The students at LAUSD’s Roybal Film and Television Production Magnet School are accustomed to meeting celebrities. After all, Hollywood guest speakers are a core component of their curriculum. Nevertheless, the star-studded lineup at Friday’s event — including George Clooney, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington, Don Cheadle, Governor Gavin Newsom and U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler — couldn’t help but impress and inspire.
The politicians and performers came together to commemorate the first year of the unique Downtown Los Angeles high school, which is on a mission to diversify the entertainment industry by preparing more young Black and brown students for careers in film and television. The school’s student body is composed of 99% minority students and 97% economically disadvantaged students.
“We need more students like you on set,” actress Eva Longoria said to the students. “We are so honored that you are doing the hard work to be able to change this industry and transform the industry.”
“We can’t wait to be working alongside you, and be working for some of you,” she added.
The school is focused on preparing students for “below-the-line” jobs, meaning those not directly related to creative development of a film or TV show.
Those jobs make up 95% of all industry positions, but only 5% of them are currently held by people of color.
“Our industry has failed; it’s in the most diverse state but is not the most diverse industry,” said Clooney.
“We haven’t been able to fix that problem. We’ve been trying to fix it at the end as opposed to at the beginning,” Clooney said. “This is the way to fix it. We’re going to change the face of our industry from the ground up.”
During their time at Roybal, students get to specialize in below-the-line career paths such as production design, cinematography, costume design, makeup, animation, post-production, visual effects production, and lighting and sound engineering.
Many of…
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