Today on the show, we'll start with a look at UCLA's latest report on diversity in the entertainment industry. Then, Attorney General Eric Holder calls on states to rethink their voting ban for felons. Plus, drought hits Central Valley farmers hard, Frank Stoltze reports on the lack of sprinkler systems in many of LA's high rises, we get an update on the Kim Pham trial and much more.
UCLA report shows Hollywood's entertainment industry still lacks diversity
Earlier this week, KTLA's entertainment reporter Sam Rubin interviewed Samuel Jackson about his upcoming film, "Robocop." But moments into the interview, things went horribly wrong when Rubin asked the actor about a Superbowl commercial.
Jackson became outraged, thinking the reporter had mistaken him for another black actor. Rubin went on to apologize, profusely, while Jackson went on to say there's more than one black guy doing commercials.
He's right, but Rubin's mistake highlights the fact that people of color are underrepresented in commercials, TV and film. It's something UCLA professor Darnell Hunt has been researching as part of his latest Hollywood diversity report.
Interview Highlights:
On the findings of the study:
"What we see is that women and minorities are underrepresented in film leads, as film directors, from writers, broadcast leads, cable leads, reality leads. I mean we looked at a number of different arenas and the only question really was the degree of marginalization and underrepresentation, which really extended from not as bad, in fact women reached proportionate representation among broadcast leads, to just extreme.
On why it's difficult for women/minorities to land these jobs:
"I think it's a function of the way the industry is structured. It's an industry that is incredibly high risk. People get into the business and they are trying to insure that the project is going to be successful so they tend to surround themselves with people who think like themselves, who often look like them. You're starting in an industry that's already primarily dominated by white males, that means that the people that they are going to tend to pick are also going to be white males. It becomes very difficult for women and minorities to break in in a meaningful way."
On why women are better represented in television:
"Broadcast of course is trying to, generally speaking, get the largest audience possible across a range of different demographics so where we do see statistics nearing proportionate representation tends to be in broadcast television for women. Minorities ironically don't do quite as well on broadcast TV, because of the fact that you have something like a BET or even VH1, which has quite a bit of programming that's skewed toward urban audiences. So there are differences in the different mediums, but I think the thing that all of the mediums have in common is that underrepresentation is the norm."
On the economic incentives to diversify:
"One of the things that hits us over the head is that shows that have more cast diversity in movies, that have more cast diversity do better in terms of the bottom line. If you think about where the nation is going demographically, the fact that the audience is becoming more diverse and people like to see their own experiences represented on the screen, they resonate more with viewers. When you see people look like you on the screen, you tend to be more engaged and you may come back, if it's a TV show or you may go out to the theatre if it's a film."
On how we can improve diversity in TV and film:
"I don't believe there's a silver bullet. I don't think there's any one person or one corner of the industry to blame. It's sort of a systemic problem that really needs to be addressed on many fronts, on many levels…We have a slew of diversity programs that really amount to lottery systems. You're giving opportunities to one or two people when there are thousands who need to be incorporated in the industry in a meaningful way. So until there is something that happens structurally, I'm afraid we're going to see the same numbers and be having the same conversation next year and the year after and so forth."
Attorney General Eric Holder pushes for felons' voting rights
A federal ban currently blocks 5.8 million felons from voting, but Attorney General Eric Holder is urging states to change that.
He's calling on them to lift state laws that ban voting by people who have committed felonies, as long as they've done their time and paid all fines associated with the arrest. The move is mostly symbolic, as Holder has no authority to change voting rights, which vary state-by-state.
He says the post-Reconstruction ban still disproportionately affects people of color. In fact. nearly a third of voters currently banned from voting being African American.
Jotaka Eaddy, Senior Director for Voting Rights at the NAACP joins Take Two to talk about the current state of voting laws and what impact restoring the right to vote for millions would have on the country, and the political parties.
Central Valley farm communities brace for the drought
California's drought woes are getting the attention of lawmakers in Washington with California Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer introducing drought legislation to help the state deal with the drought.
The bill is the Democratic response to a GOP drought bill in the House.
KQED's Central Valley reporter, Sasha Khokha, joins the show with the latest on the how the farming communities of the Central Valley are dealing with the water shortage.
California drought prompts demand for water services
The drought in California has also prompted a rise in business for companies who can bring water to struggling farms. One of them is called Rain for Rent.
For more on this, we're joined by David Gray, a regional sales manager for the company's Ag Division.
Sports Roundup: Michael Sam, LeBron James, Marcus Smart and more
It's time for sports with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the sports scene for ESPN and the L.A. Times.
The week started with Missouri star defensive end Michael Sam announcing his is gay. Now, the fallout. Let's start with the timing, three months away from the NFL Draft. We're all in new territory with all this but what do you think? Good time? Bad time? Or no time would have been perfect?
Now, it's one thing to come out to a world full of strangers, but telling your family is another thing and that doesn't sound like it went well for Michael Sam.
Moving to the NBA, where Lebron James was asked a question to which he gave a very interesting and debatable answer.
This past weekend, Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart tumbled out of bounds trying to block a shot. When he got up he exchanged words with a fan before shoving him, resulting in a suspension. Smart and the fan both apologized to each other. What does the price of admission to a sporting event buy a fan? Boo? Trash-talk?
