The worldwide success of Black Panther and Coco is evidence that a changing audience is hungry for representation and Hollywood executives can no longer ignore underrepresented demographics, according to Darnell Hunt, author of UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report.
LA Taco caught up with Hunt following a spirited panel discussion titled “Will Black Panther Really Change Hollywood?” presented by Zócalo and UCLA on Tuesday night at the ArcLight Hollywood. The panel featured Hunt, screenwriter Tananarive Due, Duke cultural historian Mark Anthony Neal, and Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore, who served as executive producer on Black Panther.
Hunt told LA Taco that Coco is similar example of diversity impacting economics. “Latinos watch more movies than anybody else per capita,” he said. “So you have this film that’s doing well and is critically acclaimed. We need to make more films like that.”
All of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh. A movie about Mexican heritage can play in China?’ Yeah. Because that movie is good.
Moore, who said he championed the Black Panther story at Marvel for eight years, told a diverse capacity crowd that he hopes the impact of Black Panther on Hollywood goes beyond improving representation for African Americans.