Oscarcity

[snooky]

A lot of black actors/actresses/directors apparently going to make themselves deliberately scarce at the Oscars due to the 'lack of diversity' (I believe that's the expression they are using).

An works colleague said to me years ago. "The Oscars" is just Hollywood masturbating itself".

Nail on head, IMO.

False winners, false eyelashes, false smiles, false teeth, false tears .... where do I stop?

[Scouse Hibee]

A lot of black actors/actresses/directors apparently going to make themselves deliberately scarce at the Oscars due to the 'lack of diversity' (I believe that's the expression they are using).

An works colleague said to me years ago. "The Oscars" is just Hollywood masturbating itself".

Nail on head, IMO.

False winners, false eyelashes, false smiles, false teeth, false tears .... where do I stop?

Not good enough to be nominated so they play the race card. If it was as false as you claim surely they would ensure a diverse mix of nominees.

[snooky]

Not good enough to be nominated so they play the race card. If it was as false as you claim surely they would ensure a diverse mix of nominees.

Sorry, SH. I wasn't implying false winners this time round, I meant since day one.
The presents, gifts, freebees, etc. (aka bribes) that get thrown at Academy Committee that picks the nominees are well recognised as all part of the 'game'.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

If Darth Vader couldnae win it, what chance have the rest of them got? :-)

[hibbytam]

Not good enough to be nominated so they play the race card. If it was as false as you claim surely they would ensure a diverse mix of nominees.
I think the problem is that there aren't many roles in big films that are open to a diverse casting, which is largely down to fears about racists in various parts of the world not paying to see the films. You just have to look at the nonsense that surrounded the casting of john boyega in the new star wars films to see that these people are out there. And it also helps show that these fears and attitudes are complete nonsense, because in spite of their 'boycott', the film has made bucketloads.

[Future17]

I think the problem is that there aren't many roles in big films that are open to a diverse casting.

I can completely understand that and that the Oscars are perhaps seen as a symptom. However, I find it hard to take people like Will Smith and Spike Lee seriously when they talk about lack of opportunity.

Anyway, now it's gonna go off! - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35380343

[Jack]

.

An works colleague said to me years ago. "The Oscars" is just Hollywood masturbating itself".

Nail on head, IMO.

False winners, false eyelashes, false smiles, false teeth, false tears .... where do I stop?

Is that not the same for all these celebrity awards bashes?

[johnbc70]

Will Smith in give me bigger roles so I can get an Oscar and earn more money shocker.

[Pretty Boy]

Out of interest has there been any list or whatever of which black actors, directors, musicians, screenwriters etc were overlooked that should have been nominated in the opinion of those calling for the boycott?

I think it would be interesting to have a grown up discussion about whether certain parties were indeed overlooked due to race or whether there is a lack of top roles afforded to black people or whether there just wasn't anyone good enough this year. I don't pay much attention to the Oscars so genuinely have no idea what the case is but without alternatove suggestions as to who should have been nominated and in place of whom then it's a tough discussion to engage in.

[(((Fergus)))]

Out of interest has there been any list or whatever of which black actors, directors, musicians, screenwriters etc were overlooked that should have been nominated in the opinion of those calling for the boycott?

I think it would be interesting to have a grown up discussion about whether certain parties were indeed overlooked due to race or whether there is a lack of top roles afforded to black people or whether there just wasn't anyone good enough this year. I don't pay much attention to the Oscars so genuinely have no idea what the case is but without alternatove suggestions as to who should have been nominated and in place of whom then it's a tough discussion to engage in.

