As part of its’ diversity and inclusivity drive, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 842 people to become members of the Academy in 2019.
This includes many women and people of ethnic backgrounds.
This is also the first time a Native American will be given an Oscar. Cherokee actor Wes Studi, will be given an Academy Honorary Award in a landmark inclusion for the Oscar Academy.
Indians Join Oscar’s Panel of Judges
Among these invitees are Bollywood directors Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap as well as actor Anupam Kher.
ALSO READ
Oscar Winner Wasn’t Wearing a Jinnah Cap After All
Anupam Kher is a known Indian actor in Hollywood. From Bend it Like Beckham to his last project The Big Sick with Kumail Nanjiani, Anupam has dabbled in Hollywood.
#WeAreTheAcademy https://t.co/SwOdGFxOLb
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) July 1, 2019
Film-maker Zoya Akhtar has been invited in the director’s category. She recently delivered a hit movie Gully Boy.
Meanwhile, Anurag Kashyap is the Indian film-maker with the most screenings at Cannes including Gangs of Wasseypur, Ugly (2013), Raman Raghav 2.0.
I am sure that fellow Indians will be happy and proud to know that my daughter Zoya Akhtar who is a well known writer- director has been offered the membership of Oscar academy which is rare honour .
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 2, 2019
Last but not the least, Ritesh Batra has been invited to the writer’s branch.
Oscar Inclusivity Drive
The Oscar Academy is behind the line-up at the annual Oscar Awards. Members of the academy judge submissions and determine which nominations deserve an Oscar that year.
This year the Academy invited 842 members from 59 countries as part of their diversity and inclusivity drive.
ALSO READ
Bohemian Rhapsody’s Rami Malek to Play the Next Bond Villain!
Half the invitees are women, with 29% people of color. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2019.
Among the invitees, 21 are Oscar winners while 82 members are Oscar nominees.
After the #OscarsSoWhite #WhiteOscars movement in 2016, it seems the organizers are trying to fight this tag of them only catering to white people.
https://twitter.com/fiercelymani/status/704117572300623872
When the constituents of the Oscar Academy were analyzed in 2016, it turned out to be 92 percent white members and 75 percent men. People were understandably outraged about it.
ALSO READ
Do All White Hollywood Actors Look the Same? [Pictures]
That’s when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences set a goal of doubling the number of non-white members by 2020.
Spike Lee last night: "Without @ReignOfApril #OscarsSoWhite and the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Cheryl Isaacs, I wouldn't be here tonight. They opened up the Academy to make the Academy look more like America." pic.twitter.com/yj8m2Mw6KY
— MoveOn (@MoveOn) February 25, 2019
Last year, Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Naseeruddin Shah, Ali Fazal, Madhabi Mukherjee, and Aditya Chopra were among 928 new members who were invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to the Oscars 2018.
This year’s newbies invitees include
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje,
- Yareli Arizmendi,
- Claes Bang,
- Jamie Bell,
- Claire Bloom,
- Sterling K. Brown,
- Gemma Chan,
- Marina de Tavira,
- Stephen Dillane,
- Winston Duke,
- Jennifer Ehle,
- Claire Foy,
- Giancarlo Giannini,
- Stephen McKinley Henderson,
- Tom Holland,
- Tom Hollander,
- Lennie James,
- Gemma Jones,
- Anupam Kher,
- Lady Gaga,
- Tracy Letts,
- Damian Lewis,
- Helen McCrory,
- Natascha McElhone,
- Ofelia Medina,
- Elisabeth Moss,
- Peter Mullan,
- Jack O’Connell,
- Archie Panjabi,
- Amanda Peet,
- Kevin Pollak,
- Will Poulter,
- Andrea Riseborough,
- Alexander Skarsgard,
- Tamlyn Tomita,
- Harriet Walter,
- Olivia Williams,
- Letitia Wright.
