David Mamet's fiery critique on Hollywood's diversity push
Significant changes have been happening in the film industry in recent years. More attention is being paid to the representation of minorities, both in front of and behind the camera. However, not everyone supports these trends. David Mamet, the screenwriter known for movies like "The Untouchables", has harshly criticised the subject.
23 April 2024 21:37
David Mamet, the creative force behind films such as "The Verdict" with Paul Newman and Charlotte Rampling, "The Untouchables" directed by Brian De Palma with Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Andy Garcia, and "Ronin" directed by John Frankenheimer featuring Robert De Niro and Jean Reno, has undoubtedly contributed some of the most significant works to cinema. Though the 76-year-old continues to write, he has openly criticized the current trajectory of the film industry.
Famed screenwriter David Mamet lashes out at the industry: "It's nonsense"
At the end of last year, Mamet released a book titled "Everywhere an Oink Oink. An Embittered, Dyspeptic, and Accurate Report of Forty Years in Hollywood." During the Festival of Books in Los Angeles, in a conversation with Matt Brennan, Mamet did not hold back his opinions about Hollywood's direction.
He particularly criticized the efforts towards DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), calling them complete nonsense. – "It’s fascist totalitarianism. The idea that "I can't give you a stupid f— statue unless you have 7% of this, 8% of that ... it's intrusive," he remarked.
Mamet is likely referring to the new criteria announced by the American Film Academy in 2020, to be implemented in 2024, which require that at least one of the main or significant secondary characters be from a non-white racial background and roughly a third of the actors in minor roles or episodes must be from minority groups. Similar rules also apply to the story or production teams. This year, because of these regulations, films like "Marvels", "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", and "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" were ineligible for Oscar consideration.
While Mamet acknowledges that discrimination historically prevented artists from non-white, non-heteronormative backgrounds from achieving success or even securing roles in major films, he believes today's efforts to counteract this are an overcorrection. He labels those who support DEI measures as "equality capos" and "equality commissioners", arguing that the industry is not interested in this approach.