Well, here are the nominations for the Black Reel Awards (which I will be boycotting due to the blatant gender binarism):

Best Actor:
Abraham Attah - Beasts of No Nation (film)
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Z for Zachariah (film)
Michael B. Jordan - Creed (film)
Will Smith - Concussion (2015 film)
Samuel L. Jackson - The Hateful Eight

Best Actress:
Teyonah Parris - Chi-Raq (film)
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine (film)
Viola Davis- Lila & Eve
Zoe Saldana - Infinitely Polar Bear
Karidja Toure - Girlhood (film)

Best Supporting Actor:
Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation (film)
Chiwetel Ejiofor - The Martian (film)
Jason Mitchell - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
Corey Hawkins - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
Forest Whitaker – ‘’Southpaw (film)’’

Best Supporting Actress:
Tessa Thompson - Creed (film)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Concussion (2015 film)
Mya Taylor - Tangerine (film)
Zoe Kravitz - Dope (2015 film)
Angela Bassett - Chi-Raq (film)

Best Breakthrough Performance, Male:
Abraham Attah - Beasts of No Nation (film)
Jason Mitchell - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
O'Shea Jackson, Jr. - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
Shameik Moore - Dope (2015 film)
RJ Cyler - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Best Breakthrough Performance, Female:
Chanel Iman - Dope (2015 film)
Kiersey Clemons - Dope (2015 film)
Assa Sylla - Girlhood
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine (film)
Mya Taylor - Tangerine (film)

[Tyler Durden]

[QUOTE=Pretty Boy;4556524]Out of interest has there been any list or whatever of which black actors, directors, musicians, screenwriters etc were overlooked that should have been nominated in the opinion of those calling for the boycott?

I think it would be interesting to have a grown up discussion about whether certain parties were indeed overlooked due to race or whether there is a lack of top roles afforded to black people or whether there just wasn't anyone good enough this year. I don't pay much attention to the Oscars so genuinely have no idea what the case is but without alternatove suggestions as to who should have been nominated and in place of whom then it's a tough discussion to engage in.[/QUOTE

It's not really about individuals per se but 2 consecutive years with no acting nominations points to the wider problem. There's a lack of diversity in the industry and that ends up with these results. People like Michael Caine and Charlotte Rampling miss the point with comments like "be patient" and "maybe there weren't any worthy performers this year".

Last year the Martin Luther King film Selma was pretty much completely overlooked and some people would point to its chances being diminished as the cast promoted the BlackLivesMatter cause at the premiere. David Oyolewo was criminally ignored.

This year you have Idris Elba and child actors in Beasts of No Nation. Then Creed, the filmmaker writes/directs and gets no recognition. Michael B Jordan is the star, no nomination but Stallone is nominated. Incidentally he forgot to thank either of them when winning at the Golden Globes!

It's basically a big white club.

[Tyler Durden]

Straight Outta Compton another good example this year

[Tyler Durden]

Not good enough to be nominated so they play the race card. If it was as false as you claim surely they would ensure a diverse mix of nominees.

What makes you say they weren't good enough to be nominated?

[Sylar]

It's not really about individuals per se but 2 consecutive years with no acting nominations points to the wider problem. There's a lack of diversity in the industry and that ends up with these results. People like Michael Caine and Charlotte Rampling miss the point with comments like "be patient" and "maybe there weren't any worthy performers this year".

Last year the Martin Luther King film Selma was pretty much completely overlooked and some people would point to its chances being diminished as the cast promoted the BlackLivesMatter cause at the premiere. David Oyolewo was criminally ignored.

This year you have Idris Elba and child actors in Beasts of No Nation. Then Creed, the filmmaker writes/directs and gets no recognition. Michael B Jordan is the star, no nomination but Stallone is nominated. Incidentally he forgot to thank either of them when winning at the Golden Globes!

It's basically a big white club.

:agree: Excellent post TD.

[EH6 Hibby]

I watched Creed and Southpaw in the space of a few days this week, and I can't believe Sylvester Stallone is favourite for the Best supporting actor Oscar and Forest Whittaker wasn't even nominated. Two very similar roles and imo, Forest Whittaker was the better of the two by some distance.

[Colr]

A lot of black actors/actresses/directors apparently going to make themselves deliberately scarce at the Oscars due to the 'lack of diversity' (I believe that's the expression they are using).

An works colleague said to me years ago. "The Oscars" is just Hollywood masturbating itself".

Nail on head, IMO.

False winners, false eyelashes, false smiles, false teeth, false tears .... where do I stop?

In a gathering of overpaid primadonnas for the end of year prizes, the skin colour of the assembled millionaires may not be the only issue of inequality that one might want to focus upon!

