Jada Pinkett and Spike Lee call for a boycott of the Oscars for lack of diversity; Academy responds

[HIStory]

[h=1]Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith to boycott Oscars; academy responds[/h]
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</figure> Director Spike Lee, photographed in Beverly Hills in November. The filmmaker says he won't attend this year's Oscars ceremony.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)


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By David NgContact Reporter



<time itemprop="datePublished" class="trb_article_dateline_time" data-datetime-month="January" data-datetime-day="18" data-datetime-year="2016" data-datetime-clock="7:50 PM" datetime="2016-01-18T19:50:00PST"></time>
The backlash against this year's Academy Award nominations escalated Monday with announcements by director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith that they would boycott the Feb. 28 Oscars ceremony, citing the absence of people of color in all four acting categories for the second year in a row.


If other prominent entertainment industry figures join the boycott, it has the potential to spoil Hollywood's annual showcase event. And should large numbers of African American viewers tune out, it could dent ratings for the Oscars telecast — the primary source of revenue for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


"It has such high ratings most years, so the image of Hollywood that the academy presents is at stake," said Ana-Christina Ramón, assistant director and associate researcher at UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.


Ramon noted that the academy strives to present an image of diversity, an image that could be jeopardized by a boycott.
"People will take notice," she said. "Even when they're not nominated, minority actors are trotted out. They try to show diversity among presenters."


"I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion," academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement released Monday night. "This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big change."
She added that the academy would be taking "dramatic steps" to alter the makeup of its membership and to accelerate diversity efforts.


Lee's decision to skip the Oscars had an extra sting because the academy recently bestowed the director with an honorary Oscar in November for his career work, which includes such racially charged movies as "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X."


It's customary for honorary Oscar winners to attend Hollywood's biggest night at the Dolby Theatre and to receive a moment of recognition during the telecast. But in a message posted to on his Instagram account, the outspoken director said that he and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, won't be at the ceremony. Lee demanded to know "how is it possible for the [second] consecutive year all 20 contenders in the acting category are white?"


He added: "For too many years when the Oscars nominations are revealed, my office phone rings off the hook with the media asking me my opinion about the lack of African-Americans and this year was no different."


His announcement came shortly after a Facebook video from Pinkett Smith in which the actress said she would not attend or watch the Oscars this year. Pinkett Smith, wife of "Concussion" actor Will Smith, said the academy has the right to acknowledge and invite whomever it chooses, but leaving black actors "begging for acknowledgment" diminishes the community. "We are a dignified people," she said.



Will Smith, who doesn't appear in the video, wasn't nominated for "Concussion."


Even with Chris Rock lined up as host, the announcement Thursday of the Academy Award nominations saw the return of the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite on Twitter as people expressed their anger.


The academy announced its nominations last week, and all of the 20 nominees in the acting categories were white for a second year in a row. In addition to Will Smith, other minority actors whose work drew plaudits include Samuel L. Jackson of "The Hateful Eight," Idris Elba of "Beasts of No Nation" and Michael B. Jordan of "Creed."


The film "Straight Outta Compton," a fan and critical favorite with an African American cast and director, was also bypassed for a best picture nomination.


Lee's Instagram message said that he "means no disrespect" to Oscars host Rock and producer Reginald Hudlin or to academy President Boone Isaacs.


He said the root of the problem lies in the industry's failure to give people of color more opportunities to make films.
"As I see it," the New York-based director wrote, "the Academy Awards is not where the 'real'' battle is. It's in the executive office of the Hollywood studios and TV and cable networks. This is where the gate keepers decide what gets made and what gets jettisoned to 'turnaround' or [the] scrap heap."


Through a representative, Lee declined to comment beyond his Instagram post.
The Bunche Center at UCLA releases an annual report on diversity in Hollywood. Its most recent study, released last year, reported that film studio heads were 94% white and all male and that film studio senior management was 92% white and 83% male.


