academy awards - Page 10

Academy Defends Diversity Purge: ‘We Are Not Excluding Older Members’

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.

Oscars-Statue-5-Getty

Why I support Spike Lee’s #Oscarsmustfall campaign

Someone called Spike Lee is threatening to boycott this year’s Oscars for having failed to include a sufficient quota of black talent on their nominations list. This is an excellent campaign and one I shall definitely support once I’ve managed

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

#OscarsSoWhite, Round 2?

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.

AFP PHOTO / DPA / RALF HIRSCHBERGER

Leonardo DiCaprio Raped by a Bear in Fox Christmas Day Release

Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s The Revenant has picked up early Oscar buzz ahead of its Christmas Day release, but some viewers and Academy voters could be put off by the film’s brutal violence — according to a report from early screenings, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Hugh Glass gets raped and nearly mauled to death by a bear.

Leo Bear Rape

Israel Awards Iran Mock Oscar for Best Actor

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor gave his own version of the Academy Awards during a UN session in New York this week. The “Oscars for Maintenance of International Peace and Security” mockingly awarded Iran, Hezbollah, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinians with Oscars in its very own special categories.

Reuters/JP Staff

Neil Patrick Harris Gets Mixed Reviews on Oscar Hosting Gig

The 87th annual Academy Awards were a bit of a letdown; there were no real surprises in any of the major categories, winners’s acceptance speeches got too political, and there was a shortage of good performances (apart from an outstanding turn from Lady Gaga channeling Julie Andrews).

REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE

Best Director Winner Blasts Mexican Government

Sunday night’s Academy Awards was littered with political commentary, with Best Director winner Alejandro González Iñárritu no exception as he dedicated Birdman’s Best Picture win to his fellow Mexicans, “who live in Mexico.” Iñárritu’s comments echo prior statements made by last year’s Best Director and fellow Mexican, Alfonso Cuarón, slamming Mexican government officials over systematic corruption.

John-Shearer/AP

Hollywood: Still Honoring Stalinists

The patriotic film The American Sniper was nominated for six Oscars, astonishing fans and critics alike. But why is it surprising that a film honoring an American hero would be celebrated in the capital of the American movie business? The fact is, despite a few recent signs of dawning good sense—think Zero Dark Thirty, on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and Argo, about a successful CIA operation—Hollywood still tends to spurn patriotism on the silver screen and to celebrate truly unsavory characters and ideology, as long as they’re on the Left.

Hollywood Traitors Book