That Article About A Hollywood Guy Who Discovered The Other Hollywood People Didn't Like His Movie So Much Once He Cast Black & Latino People In It Has Been Found!

So I pretty much figured out on Tuesday that even if I manage to make the talk I'm desperate to attend, there's no way in hell I'll be able to write it up.  I'll tell you about that event later. No, REALLY. Swear to god I mean it this time. What to put in its place?

Happily, Somebody's Boy Toy called this morning demanding that I look at my email (as in do more than scan the subject lines of the vast collection of Unread Notes....you know, actually open it and read it). And what did I find? The link he sent to the article he thinks I'm talking about! With a reminder that he's the one who sent it to me in the first place and I never responded when he did. What can I say? I'm so swamped My Brain Is Breaking. My Brain Is Breaking is my new motto. I stole from someone who doesn't yet have a code name.

Anywho, story!

There was a buzz around town, which always happens when a star commits to a project, and I returned to the ring for the easy part – going back to the studios with my shiny, new, glorious package. Only I quickly discovered that the package wasn’t so glorious after all.

The star was (and, in fact, still is) African-American. His wife would be as well, and the “other woman” in the movie would be played by a Latino actress. For some reason everyone was calling my movie an “urban film” (code for a movie for black people).

The part had been written for a white guy, but this was a fantastic actor, and people of all colours and ethnicities work on the border. Even so, my casting choice would prove to be a huge problem; apparently, there are many countries in the world where movies starring African-Americans other than Will Smith need not apply.

Nobody in town would finance the movie, because it had literally no appeal overseas. My weak protests – wouldn’t people go if it were actually a good movie? – were met with laughter. What does a “good movie” have to do with anything?

Thank you, sweetie.

Clicky above to read the whole thing. A little poking around on the internet(s) revealed that Deadline Hollywood Daily offered up a guess on the author's identity a while ago. Why it did not occur to me to just hit up DHD first? I blame my breaking brain.

See you next week!

Update (later in the day): For the record, I do think the the pass-along blaming the international market is ass. PLENTY of evidence tells us that the Hollywood People can get a mite jumpy about about Beyond the Pale casting right here at home. Sometimes they'll even admit it! Does anyone else remember the episode in Beyond the Color Line that was set in Hollywood?  What didn't surprise me was the black actors explaining what they go through.** What  had us screaming OMIGOD DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE JUST SAID to each otherwas the part where a white producer laid the details flat out, on the record and on camera explaining how much money a movie will lose the second casting moves beyond the default of white in any significant way. That he said this on the record was, to me, astonishing. Usually this isn't the sort of thing they like to talk about with name and face attached and all.. If memory serves, he used Denzel as his example. (He also talked about some actress, but I can't remember who because I typed Denzel and you know what that can have on a person.) 

Anywho, the way he reeled off data as if reading from the talking points made me wonder (again) if somewhere in some Secret Hollywood Vault there is data on this topic.  These are the people who have taken the art of focus groups and audience analysis and market research to a higher plane (lord help us all). I know I'll get laughed at (again) for saying this, but don't tell me the HP are not tracking this type of thing and expect me to believe it.

** Yes, just actors. They never talk to writers. Writers have cooties! hahahahahaha