Latinos need to embrace the ‘F— You mentality’ to succeed in showbiz

Latinos striving to build a career in the entertainment industry must embrace the “F-you” mentality.
That was one of the sentiments that emerged from a salon dinner discussion held Tuesday night in Beverly Hills with about 20 senior industry figures. The topic was how to make the business case to executives that Hollywood is losing money by largely ignoring the U.S. Latino population in mainstream movies and television series.

The event was hosted by the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit advocacy group. As one participant strongly stated, the “f-you mentality,” in the tradition of media entrepreneurs from Tyler Perry to Oprah Winfrey to Robert Rodriguez to Ted Turner, means being willing to go to extraordinary lengths to create content and build a career outside of the traditional studio and network system.

LDC once again teamed up with consulting giant McKinsey & Company to produce an annual report on the state of Latino representation at all levels of the entertainment industry. The just-released report delves into a unique study conducted through McKinsey to examine the U.S. Latino audience and its impact on box office performance, television ratings, and the purchasing power of the same generation’s consumers, estimated at approximately $2.8 trillion.

The report concludes that Latino consumers typically account for about $20 million in box office revenue for mainstream movie hits. The analysis concludes that studios could earn up to $20 million to $40 million per title through what the report calls a “focused strategy” to incorporate Latinx talent and characters into storylines. The report notes that based on the movie-watching habits of young Latino consumers in the United States, a Latino-focused action blockbuster could generate up to $600 million.

Latino participation in Hollywood is typically measured in single-digit percentages. LDC, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Nosotros, and countless other organizations document disastrously low employment of Latinx actors, writers, directors, producers, and executives at decision-making levels, let alone with approval authority.

One of the issues that LDC’s report focuses on this year is the fact that Latino audiences are often taken for granted because they are typically avid consumers of entertainment and pop culture.

“They are already doing exactly what this business model requires,” said LDC President and CEO Ana Valdez in her report, “Entertainment Industry 2026 Strategic Roadmap.” “They spend 55.8% of their TV viewing time streaming, compared to 47.3% of the total U.S. population. They lean toward ad-supported platforms and respond to ads when the story reflects them. 44% pay more attention to ads while streaming. 64% also take action after exposure, such as searching, clicking, or visiting a website. ”

All of these activities have allowed McKinsey & Company to run a model to estimate how hiring a moderate amount of Latinx people, culture, creatives, and executives can improve revenue. Of course, movies and TV shows are not parts or washing machines, and the results of the finished product will vary greatly depending on a variety of factors. But there’s enough data and computational tools out there for McKinsey to dig deep based on some reasonable assumptions. Under McKinsey’s model, a successful four-quadrant blockbuster film series like Marvel’s groundbreaking “Black Panther” film could reasonably be expected to generate more than $600 million in “annual profits” for the studio, the report said.

The total amount of missed revenue opportunities across film, television, and other platforms is between $12 billion and $18 billion.

According to a McKinsey analysis cited in the LDC report, “The only way to drive results at scale is to create content that accurately represents consumers, speaks to your target audience, and drives measurable consumption growth in the U.S.” “Hollywood is left with an estimated $12 billion to $18 billion in annual revenue because it underrepresents Latinos on and off screen, creating a direct and fixable gap between the reality of viewers and what is produced.”

The salon dinner held at the Peninsula Beverly Hills on Tuesday was held under Chatham House convention rules. The rules allow participants to speak freely with the understanding that anything shared in the room will not be identified or directly quoted in subsequent public discussions.

Participants expressed familiar frustrations. The lack of Latinx decision-makers in positions of authority makes it difficult to get culturally specific projects into the pipeline at major networks and studios. The brick wall of unconscious bias means creative executives and leaders who aren’t familiar with Latin American culture are less likely to take a chance on emerging writers and directors.

Unsurprisingly, there was a lively conversation about the possibilities for talented creators to build careers and businesses through YouTube and other social media platforms that have significantly lowered the barrier to entry for content distribution. This year, the next generation of YouTube-trained filmmakers made their names known in a big way with the success of low-budget horror films from Gen Z director Curry Barker, creator of “Obsession,” and Kane Parsons, creator of the buzzy “Backroom.”

Where are the Latin superstars on YouTube? In a round-the-table survey, those familiar with pop culture trends acknowledged that there are no names that immediately come to mind. But participants agreed that there is definitely talent out there, honing their craft and building a fan base with each post. Will capital and infrastructure flow to Latino talent like it has flowed to highly successful digital entrepreneurs like MrBeast, Dhar Mann, Jay Shetty, and Alex Cooper?We discussed what it takes to attract investors to build the infrastructure to support the development of talent and projects. Or, as one participant explained, building a ladder for talent to scale the walls and bring proven concepts to the table.

But as much as YouTube and other platforms offer an attractive alternative for development and distribution, there was a recognition among producers, executives, analysts, and lawyers that the overriding goal was to achieve meaningful progress in the heart of traditional Hollywood. This means greater inclusion of Latinos across studios, networks, streamers, talent agencies, law firms, marketing agencies, PR firms, and other industry-leading support services.

LDC is upfront in all of its presentations about its lack of focus on social justice for demographics that have long been underrepresented in the United States. LDC’s frustration is compounded by the belief that the entertainment industry’s biggest players are missing out on a wide open market opportunity. “It’s not about DEI, it’s about profit and loss” has been LDC’s motto since it was founded in 2010 by Sol Trujillo, former CEO of telecommunications giants US West, Orange SA, and Telstra, and Henry Cisneros, former San Antonio mayor and head of housing and urban development during the Clinton administration.

“Representation is not a nice-to-have; it generates income,” the LDC report said. “Hispanic (networked TV) users report that ads are more relevant and attention-grabbing when they are accurately represented, and they are more likely to take action after exposure. In an ad-supported environment, it can be the difference between passing a CPM or not. McKinsey’s estimate of $12 billion to $18 billion per year in increased profits from addressing underrepresentation quantifies the gap between today’s mix and tomorrow’s bottom line.”