Univision to develop Pedro Infante merchandise
Pedro Infante was known as the "king of rancheras," and he starred in a multitude of films, often portraying a singing and guitar playing hero.
Although he died in a plane crash in 1957 at the age of 39, people may be seeing a lot more of him very soon. Univision, the Spanish language media giant, recently announced plans to develop a whole slate of products bearing Infante's name and likeness, from coffee to bottled salsa.
For more in this we're joined by Gabriel Reyes, President of Reyes Entertainment, a Hollywood Hispanic Entertainment PR and Marketing firm.
Study: No difference in death rates of women who have mammograms and those who don't
A new study conducted by The British Medical Journal says that there is no difference in the breast cancer death rates of women who have mammograms and those who do not.
Dr. Alice Chung is a surgical oncologist at The Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and joined us to share her insight.
Gap in law leaves many LA residential high-rises without sprinkler systems (Poll)
A fire in a high-rise apartment building in Los Angeles last fall has brought renewed attention to an old problem: dozens of high rise apartments and condos in the city don't have sprinklers.
As KPCC's Frank Stoltze reports, they don't have to, and that has fire officials worried that a deadly disaster is inevitable.
KPCC's online polls are not scientific surveys of local or national opinion. Rather, they are designed as a way for our audience members to engage with each other and share their views. Let us know what you think on our Facebook page, facebook.com/kpcc, or in the comments below.
This story was co-reported with KPCC investigative producer, Karen Foshay.
App Chat: The rise and fall of Flappy Bird
The iOS game Flappy Bird was an unexpected success. Released in March of 2013, it was downloaded a few times between then and the end of the year. But all of the sudden it exploded.
The simple tap and fly game with retro graphics was downloaded more than 50 million times in a couple of months. Its creator was supposedly making around $50,000 in advertising revenue a day, but at the peak of its success he took it down.
Will Oremus of Slate.com joins the show to talk about the rise and fall of Flappy Bird.
Kevin Faulconer to finish Bob Filner's term as San Diego Mayor
Republican Kevin Faulconer will replace Democrat Bob Filner for the rest of the disgraced San Diego Mayor's term. Faulconer defeated his Democratic opponent Nathan Fletcher.
For more on this, we're joined once again by KPBS reporter Sandhya Dirks.
Trial to move forward in Kim Pham beating
There are new developments this week in the beating death of Kim Pham, the young woman who died after a fight broke out outside a Santa Ana nightclub last month. An Orange County judge has determined that a trial will move forward in the case.
RELATED: Kim Pham beating: Judge finds enough evidence for trial (updated)
KPCC’s Ed Joyce has been covering the testimony this week.
World Record: Wilshire Grand developers attempt largest continuous concrete pour in history
This Saturday construction crews at the site of the future Wilshire Grand tower will pour concrete for 20 hours straight.
They'll be laying the foundation for a planned 73 story luxury hotel, office and retail space in downtown LA . When completed in 2016 the structure will be the tallest west of the Mississippi. If this weekend's pour is successful, the building will also set a world record for the largest continuous foundation pour ever.
Palm Springs Modernism Week: Where to stop along the way
The 10-day celebration of mid-century architecture and design known as Modernism Week kicks off this Thursday in Palm Springs.
The festival features more than 100 events from home tours and lectures to double decker bus tours and a vintage travel trailer exhibition. One of those events is a slide show celebrating Palms Springs' wackier attractions hosted by none other than regular contributor, Charles Phoenix.
He's got some advice on what to do and see before you even get out there.
"If you stop there and you go in," says Phoenix, "you can actually go inside both of them. So if you know a five-year-old who loves dinosaurs, you have the perfect place to stop."
(credit: Flickr/slworking2)
"Hadley's is THE oldest roadside attraction between Palm Springs and LA," says Phoenix, "Everybody loves their date shakes so much!"
(credit: Flickr/kthread)
"That's the place where they have the famous little show in the little theatre, it's called, "The Romance and Sex Life of the Date," says Phoenix. "It's like a little video that they show that shows how Mr Shields and Mrs Shields hybridized dates."
(credit: Flickr/Nemo's great uncle)
#SaveRufus: Bahooka restaurant's 37-year-old pacu to stay put for now
Update Feb. 18, 2014:
Last week on the show we told you about a 37-year-old pacu fish named Rufus. Rufus has spent most of his life at a tiki themed restaurant in Rosemead named Bahooka.
The restaurant closed down a while back, and afterward the fate of Rufus was uncertain. Well, there's some good news for this huge, carrot loving fish. For more we turn to Steve Silva, who's been looking for a forever home for Rufus.
Earlier:
In other animal news, Rufus the fish, needs a new home. Rufus isn't just any old fish, he's a 38-year-old pacu fish who has spent most of his life at Bahooka's restaurant in Rosemead.
But Bahooka's shut its doors last year and ever since, Rufus has been in need of adoption. A social media campaign using the hashtag #SaveRufus has been launched to help find Rufus a home Potential new owners for Rufus should contact Esteban Silva at (626) 602-4522.
To tell us more about Rufus, we're joined by Steve Silva, a huge fan of Bahooka's who has been working to find Rufus a forever home.