George Clooney Sounds Off On Oscar Boycott
I have to admit I have been pleasantly surprised by the awareness that Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee have brought to the this years Oscar nominations and the lack of diversity with those nominations. At first it came off a little false but it has grown legs into a legitimate case that has some of Hollywoods heavy hitters not only weighing in but also has them considering actually boycotting the event by not showing up to it. One of those heavy hitters and he his about as heavy as they come, George Clooney had something to say about the issue and his point was very valid. He basically says don’t blame it all on the Academy, blame it on the industry which is the foundation on which all of Hollywood, including the awards are built upon. The Cloonster recently sat down with Variety to discuss the hot topic issue, he said:
“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’t think it’s a problem of who you’re picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films?”
That is the fact that should be made out of all that, Hollywood still considers minority actors and films a small market niche. Now in previous years we had no proof to prove that absurd theory wrong but this past year has totally proven that theory wrong. ‘Straight Outta Compton’, ‘Creed’, ‘Furious 7’, and yes, even ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ counts (it’s main leads are a woman and a black male) were all crazy, stupid successful both critically and financially. They even did well overseas for the most part, so that old Hollywood way of thinking has been fully exposed for what it is…prejudice. Now for some executives that’s probably not their intention but the rules have been written and now is the time to rewrite them, the fact that no big wig has taken the steps to try and do that only means they are only furthering the problem.
[Source: CinemaBlend]