Post: #1

Quote:Shortly after the Oscar nominations were announced one week ago today, several fans, actors and filmmakers alike voiced their displeasure about the lack of diversity among the nominations. Last weekend, filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith announced that they plan on boycotting the awards ceremony, which will air on ABC Sunday, February 28, hosted by Chris Rock. It wasn't clear at the time if Jada Pinkett Smith's husband Will Smith will be joining her in boycotting the awards ceremony, but the actor revealed on Good Morning America that he will be not be attending or watching the awards show.
"To me, that was huge. So when I see this list and series of nominations that come out - and everybody is fantastic. That's the complexity of this issue. ... But it feels like it's going in the wrong direction. There's a position that we hold in this community and if we're not a part of the solution, we're part of the problem. And it was her call to action for herself and for me and for our family to be a part of the solution. [For] my part, I think I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and our Hollywood community great. And so when I look at the series of nominations of the Academy, it's not reflecting that beauty."

In related news, actor Tyrese Gibson and rapper/actor 50 Cent recently took to their Instagram pages, asking Oscar host Chris Rock to step down. 50 Cent offered a succinct plea to the comedian, stating, "Chris please do not do the oscars awards. You mean a lot man, don't do it. Please," while Tyrese Gibson urged the host to "do the right thing," adding that "there is no joke you can crack that can change the way we feel."

Even one of the Oscar nominees is contemplating boycotting as well. Mark Ruffalo, who is up for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Spotlight, told BBC News that he is considering boycotting the awards over the diversity issue. Here's what Mark Ruffalo had to say below about his potential boycott.

"I'm weighing it, that's where I'm at right now. I woke up in the morning thinking, 'what is the right way to do this?' Because if you look at Martin Luther King's legacy, what he was saying was that the good people who don't act are much worse than the wrongdoers who are purposefully not acting and don't know the right way. It's the entire American system. It's rife with the kind of white privilege racism that goes into our justice system."

source:http://movieweb.com/oscars-2016-will-smi...oncussion/

Short version: Will Smith boycotts Oscars because nobody cares about American football players smacking their heads, his wife and Spike Lee join in. Actor Tyrese Gibson and rapper/actor 50 Cent ask Chris Rock to step down as host, while Mark Ruffalo, who is up for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Spotlight, is also considering boycotting because there's not enough diversity .

Is everything going bananas this year?

Post: #2

Oh God this finally has come here.

There is so much hilarity around this idiocy, from Charlotee Rampling saying "Well maybe the black people didn't deserve it" to Julie Delpy saying she wished she was black because women are more oppressed than black people in Hollywood. Even more knee-spanking from the fact the Academy is scrambling to make its membership Affirmative Action and to say that if you haven't made a film for 10 years your membership is up. It's the latter point that'll do the most damage: it means the Academy then has no elder statesmen in it, no men or women who can see the long view of film and see what's new and what's just recycled hash. The Oscars are about to get even dumbed than they were.

God save us from people who mean well. -storm

Post: #3

People still watch the Oscars?


This is yet another instance of "we have to lower the standards" to "be more diverse". If your movie was good enough, you would have gotten a nomination. End of story. Stop being a giant whining pussy and try again next year.

Although I would expect in the next 5 years, BET network puts out a new event called Bloscars (Black Oscars).

Post: #4

#affirmativeactionoscars = #richblackproblems

Post: #5

That's the thing about this bullshit. When a black actor actually does perform exceptionally, there will be a question mark. Really, really sad. I personally would rather see a few black faces who managed to earn it in spite of possible racism instead of getting an award due to confirmed racism.

Damnit people! Being black isn't a disability.

Post: #6

Does anyone know why Beasts of No Nation wasn't up there? I thought it was a great film.

Post: #7

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Post: #8

The irony of this -- that these protesters clearly don't see -- is that the most prestigious gig a comedian can get is host of the Oscars. This puts you in "legend" category with comedians like Billy Crystal and Steve Martin.

Chris Rock is this year's host (he also hosted in 2005) and they're calling on him to step down. The protest is one thing, but why ruin an opportunity for Rock or try to taint his run as host?

This is where I think these protesters go wrong. Now, instead of this being a triumph for Rock and his comic skills, it paints him as a sell-out.

This is not a good way to protest, but it does show the difference between the protesters of the '60s and today. Back then, they wanted to uplift the downtrodden. Today, they want to bring down the successful.

Even a White Supremacist group couldn't have wrecked this moment of glory for Chris Rock better than these protesters did.

And by the way -- when (Jewish) Billy Crystal first hosted in '91, no Jewish actors got any nominations in best actor/actress or supporting categories. Should he have stepped down?

Post: #9

Post: #10

(01-23-2016 06:12 AM)Paracelsus Wrote:  Oh God this finally has come here.

