Boycotting the Oscars

[Christine]

And I actually thought she should not have won. I think Tatiana Maslany totally deserved the Emmy in 2015.

I agree with you on that!! She is phenomenal.

 

[Kitty 34]

I will just say, I'm sorry I haven't read much of this thread but all I have to say.....it's Hollywood and the movies!

 

[PrincessAbi]

I'm with Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith, and I get why they are boycotting. They are contributing to an industry that benefits from their work, yet they don't get rewarded for it. This may offend a lot of people, but a lot of white actors are rewarded for plain mediocrity. It's hard for actors of colors to get roles that are not stereotyped and growing up, I rarely saw myself represented in movies. How many Native American superheroes can you name? How many Asian led tv shows are on the air right now? With INCREDIBLE movies like Straight Outta Compton, Creed, Beasts of No Nations, and stellar performances by actors such as Will Smith, Idris Elba Michael B Jordan, and Samuel L Jackson, there is no excuse.

It's a Hollywood issue. Actors and directors can do the job, they just need the opportunities.

 

[MommyJKM]

I don't get it. Are they asking to be recognized by the acacemy because of their race? I would certainly prefer to have people recognized by the academy for their merit regardless of the color of their skin.

THEY? Is this assuming the DisBoards are all White members? THEY??? (Also, Academy is spelled ACADEMY). And you are missing the whole point that the WORLD is diverse and when you have an Award show that is seen as significant in the industry and you don't have any diversity - then it sends the message that the Old While Men are still in charge. Patricia Arquette's speech last year calling for more women to get roles got a standing ovation, but when significant Black actors and directors call for the same thing it's seen as asking for a hand out?

I've been in the Costumer's Guild for over 20 years, I've worked in Hollywood (although no more) for many years, and even if I wasn't a woman of color I would have seen how ridiculous it is that whether you feel there weren't any performances worthy, there are NOT many movies, producers, screenwriters - given the opportunities to show their craft. Tyler Perry had to MAKE HIS OWN STUDIOS to make movies.

The point is that Asian, Native America, Latina/Lationo, Black, Woman, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders....are NOT represented in movies. And the more you try to ignore it with "They want to be recognize by their race" the more you are slowly fading into the past. There was a film "Sufferagette" that won some awards this season for portraying the women's sufferage movement...yet WOMEN OF COLOR were not included in that as we were only governmented as 1/3 of a full person.

My Grandmother was born without the right to vote and didn't get it until she was the parent of 2 children. So please excuse if I remember that it's only been 50 years.

 

[luvsJack]

I'm with Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith, and I get why they are boycotting. They are contributing to an industry that benefits from their work, yet they don't get rewarded for it. This may offend a lot of people, but a lot of white actors are rewarded for plain mediocrity. It's hard for actors of colors to get roles that are not stereotyped and growing up, I rarely saw myself represented in movies. How many Native American superheroes can you name? How many Asian led tv shows are on the air right now? With INCREDIBLE movies like Straight Outta Compton, Creed, Beasts of No Nations, and stellar performances by actors such as Will Smith, Idris Elba Michael B Jordan, and Samuel L Jackson, there is no excuse.

It's a Hollywood issue. Actors and directors can do the job, they just need the opportunities.

There are only so many awards to be given. Only so many nominations. There are many stellar performances by many talented actors of ALL races that tend to go unnoticed by the Academy Awards. Its always been that way.
And here is the thing. . . Is Will Smith acting because its something he loves to do or for the awards he may get? If he is able to do what he loves and make a ton of money, what exactly is the problem? Doesn't he get rewarded with every paycheck?

I love Will Smith but I don't think someone who has been nominated twice for an Academy Award and who has won numerous awards in other arenas really has a whole lot to be griping about.

 

[MommyJKM]

There are only so many awards to be given. Only so many nominations. There are many stellar performances by many talented actors of ALL races that tend to go unnoticed by the Academy Awards. Its always been that way.
And here is the thing. . . Is Will Smith acting because its something he loves to do or for the awards he may get? If he is able to do what he loves and make a ton of money, what exactly is the problem? Doesn't he get rewarded with every paycheck?

I love Will Smith but I don't think someone who has been nominated twice for an Academy Award and who has won numerous awards in other arenas really has a whole lot to be griping about.

I'd like ANY ONE ELSE who has worked directly in Hollywood and at the studios to weigh in on this instead of people just guessing at the industry.

 

[Disneychick75]

It's silly and childish. Do we see Asian or Caucasian actors boo hooing because they're under represented at the BET awards show?

 

[wilkeliza]

I'd like ANY ONE ELSE who has worked directly in Hollywood and at the studios to weigh in on this instead of people just guessing at the industry.

I was going off of what my fiance has been telling me who did work directly with the industry (and wishes he still did) and he has been on the soap box for a long time that minorities are not well represented. I worked in theater and can tell you up until about 5 years ago in theater it was the same. It is only marginally better in theater though and both still have a ton to work on.

