Warner Bros. announces directing workshops for “new and underrepresented” talent

Diversity has been a big topic in Hollywood since long before the #OscarsSoWhite controversy blew up, but now Warner Bros. has announced an initiative to face the problem directly. According to Variety, it’s launching an “emerging film directors workshop” that will “give access and voice to new and underrepresented talent.” Warner Bros. will start accepting applications next month, and after “an intensive nine-month fellowship,” the five aspiring filmmakers who are selected will be “partnered with a Warner Bros. executive mentor” who will help them through the process of actually making a film—although they’ll be developing shorts and not full-length features. On top of that, Warner Bros. will “cover all production costs and salary for filmmakers for the duration of the workshop,” so this could be pretty huge for the people who make it through.

Also, in case anyone’s curious, Variety doesn’t specifically explain how Warner Bros. defines “underrepresented,” but it almost certainly means “not a straight, white man.” The anti-PC crowd make take issue with that, but people don’t generally care what they think anyway. You can see more information about WB’s workshops—and apply, eventually—at this link.