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Films aiming to win Oscars will need to meet diversity criteria now

Films aiming to win Oscars will need to meet diversity criteria now

The rules will not apply to films vying for Oscars at the next ceremony in 2021, clarified The Academy
15 Jun, 2020

The organisation that hands out the Academy Awards said Friday it would form a group to develop diversity and inclusion guidelines that filmmakers will have to meet in order for their work to be eligible for Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has been criticised for honouring few movies and creators of colour, said the move and other steps represented a new phase of a 5-year effort to promote diversity.

The group said in a statement it would work with the Producers Guild of America to convene a task force of industry leaders to develop “representation and inclusion standards” for Oscars eligibility by July 31 that will “encourage equitable hiring practices on and off screen.”

The rules will not apply to films vying for Oscars at the next ceremony in 2021.

Criticism of the movie academy intensified in 2015 with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, a backlash against an all-white field of acting contenders.

The academy responded in part by doubling the number of women and people colour in its invitation-only ranks. Still, by 2019 just 32% of its roughly 8,000 members were women, and 16% were people of colour. New members will be announced next month.

“We know there is much more work to be done in order to ensure equitable opportunities across the board,” Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said. “The need to address this issue is urgent.”

Hollywood has been reckoning with a lack of diversity and portrayal of racism on screen amid protests over the death of George Floyd. Earlier this week, streaming service HBO Max said it was temporarily pulling Oscar-winning film “Gone with the Wind.”

Among other new measures, the film academy will guarantee 10 best picture contenders annually, rather than a fluctuating number up to 10, to give more films a shot at the industry’s most prestigious prize.

Comments

kamal chowkidar Jun 15, 2020 05:10pm
Quota system will make it useless.
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Jumbo Jun 15, 2020 07:40pm
Quality over diversity will be the beginning of the end for cinema
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Irrfan Jun 15, 2020 09:55pm
I wonder if they've forgotten how abysmal their viewership was last time. This will only make it worse. Not that the self fellating people in Hollywood care of course...
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Zafri Jun 16, 2020 12:06am
Beginning of the end of Oscar, as its about various things, now the whole criteria will be around diversity, nice, I mean common, I am brown but handsomeness of Tom Cruise never failed to impress me, Jennifer Connelly charms from her early days is still here, so does Wesley Snipes perfect vampire expression in Blade makes it the best vampire hunter franchise till today and his role can never be done by any white male lead as he does, point is they are making issue out of nothing, peace.
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jaredlee007 Jun 16, 2020 02:42am
Fake, superficial efforts to promote diversity while preserving white supremacy. This country is a classic example of how not to learn to embrace people of all backgrounds.
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Vishesh Jun 16, 2020 08:53am
Reservation is everywhere
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ABL Jun 16, 2020 03:20pm
@Jumbo Diversity over quality?
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Pakistani Jun 17, 2020 04:29pm
Proper representation will make the movie industry more vibrant and successful.
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