New Films for a New America

By Nelson Denis

Paramount Studios was recently picketed – not once, but twice – for lack of Latino representation in their film and TV projects. The National Hispanic Media Coalition and the National Latino Media Council both called for a nationwide boycott of Paramount, and presented a petition with over 12,000 signatures, which called for Paramount's commitment to authentic Latino inclusion. This activism is not misplaced: it reflects an abysmal under-representation of Latinos in US media and film.

Paramount Studios was recently picketed – not once, but twice – for lack of Latino representation in their film and TV projects. The National Hispanic Media Coalition and the National Latino Media Council both called for a nationwide boycott of Paramount, and presented a petition with over 12,000 signatures, which called for Paramount’s commitment to authentic Latino inclusion. This activism is not misplaced: it reflects an abysmal under-representation of Latinos in U.S. medi and film.

With nearly 60 million Latinos in the US and a projected 127 million by the year 2050, there are already more Latinos in the US than there are senior citizens. More Latinos than African-Americans. And by 2050, Latinos will be 29% of the US population. These figures are already showing an impact in our nation's movie theatres.

As reported by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), over the past six years, Latinos purchased 23% of all the movie tickets sold in the US: compared to 12% for African-Americans, 10% for Asians/other, and 55% for non-Hispanic whites. In other words, Latinos bought more movie tickets, and spent more box office dollars, than all other minority groups combined.

This level of cultural consumption is not limited to movies, or even to the US mainland. In Puerto Rico the Borders bookstore in San Juan was the most profitable, with the highest sales volume, of all 642 Borders stores nationwide. No other store came even close, to their $17 million in annual sales.

In an industry driven by dollars and market share, the message is clear: Latinos are a huge audience in America – and every year, in movie studios and publishing houses, enormous profits are being left on the table.

In 2017 and 2018, this message of missing profits became clear. After the blindingly white 2015 Oscar Awards, the "Oscar So White" movement gained traction and

Hollywood liberated a few "black" projects from the dungeons of studio development. The results were nearly immediate: over a dozen major studio releases in 2016, five of which – Hidden Figures, Fences, Moonlight, Birth of a Nation, and I Am Not Your Negro – were critically acclaimed and combined for $277 million in US domestic box office, and $365 million worldwide.

And then in 2017-18, the dam broke. Just two movies alone – Black Panther and Get Out! – grossed $876 million domestic and $1.6 billion worldwide. This stunning one- two punch demonstrated that "minority" movies can be worldwide, tentpole-sized blockbusters, and that audiences are anxious to see them.

With the smashing success of Black Panther and Get Out!, Hollywood now faces a simple question: if Latinos are buying more tickets than any other minority group – by avery wide margin – and if Black Panther, all by itself, can gross $1.34 billion, then how much would a Latino-themed blockbuster make?

There is only one way to find out. Currently, there is a shocking level of Latino under-representation – before and behind the camera. But numbers don't lie: and the numbers published by the MPAA, over the past six years, indicate that a quality Latino film – conceived and marketed as astutely as Black Panther – could break every box office record on the planet.

This record-breaking project would have ample precedent – Selena, La Bamba, Instructions Not Included, Maria Full of Grace, My Family, Stand and Deliver, West Side Story – all these films were shot in America, about America, with distinctly Latino themes, conflicts and characters. And all of them turned a profit.

Latino narratives and box office gold are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are positively correlated. All it requires are intelligent screenplays, culturally astute directors, and executives with the gumption to green light them.

Unfortunately, in an industry where "no one knows anything" and studios are teeming with layoffs, many alleged executives are one or two decisions away from a pink slip. They thus take endless lunches, useless pitch meetings...and scrupulously avoid any decisions, while trying to appear decisive.

These are not artists or filmmakers. They don't create films, they make deals. And these deal makers – agents, bankers, lawyers – will soon recognize that Latino inclusion is plain, old-fashioned, smart business: good for their corporate bottom line, and for their own Christmas bonuses.

In an industry where marketing costs have reached $200 million per movie, but only one out of seven movies breaks even, these deal makers, in the end, will need to

make a smart bet on our Latino community...on the stories and passion inside this community, and the huge numbers behind it.

US culture is drowning in mediocrity: with rap porn, reality television, a reality TV president, graphic novels, comic book films, superheroes, re- makes, sequels and CGI. The country has run out of stories and is cannibalizing its own past, serving old wine in new bottles – yet there is no shortage of original Latino stories and fresh, inspiring Latino heroes. Audiences are starving for them, and will pay to see them. Just like they did for Black Panther.

And here is what will happen: tectonic shift – a tipping point – will inexorably occur. There are too many US Latinos, with our own heritage and experience and stories. Sooner or later, one gatekeeper will realize this and make a fortune, and all the others will stampede to be second. Even Steven Spielberg is sensing it: he's shooting a re- make of West Side Story. But we can go much further than him.

There is an urgency to this process. We are in the brave new world of Donald Trump. Our national fabric is dangerously thin, particularly with respect to our Latino community. If there was ever a time for our gatekeepers to step forward, and strengthen our national fabric, that time is now.

Nelson A. Denis was a New York State Assemblyman. He is the author of War Against All Puerto Ricans (Nation Books, 2015), and the writer/director of the films Vote For Me! and Make America Great Again.