[Colr]

I think the problem is that there aren't many roles in big films that are open to a diverse casting, which is largely down to fears about racists in various parts of the world not paying to see the films. You just have to look at the nonsense that surrounded the casting of john boyega in the new star wars films to see that these people are out there. And it also helps show that these fears and attitudes are complete nonsense, because in spite of their 'boycott', the film has made bucketloads.

Why don't black writers and producers create some then

[Colr]

I can completely understand that and that the Oscars are perhaps seen as a symptom. However, I find it hard to take people like Will Smith and Spike Lee seriously when they talk about lack of opportunity.

Anyway, now it's gonna go off! - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35380343

Will Smith gets plenty of opportunities so his absense looks a little churlish. He a good actor but not yet a great one. He might get there, though

[Colr]

Well, here are the nominations for the Black Reel Awards (which I will be boycotting due to the blatant gender binarism):

Best Actor:
Abraham Attah - Beasts of No Nation (film)
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Z for Zachariah (film)
Michael B. Jordan - Creed (film)
Will Smith - Concussion (2015 film)
Samuel L. Jackson - The Hateful Eight

Best Actress:
Teyonah Parris - Chi-Raq (film)
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine (film)
Viola Davis- Lila & Eve
Zoe Saldana - Infinitely Polar Bear
Karidja Toure - Girlhood (film)

Best Supporting Actor:
Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation (film)
Chiwetel Ejiofor - The Martian (film)
Jason Mitchell - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
Corey Hawkins - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
Forest Whitaker – ‘’Southpaw (film)’’

Best Supporting Actress:
Tessa Thompson - Creed (film)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Concussion (2015 film)
Mya Taylor - Tangerine (film)
Zoe Kravitz - Dope (2015 film)
Angela Bassett - Chi-Raq (film)

Best Breakthrough Performance, Male:
Abraham Attah - Beasts of No Nation (film)
Jason Mitchell - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
O'Shea Jackson, Jr. - Straight Outta Compton (2015 film)
Shameik Moore - Dope (2015 film)
RJ Cyler - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Best Breakthrough Performance, Female:
Chanel Iman - Dope (2015 film)
Kiersey Clemons - Dope (2015 film)
Assa Sylla - Girlhood
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine (film)
Mya Taylor - Tangerine (film)

That a useful post. I don't know these films but has anyone seen them to be able to say whether they have been overlooked?

Maybe in Britain the equivalent is the overwhelming predominance of upper middle class English crap in the cinema and the upper middle class lovies that come with it. I blame Richard Curtis.

Very different from the kitchen sink 60s

[Colr]

[QUOTE=Pretty Boy;4556524]Out of interest has there been any list or whatever of which black actors, directors, musicians, screenwriters etc were overlooked that should have been nominated in the opinion of those calling for the boycott?

I think it would be interesting to have a grown up discussion about whether certain parties were indeed overlooked due to race or whether there is a lack of top roles afforded to black people or whether there just wasn't anyone good enough this year. I don't pay much attention to the Oscars so genuinely have no idea what the case is but without alternatove suggestions as to who should have been nominated and in place of whom then it's a tough discussion to engage in.[/QUOTE

It's not really about individuals per se but 2 consecutive years with no acting nominations points to the wider problem. There's a lack of diversity in the industry and that ends up with these results. People like Michael Caine and Charlotte Rampling miss the point with comments like "be patient" and "maybe there weren't any worthy performers this year".

Last year the Martin Luther King film Selma was pretty much completely overlooked and some people would point to its chances being diminished as the cast promoted the BlackLivesMatter cause at the premiere. David Oyolewo was criminally ignored.

This year you have Idris Elba and child actors in Beasts of No Nation. Then Creed, the filmmaker writes/directs and gets no recognition. Michael B Jordan is the star, no nomination but Stallone is nominated. Incidentally he forgot to thank either of them when winning at the Golden Globes!

It's basically a big white club.

What may happen now is tokenism and accusations that black actors are nominated because of their colour.

[Tyler Durden]

Why don't black writers and producers create some then

Is this a serious comment? They're are not enough black and non white creatives getting the chance to. That's what Will Smith and Spike Lee refer to when they talk about opportunities. They aren't bemoaning the lack of opportunities for them personally, it's the lack of stories from people of a non white background.

