A group of activists has called on the major Hollywood studios to do a better job of representing America’s diversity.
The Multi-Ethnic Coalition, which has previously pressured TV networks to boost their representation of minorities, on Thursday shifted its attention to the film studios.
At a news conference in Pasadena, coalition members said they planned to meet with the major movie studios in an effort to boost the number of minorities working at all levels of the film business.
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“When people do not have their image in front of others, we lose our voice,” said Sonny Skyhawk, founder of American Indians in Film and Television. It’s one of several groups in the coalition, which also includes the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
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Zac Barnett of American Authors is seen on set for a video shoot on Oct. 26, 2014, in Dickson, Tenn. (Rick Diamond / Getty Images)
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Extras acting in the HBO series “Game of Thrones” leave the bullring on Oct. 22, 2014, as film crews began shooting part of the fifth season in the southern Spanish city of Osuna. (CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP/Getty Images)
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Indira Varma is on the set of “Game of Thrones” at Real Alcazar on Oct. 19, 2014, in Seville, Spain. (Europa Press / Europa Press via Getty Images)
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Actors film “Game of Thrones” at Real Alcazar on Oct. 19, 2014, in Seville, Spain. (Europa Press / Europa Press via Getty Images)
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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is on the set of “Game of Thrones” at Real Alcazar on Oct. 19 in Seville, Spain. (Europa Press / Europa Press via Getty Images)
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Sylvester Stallone poses with his puppet as he takes part in the TV show “Le Grand Journal” at the Cannes Film Festival. (LOIC VENANCE / AFP/Getty Images)
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Jamie Foxx filming “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on April 21, 2013, in New York City. (Aby Baker/Getty Images)
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Actor Andrew Garfield, center left, is seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City with his stunt double William Spencer, right, and a second stunt double. (Raymond Hall/ WireImage/Getty Images)
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Actor Andrew Garfield, right, rehearses a scene with his stunt double William Spencer on the “The Amazing Spiderman 2” movie set in Madison Square Park in New York.
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Actor Andrew Garfield, right, his stunt double William Spencer, center, and a second stunt double are seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Raymond Hall/ WireImage/Getty Images)
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Jamie Foxx filming on location for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on April 21, 2013, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone filming “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on location in New York City. (Aby Baker/Getty Images)
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Jamie Foxx as Electro/Max Dillon in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on location in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Actor Andrew Garfield, right, his stunt double William Spencer, center, and a second stunt double are seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Raymond Hall/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Actor Paul Giamatti films a scene at the “The Amazing Spiderman 2” movie set in Madison Square Park on June 22, 2013, in New York City. (Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)
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Actor Andrew Garfield is seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Raymond Hall/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Actor Paul Giamatti is seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Raymond Hall/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Actor Paul Giamatti on the set of “The Amazing Spiderman 2” in New York City’s Madison Square Park. (Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)
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Jamie Foxx on location for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Bobby Bank/ WireImage/Getty Images)
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Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart play mother and daughter filming on location for “Still Alice” on March 21, 2014, at Lido Beach, N.Y. (Steve Sands/Getty Images)
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Richard Gere on the set of “Time Out Of Mind” on March 26, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImages/Getty Images)
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Jeremy Renner films an action scene in Aoasta, Italy, for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”. (Photopix/Getty Images)
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Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson film on location in Pont-Saint-Martin in Aosta, Italy, for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” (Photopix/Getty Images)
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Actors are suited up for special effects on the set of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in Aosta, Italy. (Photopix/Getty Images)
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Richard Gere and Ben Vereen on the set of “Time Out Of Mind” on March 26, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Arnold Schwarzenegger performs on the set of “Despierta America” with Joe Manganiello at Univision Headquarters in Miami. (Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)
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Donal Logue, left, and Ben McKenzie on the set of “Gotham” on March 20, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Kevin McHale, left, Chord Overstreet, Chris Colfer and Darren Chris on the set of “Glee” at Washington Square Park on March 14, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Lea Michele and Michael Lerner on the set of “Glee” on March 16, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Louie CK on the set of “Louie” on Jan. 31, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Wil Estes and Vanessa Ray on the set of “Blue Bloods” on Jan. 31, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Skyler Gisondo and Ben Stiller on the set of “Night at the Museum 3” on Feb. 6, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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George Clooney, second from left, filming “Tomorrowland” at Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias on Jan. 21, 2014, in Valencia, Spain. (Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images)
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Kevin Bacon and Sprague Grayden on the set of “The Following” on Dec. 10, 2013, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Mark Wahlberg is seen on set filming the movie ‘Transfomers 4: Age of Extinction’ on Sunday October 27,2013 in Hong Kong,China. (TPG/Getty Images)
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Mark Wahlberg performs on the set of “Transformers: Age of Extinction” in Hong Kong on Oct. 26, 2013. (Aaron Tam/ AFP/Getty Images)
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Scarlett Johansson filming a scene for her new movie, “Lucy” on Oct. 21, 2013, in Taipei, China. (TPG/Getty Images)
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Director Clint Eastwood, right, and actor John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli on the set of “Jersey Boys” in Kearny, N.J. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
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Edie Falco, left, and Julie White on the set of “Nurse Jackie” in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)
Since 2000, the Multi-Ethnic Coalition has met annually with CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox in a campaign to increase the representation of minorities in front of the camera and behind the scenes of the TV business.
The coalition’s film initiative follows the #OscarsSoWhite uproar. The dearth of nominations for actors of color ignited debate across the industry and prompted the academy to announce sweeping changes aimed at doubling the number of women and minorities in its ranks by 2020.
But coalition representatives said those steps were not sufficient to address the problem. As others have argued, they said meaningful change needs to occur within the executive suites of studios, where decisions are made on what films are greenlighted.
the new global realities: America is changing.”
#OscarsSoWhite: Full coverage of the boycott and Hollywood’s reaction
“Give the white audiences a little more credit,” said Daniel Mayeda, co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition. “They’ll go see movies that star people of color if the stories are compelling. We’re not asking for charity. We’re saying that the film studios need to catch up to
The group cited “whitewashing” by studios, referencing instances in which minority characters were either played by white actors — Emma Stone as an Asian American in “Aloha,” Ben Affleck as an Hispanic in “Argo” — or ethnic roles that were rewritten to accommodate white actors.
The alliance also argued that Hollywood has a tendency to limit roles for actors of color to films about historic or extraordinary figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Jackie Robinson, or an “especially dignified slave or maid,” Mayeda said.
“It is about how we are perceived by the American public as a whole,” said Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. “If we are absent, we don’t have visibility. If we’re [cast] in a negative way, that’s how we will be treated.”
The coalition, however, offered few specific proposals on its upcoming meetings with studios. Among other steps, they said they will press studios to track minority employment at all levels and expand “pipeline” programs to develop minority writers, directors and others.
“We seek change,” Skyhawk said. “We’re not only going to seek it, we’re going to demand it.”
