This week in The Callow Way, the release of the highest paid actors in film coincided with the news of a study of the lack of diversity in film…
When he was in and out of court, and court ordered rehab, and prison, at the turn of the century, you’d have got decent odds that in 2015 Robert Downey Jr. would be the highest paid actor in the world for his role in a comic book franchise.
This week, however, it was announced that the man sometimes known as Tony Stark earned $80 million last year, for acting services rendered. He made a whopping $30 million more than the man in second place, Jackie Chan (it turns out Chan is still huge in China). RDJ actually made more than double anyone in sixth place (occupied by Tom Cruise) or lower.
The inclusion of Chan not only points to the rise of the Chinese box office as a force, but also that Hollywood has taken notice of the fact that domestic box office isn’t the be all and end all anymore (the producers of Fantastic Four are certainly hoping that’s the case this weekend, I imagine).
Joining Chan on the list, and taking up the joint 7th and the 9th spot – sandwiched between Tom Cruise and Mark Wahlberg, as it were – are Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Again, it means Hollywood is noticing Bollywood exists.
It’s a good, diverse spread, isn’t it? Some are old, some are younger, some are action stars, some star in comedies (say what you want about Adam Sandler, but earning $41 million a year and taking the 5th spot on the list is impressive, given the low quality of his output.). Of course, it’s not diverse at all; they’re all men. Women make up 50% of the population but they’re nowhere to be seen. In the list of the top 34 highest paid actors in the world this year, precisely zero are women, and none are openly gay. Right wing American politicians might rail against liberal Hollywood, but in reality it’s very conservative.
A new study by the Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative based at the University of Southern California puts the lack of diversity in Hollywood films in stark figures.. Of the top 100 grossing films at the box office in 2014, only 21 featured a female lead, a slight decrease on 2013. Not a single one of those women were over 45. It’s been less than twenty years since Goldie Hawn, in The First Wives Club, said there were three ages for women in Hollywood – “Babe, District Attorney and Driving Miss Daisy” – and it seems like the last two of those roles have disappeared.
Of those 21 female leads, only three were from non-white backgrounds. If you’re a woman of colour, you aren’t going to see someone like you on the big screen without looking hard. 17 of the top 100 grossing films in 2014 did not feature a single Black or African-American character in a speaking role. 40 didn’t feature a single speaking character who was Asian. Whichever way you look at it, that isn’t representative of the audiences going to see films.
There were just over 4600 speaking parts in the top 100 grossing films last year. 19 of those – that’s nineteen, not 19% – were Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual. There was not a single Transgender speaking role. That’s pretty depressing.
It doesn’t get much better behind the camera; 1.9% of the directors of 2014’s top 100 grossing films were women, and less than 5% were Black. There was a single Black female director in the group.
Oddly, the place where minority characters are represented best is animated films, largely thanks to the Guillermo del Toro produced The Book of Life. It appears that studios think audiences can only accept minorities when they aren’t real.
It’s easy to blame the studios, but then people complain when Black actors are cast in roles; in my opinion, if you’re complaining about Michael B. Jordan being in a something, then you haven’t seen Michael B Jordan in anything. If you’re complaining about there being Black stormtroopers in The Force Awakens, then please let me know about the hiring policy of the remnants of the Galactic Empire. It’s no wonder producers shy away from casting non white actors.
It’s great that Robert Downey Jr. is heading the list; proof that anyone can overcome their problems and succeed, but next year I’d like to see a few women join him up there.
Neil Calloway is a pub quiz extraordinaire and Top Gun obsessive. Check back here every Sunday for future instalments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=8k_v0cVxqEY
Originally published August 9, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
