Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who became the first African-American to assume the organization’s top post in the summer of 2013, hailed Friday’s move as demonstrating the academy is ready “to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up”. “These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition”. An L.A. Times study found that the voters were 94 percent Caucasian and 77 percent male. Previously, all active members received lifetime voting rights.
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It’s not unprecedented, but after two years running in which the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has not nominated a single black actor for an Oscar, several artistes of colour are threatening to boycott the award ceremony this year. Members who do not qualify for active status will be transitioned to “emeritus status”, under which they do not pay dues and have no voting privileges.
In response, The Academy chose to make some changes for the next Oscars to be held in 2020.
‘If the academy is going to double that number, that’s a huge leap up, ‘ said O’Neil.
The changes not only expand diversity of future membership but change the demographic of current members. “This will bring a whole different ball game and bring a whole different attitude and generational dynamic, a different appreciation of pop culture”.
The Academy will also establish three new governor seats and add new members to its executive and board committees.
“A lack of diversity in the entertainment industry is a complex issue without a simple solution”, the groups stated. The organization invited 322 new members to join a year ago, with an emphasis on women, young people and people of color.
“Cheryl has been this lone voice there in terms of diversity on the board”, says Pete Hammond, awards columnists for Deadline.com.
“One good step in a long, complicated journey for people of color + women artists”, she wrote on Twitter in a message attached to an official letter sent to her from members of the Academy.
The new academy rules are created to speed up change. While Lee is glad the Academy is taking steps in the right direction, he still won’t attend the award ceremony this year. Who knows what exactly is going to happen?
It’s not surprising to find that the Academy Awards’ red carpet is the real “Great White Way” when you consider that 93% of the Academy’s voting members are white. “And they had to do it”.
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NEW YORK (AP) The widespread outrage over two straight years of largely white Oscar nominees coalesced behind three damning, viral words: “OscarsSoWhite”. Isaacs said she was “heartbroken and frustrated” about the lack of diversity, and that it was time for “big changes”. We need to get out there with what we’ve been talking about internally, but now we have to put it into action.
