The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited a record 683 new members this year in an effort to increase the diversity of its membership and avoid a repeat of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy the organization has endured for the past two years.
At the annual Oscars nominee luncheon on Monday, Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs highlighted the organization’s new rule changes as a positive step to combat the diversity controversy surrounding this year’s Academy Awards. Speaking of the new rules aimed at purging the voting rights of older, white Academy members to increase diversity, Isaacs said that she had asked “the elephant in the room” to “leave.”
The leadership at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defended the organization’s controversial new diversity initiative, saying in an interview that the Academy did not bow to outside pressure when crafting the rule changes, which many are criticizing as an overt effort to purge older Academy members of their voting privileges while aggressively recruiting new voting members who, in the words of the Academy, “represent greater diversity.”
Actor Stephen Furst, who is best known for playing the role of Flounder in 1978’s “Animal House,” has accused the Academy of “ageism and sexism” in choosing to “scapegoat” its older white male members “in order to deflect the criticism about the lack of diversity” in this year’s all white acting nominees.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has posted a new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on its website in response to mounting criticism from longtime members over the organization’s recently announced diversity initiative, which many see as an overt effort to purge older Academy members of their voting rights.
In an open letter addressed to Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs published in the Hollywood Reporter, AMPAS executive branch member Mark Reina responds to the sweeping new rule changes implemented by the Academy in an effort to increase diversity both within the organization and at the Oscars.
Responding to the controversy surrounding this year’s all white Oscar nominees, Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon told reporters at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend that Hollywood has a “long, long, long way to go” in regards to becoming more racially diverse.
Longtime members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) are speaking out after the organizations’ Board of Governors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a dramatic overhaul of its voting rules and organizational structure in an effort to increase diversity at the Oscars and across the broader film industry.
Joining Straight Out Compton producer Ice Cube, who called the “Oscars So White” Academy Awards controversy “ridiculous,” is actor Malik Yoba–who told his fans via Instagram that “being included” in Hollywood “is not a given.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has approved a series of “substantive changes” to its rules and organizational structure in an effort to boost the diversity of its membership as the group faces mounting criticism over a lack of minority actors among this year’s Academy Award nominees.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has weighed in on the swirling controversy over this year’s Academy Awards, saying at a press conference on Tuesday that he “agrees” with the criticism that the Oscars lack diversity.
Spike Lee will skip the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood next month, opting instead to watch the New York Knicks take on the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan — but in an interview Wednesday, the filmmaker said he “never meant to lead” a boycott movement against the awards show.
George Clooney has joined critics of this year’s Academy Awards, writing in an essay that with its lack of diversity among acting nominees, the Oscars are “moving in the wrong direction.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton is calling on all Americans to “tune out” of the 88th Academy Awards next month.
Snoop Dogg launched a profanity-laced tirade against the Academy Awards this week, saying he won’t be tuning into the “bulls–t” awards show this year.
British actor David Oyelowo, who was snubbed from Oscars consideration last year for his role as Martin Luther King, Jr. in “Selma,” is calling for a “radical and timely change” in the academy’s nominating process.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said Monday she was “heartbroken” after the organization behind the Academy Awards nominated exclusively white actors in top acting acting categories for a second straight year, and vowed “big changes” were in store to combat what some critics call a major diversity problem at Hollywood’s biggest night.
Actress Jada Pinkett Smith became the latest celebrity to weigh in on the renewed #OscarsSoWhite controversy over the weekend, when she took to social media to ask if minorities should boycott the awards ceremony after the Academy nominated exclusively white actors in top categories for a second straight year.
The Rev. Al Sharpton ripped Hollywood after the Academy Award nominations were announced Thursday morning, with black actors completely shut out of each of the four top acting categories for a second straight year.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) could see a resurgence of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy it endured last year if the organization does not nominate any people of color for acting honors at this year’s Academy Awards, a possibility seen as increasingly likely by many Hollywood awards insiders.
Spike Lee picked up an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences annual Governors Awards on Saturday, and used his acceptance speech to blast the lack of diversity in Hollywood — and issue a warning to white entertainment industry executives.
HOLLYWOOD, California—A planned protest over the lack of diversity in the film industry by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) has been canceled. The group will instead seek direct dialogue with Hollywood’s central authority, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) is upset with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs over the perceived lack of diversity in this year’s Oscar nominees, and he is demanding an in-person meeting over the issue.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs responded Friday to the controversy surrounding the Oscars’ failure to nominate any minorities in all four of its acting categories.
