Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have promised to introduce inclusion riders into movie contracts for their Pearl Street Films production company.
Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni, the head of strategic outreach at Affleck and Damon’s Pearl Street Films, recently tweeted: “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”.
Cox DiGiovanni had previously helped to create the inclusion rider clause recently popularised by Frances McDormand at the Oscars.
At the Oscars earlier this month (March 4), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri star McDormand used her Best Actress acceptance speech to call for greater equality in the film industry and helped shine a spotlight on the little-known diversity clause.
“We all have stories to tell and we need finance,” McDormand said. “Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office in a couple days – or you can come to ours, whichever suits you best – and we’ll tell you all about them. I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: ‘inclusion rider’.”
An inclusion rider, McDormand later explained to the press backstage, “means that you can ask for and/or demand at least 50% diversity, not only in casting but also [in] the crew.”
The clause, which can be added to actors’ contracts at their request, has been around since 2016 and was co-created by University of Southern California communications professor Dr. Stacy Smith, civil rights and employment practice attorney Kalpana Kotagal as well as Cox DiGiovanni.
Black Panther actor Michael B Jordan later pledged to insert an inclusion rider clause into his future movie contracts, with Cox DiGiovanni now sharing Affleck and Damon’s announcement in response to that news.
“Thank you for always supporting broader representation in the industry,” Cox DiGiovanni wrote. See her tweet in full below.
.@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 (@fanshen) March 13, 2018
Other stars to speak out in support of inclusion riders include Captain Marvel star Brie Larson.