No one told me that she was presenting it!
That got me super emotional.
Thank you Jessie.
I love you, you're my best friend.
Yeah, now I gotta talk now, thanks.
That speech was pretty spot-on because my prepared speech has nothing to do with me.
I am so grateful to be up here...
to receive this award so I can not thank my family and my team,
and instead, talk about something that's really important to me.
I'd like to bring to light an aspect of our industry that has risen to the surface in the last week.
It's an issue that's been bubbling since, like, really the whole time, but this issue has a solution
that each one of us in this room can participate in.
So, earlier this week, USC Annenberg's Inclusive Initiative released findings
that 67% of the top critics reviewing the 100 highest-grossing movies in 2017 were white males.
Less than a quarter were white women, and less than 10% were [underrepresented] men.
Only 2.5% of those top critics were women of color.
So, you're probably thinking right now, "Wow, that super doesn't represent the country that I live in," and that's because that's true.
This is a huge disconnect from the U.S. population breakdown of 30% white men, 30% white women,
20% men of color, and 20% women of color.
So, why does that matter?
Why am I up here giving you statistics, when I could be spending this time talking about my publicist?
Lindsay, who I love, thank you so much for bringing Jessie up here and making me super emotional while I rattle off percentages of people.
On top of all of this, am I saying that I hate white dudes?
No, I'm not.
But what I am saying is, if you make a movie that is a love letter to women of color,
there is an insanely low chance a woman of color will have the chance to see your movie and review your movie.
[Applause]
And this is also not to mention: other people, besides white dudes, like Star Wars and would love the opportunity to do a set visit.
And I'm also saying I don't hate white dudes!
I'm just saying we need to be conscious of our bias and do our part to make sure that everyone is in the room.
[Cheers]
It really sucks that reviews matter, but reviews matter.
Good reviews out of festivals give small independent films a fighting chance to be bought and seen.
Good reviews help films gross money.
Good reviews slingshot films into awards contenders.
A good review can change your life; it changed mine.
Our industry has gone through a major growth...
Thank you for clapping for my good reviews.
So excited, you're like, "Yeah, that one time!"
[Laughter]
Our industry has gone through a major growth.
We are expanding to make films that better reflect the people that buy movie tickets.
But they are not allowed enough chances to read public discourse on these films by the people that these films were made for.
I do not need a 40-year-old white dude to tell me what didn't work for him about A Wrinkle in Time—it wasn't made for him!
I want to know...
[Applause] ...what that film meant to women of color, to biracial women,
to teen women of color, to teens that are biracial.
And for the third time, I don't hate white dudes.
These are just facts, these are not my feelings.
I'm really sorry, Lindsay, please don't kill me.
As some of you know, I immediately jumped on to Frances [McDormand's] brilliant words,
"inclusion rider"—and this was way before she had bumper stickers for her iPad—because
I know that this means that my work will be shown, digested, discussed by a variety of people.
Not just a singular perspective.
[Cheers] I want to know what my work means to the world, not a narrow view.
[Applause]
Thanks, mom.
Women In Film had a completely inclusive press line tonight, and are setting an example that this can very easily be the new normal.
So what would it take for the critic pool to match this 30-30-20-20 real world breakdown, and how can we get there?
Well, here I am, it's easier than you might think.
The bottom line is that if each of the top 100 films in a year added nine critics
that are three underrepresented males, three white females, three underrepresented females,
the average critic pool would match the U.S. population in just 5 years.
[Applause] Super simple.
Here are three solutions: First, female and underrepresented critics can't review what they don't see,
and many are denied accreditation or access to press screenings.
So if you are in this room, or if you know someone who is a gatekeeper,
please make sure that these invites and credentials find their way to more underrepresented journalists and critics,
many of whom are freelancers.
[Applause] Give them access, give them the opportunity to see, hear, and write about our stories.
Artists, agents, publicists, and marketing execs: you can do your part by committing to an inclusive press plan and junket strategy on your end.
This includes asking for a wider array of magazine photographers in addition to writers.
Disney has been a brilliant partner on this in Captain Marvel, just like Women In Film was a wonderful parter on this tonight.
So, do not be afraid to ask.
Second, feed the pipeline.
I know you're thinking, "Brie, we'd love to have a balanced pool but there aren't enough underrepresented critics, and make this realistic..."
Okay, well I'm super happy to tell you that 41% of bachelor degrees in journalism and communication go to white women, and 22% to women of color.
So the talent is there; the access and opportunity are not.
[Cheers]
And I do also—not to be a know-it-all—I also have an answer to that.
There is an opt-in tool that will launch late summer that will allow studios and artists' representatives
to more easily find and contact entertainment journalists and critics from underrepresented groups.
Support this journalist and critic-led initiative when it launches.
This is one easy step towards 30-30-20-20.
And lastly, to that end, energized by the movement we're building together as a field,
it is my great pleasure to announce that the Sundance Institute has guaranteed that at least 20%
of their top-level press passes will go to underrepresented critics at next year's Sundance Film Festival...
[Applause]
...as part of a larger initiative that they're working towards.
[Cheers]
Yeah, it's cool.
I'm also happy to share that the Toronto Film Festival, which already has regional diversity
with one-third of its press coming from outside of Canada and the U.S.,
is working towards an additional 20% of new, underrepresented voices from across the globe.
[Applause]
For women critics in particular, some resources from this initiative will come from TIFF's Share Her Journey fundraising campaign
designed to advance the role and representation of women across all areas of the film industry.
A very big, huge thank you to these two festivals for their commitments tonight.
I hope that this is just the start.
Let's sponsor more opportunities like this for journalists and critics moving forward.
Thank you very much for listening to my verbal Power Point presentation.
[Laughter]
And I hope you have a wonderful rest of your evening.
[Cheers]