Academy president responds to Oscar firestorm

[PoliticAverse]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Responding for the first time to the firestorm of criticism over the lack of diversity in this year's Oscar nominations, film academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs says the all-white acting slate inspires her to accelerate the academy's push to be more inclusive. She also hopes the film industry as a whole will continue to strive for greater diversity.

...

All 20 of this year's acting contenders are white and there are no women in the directing or writing categories. After the nominations were announced Thursday morning, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite started trending on Twitter.

...

"In the last two years, we've made greater strides than we ever have in the past toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive organization through admitting new members and more inclusive classes of members," Boone Isaacs said. "And, personally, I would love to see and look forward to see a greater cultural diversity among all our nominees in all of our categories."

...

Boone Isaacs declined to address whether she and the academy were embarrassed by the slate of white Oscar nominees, instead insisting that she's proud of the nominees, all of whom deserved recognition.

Read the whole article at:http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150117/us--oscars-diversity-50cd32c75b.html

[mnhtnbb]

1. We went to see Selma this afternoon.

Here's my post about it: http://www.democraticunderground.com/12701457

[PoliticAverse]

2. Apparently there was an issue of the late release and Paramount's failure to mail

screener copies to Oscar category voters that may have cost Selma nominations in other categories,
see: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-et-mn-oscar-watch-producers-guild-nominations-20150105-htmlstory.html

[mnhtnbb]

3. Oh, I had not seen this info. And it's true. My aunt and uncle in Pasadena

lived across the street from a very well known tech film guy who has won numerous Academy awards
over the years. His wife would bring the DVD's over to my aunt and uncle to see all the films.
They hardly ever went to the movies.

[zappaman]

4. Academy screeners is how I see most of my movies these days.

The theater "experience" doesn't do it for me anymore.

[Kablooie]

5. The best actor nomination might be hampered by the fact that MLK is played by a Brit.

The actor nominations are voted only by the actor branch of the Academy.
There have been many British performers playing Americans in recent years and American actors may feel threatened by this.

[wavesofeuphoria]

6. Oscar voters are

Oscar voters are nearly 94% Caucasian and 77% male, The Times found. Blacks are about 2% of the academy, and Latinos are less than 2%.

Oscar voters have a median age of 62, the study showed. People younger than 50 constitute just 14% of the membership.


http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/academy/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-20120219-story.html#page=1