LA Collab Plans To Create More Jobs For Latinos In Hollywood

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Underrepresentation of Latinx actors, directors, producers, and more has long been a problem in Hollywood, but now Los Angeles is actively working to fix it. The new LA Collab initiative, led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and supported by celebs like Eva Longoria, aims to create more jobs for Latinxs in the entertainment industry, both in front of and behind the camera. Made up of a selective group of Latinx creators and executives, LA Collab has raised a quarter of a million dollars to finance career opportunities for Latinx actors, filmmakers, writers, and crew members in a variety of new film, TV, and podcast projects, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"The biggest problems that we face of poverty come from a lack of social capital, whether it's in the tech industry or whether it's in the construction trade, or here in entertainment," Garcetti said. “It is City Hall's role to make sure that good middle-class jobs are going to all communities, that a child growing up in Pacoima or Jefferson Park isn't locked out of opportunity to see her stories on the small or big screen.” The Mayor also cited a recent USC study that revealed that only 3 percent of the 100 top-grossing films of the last decade featured Latinx leads or co-leads, even though Latinxs represent nearly 20 percent of the US population and 25 percent of Hollywood's box -office revenue.

LA Collab seeks to connect Latinx talent with prospective entertainment industry employers. “So proud to help launch LA Collab to promote more Latinos in front of and behind the camera! And always a pleasure to see these two legends!” Mexican American actress and producer Eva Longoria wrote on Instagram, where she shared a photo at the LA Collab press conference with actors Eugenio Derbez and Edward James Olmos.

LA Collab was co-founded by Garcetti, Beatriz Acevedo (founder of Mitú), and Ivette Rodriguez (president of marketing firm AEM). The Los Angeles Times reports that outlets like Crypt TV, Lionsgate Entertainment's Pantelion Films, and Spanish-language streaming service Pantaya, among others, have committed to hiring more Latinx and bilingual content creators.

Meanwhile, Eva Longoria - who founded her own production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment - expressed in a statement about her commitment to end Latinx underrepresentation on screen: “I want to open the door for many more Latinx creators and fuel the emergence of a better entertainment industry that elevates and celebrates the diversity and richness of my culture.” Amen to that!