Viola Davis, Julius Tennon Advocate More Humane Working Conditions In Industry – Produced By
deadline.comJuVee Productions CEO Viola Davis and her husband, JuVee President Julius Tennon, said the entertainment industry must become a kinder workplace.
They spoke at a Produced By conference panel called “Shooting for Tomorrow: The Future of Producing,” moderated by Yvette Nicole Brown.“We really have to think more about how this work-life balance works out,” Tennon said. “Where we can, we need to find a way to make those hours less to make productivity go up.
Productivity is going to go up when you’re rested.”Davis said that exhaustion leads to more volatile workplaces, too.“We meet each other exhausted,” Davis said. “When you’re under stress, you start screaming at people, and you only scream at people you think are beneath you.
You scream at the PA, the makeup artist, the people who are sacrificing just as much as you to be there.”Davis said her exhaustion is compounded by “50 million microaggressions going on for me as a Black Woman in this room that I have to address.” She said White-focused hair styling and makeup, script issues, and any number of unintentional comments become issues she must navigate on top of working extreme hours.“I’m not calling anybody a racist,” Davis said. “I like these people, but I’m just telling you it doesn’t service me.”Comparing film and television acting to her work in theater, Davis said that while theater is not without its own unique issues, the stage world is better at encouraging people to talk their issues out with the material and with each other.Davis said people are afraid to speak up on film sets because of the risk of jeopardizing their relationships.
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