Solutions

Action & Advocacy

For over 20 years, Stacy L. Smith has focused on developing solutions to inequality on screen and behind the camera

These practical, theory- and data-driven ideas can be implemented by individuals and companies. You can read about these solutions in the concluding sections of our most recent Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reports.

Proof of Concept

Proof of Concept, an accelerator program supporting the next generation of filmmakers, and founded by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, producer Coco Francini and noted researcher Stacy L. Smith, debuted the work of its inaugural class at a showcase in April 2025 in Los Angeles.

“When we launched Proof of Concept, the goal was to support filmmakers ready to enter the industry. We knew these stories would widen the aperture for stories focused on women, trans, and non-binary perspectives and accelerate the careers of these directors. The films that resulted from this program demonstrate the immense talent of the next generation.”

-Stacy L. Smith

Visit the Proof of Concept website

Advancing Health Storylines

Portrayals of specific health conditions are rare in popular entertainment, but when they do appear, stories have the potential to impact audiences. To address this gap, Dr. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, have created a new toolkit to assist storytellers who want to focus on health. The toolkit draws on research to guide storytellers to portray authentic experiences of disease that are informed by experts.

From finding collaborators, working with actors, on-set elements, to post-production considerations and audience support, this toolkit provides a broad approach to story development. While recommendations can be applied to many health conditions, particular attention is paid to cancer, dementia, obesity, diabetes, and eczema.

See the Health Toolkit

Just Add Five

If screenwriters simply added 5 female speaking characters to each film in the top 100 each year, we could reach gender parity in four years. Learn more about how this works in Dr. Smith's opinion piece at The Wrap.

Are you a writer? Do you know a writer? Encourage them to add 5 female characters to their scripts. You can also ask producers, casting directors, assistant directors, and directors—anyone who plays a creative role in filmmaking to do the same.

And: make sure those female characters are from diverse backgrounds, identify as LGBT, or are performers with disabilities. We can improve media inclusion for many groups by just adding 5 females.

Read the article about the Just Add Five solution

Mental Health Accelerator

In addition to the Proof of Concept accelerator program, Dr. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative have supported storytellers through other accelerator programs. In 2025, Kristen Bell and Dr. Smith announced the Mental Health Accelerator to award 3 filmmakers with $20,000 each to create a short film focused on mental health, specifically on capacity and resiliency.

Previously, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative supported the AI2 Accelerator, a Reproductive Rights Accelerator, and the Snap x AI2 Accelerator program. The goal of the Initiative’s accelerator programs is to champion the next generation of storytellers creating unique, necessary stories. The Initiative will continue to identify critical storytelling gaps and to support filmmakers in those areas.

Learn more about the Mental Health Accelerator

Inclusion Rider

The purpose of the inclusion rider is to counter bias in interviewing/auditioning and hiring/casting in specific employment positions in the entertainment industry. The rider is a template and living document, not something to be cut and pasted into a contract. The details of its implementation are crucial to its success. The rider is a flexible and adaptable framework that actors/content creators should consider together with counsel prior to signing on to their next project.

In the spirit of inclusion, Stacy L. Smith of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Kalpana Kotagal of Cohen Milstein, and Fanshen Cox are sharing the template and hope it will be an important tool in achieving change. Read more about the origin of the “inclusion rider” and use the link below to see the original language.

See the Inclusion Rider

A Rooney Rule for Hollywood

What’s the Rooney Rule? The NFL adopted the Rooney Rule to help diversify head coaching positions across the league. Teams agree to interview at least one underrepresented candidate for an open outside hire. Hollywood producers and executives can do this when they create consideration lists or interview for open directing jobs. Based on Annenberg Inclusion Initiative research, Stacy L. Smith has developed a list of women who have worked across independent and top grossing films. Across 18 years and 1,800 films, 83 women have worked as a director on top-grossing movies.

Since Smith introduced this solution, industry databases have grown to include thousands of creatives from all backgrounds. With a few clicks it's possible to create a list that reflects the diversity of the industry.

Read the article about A Rooney Rule for Hollywood

"If screenwriters simply added 5 female speaking characters to each film in the top 100 each year, we could reach gender parity in four years."

Stacy L. Smith

Founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative

Industry Insights

Creating real and lasting progress requires investing in approaches that will result in changes to decision-making

As the film industry faces contraction and uncertainty, it is clear that the playbook for hiring continues to revert to the status quo. Yet, in an industry driven by creativity, fostering new voices and new stories is paramount. The data indicates that for now, Hollywood decision-makers are content to believe that storytelling success rests in the hands of one identity group. Until that belief system changes, there will be little progress for women and people of color behind the camera in film. Our reports offer solutions drawn from extensive data collection and work across entertainment to offer empirically-driven and theoretically-informed ways to create lasting change.

60K+

crew members' demographic data collected

Behind-the-scenes individuals such as directors, writers, producers, etc. are evaluated for gender and race/ethnicity.

3.5K+

films and series analyzed

Our researchers are trained to identify inclusion indicators in film and TV, contributing to the largest database of onscreen portrayals.

75+

research reports published

We have produced over 75 individual research reports based on onscreen, behind the camera, and industry data.

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