After a second straight year with no African-American acting nominees in any of the twenty possible slots (and the umpteenth year with no directing nominees either), last year’s Academy Awards were dominated by the #OscarsSoWhite debate, with even the ceremony itself being driven principally by host Chris Rock mocking the lack of diversity and inclusivity at the film industry’s biggest awards ceremony.
Quite rightly, the Academy finally decided to take serious steps to fix their overwhelmingly white, male membership, stripping older voters who haven’t worked in the industry of their votes, while inviting a large number of new talent from more diverse backgrounds to join. But one of the more prominent young filmmakers has, interestingly, declined the Academy’s invitation, with The Hollywood Reporter revealing that “Creed” director Ryan Coogler is likely to pass on the chance to join up.
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Coogler’s had awards attention since the beginning of his career, and some might argue has been one of those hurt most by the Academy’s mostly white membership — his “Fruitvale Station” had plenty of buzz but failed to pick up a single nomination, while the only nod for the widely acclaimed “Creed” was for its (white) supporting actor Sylvester Stallone. It doesn’t seem like Coogler has sour grapes, though: reportedly, the actor is passing on the invite not for protest reasons, but because he doesn’t want to judge other people’s art.
It’s a laudable stance in many respects, and while some might criticize Coogler for passing up a chance to help change the makeup of the Academy, it’s not remotely fair that he should be held up as a spokesperson for a community rather than simply an artist, especially one that wants to opt out of the awards circus. Hopefully plenty of other invitees step up in his place, though.
In the meantime, Coogler will start shooting next year on Marvel movie “Black Panther,” with Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan.