Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company to add inclusion riders to future projects
The duo’s Pearl Street Films responds to Frances McDormand’s call to insist on diversity in all productions.
After Black Panther star Michael B Jordan, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have announced that they will add the inclusion rider to all projects under the Pearl Street Films banner, the production company co-founded by the two. Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni, head of strategic outreach at Pearl Street Films, made the announcement on Twitter.
The term inclusion rider, a clause that Hollywood stars can include in their contracts to demand race, gender, sexuality and other diversity in the production, was first introduced by Stacy L Smith of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative thinktank, during a TED Talk in 2016. It was popularised Frances McDormand during the Academy Awards on March 5. While accepting the Best Actress trophy for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri , McDormand urged Hollywood stars to include that clause in their projects.
.@michaelb4jordan Thank you for always supporting broader representation in the industry. On behalf of Pearl Street Films, Matt Damon, @BenAffleck, Jennifer Todd, Drew Vinton & I will be adopting the #InclusionRider for all of our projects moving forward. https://t.co/ODit24D2Rb
— Fanshen is at SXSW (@fanshen) March 13, 2018
Pearl Street Films, founded in 2012, has bankrolled Jason Bourne (2016) and Manchester By The Sea (2016), among others.
