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| Lynette Coll photo by Bjoern Kommerell |
La Libertad: Where were you born?
Lynette: I was born in Puerto Rico, la Isla del Encanto [the Isle of Enchantment].
La Libertad: What would you like to tell our readers about your latest film project?
Lynette: I had the opportunity to work alongside actor and comedian, Affion Crockett (The Wedding Ringer) and Jason R. Moore (The Punisher) on Worlds From Home (trailer), a film I produced and star in, written and directed by Delmar Washington from Ximen Media Group. It is a sci-fi project about a father and son who go... on a road trip to rekindle their relationship, and while on the trip, which is filled with challenges, they encounter a creature from another planet that forces them to come together to fight for their lives against both alien and man. I play Tosha, the ex-girlfriend and mother to the most beautiful kid, Tommy, played by Eli Rubio.
La Libertad: What do you love most about being an actress?
Lynette: I love the moment we are living right now. Being a Latinx actress or artist in general right now feels like never before; people are listening; stories are being written with more weight and a lot more depths and layers. I audition more and more for female characters that are less stereotypical, and I love that. I love that we have so many more voices emerging that are executive producing, writing, and acting in their own projects. This is becoming the new normal. A great example of this is Gina Rodriguez, directing, acting and producing her own show on Disney Plus, "Diary of a Future President."
Don't get me wrong; there is a lot of work to be done; there are only three percent of Latinos being represented in our industry, but this is an exciting time to be us.
La Libertad: Three percent? Please elaborate.
Lynette: This is the study made by U.S.C. [University of Southern California] Annenberg:
assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-study-latinos-in-film-2019.pdf
In 2019, 3,616 films were produced, and only three percent of those films were produced by Latinos; of the one hundred top grossing films from 2007-2018, only three percent featured leads or co-leads that were Latinos. So we are super underrepresented; only three percent of us are represented in front of, or behind the camera, which is a very low and very scary number. I hope this helps.
Of the 3,616 "Produced by" credits, only three percent were held by Latinos. Seventy-eight of those credits were held by Latinos, and nineteen were held by Latinas; this is a gender ratio of four male producers to every one female.
Only four percent of Directors were Latinos, out of the 1,335 holding top jobs. Forty-eight of those directors were male, and one was female (Patricia Riggen). A total of twenty-eight individual or unique Latino Directors worked across the 1,200 top films studied. Twenty-nine percent of the twenty-eight Directors were U.S. filmmakers and seventy-one percent are international filmmakers.
Across the one hundred top grossing movies from 2007-2018, only three percent of films featured leads or co-leads with Latino actors. Females represented forty-nine percent of the leads or co-leads. However, five of those seventeen roles went to one female actress (Cameron Diaz). Summing across protagonist types (leads, co-leads, actors driving ensemble casts), the most frequently hired Latino actors were Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Eugenio Derbez, and Jessica Alba. Only eight male and two female leads, co-leads or members of an ensemble cast that were forty-five years of age or older at the time of theatrical release. Both female leads were played by Jennifer Lopez.
Only 4.5% of all speaking characters were Latino.
La Libertad:
[NOTES: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.3% of the U.S. population is Hispanic or Latino. According to WorldoMeters, "Latin America and The Caribbean population is equivalent to 8.42% of the total world population."
"Latino" means different things to different people. Merriam-Webster defines "Latino" as "a native or inhabitant of Latin America." Dictionary.com defines "Latino" as "a person of Latin American origin or descent, especially a man or boy" or "of or relating to people of Latin American origin or descent, especially those living in the United States." The U.S. Census Bureau defines "Latino" as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race." Some people regard Latinos as people raised speaking a language derived from Latin, such as Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, or Catalan.]
What talents and hobbies do you have?
Lynette: I draw. I love it so much, I can be drawing for hours. One of my hobbies is being in nature... hiking or skiing.
La Libertad: What inspires you?
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| Lynette Coll photo by Jeremy Bringadner |
Lynette: Music, traveling... You get to meet new people and see other parts of the world. I also get inspired by artwork and museums, or other artists that are doing great work out there, like Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of "Killing Eve" and "Fleabag."
La Libertad: What is the hardest part of producing?
Lynette: Having to tell a director or filmmaker, "No, you can't get that shot you really love; the budget doesn't allow it."
The other hard part of producing is keeping a good balance in life; it is very easy to get caught up in the madness of the long hours, and it is very hard to keep work and life in balance. Not to get into the gender discussion, but sometimes it is hard to be the only woman in the room; you have to hold your own and make sure your voice is being heard, and that you are being taken seriously.
La Libertad: What are your main goals at the Sundance Film Festival, Thursday, January 23, through Sunday, February 2, 2020?
Lynette: I am here to meet with industry folks and to talk about my company, and see if we can find a point of collaboration and co-produce exciting new projects. To me, Sundance is the place to discover new talent, writers, producers, [and] directors that I would like to support, and perhaps take their stories to the next level. I'm here to discover the new voices in our industry. There is something very special about Sundance and the creative and exciting energy that emerges during these two weeks; to me, Sundance dictates what happens in the industry for the rest of the year, so let's do this!
La Libertad: Where have you traveled?
Lynette: Mexico, the South of France, Berlin, Montreal... And I am about to go to Colombia to produce a T.V. series, and, while I'm up there, I will stop in Peru. I love traveling; it expands my horizons, and it makes me a better human.
La Libertad: What are your overall career goals?
Lynette: After working with my mentor, the late Joel Sadilek (producer of Ingrid Goes West), I found my voice. Joel always believed in me, and told me that, if I wanted to change this industry, I had to be in the room where decisions are getting made, and carve my own way into the industry. Ever since, I've been passionate about diversity and inclusion in front and behind the camera. And I'm certainly carving my own space in this industry. I've been passionate about telling big stories that connect, engage, disarm, activate, and unite the globe. I have studied both acting and production, so I am a storyteller at heart; my career goals are to own my own boutique studio, with two other partners, to develop, produce, and distribute in house projects of all genres, and support new and diverse creators with big stories and grand characters who reflect and mirror our own experiences. I want to be able to tell stories that are not the norm. I do not like stereotypes; I love thinking "outside the box," so the stories I would like to support and/or create are those that are unique but epic, and that can move people's consciousness. And who knows? Maybe, in the future, I'll also direct something of my own. For now, I'll be concentrating on acting and producing.
La Libertad: What else would you like to tell our readers about your new production company?
Lynette: My new company is the start of that future career goal I just mentioned. I am not allowed, yet, to give away the name; it is a very good one, coming soon, I promise. The idea is to develop, produce, and distribute projects to support new and diverse voices. We want to work with diverse creators with big stories that can disarm, activate, and unite. We thrive on stories with big characters that are flawed and that reflect who we are as humans. We are genre-agnostic and we want to be able to unite creators and audiences as one. Our company has a film and a series in development, and we are actively looking for two more projects from creators - not only from the U.S., but from somewhere else in the world. Bottom line: We want to stir the masses.
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| Lynette Coll photo by Joanna Degeneres |
La Libertad: What links would you like to share?
Lynette: Follow me on Instagram for the latest news:
@lynettecoll17
Check out the details of a my upcoming project with Josh Whitehouse and David Lynch, called The Happy Worker.
La Libertad: What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?
Lynette: Always lead with your heart; tell your truth; believe in who you are; and never allow someone else to dictate your future.
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