Ryan Reynolds to fund program hiring BIPOC trainees on fall film

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Ryan Reynolds says he’s going to dedicate some of his own salary to bringing on BIPOC trainees when he starts filming a movie in Vancouver this fall.

The Vancouver-born actor announced the launch of the Group Effort Initiative Thursday. The program will see up to 20 people from marginalized backgrounds hired to fill roles as production trainees on a project for Netflix.

“We want to provide an opportunity for candidates to have real experience in the entertainment industry that will open new doors and lead to future jobs through a wider professional network,” the website says.

“The Group Effort Initiative exists to create a pipeline for Black, Indigenous, people of colour or people from marginalized and excluded communities to get real experience towards a lasting career within the entertainment industry.”

The trainees will be paid, and expenses, like travel and accommodation, will be covered by Reynolds himself.

The positions are open to Canadians of all ages.

“They’re going to spend their days on set learning from professionals getting real-life experience that they can then parler into another job, and then, hopefully, if they’re not to disillusioned, a career in the film industry,” Reynolds says in a video.

He hopes others will join the Group Effort Initiative to do the same.

Interest was so high, the site crashed shortly after it started taking applications.

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