'Ghostbusters' Reboot Director Paul Feig Joins Inclusion Rider Initiative

By Vianne Ilagan, Christian Post Contributor Friday, March 16, 2018

"Ghostbusters" reboot director Paul Feig is one of the latest Hollywood personalities to adopt the inclusion rider in his future projects. On Tuesday, he confirmed his adoption of the initiative via his Twitter account.

Actress Frances McDormand made headlines at this year's Oscars for two things. Aside from winning the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," she also included in her acceptance speech a call for everyone in Hollywood to be aware of the inclusion rider and adopt it in their future projects. "I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: Inclusion rider," she said.

Since McDormand's speech, more and more Hollywood personalities have come forward to join the initiative. On Tuesday, one day after actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon announced that their production company would adopt the inclusion rider, Feig took to Twitter to announce that he's also including the rider on his production company's future projects.

"Thrilled to announce that Feigco Entertainment is officially adopting an #inclusionrider for all our film and TV productions moving forward. Thank you to @inclusionists and Stacy L. Smith for their guidance and inspiration. We challenge other companies and studios to do the same," wrote Feig.

While Feig's production company is not a major one, its participation in the initiative is a huge step towards diversity in Hollywood. Inclusion rider ensures diversity in both the cast and crew of Hollywood projects, meaning productions should hire more women, members of the LGBTQ community and people of different racial or ethnic groups.

Feig is just one of the celebrities to adopt the inclusion rider. Last week, "Black Panther" star Michael B. Jordan announced that his company, Outlier Society, would also take on the inclusion rider for its future projects. Affleck and Damon's Pearl Street Films also confirmed their participation in the initiative on Monday.