The boycotts by Lee and Pinkett Smith are a "good thing because it draws more attention to the issue," the center's director, professor Darnell Hunt, said Monday. "To have prominent figures … to go on the record to lodge their outrage with business as usual keeps it in the conversation."


Last year, the #oscarssowhite hashtag took off after David Oyelowo was snubbed for his turn as Martin Luther King Jr. in "Selma," and the film's director, Ava DuVernay, also failed to score a nomination. The last time a black actor won an Academy Award was when Lupita Nyong'o took home a supporting actress statuette for "12 Years a Slave," released in 2013.
In his movies, Lee has frequently addressed the issue of racial unrest in contemporary urban society.


He received a screenwriting Oscar nomination for "Do the Right Thing," his 1989 movie that explored seething resentments between blacks and Italian Americans in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.
His second nomination was for the 1997 documentary "4 Little Girls," about the deaths of four young black girls during the bombing of a Baptist church in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963.


Despite these nominations, Lee has never won a competitive Oscar. His latest feature, "Chi-Raq," earned the director his best reviews in years when it opened in December but failed to generate much awards-season buzz.


No stranger to controversy, Lee has garnered a reputation for sparing few feelings when it comes to race. He has taken aim at other filmmakers, including Clint Eastwood and Quentin Tarantino, for their cinematic depiction of blacks.
When accepting his honorary Oscar in November, he gave a speech that was critical of the studios and spoke about the lack of black executives in positions of power in Hollywood.


He later told The Times that "I get tired of [the conversation about diversity], but it's necessary."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...o-boycott-oscars-html-20160118-htmlstory.html

The Academy's statement:

 

[analogue]

Maybe the people who were nominated gave the best performances. And art should be nominated on it's quality, and not the skin color of who made it

 

[barbee0715]

^^I am glad that Spike pointed out that the root of the problem is the lack of diversity in the movie industry itself, not the Academy Awards or nominations.

When the story broke the other day a lot of people were trouncing Jada as sour grapes (and yes, maybe Will and other actors performances weren't good enough compared to the competition this year)
BUT I commented about what I also see as the REAL problem. Most of Hollywood-the studio heads, the directors, the casting people etc. etc. are straight white guys. There's no diversity. And little opportunity. So frankly, there's little to choose from when it comes to the Awards.

And although I don't like it, maybe a boycott is necessary like the lunch counter sit ins were necessary to bring change to the real problem.

I got trounced. Lots and lots of racists out there.

 

[analogue]

I won't deny that there are racists out there, but I won't blame racism on the fact that only white actors were nominated for an academy award this year. Like I said, maybe the people who were nominated just happened to give the best performances.

 

[barbee0715]

I agree with you there. I don't think racism has anything to do with the actual nominations. Not a bit.

(I don't want them to nominate somebody just because they're black any more that I want them to nominate somebody just because they're white).

I do think there's a huge lack of opportunity to just make films in Hollywood which is why the makeup of the academy is 93% white and male.

The racists I'm referring to are the ones who attacked me.

 

[HIStory]

Well, in a movie industry where black actors are still underrepresented, especially in serious and not stereotypical black roles (such as a slave or a gangsta or the funny sidekick for comic relief or something like that) it's not really fair to say "white actors were simply better". When black actors do not even get the same opportunities, the same kind of roles then it's easy to be "better" for whites.

Even in movies, such as Exodus: Gods and Kings, where they could have easily cast black actors for lead roles they went for very European looking, blue-eyed whites (as if that would represent ancient Egyptian rulers better, I guess) and blacks once again got the roles of slaves and thieves. (There was a big uproar around that movie for that reason.)

But like Barbee said this is not the Academy's fault, but the whole movie industry's. But if this brings attention to the core problem and a discosure about it that starts changes then I don't mind it.

 

[Bubs]

Maybe the people who were nominated gave the best performances. And art should be nominated on it's quality, and not the skin color of who made it

I absolutely agree with you about art should be nominated on its quality and not skin colour, but I disagree with maybe best people were nominated because of their performance.

