Below the (Color) Line

The story is not much different after the postproduction crews take over, says Earl Watson, the editor on House Party, Boomerang and The Ladies Man, to name only a few titles from a career that began in 1973. “There aren’t that many editors who are black in Hollywood, maybe three or four that I know of,” says Watson, who adds that he didn’t meet his first black director until 1989, when Reginald Hudlin hired him for House Party. “It was a struggle up until that point, and after I met the Hudlin brothers everything changed.” Since then, Watson has worked frequently for the Hudlins and other black directors, becoming what he describes as “a medium fish in a small pond. If I was to try and compete for a white film, I would suddenly be a very small fish in a huge pond,” he says. “I could compete, but I’m not being given the opportunity.” Guardedly he adds, “I would hate to put words on the prevailing attitude, but I’m sure there’s still a level of racism in the industry.”

“There is not a great desire to employ African-American people per se or people of color in general, because there is no perceived value in doing that except for those who feel that diversity is an important social concern,” says Paris Barclay, two-time Emmy winner and co-chair of the DGA’s African-American Steering Committee. “Part of what the Steering Committee has been trying to point out is that shows that have the most diverse staff of directors tend to be the most successful. Isn’t it funny that 40 percent of the directors on ER are people of color or women, or that NYPD Blue has an enormously diverse cast and crew? In the feature-film world, the evidence is even stronger.”

Despite the numbers cited in the DGA’s 1998 report, Barclay is cautiously optimistic that the numbers will be higher for 1999 when they’re released later this month. His optimism is in part the result of efforts the Steering Committee has made in the last year to bring television executives and black talent together for a series of informal meet-and-greet mixers. (Similar events with studio executives are currently in the works.) “It’s all about trying to get people into the same room,” says Barclay. “Then hopefully some of the fear will go away, that we’re so very different and somehow we’re going to drop Jheri curl all over their lunch. I don’t know what they’re so afraid of. It surprises me and it doesn’t that we still have to do this.”

Ultimately, old-fashioned networking remains the best strategy for black filmmakers, Barclay says, advice that is shared by Evers-Manly, Dill and Watson. “If you’re below the line or you’re in a DGA category that’s not director,” says Barclay, “you better network your ass off. You better find some friends who are going places in your community and get associated with them. If you were working with F. Gary Gray in music videos, you’re working today. He got successful and brought a lot of people with him, as have others. You should be at every event where you know these people. You need to be relentless.”