For Immediate Release: January 24, 2017
Contact Christina DiPasquale 202.716.1953 press@balestramedia.com
Oscar Nominations are a Big Disappointment to the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition for their Continued Lack of Full Diversity
Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their 2017 Oscar nominations. This year’s nominations recognize some outstanding performances by people of color, particularly by African American actors and actresses, but 4 out of 5 of the nominees in the Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director categories are white, and Latinos, Asian-Americans and Native Americans were once again noticeably underrepresented or not represented at all. “Creatives of color in Hollywood are producing outstanding work that fosters a greater understanding of today’s diverse America and we applaud all of the nominees announced by the Academy today,” said Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition—the secretariat of the National Latino Media Council. “Without question, the multi-dimensional portrayals of our community are what audiences want and film studios fell short again this past year in meeting that need with greater opportunity for talent of all races and ethnicities. Latinos are outraged, our actors are not getting the opportunities to work in front of camera, and with few exceptions, in back of camera as well.” Throughout 2016, the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition, including the National Latino Media Council, Asian Pacific American Media Coalition (APAMC), and American Indians in Film and Television (AIFT) and NAACP Hollywood Bureau, sought commitments from the top six film studios—Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros., & Sony Pictures—to include the disclosure of diversity data and explore strategies for increasing those numbers. To date, no major film studio has agreed to regularly provide data on their released films, regarding diversity in executive leadership, casting, writing, producing and directing, and no head of studio has engaged in conversations with the coalition about urgently needed improvements. Nogales continued, “Despite being 18 percent of the population and the biggest movie-goers in the country, only 4 Latinos were nominated in back of camera categories for the 2017 Academy Awards. The lack of recognition for Latino talent in front of camera on the Oscar stage stems from film studios not providing opportunities for that talent at every level. They must stop ignoring our calls for action and put diversity and inclusion for all races and ethnicities at the top of their list of priorities. “Again, our African American brothers and sisters are included in nominations but other people of color are excluded, especially when it comes to American Indians,” said Sonny Skyhawk, founder of American Indians in Film and Television. “We congratulate Dev Patel (LION) for his richly-deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination and wish him luck in the final voting,” said Daniel Mayeda, Chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition. “We are disappointed that the Academy overlooked other outstanding performances by Asian/Asian American actors including Hayden Szeto (EDGE OF SEVENTEEN) and Donnie Yen (ROGUE ONE). In addition, KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, nominated for Best Animated Feature, is demonstrative of the continual problem Asian/Asian Americans face in Hollywood: Even when the story centers on our experiences, the roles are often played by non-Asian/Asian American actors. Kubo and his entire extended Japanese family were all voiced by white actors, Marvel cast The Ancient One as a white woman (Tilda Swinton) in DR. STRANGE, and Scarlett Johansson will play Major Motoku Kusanagi in the upcoming GHOST IN THE SHELL.” Mayeda continued, “Nominations and box office receipts for films such as MOANA (Best Animated Feature) and HIDDEN FIGURES (numerous nominations including Best Picture) demonstrate that movies with storylines featuring people of color can be commercial successes, both with those ethnic communities and the broader general audience. We therefore urge the studios to reach out to Asian American creative talent and tell more stories from our community.” The Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition is known for brokering an agreement for the annual release of diversity data by all major TV networks in 2000 and has met with them annually since.###
The National Latino Media Council (NLMC) is the most influential Latino media coalition in the nation-comprised of 12 of the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organizations dedicated to increasing Latino employment in the media industry and improving Latino portrayals on film and television. American Indians in Film and Television (AIFT) is an advocacy group that endeavors to defend and enhance the interests of American Indians in the mediums of film, television and telecommunications. The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition (APAMC) advocates for the visibility and inclusion of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the entertainment and media industries. APAMC members are Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, East West Players, Japanese American Citizens League, Media Action Network for Asian Americans, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Visual Communications. Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here.]]>
