UPDATE: Boycott of Academy Awards ceremony due to lack of diversity

UPDATE:

The omission of any actors and actresses of color in this year’s Academy Award nominations, and in other motion picture major categories, has caused actress, Jada Pinkett Smith, and director, Spike Lee, to call for a boycott of this year’s awards ceremony Sunday, February 28.

The call for the boycott came four days after the nominees were announced, and on the the day the nation celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the man who strove to create diversity in all aspects of the American culture.

For the second year in a row, no one of color was nominated for Academy Awards in any of the major categories, prompting social media to react with a continuation of last year's #OscarsSoWhite campaign...#OscarsStillSoWhite.

The boycott prompted the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, to issued a lengthy statement on the subject, on Martin Luther King Day.

Isaacs said she was both "heartbroken" and "frustrated," and promised big changes.

"The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership," said Isaacs in the statement. "In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond."

In the meantime, other entertainment professionals have weighed in on the boycott, both white and those of other ethnicities, both for and against. Tune into the Academy Award ceremony February 28, and see who walks the red carpet, and who is noticeably absent.



ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
LOS ANGELES, California - The nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards have been announced. The Revenant led the 88th Academy Awards nominations with 12, followed in second by Mad Max: Fury Road with 10.

The nominations in the major categories are:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

“The Big Short” Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers

“Bridge of Spies” Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers

“Brooklyn” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers

“Mad Max: Fury Road” Doug Mitchell and George Miller, Producers

“The Martian” Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer and Mark Huffam, Producers

“The Revenant” Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers

“Room” Ed Guiney, Producer

“Spotlight” Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers



ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

“The Big Short” Adam McKay

“Mad Max: Fury Road” George Miller

“The Revenant” Alejandro G. Iñárritu

“Room” Lenny Abrahamson

“Spotlight” Tom McCarthy



PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Bryan Cranston in “Trumbo”

Matt Damon in “The Martian”

Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Revenant”

Michael Fassbender in “Steve Jobs”

Eddie Redmayne in “The Danish Girl”



PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cate Blanchett in “Carol”

Brie Larson in “Room”

Jennifer Lawrence in “Joy”

Charlotte Rampling in “45 Years”

Saoirse Ronan in “Brooklyn”



PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale in “The Big Short”

Tom Hardy in “The Revenant”

Mark Ruffalo in “Spotlight”

Mark Rylance in “Bridge of Spies”

Sylvester Stallone in “Creed”



PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jennifer Jason Leigh in “The Hateful Eight”

Rooney Mara in “Carol”

Rachel McAdams in “Spotlight”

Alicia Vikander in “The Danish Girl”

Kate Winslet in “Steve Jobs”



ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“The Big Short” Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay

“Brooklyn” Screenplay by Nick Hornby

“Carol” Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy

“The Martian” Screenplay by Drew Goddard

“Room” Screenplay by Emma Donoghue



ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Bridge of Spies” Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

“Ex Machina” Written by Alex Garland

“Inside Out” Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen

“Spotlight” Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy

“Straight Outta Compton” Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

The 88th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, hosted by Chris Rock. The presentation of the Oscars will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide, on the ABC television network at 7:00 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

#OscarNominations #AcademyAwards