Ryan Reynolds pushes for more diversity in Hollywood

Los Angeles, Aug 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds has announced a new initiative to support aspiring filmmakers from the unrepresented communities.

Reynolds took to Twitter to share the news of the initiative through a two-minute video, reports variety.com.

In the video, the "Deadpool" star acknowledged that despite its collaborative work, the film industry continues to leave out certain voices.

"Making a movie, well it's a group effort," he said, adding: "But for entirely too long, that group has systematically excluded Black, Indigenous, people of colour and a whole host of other marginalised communities."

Reynolds, 46, shared his commitment to providing opportunities for those from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and other unrepresented communities. He also emphasised that people of all ages can apply for his Group Effort Initiative.

"So here's what we're gonna do. COVID willing, which is a weird thing to say, I'm going to be starting a movie this fall," he said. "And I'm committed to bringing between 10 and 20 trainees from the BIPOC community and all other marginalised communities of all ages."

The "Deadpool" star went on to explain the logistics.

"Anyway, these new recruits -- they're going to be paid, housed and travelled out of my salary. They're going to be spend their days on set learning from professionals, getting real life experiences that they can parlay into another job and then hopefully, if they're not too disillusioned, a career in the film industry," said Reynolds.

He wrapped up the announcement with a call to action, saying: "Now, this is an overdue action, but I got to thank Netflix and I have to thank Skydance for letting us do this, and since it's called Group Effort, we're hoping that people with the privilege that I'm lucky enough to experience will join in that effort."

Group Effort Initiative, spearheaded by Reynolds, has announced on its website that specifics for the shoot are still being finalised. The filming and application details will be announced in the coming week.

He posted with the video, while writing: "The Group Effort Initiative is designed to invest in the talent and creativity of any and all under-represented communities who've felt this industry didn't have room for their dreams."

Source: IANS