Greenlight” last fall, Damon came under fire for his comments on diversity while speaking with filmmaker Effie Brown. As NBC News reported, Brown “asks the other panelists, all whom are white, to be mindful that the female character is ‘the only black person’ in the movie and is ‘a hooker who gets hit by her white pimp.’ As the only Black person in the room, she implores them to be very selective of the director and careful of the optics. Damon interrupts Brown as she makes her case, saying ‘When we’re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show.’”
Matt Damon to the rescue to teach an accomplished Black women about diversity in a room full of well-off White men. pic.twitter.com/6u1aPoUJLq
After what we hope was a sincere apology tour, Damon and Ben Affleck’s production company Pearl Street Films, the AP reports, is teaming up with the Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at USC’s Annenberg School for new tactics.
As the AP writes, Damon reexamined the Facebook entry system they used for the show. “Damon assumed their system had cast the widest net possible for submission but was surprised at the results: only two percent of entries came from people of color and eight percent from women, he said. ‘That shocked us, because that wasn’t the spirit with which we put it out there. It was like “come one, come all.” But it was predominantly white men who showed up and entered,’ Damon said in an interview. ‘That was a real lesson for us.’”
As the AP details, “The initiative is still in the very early stages as they craft language to use in contracts,” with one idea being “putting clauses in contracts to make it a priority to look at all the roles on a film and hire with an eye toward equity.”
“If you actually codify that, there can be demonstrable changes,” Damon said.
“Notable actors or producers working with inclusion experts brings data-driven evidence and expertise to decision-making tables and production sets,” said Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Director of the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at USC Annenberg. “It can be the perfect storm for social change.”
It’s not exactly clear where this initiative will be implemented, as just two days ago HBO cancelled “Project Greenlight.” Damon has said that he’ll be shopping the show around elsewhere. We hope that when, and if, it settles somewhere, Damon puts his money where his mouth is and demonstrates a real, tangible commitment to diversity on “Project Greenlight.” And why stop there? Now that Damon is aware of clauses in contracts that make equity a priority, will he apply this knowledge elsewhere? Damon is a powerful A-lister, so when his agents negotiate his own high-profile acting contracts, why not have them address diversity in the films in which he stars?
