When the Oscar nominations were revealed recently there was something that quickly stood out to those paying attention; a lack of diversity in the nominations. For the second consecutive year, no minorities were nominated for an Academy Award in any of the top four individual acting performance categories. The reaction over the issue was quick to spread like a wildfire, leading to vows to boycott the Oscars from Will Smith, Spike Lee and Snoop Dogg, among others. White actors expressed their frustrations with the nominations as well, with George Clooney and Mark Ruffalo (remember, we wouldn’t like him when he’s angry) expressing their various concerns as well. The Academy is now taking action to help promote a shift in the membership’s approach to the voting process.
On Friday the Academy announced the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unanimously voted in favor of changes to the Academy’s membership to help open the door for more adversity.
“The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition.”
For starters, each new members’s voting status will be active for 10 years and will be renewed if that new member has been active in a movie over the course of the previous decade. Lifetime voting rights will now only be made available to those who have served three 10-year terms in the Academy. Also, those winning or having been nominated for an Academy Award will also be eligible for a lifetime vote. And the Academy is going to start by retroactively enacting these procedures, which means some may end up losing their voting privileges, although it remains unclear just how many will lose a vote. The Academy may be taking away the voting rights, but they will not kick members out. Those losing their voting rights under the new parameters will simply be moved to Emeritus status, which allows all privileges of membership except the opportunity to cast a vote for the Academy Awards.
Perhaps the most significant change will be the addition of three new governor seats that will be added to the Board of Governors. These new seats will have the opportunity to work directly with membership issues and procedures.
Here is what our own Ian Casselberry noted when the 2016 nominations were announced on the issue;
The lack of color among all of the nominees is troubling. As mentioned, Straight Outta Compton was deserving in several categories, as was Creed. Michael B. Jordan and Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation) warranted consideration, albeit in a tough category. No acting nominations might say more about the roles available these days, especially to black actors. Is it any wonder that actresses like Viola Davis, Regina King and Taraji P. Henson have to shine on TV?
Time will have to be the ultimate judge and jury on whether these changes will have any immediate impact, but this will certainly be closely watched when the nominations for the 2017 Oscars are revealed a year from now.
[photo: Variety]
