THE ISSUE
OF PAY AMONG GENDERS AND HOLLYWOOD HAS BEEN COMING UP
OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND OF COURSE, THERE HAS BEEN SOME
EVIDENCE TO INDICATE THAT WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD GET PAID
SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN MEN.
JESSICA CHASTAIN IS ONE OF THE
ACTRESSES WHO'S REALLY SHINING A LIGHT ON THIS ISSUE AND
RECENTLY, OCTAVIA SPENCER TALKED ABOUT HOW CHASTAIN NOT ONLY
TALKS THE TALK BUT WALKS THE WALK.
THEY ARE GOING TO WORK
TOGETHER ON A NEW MOVIE.
IT IS GOING TO BE A COMEDY AND IT
SEEMS LIKE IT IS GOING WELL BUT OVER NEGOTIATIONS FOR SALARIES
OVER THE WOMEN AN ISSUE CAME UP THAT I THOUGHT WAS FASCINATING
AND WHAT I FOUND EVEN MORE FASCINATING WAS THE WAY JESSICA
CHASTAIN RESPONDED TO IT.
WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO WATCH IS A
PANEL DISCUSSION FOR SUNDANCE TV AND PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT
SPENCER SAYS ABOUT PAY AND WHAT CHASTAIN HAS DONE TO
EQUALIZE PAY AMONG WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD.
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT PAY EQUITY AND WITH MEN AND WOMEN
AND SHE WAS LIKE, IT IS TIME THAT WOMEN GET PAID THE SAME AS
MEN AND I WAS LIKE YEAH, JESSICA, IT'S TIME.
WE WERE
DROPPING F BOMBS AND GETTING IT ALL OUT THERE AND THEN I SAID
BUT HERE IS THE THING, WOMEN OF COLOR ON THAT SPECTRUM, WE MAKE
FAR LESS THAN WHITE WOMEN SO IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT
CONVERSATION ABOUT PAY EQUITY WE HAVE TO BRING THE WOMEN OF COLOR
TO THE TABLE AND I TOLD HER MY STORY AND WE TALKED NUMBERS AND
SHE WAS QUIET.
SHE HAD NO IDEA THAT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR
WOMEN OF COLOR AND I AM PROBABLY GOING TO CRY.
THESE ARE HAPPY TEARS.
I LOVE THAT WOMAN BECAUSE SHE IS
WALKING THE WALK AND ACTUALLY TALKING THE TALK.
SHE SAID
OCTAVIA WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU PAID ON THIS FILM AND I SAID I
WOULD LOVE TO DO YOUR OWN BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO BE PAID AND
SHE SAID, YOU AND I ARE GOING TO BE TIED TOGETHER.
WE ARE GOING
TO BE FAVORED NATIONS AND WE ARE GOING TO MAKE THE SAME THING AND
YOU WERE GOING TO MAKE THAT AMOUNTS AND FAST-FORWARD THE
LAST WEEK, WE ARE MAKING FIVE TIMES THAT.
JESSICA CHASTAIN BELIEVES, SHE IS WALKING THE WALK AND NOW
I WANT TO GO TO WHAT THE MEN ARE MAKING.
I WANT TO GET THERE BUT RIGHT NOW, IT FEELS REALLY GOOD.
I LOVE THAT VIDEO.
IF I WAS GETTING PAID FIVE TIMES MORE I WOULD FEEL REALLY
GOOD TOO.
I LOVE THAT VIDEO BECAUSE OF WHAT I LEARNED FROM
IT.
I THINK IT'S A COMPLICATED ISSUE, IT'S NOT BLACK-AND-WHITE
BUT LET'S LOOK AT ALL SIDES OF IT.
FIRST OFF, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
GENDER PARITY IN TERMS OF PAY IN HOLLYWOOD FOR EXAMPLE, THE
PEOPLE ASKING FOR THE PARITY ARE NOT SAYING IF YOU HAVE BRAD PITT
IN THE MOVIE AND ASIDE ACTRESS YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF, THEY
SHOULD MAKE THE SAME PAY.
NOBODY IS MAKING THAT CLAIM,
LET'S BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT ON THE OTHER HAND SOMETIMES THEY SAY
YOU'VE GOT BRAD PITT AND A STAR, BUT NOT ANGELINA JOLIE.
ANGELINA IS AT THE SAME LEVEL AS BRAD AND I FEEL, MAYBE I'M WRONG
ABOUT THIS, SOME PEOPLE ARE SAYING THEY SHOULD MAKE THE SAME
AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S HOW IT WORKS.
IT DEPENDS
ON THE START.
FOR EXAMPLE, CHRISTIAN BALE MIGHT BE A JERK
IN REAL LIFE BUT I THINK HE'S AN AMAZING ACTOR.
