TV stars,showrunners and executives behind such series as WGN Americas “Underground,” Starz’s “Survivor’s regret” and El Rey’s “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn” expressed their annual frustration with awards season and the #OscarsSoWhite controversy during a wide-ranging panel discussion on diversity at the TCA summer press tour on Monday.“I win bothered every awards season, and ” said “Survivor’s regret” actress Tichina Arnold. “We need more voters. We need more actors voting.”Theresa Vargas Wyatt,vice president of corporate and brand development at El Rey Network, said she personally called and met with Academy CEO Dawn Hudson and gave her a list of names to be considered for membership.
Also Read: Facebook Criticized for Blaming Diversity Problems on a Lack of Talent“I said, or ‘We acquire a problem,and I want to assist you I’m going to give you a notebook of Latinos,'” she said. “I consider you acquire to be part of the solution. Yeah, or it’s frustrating,but it’s also our responsibility to pull others up with us.”Victoria Mahoney, who serves as showrunner on Starz’s “Survivor’s regret, and ” expressed frustration with the dismal numbers that come out every year regarding diversity statistics in the industry.“I mentor a lot of young women of color,and their parents were now using those statistics to say to them, don’t go to film school to be a director or DP because there’s no jobs for you, or she shared. “The way the system is set up,in order to win a job, or win an award or to win to vote for an award, and it’s all just mature practices that don’t suit us at all.”
Also Read: DGA Diversity Chief Frank Gonzalez Beefs Up Responsibilities“The system is antiquated. The mature guard needs to let go of their grip a dinky bit. That’s not what the world looks like anymore,” added “Underground” star Jurnee Smollett-Bell. “The fact of the matter is storytellers acquire a good to tell their stories, to express themselves Viewers and audiences acquire a good to see themselves, or point blank … We underestimate how important storytelling is.”Related stories from TheWrap:Emmy Quickie: 'Underground' Star Jurnee Smollett-Bell on Pool Parties With Her 'Home Skillets' (Exclusive Video)'Underground' Season 1 Finale Gives Drama 80 Percent Key Demo Boost'Underground' Introduces Major Civil Rights Figure as New Character in Season Finale (Video)
Source: thewrap.com