There is so much hilarity around this idiocy, from Charlotee Rampling saying "Well maybe the black people didn't deserve it" to Julie Delpy saying she wished she was black because women are more oppressed than black people in Hollywood. Even more knee-spanking from the fact the Academy is scrambling to make its membership Affirmative Action and to say that if you haven't made a film for 10 years your membership is up. It's the latter point that'll do the most damage: it means the Academy then has no elder statesmen in it, no men or women who can see the long view of film and see what's new and what's just recycled hash. The Oscars are about to get even dumbed than they were.

You're giving them way too much credit. The fact that they are generally incapable of nominating films unless they are OSCAR FILMS ™ has always been hilarious. This issue would've never been possible if a) they had actually appreciated Creed for how great of a film it was, and given a director nod to Cooler, a lead nod to Jordan and a supporting nod to Stallone or b) the studio behind Creed had understood what kind of film they had and had marketed it properly and given it the Oscar push. However, if a movie is released before December, it gets no shot of being nominated.

While the racism thing is overblown, hopefully this is the chance to make the Oscars actually represent the best in filmmaking over the year, as opposed to who could make the most "Oscar-iest" film of December/January.

Post: #11

This seems to be similar to certain tv shows and movies that have black characters. Everyone knows they're hired to make the show seem cool and diverse, but if they were to suddenly have only white characters the viewers and media would go insane.

We want affirmative action, we're just not allowed to point it out when we see it.

If the Oscar's start nominating black cast members every year now, we're all going to collectively understand that it's only because the Academy doesn't want more trouble. Cheapens the accomplishments of the black actors who legitimately earned their nomination.

Post: #12

Have they finally figured out that playing the token black guy and playing up the stereotypes isn't a recipe for success?

Will Smith for several years was the biggest out of all of them. This was a black guy, who for the most part would be recognised by many people of different races and creed in just about any country in the world.

He has been in quite a lot of films I came to enjoy, remembering his big hits such as Independence Day and Men in Black as his first steps to superstardom.

Here was a man, a black man if you cared about any of that, who could pull in audiences and market a film into the tens or hundreds of millions. I am Legend was popular because Will Smith, a top A list actor was the main lead. I enjoyed the Omega man more but Smith made it better than it actually was.

And lets not forget Samuel L Jackson. How many films has this old bastard been in and made good? He actually became such a presence that any film was always in danger of suffering from the Samuel L Jackson stereotype!

His one liners were akin to Arnolds, therefore the film became him and nothing else.

These two idiots then show their true colours and stupidity by pandering to a demographic which has its own awards shows. How immature.

The reason Will Smith is tanking at the box office is because his demands to include his fucking children, his playing to stereotypes and boring film scripts. Less we forget After Earth.

If these black men don't want to be at the oscars and instead use some tired old line about injustice, they should stop appearing in films written, funded, produced and directed by white people.

Post: #13

I had this conversation with someone:

Them: "I can't believe Will Smith didn't get nominated for that NFL movie"
Me: "Well, did you see it?"
Them: "No. You?"
Me: "No."

That ended quickly.

Post: #14

Another race thread!

Post: #15

How could it not be about race?
No, wait, it isn't about race, it's just global warming run amok at the oscars.

Post: #16

It's cool to discuss race openly. I don't think we do it enough on the forum in an intelligent and reasonable manner.

Let's be real here. While I agree that the "affirmative action" messaging is not really productive for black actors in the long run, let's not use this to give the selection process and judgemental ability of the Academy more credit than it deserves insofar as pandering to some agenda like they always do instead of choosing good films.

Post: #17

(01-23-2016 06:09 AM)running_scared Wrote:  

Quote:Shortly after the Oscar nominations were announced one week ago today, several fans, actors and filmmakers alike voiced their displeasure about the lack of diversity among the nominations. Last weekend, filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith announced that they plan on boycotting the awards ceremony, which will air on ABC Sunday, February 28, hosted by Chris Rock. It wasn't clear at the time if Jada Pinkett Smith's husband Will Smith will be joining her in boycotting the awards ceremony, but the actor revealed on Good Morning America that he will be not be attending or watching the awards show.
"To me, that was huge. So when I see this list and series of nominations that come out - and everybody is fantastic. That's the complexity of this issue. ... But it feels like it's going in the wrong direction. There's a position that we hold in this community and if we're not a part of the solution, we're part of the problem. And it was her call to action for herself and for me and for our family to be a part of the solution. [For] my part, I think I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and our Hollywood community great. And so when I look at the series of nominations of the Academy, it's not reflecting that beauty."

In related news, actor Tyrese Gibson and rapper/actor 50 Cent recently took to their Instagram pages, asking Oscar host Chris Rock to step down. 50 Cent offered a succinct plea to the comedian, stating, "Chris please do not do the oscars awards. You mean a lot man, don't do it. Please," while Tyrese Gibson urged the host to "do the right thing," adding that "there is no joke you can crack that can change the way we feel."