Jenniger L from Joy! Utter nonsense, although I like her but her acting in Joy was rubbish and wooden.
Stallone from Creed - Stallone deserves a pity Oscar but not real one for acting
Mad Max for Best movie - I have no words.

Straight Outta of Compton should have been there but it wasn't because voting members are old white geezers that likes to watch cute little movies.

According to a recent survey conducted by The Los Angeles Times, Oscar voters are on average 63 years old. 76% of them are men, and 94% of them are white.

Full info here:
http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/os...the-ins-and-outs-of-academy-voting-explained/

The only place they need diversity is voting members.

 

[blue eyes]

On my opinion he did well putting this on the table, the real fact is that 93% on the Academy are white and mostly of the men and for someone who have not idea about movie industry like I'm, it's striking.Seems like more diversity is really needed there. We're in 2016, if you now what I mean...

 

[HIStory]

[h=2]George Clooney says the Academy is moving in the wrong direction[/h]

REX/SHUTTERSTOCK​

JANUARY 19, 2016 | 10:17AM PT

Last week, for the second consecutive year, the Oscars nominated 20 white actors as the best performances of the year, a decision that generated widespread controversy. Twitter erupted in a &#8220;Oscars so White&#8221; hashtag, and the New York Times asked if the Oscars were &#8220;so dumb.&#8221; Over the weekend, Spike Lee announced plans to boycott the ceremony, and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs issued a statement saying she was &#8220;frustrated about the lack of inclusion.&#8221; Varietyasked Hollywood statesman George Clooney for his thoughts about what the industry needs to do.

George Clooney: If you think back 10 years ago, the Academy was doing a better job. Think about how many more African Americans were nominated. I would also make the argument, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a problem of who you&#8217;re picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films?

I think we have a lot of points we need to come to terms with. I find it amazing that we&#8217;re an industry that in the 1930s, most of our leads were women. And now a woman over 40 has a very difficult time being a lead in a movie. We&#8217;re seeing some movement. Jennifer Lawrence and Patricia Arquette have made the loud pronouncement about wage disparity, have put a stamp on the idea that we got to pay attention. But we should have been paying attention long before this. I think that African Americans have a real fair point that the industry isn&#8217;t representing them well enough. I think that&#8217;s absolutely true.

Let&#8217;s look back at some of the nominees. I think around 2004, certainly there were black nominees &#8212; like Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman. And all of a sudden, you feel like we&#8217;re moving in the wrong direction. There were nominations left off the table. There were four films this year: &#8220;Creed&#8221; could have gotten nominations; &#8220;Concussion&#8221; could have gotten Will Smith a nomination; Idris Elba could have been nominated for &#8220;Beasts of No Nation;&#8221; and &#8220;Straight Outta Compton&#8221; could have been nominated. And certainly last year, with &#8220;Selma&#8221; director Ava DuVernay &#8212; I think that it&#8217;s just ridiculous not to nominate her.

But honestly, there should be more opportunity than that. There should be 20 or 30 or 40 films of the quality that people would consider for the Oscars. By the way, we&#8217;re talking about African Americans. For Hispanics, it&#8217;s even worse. We need to get better at this. We used to be better at it.

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/george-clooney-white-oscars-1201682504/

 

[HIStory]

 

[HIStory]

Hollywood’s chorus of protest at the Oscars’ failure to nominate actors of colour for awards this year suggests widespread soul-searching and yearning for reform.

George Clooney on Tuesday joined Michael Moore, Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and other film industry figures who lamented that the Academy nominated only white actors for the second consecutive year, and ignored other black talent behind the cameras.

The Academy president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, said she was “heartbroken and frustrated” by the lack of diversity and vowed “dramatic” changes to reform the organisation, which comprises about 6,300 people in the film industry.

But not everyone agrees. Some think the protests are overzealous political correctness. And others doubt Academy members will support meaningful changes.

