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.
Pearl Street Films, founded in 2012, has bankrolled Jason Bourne (2016) and Manchester By The Sea (2016), among others.
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