Even one of the Oscar nominees is contemplating boycotting as well. Mark Ruffalo, who is up for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Spotlight, told BBC News that he is considering boycotting the awards over the diversity issue. Here's what Mark Ruffalo had to say below about his potential boycott.

"I'm weighing it, that's where I'm at right now. I woke up in the morning thinking, 'what is the right way to do this?' Because if you look at Martin Luther King's legacy, what he was saying was that the good people who don't act are much worse than the wrongdoers who are purposefully not acting and don't know the right way. It's the entire American system. It's rife with the kind of white privilege racism that goes into our justice system."

source:http://movieweb.com/oscars-2016-will-smi...oncussion/

Short version: Will Smith boycotts Oscars because nobody cares about American football players smacking their heads, his wife and Spike Lee join in. Actor Tyrese Gibson and rapper/actor 50 Cent ask Chris Rock to step down as host, while Mark Ruffalo, who is up for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Spotlight, is also considering boycotting because there's not enough diversity .

Is everything going bananas this year?

I will tell you this much: Ruffalo just made sure that he will not win that award that he was nominated for. If you are up for an award, be gracious and show up in case you win to accept it(unless you really are busy possibly accepting some other award that night, or have a warrant out for your arrest in that country)

Ruffalo may have cost himself some money/roles by taking this idiotic stance. Be gracious, idiot.

note: the academy has always been a racist club and there is something to the complaints we are seeing this year. Remember the year that Driving Miss Daisy won best picture? I think Do the Right Thing was a much better picture and was nominated that year, was more true to the black experience and whatnot but instead we got Driving Miss Daisy. It's politics. And yeah, to some extent it's racist. Deal with it. Life isn't fair.

Post: #18

(01-23-2016 11:23 AM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Another race thread!

I know. Spike, the Smiths, and the rest of these assholes keep starting racist shit. Maybe they will have a dream, someday...

Post: #19

For a country that is so "advanced" and "progressive" we sure do have a lot of race problems.

People think that because we have iPhones now that we have somehow advanced beyond human nature.

Why can't we all just be Americans for fucks sake.

Post: #20

Eddie Murphy did a great white-face skit on SNL back in the 80s that younger folks probably haven't seen:

http://www.criticalmediaproject.org/cml/...e-like-me/

Post: #21

(01-23-2016 12:26 PM)kleyau Wrote:  I know. Spike, the Smiths, and the rest of these assholes keep starting racist shit. Maybe they will have a dream, someday...

You act as though Spike Lee invented racism. It's weird how everyone on the forum can easily point out feminism in media, but then act like racism is some made up myth.

Post: #22

(01-23-2016 12:16 PM)Cobra Wrote:  It's cool to discuss race openly. I don't think we do it enough on the forum in an intelligent and reasonable manner.

Let's be real here. While I agree that the "affirmative action" messaging is not really productive for black actors in the long run, let's not use this to give the selection process and judgemental ability of the Academy more credit than it deserves insofar as pandering to some agenda like they always do instead of choosing good films.

If I'm not mistaken, the forum rules are against race trolling, not necessarily racial discussions. Which this doesn't seem to be, although I'd obviously defer to mods on that one.

Post: #23

I don't get why either Blacks or Whites care who wins the Oscars. All of it pretty gay if you ask me.

Post: #24

(01-23-2016 12:26 PM)kleyau Wrote:  

(01-23-2016 11:23 AM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Another race thread!

I know. Spike, the Smiths, and the rest of these assholes keep starting racist shit. Maybe they will have a dream, someday...

What makes these people assholes or racist?
How much did you read about this campaign? I bet little.

One of Spike's main points is that 40 out of 40 acting category nominees in the past two editions have been white. But he doesn't condemn the Academy or the ceremony, rather saying the problem is that there are no minorities at Hollywood studios or TV networks who make the decisions as to what projects see the light of day.
As for the latter, in my opinion it is a difficult issue as it is determined by financial power, which obviously has always eluded the black population. This is a socioeconomic and political problem that will persist for centuries beyond our lifetimes.
I Googled 'which black actors deserved an Oscar nomination '?
Opinions vary but Michael B Jordan in creed, idris elba in beasts of no nation and will smith in concussion are some of those mentioned. I haven't seen any of these but now progress can be made by evaluating the merits of each performance and measure it against the 20 performers who were actually nominated, including the talented Sylvester Stallone.

Post: #25

(01-23-2016 02:33 PM)Samseau Wrote:  I don't get why either Blacks or Whites care who wins the Oscars. All of it pretty gay if you ask me.

I agree with you

But

If you had to do some dirty shit when you were a kid just to get in the industry you would probably care about it to.