It should be a massive indicator that something is up when Oscar Isaac goes by his first and middle name and not his first and last for a reason he himself has said. He didn't want to be pigeon hold into being somebody's home boy or a gangster so started presenting himself as a "non-race" so that he could get traditional white roles. He is Guatemalan and had to make the choice to market himself as anything other than that to try and get lead roles.

 

[wilkeliza]

It's silly and childish. Do we see Asian or Caucasian actors boo hooing because they're under represents at the BET awards show?

As I earlier posted, BET and the BET awards were actually formed because minority artists couldn't get a voice in mainstream entertainment. The BET awards only started in 2001 so please tell me how that compares to the 88 year history of the Oscars?

 

[PrincessAbi]

It's silly and childish. Do we see Asian or Caucasian actors boo hooing because they're under represents at the BET awards show?

The BET channel exists BECAUSE of lack of representation. Not to be rude, but if you want white representation, turn on literally every channel except for BET or Telemundo.

 

[Chocolate Cake]

I'm with Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith, and I get why they are boycotting. They are contributing to an industry that benefits from their work, yet they don't get rewarded for it.

Have you seen where they live? Where they vacation? Their lifestyles? They get rewarded very, very well.

And if the Smiths were so concerned with the injustices in Hollywood, they should have spoken up way before the nominations were announced. Now it just looks like sour grapes that Will was not nominated.

 

[rickybobby]

THEY? Is this assuming the DisBoards are all White members? THEY??? (Also, Academy is spelled ACADEMY). And you are missing the whole point that the WORLD is diverse and when you have an Award show that is seen as significant in the industry and you don't have any diversity - then it sends the message that the Old While Men are still in charge. Patricia Arquette's speech last year calling for more women to get roles got a standing ovation, but when significant Black actors and directors call for the same thing it's seen as asking for a hand out?

I've been in the Costumer's Guild for over 20 years, I've worked in Hollywood (although no more) for many years, and even if I wasn't a woman of color I would have seen how ridiculous it is that whether you feel there weren't any performances worthy, there are NOT many movies, producers, screenwriters - given the opportunities to show their craft. Tyler Perry had to MAKE HIS OWN STUDIOS to make movies.

The point is that Asian, Native America, Latina/Lationo, Black, Woman, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders....are NOT represented in movies. And the more you try to ignore it with "They want to be recognize by their race" the more you are slowly fading into the past. There was a film "Sufferagette" that won some awards this season for portraying the women's sufferage movement...yet WOMEN OF COLOR were not included in that as we were only governmented as 1/3 of a full person.

My Grandmother was born without the right to vote and didn't get it until she was the parent of 2 children. So please excuse if I remember that it's only been 50 years.

It is old white men, not old while men, oh spelling wizard.

 

[Hollymom1229]

There was a film "Sufferagette" that won some awards this season for portraying the women's sufferage movement...yet WOMEN OF COLOR were not included in that as we were only governmented as 1/3 of a full person.

I actually agree with most of your points, having worked theater for years and having seen the under representation of black actors in roles on the stage, it is truly disturbing. For most fiction work the race of the character should not matter, and the fact that black actors are under cast is disturbing, and then ignored for recognition is just icing on the cake of awful.

I did want to correct one thing, the film Suffragette was about the fight for women's rights to vote in the UK. At the time, black citizens of the UK had equal rights with white citizens, and therefore when the vote was granted to women both white and black women received the right simultaneously. I'm not sure why there were no black actors in the film, but it may have had to do with the fact that at that time historically in England they made up a very small percentage of the population.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It is old white men, not old while men, oh spelling wizard.

Ha! The aforementioned "academy" was clearly a typo, not sure why it was even brought up!

 

[VandVsmama]

Well, I've been boycotting the Oscars for years and nobody seems to care about that. Maybe I should protest. I don't care about the Oscars because I don't pick which movies to see based on which movies have or have not been nominated or won Academy Awards. The Academy Awards show is, generally speaking, usually one of the biggest snooze fests on television all year. When Joan Rivers was still alive, her pre-show on the E! channel and the post-Oscars recap she'd do, too, were far more entertaining.

Jada Pinkett Smith is acting like a whiny little girl who's mad that her husband didn't get nominated.

Star Wars was, by far, one of the best movies released all of last year, but it got hardly any nominations at all. In order to win Best Picture or Best Director, you usually have to pick some sort of social cause and make a movie about that and it has to be something that's considered the "in" social cause at the moment.

For the record, I saw "Straight Outta Compton" and I thought that the movie was really excellent. Am I going to protest because it didn't get a nomination for Best Picture? No. I don't understand why "Mad Max: Fury Road" was nominated for Best Picture. I saw that one in the theater. It was basically one big car chase with people blowing each other up the whole time.

 

[Imzadi]

Do the Rocketts have auditions? Are women of color auditioning?

