>>> HOLLYWOOD DOES NOT TALK ABOUT THIS OPENLY, SYSTEMIC
LOWER PAY FOR ACTORS WHO ARE WOMEN AND MINORITIES.
IN AN ARTICLE THIS WEEK, ONE OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST PAID
ACTRESSES, EMMA STONE, DID JUST THAT, SAYING EVEN THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL FEMALE ACTORS ONLY GET 80% OF THEIR MALE
EQUIVALENT. SHE SAID EQUAL WAGES ONLY COME
WHEN A MALE CO-STAR DECIDES TO LOWER HIS SALARY, SAYING, "THEY
FEEL IT'S WHAT'S RIGHT AND FAIR. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALSO NOT
DISCUSSED NECESSARILY. EQUAL PAY IS GOING TO REQUIRE
PEOPLE TO SELFLESSLY SAY THAT'S WHAT'S FAIR."
"VARIETY" PUBLISHED A RARE SNAPSHOT OF SALARIES IN OCTOBER.
WOMEN HAD A 10% TO 15% DISPARITY.
OTHER ESTIMATES HAVE IT DOUBLE THAT.
THAT MAY BE BECAUSE SOME HOLLYWOOD EXECUTIVES RANK WOMEN
AT A 20% DISCOUNT. THE SCALE IS A CONGRESSMENLY
REDUCED RANKING AT THE BOX OFFICE.
PAST RANKINGS SHOW WOMEN STARS YIELD 20% LESS AT THE BOX
OFFICE. THE SAME PAY CHALLENGE SURFACED
IN A BROADCAST DRAMA THIS WEEK WITH SERIES "HAWAII FIVE-0," TWO
ACTORS, GRACE PARK AND DANIEL DAE KIM LEFT AFTER SEVEN
SUCCESSFUL SEASONS. "VARIETY" REPORTS, "INSIDERS SAY
CBS's FINAL OFFER TO KIM AND PAPARK WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEE
10% TO 15% LOWER THAN WHAT ALEX O'LAUGHLIN AND SCOTT KHAN MADE
IN SALARY. PARK FACES THE GENDER CHALLENGE
ON PAY THAT EMMA STONE DESCRIBES, BUT BOTH PARK AND KIM
MAY ALSO FACE A CHALLENGE ON PAY BECAUSE THEY ARE MINORITY,
UNLIKE THEIR WHITE "HAWAII FIVE-0" CO-STARS.
ON THAT POINT, THE "VARIETY" SALARY SNAPSHOT SHOWS ACTORS OF
COLOR ONLY MAKE 55% TO 68% OF THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS, AND
THAT IS IF THESE ACTORS OF COLOR GET THE FEW ROLES AVAILABLE TO
THEM IN HOLLYWOOD. LET'S BRING IN OUR GUEST, ACTOR
AND PRODUCER BRIAN YANG. FANS WILL REMEMBER HIM AS
"FIVE-0" LAB PARTNER. BRIAN, WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
IF THESE NUMBERS AREN'T CORRECT, AS THEY ARE REPORTED BY
"VARIETY," WHY DOES THIS DIFFERENCE HAPPEN, DO YOU
BELIEVE? >> WELL, I THINK -- I MEAN, IT'S
A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM THAT STARTS FROM THE TOP.
AND AS LONG AS HOLLYWOOD HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS, IT'S JUST BEEN
THAT WAY, AND SO THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN.
AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THAT.
NOW, I DON'T HAVE A MAGIC WAND, I WISH WE COULD DO THIS.
I THINK THE SIMPLE ANSWER TO THAT IS REALLY THE FOLKS THAT
ARE WHO IN CHARGE AND THIS IS KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD WHETHER
IT BECOMES A SALARY, GREEN LIGHTING PROJECTS, ARE
GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, WHITE MALE THAT FIT A CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC,
SO THOSE IN CHARGE WILL DICTATE THE RULES, SO TO SPEAK, AND
THUS, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES TO SALARIES, THAT'S WHAT'S
REFLECTED IN THE THINKING. >> LET'S BUILD ON WHAT YOU'RE
SAYING, BRIAN. TO YOU, YOU'VE BEEN IN THE
BUSINESS FOR TEN YEARS WATCHING WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT ABOUT THE
HEADS OF STUDIOS? ONE PLACE WHY THIS IS MAYBE
HAPPENING? >> WELL, PARTIALLY.
I FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE
HEADS OF STUDIOS, THEY ARE STILL MOSTLY WHITE AND MALE.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S A NEW HEAD AT SONY AND THERE'S A NEW HEAD
AT SEVERAL STUDIOS AND THEY JUST PLAYED MUSICAL CHAIRS WITH THE
PEOPLE THAT USED TO RUN THE STUDIOS, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF
WOMEN DECISION MAKERS COMING INTO THEIR OWN.
