George Clooney and Governor Newsom celebrate LAUSD’s Roybal Film and Television Magnet School – Daily News
George Clooney (center) speaks with Kerry Washington and Don Cheadle at the Royal School of Film and Television Production Magnet on Friday, October 13, 2023 in Los Angeles. The LAUSD school, which specializes in film and television production, is in its second year. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Students at LAUSD’s Roybal Film and Television Production Magnet School are used to meeting celebrities. After all, Hollywood guest speakers are a central component of the curriculum. Nevertheless, the star-studded lineup for Friday’s event (including George Clooney, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington, Don Cheadle, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and U.S. Sen. LaFonza Butler) impressed and I couldn’t help but feel inspired.
Politicians and performers gathered to commemorate the first year of a unique high school in downtown Los Angeles. The high school is on a mission to diversify the entertainment industry by preparing more young black and brown students for careers in film and television. The school’s student body is 99% ethnic minorities and 97% economically disadvantaged students.
“We need more students like you on set,” actress Eva Longoria told the students. She said, “I am so honored that you are working so hard to change and transform this industry.”
“We can’t wait to work with and for you,” she added.
The school focuses on preparing students for “bottom” jobs that are not directly related to the creative development of film and television.
These jobs make up 95% of the industry, but only 5% of them are currently held by people of color.
“Our industry has failed. We’re in the most diverse state, but we’re not the most diverse industry,” Clooney said.
“We haven’t been able to fix that problem. We’ve been the last to try to fix it, not the first,” Clooney said. “This is how we’re going to solve it. We’re going to fundamentally change the face of the industry.”
During their time at Roybal, students can specialize in common career paths such as production design, cinematography, costume design, makeup, animation, post-production, visual effects production, and lighting and sound engineering.
Many of these career paths have surprisingly low levels of diversity. For example, 94% of American production designers are white, and 81% of camera operators are also white.
Roybal aims to change that ratio by opening students’ eyes to opportunities in their home cities. He has 65,000 positions below the minimum line in Los Angeles alone.
“I wasn’t interested in the industry at first, but now that I’m working in makeup and set design, I find it really interesting,” said Jennifer Lopez, an 11th-year student at Roybal University. “Being part of this program helped me understand that this is really a career.”
The school puts students on the path to financial success by educating them about industry careers. A worker in the entertainment industry earns 47% more than the average American worker, and in 2022 he collected $84 billion in wages.
Charisma Quinteros, an 11th-grade post-production student, is on track to become certified in AVID, the industry standard for film and television editing. After graduation, Quinteros plans to continue honing his editing skills in college before pursuing a career in post-production.
“It was something completely new and really exciting and a story I had never heard before,” she said of post-production. “It’s good to know these opportunities exist. Without Roybal, I would never have known about this.”
Students also have access to industry guest speakers, curriculum developed in partnership with industry experts, field trips, and a direct pipeline to job opportunities with major entertainment companies such as Amazon, Fox, NBC, and Netflix. You can also get Students also meet all standard high school academic requirements and are strongly encouraged to pursue post-secondary education.
The school was announced in 2022 by George Clooney, his producing partner Grant Heslov, and his agent Brian Lard, co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency, one of America’s largest talent agencies. Established in .
Now in its second school year, the school has begun a partnership with nearby Bethune and Stevenson Middle Schools, inviting students to field trips and other special events. The hope is to establish a pipeline to high school magnet programs and get more students of color excited about working in the entertainment industry.
Both Mr. Newsom and new U.S. Sen. LaFonza Butler praised Roybal, touting it as an innovative education model that could be spread across the country.
LaFonza said she shares the school’s mission to diversify a predominantly white career field, noting that she is the third Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.
“The opportunities we have here to inspire others to do more, dream more, learn more and grow more are what define us as leaders,” she said. Ta. “Thank you to our leaders for standing shoulder to shoulder with you.”
The students themselves were moved by Friday’s event, never tiring of the star power of the school’s supporters.
“It’s really great and impressive that they’re doing this for our school,” said Lopez, an 11th grader. “It makes us feel important.”