TOM HARDY, THOSE
TWO GUYS I AM MORE LIKELY TO SEE A MOVIE IF THEY ARE IN IT.
FOR
MY PARENTS, IF MERYL STREEP IS IN A MOVIE THEY ARE GOING.
MERYL STREEP WOULD COMMAND A BIGGER PAY THAN HER MALE
COSTARS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN EVERYONE HAS TO BE EQUAL IN MY
OPINION THEN I THINK THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE STRETCHING IT TOO
FAR.
HAVING SAID THAT, EVEN WHEN YOU FACTOR THAT IN, IT IS
CLEAR THAT YOU WILL HAVE STARS THAT APPEAR TO BE THE SAME EXACT
LEVEL AND THEN THE MAIL IS GETTING WAY MORE AND YES,
THAT COULD EASILY BE THE BIAS THAT IS IN THE INDUSTRY AND
THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWARE OF IT.
THEY MIGHT BE THINKING IT IS NOT A BIAS, I JUST THINK MARK
WAHLBERG IS BIGGER.
BUT WHY DO YOU THINK THAT?
DO YOU HAVE DATAQUEST OR IF THEY DO, THAT'S A DIFFERENT STORY.
HERE ARE BOX OFFICE NUMBERS.
IT'S NOT THE END ALL BE ALL BUT AT LEAST IT IS SOME DATA.
SITE INTEREST YOU, BUT ONE OTHER FACTOR THAT I THINK NEEDS
TO BE CONSIDERED IS HOW AGENTS NEGOTIATE FOR THE PAY BECAUSE
AGENTS OBVIOUSLY PLAY A HUGE ROLE IN NEGOTIATING THE TERMS,
NEGOTIATING THE PAY AND ALL OF THAT SO HOW HARD ARE THESE
AGENTS FIGHTING FOR THEIR FEMALE CLIENTS VERSUS MALE CLIENTS?
THAT IS ANOTHER THING TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND THEY MIGHT HAVE ASSUMPTIONS THERE AS WELL AND
ONCE THEY AGAIN MIGHT NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE IT BUT I WANT TO SAY
THAT THIS MADE ME REALIZE NO, WE THINK, THERE IS BOX OFFICE,
THIS, THAT AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD THING, NO,
JUST JESSICA CHASTAIN IS A BIGGER STAR THAN OCTAVIA SPENCER
BUT IT TURNS OUT, THEY CAN GET THE SAME MONEY.
IT TURNS OUT,
SHE CAN GET FIVE TIMES MORE AND IT WAS A MATTER OF INSISTING ON
IT, ETC.
IS NOT AS IMPOSSIBLE AS PEOPLE MAKE IT OUT TO BE.
IT IS
NOT AS CLEAR-CUT, BLACK-AND-WHITE, LITERALLY,
IT TURNS OUT NO, THEY CAN DO THE MOVIE, THEY CAN BOTH GET
PAID GREAT AND THEY CAN STILL MAKE MONEY ON IT.
WHAT THIS REVEALED TO ME WAS HONESTLY AN ISSUE THAT GOES
IGNORED AND NEGLECTED.
YES, THERE ARE PAY ISSUES INVOLVING
GENDERS.
THERE IS NO QUESTION BUT I THINK OFTEN TIMES WHEN WE
TALK ABOUT WOMEN'S ISSUES OR GENDER EQUALITY MINORITY GROUPS
GET LEFT OUT OF THAT CONVERSATION AND THEY FEEL LIKE
THEY DON'T HAVE ANYONE FIGHTING FOR THEM.
I REMEMBER A COUPLE
OF YEARS AGO, SEVERAL YEARS AGO A WOMAN ON SWEATER ACCUSED ME OF
BEING A WHITE FEMINIST AND I WAS LIKE WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?
I AM REALLY GLAD THAT SHE CALLED ME OUT BECAUSE SHE SHOWED ME
THAT THERE WAS A BLIND SPOT IN MY THINKING.
I WASN'T
CONSIDERING THE INTERSECTIONALITY AND BLACK
WOMEN ESPECIALLY
AND HOW THEY HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY LEFT OUT OF
FEMINIST MOVEMENTS AND SO SHE EDUCATED ME.
IT STARTED OFF AS
A VERY TENSE AND FRUSTRATING CONVERSATION BUT THAT DIALOGUE
TAUGHT ME ABOUT SOMETHING THAT AGAIN GOES NEGLECTED IN THE
MEDIA, AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS AND SO I LOVE THAT OCTAVIA
SPENCER MENTION ON THE PANEL BECAUSE IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT
GENDER.
RACE PLAY A ROLE IN HOW PEOPLE GET PAID AS WELL.