The list that someone else has shared shows the films this year that could potentially be recognised. Do people really believe the actors who have been nominated gave "better" performances than their black counterparts? It's a mix of marketing budgets, people who's turn has come and those who will now be regularly nominated whatever they do (see Jennifer Lawrence). It's unconcious biase also.

[snooky]

In a gathering of overpaid primadonnas for the end of year prizes, the skin colour of the assembled millionaires may not be the only issue of inequality that one might want to focus upon!

Hollywood, and indeed the whole entertainment industry, is rife with self serving cliques.

[Sylar]

Will Smith gets plenty of opportunities so his absense looks a little churlish. He a good actor but not yet a great one. He might get there, though

I don't think the abuse he's taking for his stance is fair (more widely Colr, not you particularly). If the big names don't speak out to recognise the problem and it's lesser known black (or other minority) actors who are speaking out about it, they'd be accused of not being good enough and being bitter because they're not getting invited into the circle.

I think someone like Will Smith, one of the most recognisable black actors in Hollywood being a vocal presence is significant and his own success is utterly meaningless if he can't (or won't) use that to champion the same opportunities for those other black actors who struggle to get the opportunity because of systematic prejudice that permeates the industry.

It's not just black actors who should be making a stand though - Hollywood is just 'bent' generally. Women get paid less for leading roles than their male counterparts, ageism is rife and racial diversity is sorely lacking!

[(((Fergus)))]

Hollywood is just 'bent' generally.

Doesn't it, ultimately, come down to money? Unless there is a box-office lead, a Hollywood/Oscars-type film will just not get made. If hordes of people were prepared to pay good money to see a certain old actress, she would be remunerated accordingly, no?

[Tyler Durden]

Doesn't it, ultimately, come down to money? Unless there is a box-office lead, a Hollywood/Oscars-type film will just not get made. If hordes of people were prepared to pay good money to see a certain old actress, she would be remunerated accordingly, no?

Tv rather than film but a good example recently is the return of the X Files. Gillian Anderson was offered half of what David Duchovny was to be paid. She negotiated and eventually got the same fee but it shows the mindset of the network!

[Scouse Hibee]

What makes you say they weren't good enough to be nominated?

No nominations! Is that too simplistic,does there have to be another agenda?

[easty]

Out of all the films in over the course of a whole year, there are only a few nominations for each category at the Oscars. Meaning a whole load of people, of all colours and backgrounds, didn't get nominated.

The Guardian is obviously racist too, but only a little bit less than the Oscars. Here is what they predicted would be nominated -

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/13/oscar-nominee-predictions-academy-awards-2016

Best Actor - They did say Michael B Jordan might get a nomination though, but then who's to say it wasn't a close call with that at the Oscars too?

Best Actress - The Guardian didn't get their predictions right here, only 4 out of 5, and they even had the audacity to nominate another white person where they were wrong, they thought it would be Lily Tomlin, rather than Jennifer Lawrence.

Best Supporting Actor - They had Idris Elba as a nomination, who was really good in Beasts of No Nation, was he better than Tom Hardy in The Revenant (who got the Oscar nom) though? Maybe, maybe not, they were both very good. Should Idris Elba have got the nod just because it would mean black nomination? No.

Best Supporting Actress - They didn't expect Rachel McAdams to be nominated, they thought it would be Helen Mirren, another bloody whitey...

[CB_NO3]

Didn't 12 years a slave not clean up at the oscars a few years ago? Will Smith will never win an oscar because he is a cheesy commercial actor.

[speedy_gonzales]

uh-oh, uproar after white dude is chosen to play a, erm, white dude?
>>LINK<< (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35427381)

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

uh-oh, uproar after white dude is chosen to play a, erm, white dude?
>>LINK<< (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35427381)

Ironically, according to the guy in question "It doesn't matter if you're Black or White".

[leither17]

Didn't 12 years a slave not clean up at the oscars a few years ago? Will Smith will never win an oscar because he is a cheesy commercial actor.

Cheesy!!!! How dare you go and watch the fresh prince of bel air that will soon change your tune