Note: EW reached out to numerous new members of the Academy across multiple professional branches.
Its going to take some time to correct, but continuous efforts always help.
It has to be carefully transitioned into what the new Academy is going to be.
Credit: Clockwise from top left: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; JB Lacroix/WireImage; MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
It cant just happen overnight.
I applaud them for making these initiatives a priority.
My next movie isAmerican Assassin… it was a huge international bestseller series of books.
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Irene Kennedy, the woman I play, is written as white in the books.
The studio, Lionsgate, hiredme.
Im seeing the change in my own life, and Im seeing it around the industry.
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People feel like the Academy is being watered down [with this class].
The problem with tradition is that you dont even know why youre doing what youre doing anymore.
Youre just doing things for the sake of doing them.
Amanda Edwards/WireImage
When you include everyone in sports, the sport gets better.
When you include everyone in filmmaking and storytelling and writing, the creations get better.
Theres no way it can get watered down.
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I just dont understand that kind of thinking.
To me, thats the old guard.
The move the Academy just made is an amazing, wonderful step in the right direction.
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This indicates that Chinese movies and Chinese filmmakers have won worldwide attention and affirmation.
ALDIS HODGE (Straight Outta Compton): The Academy has more power and influence than it really understands.
Sometimes it sets the tone for how were received, culturally, all over the world.
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The #OscarsSoWhite controversy opened their eyes to what was really going on.
The police were written so sympathetically, where you didnt feel they were doing anything wrong.
Right now, this is a cultural issue where people are going off…
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I couldnt even finish the script.
I told them no…
I couldnt even take the meeting.
We have a responsibility to represent the times well.
So as long as they do the work, well be able to do our work.
RINKO KIKUCHI (Babel): Film teaches us many things and provides us with hope.
Sixty years sounds like a long time [since a Japanese actress won an Oscar].
I truly hope there will be more opportunities for my Japanese counterparts [because of the Academys initiatives].
They could have decided to go the other way and be angry or resentful about it.
The great thing will be to see if it changes the industry.
Its not even about just who votes for the pictures.
Its about what films get made.
The whole group can have a larger impact on that.
It has to start from whats available, what has been made in the studio system.
What stories do we believe are worthy?
It has to start there.
Its not just about the voting at the end of the year.
Its about, how do we get these things greenlit in the beginning of the year?
They have a responsibility, as does every studio.
You dont just have one particular key in of audience watching your work, shows, or films.
Diversity, at its root, means different, right?
Inclusion means including that which is already there.
This country is not built on one culture alone.
We all make up this industry.
This year, we usher in a significant change in that order.
It was investigated in a more open way in the latter film than in the earlier one.
KIKUCHI:Its an honor and Im very happy to receive the invitation.
BINGBING:Film,as the seventh art, should be borderless.
The creator and the intention of creation both need to embrace diversity.
The Academy will lead the charge in terms of recognizing that.
CARDOSO:Those statistics that so many Academy members were white and male, thathasto change.
There are a lot of underground movies that can have more exposure in the Academy, too.
Changing that would be like changing the campaigns for president!
I dont think that can change [as soon].
If you dont pay for screeners and youre not in theaters, how do we see those films?
Expanding that could make the process much more democratic.
Sending a link isnt as expensive as sending a DVD!
It is very rare to see foreign language films represented in the other categories.
Id like to see more opportunities for foreign films to be represented at the Oscars.
To me, part of the achievement ofGet Outis its blend of absolute horror and hilarity.
Thats amazing to me.
The performances are incredible.
DOMINGO:Get Out, absolutely.
Its groundbreaking in so many ways, both in terms of its message and artistically.
Jordan Peele invented another genre.
Hes onto something, and [his perspective] is something weve needed more of.
Im proud that a studio took a chance to fund a story like his.
The more we do that, the more variety of storytelling we will have.
CHOPRA:I think its going to be a great year for women.
[I support] Sofia CoppolasThe Beguiledand of courseWonder Woman.
Im also really looking forward toBlade Runner 2049.
Its a very small movie, and its about a peasant who is transgender, and she is incredible.
RASHAD:you’re gonna wanna seeSplit!
Thats something thats on my radar.
James McAvoys performance is outstanding.
CREWS:Gal Gadot gives one of the best performances Ive seen this year inWonder Woman.
She blew it up.
Why cant the same thing happen for Gal?
When I look atWonder Woman, Ive never seen anything like it.
It sent goose bumps down my spine.
When you actually see it break, its like,Oh sh!
LATHAN:I really lovedWonder Woman.
Patty Jenkins did an amazing job on that.
I went with my mother and cousins, and the whole evening we were doing our Wonder Woman poses!
It was so inspiring!
It hit me on more than an entertainment level.
It hit me on a deeply empowering and uplifting level.
Also,Get Out,100 percent.
Those performances were fantastic, especially the performance of Daniel Kaluuya.
He should be in the Best Actor race.
With regards to the disconnect between the choices of the audience and the Academy, its very subjective.
It pushes us all to do better.
CREWS:The Academy isnt going to solve all of our problems.
Its been a very pretentious Academy, in that comedic performances arent given as much weight.
Comedic performances are just as needed and just as viable as dramatic ones.
LATHAN:There are trends in terms of what the Academy considers to be Oscar-worthy.
Great art is great art no matter what the genre is.
I would love to see comedies as nominees or thrillers as nominees, or even something likeWonder Woman.
Thats a genre we havent really seen at the Academy Awards.
Its almost like a stereotype, the throw in of movie thats typically awarded.
I would like to see an expansion.
Its supposed to be worldwide entertainment.
Its wild because some people feel that only their stories are viable, and thats shocking.
Look at a movie likeHidden Figures.
You have to include everyone to come up with the best solution… That starts with one person.
What feels good to me is that now theyve included over 700 new individuals to this decision-making process.
DOMINGO:For me, it will never just be about voting for the Academy Awards.
Those are the immediate steps.
Its looking at the macro in broad strokes.
I already signed up for it!
Now theres the opportunity for the Academy to do that, too.
At the end of the day, quality content is what matters.
RASHAD:The future is right there in front of your face.
Im very interested in seeing Ava DuVernaysA Wrinkle In Time.
I cant wait for that.
But, there are a lot of female directors in television a lot more.
I like the men.
Let the women in, but dont throw the men out!
LATHAN:Ive had some of my most satisfying roles created by and written by women.
Gina Prince-Bythewood has been so instrumental in my career.
Shes a black woman in the Academy.
Its inspiring to see this, finally.
Its about time, guys!
Were not going to movies that are not being representative of the world that we live in.
Now that its finally impacting those box office numbers, people are listening.
