LA’s new Roybal Magnet School Seeks to Expand Diversity in Below-the-Line Hollywood Jobs

Celebrities involved do not have any say in the selection of students for the program. However, as with other magnet programs, all students who are eligible to attend LAUSD high schools may apply. But the district’s diverse student population naturally meets the goals of the entertainment industry’s effort to diversify below the line employment, Principal Blanca Cruz said. According to U.S. News and World Report, enrollment in the city’s 782 public schools 782 is 90% minority and 60% economically disadvantaged.

Magnet program students are often from outside the school’s neighborhood. However, students who live in the downtown area will be attracted to the magnet program. “It had to be a school that was going to be accessible to the community and students that normally don’t get represented (in the entertainment industry),”Cruz stated that.

IATSE has been actively involved in diversity outreach for many years. However, this is the first time that the union has become involved at the high-school level. “Not everyone can be the next movie star or director, but there are tens and tens of thousands of technicians and artisans that are behind the camera and make really good livings in our industry,” Miller said.

He called the industry’s tendency to blame lack of diversity behind the cameras on complex union contracts a “cop out.” “It’s sometimes it’s easy to look back and say, well, we can’t do this, because that’s not how we’ve always done it,” Miller said. “And that’s just no longer acceptable.”

The school used to develop a magnet program for jobs below the poverty line in recent years. It now has funding, a new curriculum, and is ready to go. Board of DirectorsThis includes Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria, Working Title Chairman Eric Fellner and CAA Chairman Bryan Lourd. The magnet, like other magnet programs in LAUSD, is located in its own building on Edward R. Roybal Learning Center campus. Students also take classes in other buildings.

“George Clooney said it best — you can study to be an actor, you can study to be a writer, you can study to be a dancer or to be a composer, but that does not necessarily translate into a job,” said Deborah Marcus, executive director of the CAA Foundation, the agency’s philanthropic arm that is the organizational entity for the Hollywood effort (LAUSD has been a pro bono client of CAA since 2018).

It seems that Hollywood has as many supporters as special effects credits. “Dune”: Amazon Studios, Disney, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal/Telemundo Enterprises, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery was named as the fund’s founding partner.

Charlie Collier, Fox Entertainment CEO, and Craig Robinson, NBCUniversal EVP & Chief Diversity Officer at NBC, joined the Roybal Advisory Board. Marva Smalls, EVP & Global Head for Inclusion at Paramount, along with Clooney, Heslov and Lourd, Washington and Don Cheadle, Working Title founders Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jim Gianopulos, and Paul Buccieri (president and chairman, A+E Networks Group). These heavyweights donate money while others connect students with experts in lower-level fields or provide in-kind equipment and instruction.

Expert advice will be provided by renowned Hollywood stars like Emilio Sosa and Ruth Carter, costume designers; production designers Wyn Thomas and Korey Washington; hair and makeup artist Howard Berger; cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt and lighting director Danny Gonzalez. The sound editors Bobbi and Glenfield Payne are supervising sound editors. Brooke Breton is visual effects producer and Brooke Breton is film editor.

Public schools have been receiving support from the entertainment industry in recent years due to the popularity of “Abbott Elementary,”The ABC comedy series was set in Philadelphia’s underserved public schools. Quinta Brunson received a writing Emmy for her creation. Producers of the show engaged in many marketing tactics targeting underserved schools, including hosting an awards show. “gifting suite”Teachers in L.A. at West Century City in September. Cruz however stated that the recent focus on teachers as frontline workers during pandemics has helped raise awareness about the situation in underserved public schools across the country.

“During COVID, there has been a heightened awareness of what public school teachers are doing, just like we saw with our nurses and doctors and heroes,” Cruz said. “It’s not just a school, there’s a lot that goes on inside of that building.”

While progress in diversity below the line is perhaps less visible than on the screen, in writers’ rooms or in executive suites, Miller said the effort is equally crucial for the industry.

“You (need) folks behind the camera, who have the experiences of what’s going on in front of the camera,”He said. “The idea that those folks are going to have the cultural and life experiences of the people that they’re working with is incredibly important. You know, the idea that we have folks that can deal with natural hair — we’ve been working diligently with our makeup and hair locals to create training and access for people of color into the industry. Those kinds of things matter a lot. And when you have a diverse workforce, that’s going to be reflected in the product that’s made.”