Yes, they have auditions every year. I've known 3 Rockettes. There is no such thing as job security as a Rockette. Even a dancer who's been with them for years has to re-audition every year and she just never knows when she will be replaced. There is also a LOT of injuries as their show schedule is a tremendous about of hours every day with very little time off for their bodies to recover.

And since they do not know over the summer if they will be re-hired, they usually have to look for summer jobs to tide them over as their Rockette salaries really don't last a full year, especially if they have a spouse & kids, who rarely see them when they are dancing during the Rockette season.

As for being hired as a Rockette, there are physical requirements. They have to be within a certain height to keep the line looking right. AND they have to be of a certain weight & body measurements. PART of why a Rockette, who's been with them for years, may not be rehired the next. Again, part of a streamilined look.

One of the Rockettes I know told us quite a few tales of how the whole organization really screws with their heads.

It isn't all fun & dancing (amid a lot of hard work.)

The greatest damage to her, of being a Rockette, wasn't the physical wear & tear to her body.

 

[VandVsmama]

If you just look at the financial numbers, for example, the folks who wrote, produced, and directed "Straight Outta Compton" are laughing all the way to the bank. Here are worldwide gross totals for that movie compared with the others that were nominated this year for Best Picture (data according to http://www.the-numbers.com/).

• Straight Outta Compton - $201M
• Big Short - $61M
• Bridge of Spies - $157M
• Brooklyn - $32M
• Mad Max Fury Road - $373M
• Martian - $611M
• Revenant - $152M
• Room - $5.9M
• Spotlight - $31M

And, finally, Will Smith's latest movie:

• Concussion - $33M

Plus another one that's had a lot of press recently:

• Hateful Eight - $83M

So "Straight Outta Compton" must have spoken to the general public because that movie sold more tickets worldwide than 75% of this year's nominees for Best Picture. Ice Cube has a knack for story telling. He does it well in his music and he does it well in his movies, too. "Friday," which he produced back in 1995 was an awesome movie, as were the "Barbershop" movies.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

THEY? Is this assuming the DisBoards are all White members? THEY??? (Also, Academy is spelled ACADEMY). And you are missing the whole point that the WORLD is diverse and when you have an Award show that is seen as significant in the industry and you don't have any diversity - then it sends the message that the Old While Men are still in charge. Patricia Arquette's speech last year calling for more women to get roles got a standing ovation, but when significant Black actors and directors call for the same thing it's seen as asking for a hand out?

I've been in the Costumer's Guild for over 20 years, I've worked in Hollywood (although no more) for many years, and even if I wasn't a woman of color I would have seen how ridiculous it is that whether you feel there weren't any performances worthy, there are NOT many movies, producers, screenwriters - given the opportunities to show their craft. Tyler Perry had to MAKE HIS OWN STUDIOS to make movies.

The point is that Asian, Native America, Latina/Lationo, Black, Woman, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders....are NOT represented in movies. And the more you try to ignore it with "They want to be recognize by their race" the more you are slowly fading into the past. There was a film "Sufferagette" that won some awards this season for portraying the women's sufferage movement...yet WOMEN OF COLOR were not included in that as we were only governmented as 1/3 of a full person.

My Grandmother was born without the right to vote and didn't get it until she was the parent of 2 children. So please excuse if I remember that it's only been 50 years.

Hollywood is a BUSINESS. And the business is money. I can assure you the old white men who do in fact still run things care nothing about anything other than that. Do they always make the right choices? Of course not. But in the end, they couldn't care less about black, white, brown, yellow, red, or any other color save for GREEN.

And for the record, I thought Patricia Arquette's rant was pure crap. Life's not fair, Patty. And the fact remains the a handful of male stars are a huge draw while the top female stars just aren't as big of a draw. And among that afformentioned handful of men, you won't find Will Smith.

 

[MickeySP]

Participation trophies all around!!!'

 

[ashley0139]

I'd like ANY ONE ELSE who has worked directly in Hollywood and at the studios to weigh in on this instead of people just guessing at the industry.

I do work in Hollywood in the industry, and I 100% agree with you. One year you could make the coincidence argument, but year after year after year people of color are left out of the major awards. That's not a coincidence.

Hollywood is a BUSINESS. And the business is money. I can assure you the old white men who do in fact still run things care nothing about anything other than that. Do they always make the right choices? Of course not. But in the end, they couldn't care less about black, white, brown, yellow, red, or any other color save for GREEN.

And for the record, I thought Patricia Arquette's rant was pure crap. Life's not fair, Patty. And the fact remains the a handful of male stars are a huge draw while the top female stars just aren't as big of a draw. And among that afformentioned handful of men, you won't find Will Smith.

That's absolutely not true. Just because most of the major movies are male lead DOES NOT equal that they are a bigger draw than women lead movies. Look at The Hunger Games, one of the biggest series of the last few years. A young adult series lead by a woman has been a bigger draw over the last few years than most male lead movies. It's not that female lead movies are not as much of a draw, it's that they are not MADE as much.