>> ARE THEY MAKING THE SAME AMOUNT?
>> I WOULD HIGHLY DOUBT IT, AND THE SONY HACK IN 2014 REVEALED
NOT ONLY WITH JENNIFER LAWRENCE BEING PAID LESS THAN HER
THE CO-PRESIDENT OF THE STUDIO AT THE TIME, WAS MAKING OVER A
MILLION DOLLARS LESS THAN THE PERSON WHO WAS HER CO-PRESIDENT,
WHICH IS ABSURD. >> BRIAN, AS WE WERE TALKING
ABOUT, YOU WERE ACTUALLY ON THE SERIES AS A RECURRING CHARACTER.
WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE THERE RELEVANT TO MAYBE WHAT
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, I WASN'T A
SERIES REGULAR, SO I CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW,
AT THE VERY TOP. I WAS, YOU KNOW, TREATED FAIRLY,
SO I HAVE, YOU KNOW, NOTHING -- NO DIRT, SO TO SPEAK, TO SAY,
BUT EVERYONE GOT ALONG ON SET. IT WAS A COHESIVE UNIT.
I THINK THOSE THINGS THAT HAPPEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AT THE TOP
ARE NEGOTIATED AND COMING OUT NOW, I CAN SAY THAT IT WASN'T
NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENED OVERNIGHT, YOU KNOW,
STARS SIGN ON FOR MULTIPLE YEARS FROM WAY BACK WHEN THE SERIES
BEGINS, AND SO NOW WE'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, ALL THIS COME TO
LIGHT, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT IN THE
OPEN KIND OF SHED LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT.
>> IT'S NOT EASY TO TALK ABOUT THIS AS AN ACTOR, WHICH YOU ARE.
TO COME OUT AND SAY, WELL, I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THIS DEAL, IT'S
NOT NECESSARILY, OH, THAT'S GREAT, THAT'S FANTASTIC.
>> YEAH, NO. IT'S NOT.
IT'S NOT. BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO TALK
ABOUT IT AND ADDRESS IT, AND ALL THE TALK ABOUT IT IN THE LAST
WEEK, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GOING TO CHALLENGE THE POWERS
THAT BE AND THIS IS A GOOD THING.
>> WHAT'S ONE OF THE SOLUTIONS HERE, MELISSA?
>> WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE SOLUTIONS IS ACTUALLY PAYING
PEOPLE EQUALLY. I MEAN, WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE
FIGHTING. LIKE, THE FACT THAT THEY, CBS,
SAID THEY HAD GIVEN THEM A SUBSTANTIATIVE RAISE MEANS THAT
THEY WERE PAYING THEM SO MUCH LESS, AND THE FACT THAT EMMA
STONE'S CO-STARS NEED TO TAKE PAY CUTS, WHY AREN'T THEY JUST
PAYING PEOPLE EQUALLY? THIS IS ABOUT THE VALUE THAT WE
PUT ON PEOPLE, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE VALUING WHITE AND MALE
MUCH HIGHER THAN ANYBODY ELSE. >> SO YOU'VE MADE THE CHANGE
HERE, BRIAN, WHERE YOU SHIFTED OVER TO BEING THE DECISION
MAKER. YOU'RE NOW EXECUTIVE PRODUCING
PIECES. IS THAT PART OF THE SOLUTION, TO
MOVE INTO, IF YOU WILL, THE DRIVER'S SEAT?
>> ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT'S REALLY ON US TO
SHAPE OUR OWN NARRATIVES AND STORIES AND BECOME THE PEOPLE
WHO ARE, AS YOU SAID, IN CHARGE AND MAKING THESE DECISIONS,
BECAUSE THEN WE CAN SET THE SALARIES, WE CAN DICTATE THE
RULES, SO THAT POWER SHIFT AND DYNAMIC, WE HAVE TO GRAB HOLD OF
IT. IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, DO IT
YOURSELF KIND OF MENTALITY. >> BOOT STRAPPING.
MELISSA, HOW IS THE PIPELINE FOR THOSE THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO
REPRESENT THESE IDEOLOGIES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT?
>> THE PIPELINE IS GREAT. THERE ARE SO MANY WOMEN OUT
THERE READY TO WORK AND SO MANY PEOPLE OF COLOR.
IT'S JUST ABOUT THE LACK OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY HAVE.
SO WE NEED TO SEE DIVERSE STORIES.
THERE ARE A LOT OF WOMEN PRODUCING THEIR OWN STUFF NOW,
VIOLA DAVIS, REESE WITHERSPOON. THEY ARE MAKING THEIR OWN
STORIES, PUTTING MYSELF IN THAT NARRATIVE.
>> THANK YOU BOTH. MELISSA