Hollywood Inclusion

Los Angeles, California, June 19, 2020 – “Your experience as a person with a disability adds value to your team,” deaf film executive Delbert Whetter told the 30 participants and five-member programmatic team of RespectAbility’s Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities.

Whetter, a RespectAbility board member, has been the head of business affairs for digital, wireless and entertainment providers. He has been involved in projects such as MGM’s Igor (2008), Magnolia Picture’s Hero of Color City (2014), and Cinedigm’s Bunyan and Babe (2017). Currently, he is executive producing the upcoming animated feature film, Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk and producing the live-action narrative feature, Flash Before the Bang based on the true story of an all-deaf track team from a deaf school that won the state championship. Prior to his coming to work in the film industry, he earned a law degree from George Washington University Law School and an MBA from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, California, June 18 – Announced on the first day of RespectAbility’s Summer Lab, RespectAbility’s Vice President of Communications Lauren Appelbaum was announced as a recipient of The Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award in partnership with Propper Daley’s A Day of Unreasonable Conversation for this innovative Lab program.

“Our goal is to support creators who are fighting to break down barriers to access and representation, and to erase limits on the type of stories we tell, who gets to tell them, and how,” explained Greg Propper, President of Propper Daley and Founder of A Day of Unreasonable Conversation. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, California, June 17, 2020 – John Lawson is a man who wears quite a few hats: he is an award-winning writer and director, he has acted in notable shows such as Law and Order: SVU, American Horror Story: Freakshow and Switched At Birth, and is a certified pilot and scuba instructor. And those are just a few of his many accomplishments.

Speaking to the 30 participants and five-member programmatic team of RespectAbility’s Summer Lab, Lawson began his talk with the story of being forced to accept his disability. He lost both of his hands in an electrical accident that occurred while he was working. Even though he lost what most of us consider vital body parts, Lawson referred to two quotes that helped him process an inevitable new chapter of his life: [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, California, June 16, 2020 – The 2020 RespectAbility Summer Lab kicked off with an informative keynote on navigating film industry politics and virtual networking tips with activist Whitney Davis. Davis’ talk emphasized themes of self-worth, career-growth and deeply rooted issues within big-name corporations. She offered tips from her own experience growing from a Page to becoming an executive for CBS.

“Something I wish I’d known early in my career is: don’t be afraid to use your voice,” Davis told the 30 participants and five-member programmatic team of the Lab. “Using one’s voice and knowing that you bring something special into every room that you walk into—which has nothing to do with the outward appearance or ability or disability—but just who you are as a person, and being confident in. That is all the executive presence you need.” [continue reading…]

Sponsors include Cast & Crew, Comcast NBCUniversal, Final Draft, Fox Corporation, Murray/Reese Foundation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, ViacomCBS and The Walt Disney Company

Summer Lab 2019 participants at The Walt Disney Studios. Credit: Jeff Maynard

Los Angeles, California, June 11 – After unprecedented competition from around the world, 30 individuals have been accepted into RespectAbility’s second annual Lab for Entertainment Professionals. This 5-week, 15-session virtual summer Lab series for talented people with disabilities interested in – and with experience in – development, production and post-production, including careers as writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, animators and other production roles, will take place June 16 – July 16, 2020. Participants include diverse people with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health and other disabilities.

“This program continues building the talent pipeline of young and mid-career professionals with disabilities working behind the scenes while also enabling hundreds of studio executives to learn about the talents and benefits of hiring people with disabilities,” said Program Director Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility’s Vice President, Communications who leads RespectAbility’s Hollywood Inclusion efforts and authored the nonprofit’s Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit. “While we will not be on location at studios this year like in 2019, we are thankful for all the studios that will be virtually hosting us beginning on June 16.” [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., May 22 – On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that 90 percent of households that rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will soon have access to safe food delivery online. This is a major life-saving milestone that is partially the result of a group of entertainment professionals, in partnership with the disability advocacy nonprofit RespectAbility, who created a campaign to ensure that people who use SNAP can do so through online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nationwide, 11 million Americans with disabilities depend on SNAP, also called food stamps, to pay for groceries. Prior to the pandemic, just six states allowed SNAP users to order food for delivery. With this week’s announcements, 37 states plus the District of Columbia soon will accept SNAP food stamps online. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue also announced that more businesses and retail stores will accept SNAP benefits online. [continue reading…]

Online Ordering and Food Delivery Urgent for 11 Million People with Disabilities on SNAP  

Los Angeles, California, May 14 – A group of entertainment professionals, in partnership with the disability advocacy nonprofit RespectAbility, have created a campaign to ensure that people who use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can do so through online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new video featuring those who use wheelchairs, are blind and are immunocompromised from all over the country urges governors and the USDA to cut the red tape and allow SNAP users to order safely from home. [continue reading…]

Characters with Disabilities More Likely to Be Rescued or Die, But Those in the Workforce Portrayed Positively in Family Films

Los Angeles, California, May 4 – When it comes to showing people with disabilities on TV, they are almost never seen, and when they are, it is in a negative light, limiting opportunities for people with disabilities everywhere. However, a new study found the family film industry brings a continued historic high for leading characters with disabilities. In fact, eight percent of family films in both 2018 and 2019 featured a lead with a disability. This is jump up from just one percent from most of the last decade and shows that the increased representation is being sustained from one year to the next. While this number is still not representative of people with a disability in the U.S. – as one-in-five people in the U.S. live with a disability today, it is a step in the right direction.

“Media is one of the most immediate and impactful ways to influence our views on societal norms and has the power to eradicate intersectional gender inequality in our global cultures,” said Madeline Di Nonno, CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. “If our audiences can see themselves positively portrayed onscreen, it can reinforce the message that they matter. And also, it can influence their long-term views throughout their lives.”

The study, See Jane 2020 Film, was conducted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and USC Viterbi School of Engineering. It evaluated the 100 top-grossing live action and animated family films (rated G, PG or PG-13) of 2019. These films included a total of 2,991 characters, including 122 leading/co-leading characters, 1,032 supporting characters and 1,837 minor characters. [continue reading…]

Our friends over at The Walt Disney Company shared this interview with Erica Milsom, the director of Pixar’s Loop. Everything below – text and photos – is courtesy of The Walt Disney Company.

Throughout April, celebrations across the globe promote autism acceptance and ensure that autistic people are seen, heard and celebrated for their unique experiences of the world. This month, as we continue efforts to extend awareness, encourage acceptance and ignite change, get to know Erica Milsom, a Pixar employee and director of one of Pixar’s SparkShorts, “Loop,” now streaming on Disney+.

In “Loop,” two kids at canoe camp find themselves adrift on a lake, unable to move forward until they find a new way to connect and see the world through each other’s eyes. This film breaks new ground by featuring Pixar’s first non-verbal autistic character. [continue reading…]