Industry observers and players told the Guardian there was a silent constituency which rejected the #OscarsSoWhite critique but did not speak out for fear of being branded racist.

“It’s a powder keg and no one is going there,” said one established film-maker, a political conservative who declined to be named. “There’s no upside to getting involved.”

Jeffrey Wells, a veteran Los Angeles-based film blogger, said others shared his view that the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton and Michael B Jordan’s’ performance in Creed, for instance, were not Oscar-worthy but that few would say so publicly.

“Anyone who is accomplished enough to be an Academy member knows how the game is played. They’re not stupid and so they will duck their heads to not be tarred and feathered for having (supposed) racist attitudes.”

The media were equally skittish, said Wells. “Nothing terrifies them so much as being seen as being insensitive so they go along with it. No one stands up and says such and such isn’t worthy.”

The blogger said Straight Outta Compton and Creed, which was directed by Ryan Coogler, were well-made crowd-pleasers but lacked “refinement”.

Academy critics have said those films, plus Will Smith’s performance in Concussion, Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation and Samuel Jackson in The Hateful Eight merited nominations.

An assistant director, who declined to be named, said the lack of African American representation was unfortunate but did not necessarily justify the promised boycotts by Moore, Lee and Pinkett Smith. “If the discrimination is so horribly bad, why isn’t Chris Rock stepping down?”

He will provide a black face for an overwhelmingly white organisation. A 2012 Los Angeles Times study found that nearly 94% of Oscar voters were white. Some 2% were black and 2% were Latino. More than three quarters of voters were male. The median age was 62.

Husam Sam Asi, a Hollywood Foreign Press Association member who has a vote in the Golden Globes, said the industry’s apparent self-flagellation over lack of diversity in this year’s nominations masked the contentment of many Academy voters.

“They don’t see it as a problem because they don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. It’s the status quo. As you get older the last thing you want is for things to change because it’s uncomfortable. With just 2% black membership why would anyone be surprised that there are so few black nominations?”

A similar row erupted last year when Selma failed to get a director’s nod for Ava DuVernay or a best actor nod for David Oyelowo, who played Martin Luther King Jr.

This year’s controversy is snowballing. Oyelowo said the Academy “doesn’t reflect me, and it doesn’t reflect this nation”.

Clooney told Variety the Academy was moving in the wrong direction. “I think that African Americans have a real fair point that the industry isn’t representing them well enough. I think that’s absolutely true.” The actor said Hollywood also discriminated against Latinos and women.

After Lee and Pinkett Smith announced their boycotts, Boone Isaacs – the first African American to hold the role of president, and the third woman – issued a statement promising big changes.

“The academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.”

Many Academy members have welcomed the push for reform. “I think the row is marvellous,” said Christina Pickles, who played the mother of Ross and Monica in Friends. “It’s time there was a light shining on this. It’s appalling that no black actors were nominated.”

Peter Devlin, an Oscar-nominated sound mixer who has worked on Transformers, said he would love to see more plurality. “It’s good that this conversation is being had.”

Wells, the blogger, agreed the Academy needed an overhaul, saying that it was right to ignore Straight Outta Compton and Creed but betrayed “racist attitudes” in snubbing Elba and Beasts of No Nation, an important film about conflict in Africa which presented a world alien to Academy voters. Another reason for the snub, he said, was that it was made by Netflix.

Wells suggested weighting Academy votes so that those cast by people currently working in film carried more sway than those of people who retired years or decades ago.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/201...ns-oscars-unlikely-to-change-insiders-suggest

 

[SheilaMJFan4Ever]

This controversy (for lack of a better word) reminds me of how Marlon Brando boycotted the Oscars in 1973 when he won the Best Actor Oscar. He was speaking out against the under-representation of Native Americans in the film industry.

The Academy seems to take two steps forward, then go 5 steps back. I don't know what can be done, really, but I don't advocate token Oscars being handed out. That won't help the situation, either.