OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACK ACTORS IN ATLANTA

IN MY OPINION:

WILLIAM REYNOLDS:

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACK ACTORS IN ATLANTA;

We recently had one of the actress'es we represent say "all the roles/parts that I receive are for Caucasian Actors.

Well that is simply not true at all. Not even a little bit. in 2016 we did some research on over 5,000 roles that we got for

film and tv and Black vs White was about even, Asian and Hispanic and others made up a fair percentage as well.

Agencies don't get to tell Directors what to use in the films they are spending money on. Below is a recent National Review

on the Atlanta entertainment industry.

To be sure, Atlanta has long had a high concentration of well-connected, affluent blacks. But the Atlanta area is now home to such a critical mass of successful actors, rappers and entertainment executives that few would argue its position as the center of black culture. Tyler Perry and his movie and television empire are based here. Sean Combs has a house in a suburb north of the city. The musicians Cee Lo Green, Ludacris and members of OutKast call it home. So does the music producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri.

Gladys Knight, an Atlanta native who was honored at the awards, which were taped Nov. 17, runs a chicken and waffle restaurant here. And it is not unusual to spot Usher at one of the city’s better restaurants.

“It seems like everything is happening here now,” said Dave Hollister, an R&B singer who spends a lot of time in Atlanta. “It feels like New York used to feel with a little more nicety.”

Atlanta’s A-list evolution was driven in part by the state’s 2008 Entertainment Industry Investment Act, which gives qualified productions a 20 percent tax break, said Warrington Hudlin, president of the Black Filmmaker Foundation, which is based in New York.

And the list goes on and on and on. The film community in Atlanta is very diverse, and that is great for the city and the movie industry.