ImpactAlpha, March 10 — At your Oscar party this weekend, keep an eye, and ear, out for Rihanna. The Agent of Impact received her first Oscar nomination for Lift Me Up, her song in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She will be performing in front of co-star Angela Bassett, who’s up for best supporting actress as queen Ramonda.
Only 22 Oscars have gone to Black actors and actresses in the Academy Awards’ 95-year history. This week, Charles King’s production company Macro raised $90 million, led by BlackRock’s Impact Opportunities Fund, to amplify diverse voices in Hollywood. Content focused on people of color, “has historically been in short supply but high demand,” said BlackRock’s Pam Chan.
Closing the representation gap for people of color in the TV and film industry could unlock more than $10 billion in annual revenues, according to McKinsey & Co.
Since King launched Macro in 2015, the company has delivered Oscar-winning films including Fences and Judas and the Black Messiah. King and his wife, Stacey Walker King, will celebrate the raise, and their record, at their own pre-Oscar party in Los Angeles.
