1 of 2 | Brie Larson attends the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards on Wednesday. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI |
License Photo
June 14 (UPI) -- Brie Larson called for more film critics of color in a speech at the 2018 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards.
The 28-year-old actress demanded more diversity in film reviews while accepting the Crystal Award for Excellence in Film at the awards show Wednesday in Beverly Hills, Calif., according to USA Today.
Larson cited a new study from the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which found 76 percent of top critics in 2017 were male. Only 2.5 percent of top critics in 2017 were women of color.
"I don't need a 40-year-old white dude to tell me what didn't work about A Wrinkle in Time," Larson said. "It wasn't made for him! I want to know what it meant to women of color, biracial women, to teen women of color."
"Am I saying I hate white dudes? No I am not," she qualified. "What I am saying is if you make a movie that is a love letter to women of color, there is an insanely low chance a woman of color will have a chance to see your movie and review your movie."
Larson announced the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival have pledged 20 percent of their credentials for minorities, according to Variety. She commended Women in Film for having diverse guests at the ceremony, but challenged publicists and "decision-makers" to create a more inclusive industry.
"Please make sure that these invites and credentials find their way to more underrepresented journalists and critics, many of whom are freelancers," the star said.
Larson is known for such films as Room and Kong: Skull Island. She will star as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, in an upcoming Captain Marvel movie.