diversity

“Bring It On” Reportedly Filmed Fake Scenes To Hide Lack Of Diversity

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Bring It On is a cult classic sports film. It follows the Toros, a high school cheer squad, as they battle a rival squad in the National Championships. The film is stacked with star power that is largely split along racial lines. You have the Toros, a predominantly-white squad, facing the Clovers, a predominantly Black squad. There’s even a “white people learn their lesson” ending, with the Clovers winning the championship and Kirsten Dunst, the leader of the Toros, graciously admitting defeat.

Now one of the film’s stars has revealed a shocking secret. Gabrielle Union, who played the captain of the Clovers, has alleged that the production team filmed fake scenes to falsely promote the film’s diversity.

Union Alleges She Filmed “Fake Scenes”

Union has previously claimed that the trailer for Bring It On included “fake” footage of the Clovers. However, the use of trailer-only footage is nothing new for Hollywood. but Union has now taken her allegations a step further while appearing on Bloomberg’s Idea Generation podcast. “The Clovers were only in like a third of the movie, and when they started showing it to test audiences, The Clovers tested through the roof,” Union said. However, her claims didn’t stop there. “They were like, ‘We need more with The Clovers but we can’t add it to the movie,’” Union continued. “We’re going to shoot scenes, fake scenes, that will only be in the trailer to create the illusion that it was like a 50-50 movie. But what’s interesting is, the people spoke.”

“When the people spoke, they were like OK we got to deliver on – at least fake deliver. And the rest is kind of history. It’s wild to me.” While films like Drumline would later put Black stars in the spotlight, it’s shocking (yet completely unsurprising) to see the lengths Hollywood would go to fake diversity. And yet, the film’s premise (white people stealing from Black performers) and the meta example of that also is part of the appeal for Union. “I think it’s just what the movie represents,” Union said. “Badass young Black girls who refuse to take shit and never back down. It still appeals to me to this day.”

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Richard Dreyfuss Slams Oscars Diversity Rules: “They Make Me Vomit”

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Richard Dreyfuss slammed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its new rules regarding diversity at the Oscars. The legendary Jaws actor says that the changes “make me vomit.” Dreyfuss addressed the rules during an interview on PBS’ Firing Line With Margaret Hoover.

“It’s an art. No one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is. What are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that,” Dreyfuss told Hoover. “You have to let life be life. I’m sorry, I don’t think there is a minority or majority in the country that has to be catered to like that.”

Richard Dreyfuss On The Set Of “Jaws”

Richard Dreyfuss lowers into the water in a diving cage in a scene from the film ‘Jaws’, 1975. (Photo by Universal Pictures/Getty Images)

In total, the Academy is launching four new diversity and inclusion standards that they will institute for the 2024 Academy Awards. The organization announced the decision in 2020. For a film to qualify for best picture, it has to meet two of the four standards. The goal of the initiative is to expand on-screen representation, themes, or narratives as well as expand representation among creative leadership and department heads and provide industry access and opportunities to underrepresented demographics. One of the rules mandates “an underrepresented group” must comprise one-third of a movie’s cast

From there, Dreyfuss praised Laurence Olivier’s performance in the 1965 film Othello. In the role, Olivier wore blackface to portray the titular character. “He played a Black man brilliantly,” Dreyfuss argued. “Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man? Is someone else being told that if they’re not Jewish, they shouldn’t play [in] ‘The Merchant of Venice’? Are we crazy? This is so patronizing. It’s so thoughtless and treating people like children.”

In addition to Jaws, Dreyfuss’ most notable credits include American Graffiti, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Stand by Me. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977 for The Goodbye Girl. Check out Dreyfuss’ appearance on Firing Line With Margaret Hoover below.

Richard Dreyfuss Criticizes The Academy

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Donald Glover Says Tina Fey Confirmed He Was a “Diversity” Hire For “30 Rock”

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Donald Glover says that Tina Fey once revealed to him that he was originally a diversity hire at 30 Rock. The Atlanta creator reflected on his time in the writers’ room for the NBC show during a new interview with GQ. He says that he holds no grudges against Fey for letting him know about it either.

“There is no animosity between us or anything like that, but [Tina Fey] said it herself…. It was a diversity thing,” Glover said. He then explained that the hiring process was narrowed down to him and Kenya Barris. “The last two people who were fighting for the job were me and Kenya Barris. I didn’t know it was between me and him until later. He hit me one day and he was like, ‘I hated you for years!’” Barris went on to create the sitcom, Black-ish.

Donald Glover At The Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 10: Donald Glover attends the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 10, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/FilmMagic)

In the end, Glover says he’s happy with how everything played out because it’s led him to where he is now. “I dodged so many bullets,” Glover remarked. “Me being on SNL would’ve killed me. I got friends who made it on SNL and, at the time, I was like, damn. But if I got on SNL, my career wouldn’t have happened. And thank God. Thank God I didn’t get some of those pilots. I wanted so desperately to be on Parks and Rec because it was the cool, hipster show. I am the bullet dodger, I feel like Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. That wasn’t a mistake, you know? God did that.”

Despite his success, Glover also discussed the negative responses to season 3 of Atlanta, admitting that he cried as a result. Elsewhere in the interview, Glover spoke about the early stages of his music career, including a time he was booed while opening for Kid Cudi, and much more. Check out Donald Glover’s full interview with GQ below.

Donald Glover’s GQ Cover

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