|
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, which has been criticized for honoring few movies and
creators of color, said the standards represent a new phase of a
5-year effort to promote diversity on and off screen.
The rules lay out percentages or numbers of actors, production
staff, marketing staff and internships on a movie that must be
filled by people of color, women, people with disabilities or
people from the LGBTQ community.
"We believe these inclusion standards will be a catalyst for
long-lasting, essential change in our industry," Academy
President David Rubin and Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in a
joint statement.
The rules will not apply to films vying for Oscars at the next
ceremony in 2021, but movies that want to be considered eligible
for a best picture nomination at the 2024 Oscars will have to
meet two of the four new standards, the Academy said.
The four standards cover diversity representation among actors
and subject matter; behind-the-camera staff, such as
cinematographers and costume designers; paid apprenticehips and
training opportunities; and marketing and publicity.
Criticism of the film academy intensified in 2016 with the
social media hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, a backlash against two
consecutive years of an all-white field of acting contenders.
Hollywood has come under further scrutiny this summer. Amid mass
protests over systemic racism in the United States, streaming
service HBO Max added a disclaimer and an introduction to the
1939 Oscar-winning Civil War film "Gone with the Wind."
Since 2015, the Academy has doubled the number of women and
people of color in its invitation-only ranks. The Academy's more
than 8,000 members vote to choose the Oscar winners.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
