LOS ANGELES — The organisers of the Academy Awards, or Oscars, said on Wednesday it has invited nearly 700 new members with a focus on female and minority talent. This comes months after facing an
outcry over the lack of diversity on its voting board.
Among the 683 invitees are actors Idris Elba, America Ferrera, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Eva Mendes and this year’s Best Actress Oscar winner Brie Larson, the academy, whose members also include directors, producers, cinematographers and composers, said in a statement.
It added that 46 per cent of those invited are female and 41 per cent are people of colour, aged 24 to 91, “This class continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today,” Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in the statement.
“We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider, and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry.”
All 20 acting Oscar nominees this year were white for a second consecutive year, prompting criticism with the online hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
The award ceremony’s host Chris Rock provided biting commentary during the show, which was boycotted by director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith.
The largely white, male and older roster of film industry professionals who belong to the academy has long been cited as a barrier to racial and gender equality at the Oscars.
The organisation responded by announcing a sweeping affirmative action programme, pledging to double female and minority membership by 2020.
The potential new members would boost the academy’s female roster to 27 per cent (from 25 percent last year), it said. People of colour would make up 11 per cent of the total voting body, up from 8 per cent in 2015.
If all 683 invited professionals do join, the academy would have 7,789 members, it added.
The academy also introduced new membership rules to help diversify its make-up by stripping some older members of voting privileges.
Under the new rules, lifetime voting rights would be conferred only on academy members who remain active in the film industry over three 10-year terms, or have won or been nominated for an Oscar.
REUTERS
