Following a unanimous vote by its Board of Governors on Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a series of sweeping changes to their membership and voting policies today in response to widespread outrage over the lack of diversity among not only the Academy’s members but also this year’s Oscar nominees – the second year in a row where almost all the major nominees were white.
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Looking to tamp down this firestorm, academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs wisely – and quickly – released a statement, a mea culpa of sorts.
On Friday, the Academy announced lifetime voting statuses for members will last 10 years and will only be renewed if the members are active in films during that decade.
While Justice, himself, is not in danger of getting ousted from the Academy (he won an Oscar in 1986 and is therefore assured lifetime voting rights), he does speak up on behalf of all the other voters who are not so lucky and will subsequently be facing expulsion if they do not actively contribute to the industry again soon.
The Academy’s proposed changes to increase diversity in the Oscars prompted swift and positive reaction in Hollywood, with many praising the moves while still noting that the Academy Awards are only part of the problem, and only part of the solution.
The organization also plans to diversify its leadership beyond the board of governors by adding new members to key decision-making committees, and further diversify its membership with a global campaign to identify and recruit diverse talent. – Ava DuVernay, director of last year’s Oscar-nominated civil rights drama “Selma” who was passed over herself for a nomination, on Twitter. According to a 2012 investigation by the Los Angeles Times, not only is the membership overwhelmingly white, 77% are men, and their average age is sixty three. In 1970, when the academy began to seem out of step with the rapidly changing times, then-academy President Gregory Peck began recruiting younger members and culling the academy rolls of people who hadn’t worked in more than seven years. It’s a strong first step. Here to tell us more about the latest developments is Rebecca Keegan. High-profile performers and creators like Spike Lee, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith are boycotting this year’s ceremonies, and everyone from George Clooney to Robert Redford has commented on the larger movie industry’s approach to diversity and advocacy in recent weeks. “The films that are being made, are the big-time producers thinking outside of the box in terms of how to cast the role?” she told us.
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. Shame is a helluva motivator… While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion.
It took the Academy 82 years to honor a female director with the award for Best Director.
In June 2015, Academy invited a record of 322 new members to address the issue of diversity after receiving flak of #OscarsSoWhite past year.
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There is a remarked absence of filmmakers or actors of color in this year’s Oscars nominations.
