“We thought we’ve got to change this and reflect the community much better”. Isaacs said she was “heartbroken and frustrated” about the lack of diversity, and that it was time for “big changes”. Think about how many more African Americans were nominated.
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The Academy committed to doubling the number of women and minorities among its 6,300 members, who are now 90 per cent white and 70 per cent male with an average age in the sixties. That hasn’t happened since 1970.
In the midst of the controversy, the Academy’s president Cheryl Boone Isaacs made a statement on the organization’s twitter account.
Whether the academy can shift the focus onto the larger industry will be challenging.
MARTIN: How long have people been pushing back against the academy on this issue?
MARTIN: And when does all this go into effect? None of the nominees for acting and directing awards were people of color despite a plethora of worthy candidates, an astonishing whitewash, and the Academy’s failure to adequately recognize non-white talent extended to the Oscars‘ technical categories.
Boone Isaacs acknowledged that the academy can only honor films that ultimately get made, but she thinks the changes announced today will “move the needle” in all aspects of filmmaking. Is there a sense of that happening?
“We have this conversation every year and it p***es me off”.
Here are some reactions to the academy’s announcement, followed by some highlights on the broader diversity question. They also acknowledged the potential challenges of changing a decades-old institution and industry.
LOS ANGELES The Oscars have launched a landmark campaign to diversify the ranks of Academy Award voters who decide which actors, movies and filmmakers earn recognition, but Hollywood’s highest honors may remain a predominantly white affair for some time to come.
“I’m a voting Oscar member [and] I nominated Idris Elba for [his] great performance in Beasts [of No Nation]”, she told her followers on Saturday.
“When we talk about diversity, you do it in the casting of the movie, not the casting of the show”, Damon said, suggesting that having a diverse cast of actors playing the parts is more important than having a diverse filmmaking team working behind the scenes. So that’s kind of interesting dilemma there. “But that does not change our mind”.
KEEGAN: Spike hasn’t said anything yet. Rev. Al Sharpton first boycotted the Oscars, but is now taking the Academy’s proposal into consideration. Is this perception? Is it that the Academy doesn’t like how it’s being represented?
–Each new member’s voting status will last 10 years and will be renewed if that member has been active in motion pictures during that decade. Under the new rules, they will have to be active to vote, although there are some exceptions, including for previous Oscar winners.
“[But] I’m not showing up”. But the truth is, people around the world take cues about culture from an event like the Oscars.
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“I find it wonderful that we’re an industry that in the 1930s, most of our leads were women”. She joins us from our studios at NPR West.
