Academy members pen furious open letters about Oscars diversity: ‘Are you saying I'm racist? I honour talent’

'The Academy has set in motion an angry conversation, without intellectual sense, professional conviction or simple humility. It does not even begin to address the issue of diversity.'

(THR)

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are speaking out about the criticism levelled at them by some of Hollywood’s biggest names, refuting the idea that race is a factor when they vote for the Oscars.

The Hollywood Reporter has been running ‘an ongoing series of guest columns by Academy members about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and the Academy's response to it’ all week, and those who were brave enough to take part haven’t held back.

Their comments come in light of president Cheryl Boone Isaac’s decision to review each member’s voting status every 10 years in order “to strengthen, uphold, and maintain the credibility of the Oscars”.

Stephen Verona, Oscar-nominated member of the Academy’s directors branch:

“I never, never hire anyone because of their race, religion or political beliefs. To be lumped in as "racist" by the likes of Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith is totally out of line. I believe talent is what should be honored — gifted individuals who help make movies great.

“Try telling the NBA to hire more white, Latino, Chinese or Eskimo basketball players and see the backlash. And by the way, why doesn’t Spike Lee return his honorary Oscar if he’s so incensed? If people make better movies, they will be rewarded. That’s as simple as it can be.”

Mark Reina, a member of the Academy’s public relations branch previously at Warner Bros:

“Are you saying I am racist or have racist tendencies and need to be excluded from voting? Are you saying if I worked another 10 years I would vote differently? Are you saying that I have not made my voting choices on quality but rather on the color of the artists’ skin? Are you saying that I have voted (consciously or unconsciously) to exclude women, members of the LGBT community and other minorities? I find it insulting and ignorant. I take my membership responsibilities seriously and am honored to be part of the Academy. I have paid my yearly dues, cast Oscar ballots each year, voted in categories only when I have seen all the films and consistently been involved in and voted on other AMPAS matters since I was invited to join in 1995.

“I am a gay man and my father is a Latino immigrant. Please explain to me how denying me my right to vote makes the Academy membership and the Oscar nominees more diverse?”

Stephen Geller, a member of the Academy’s writers branch:

“There is no reason whatsoever to penalize the Academy member for the state of the industry, or for nominations for an award by the separate Academy branches. It is bizarre to assume that, by its voting, each Academy member represents the decisions of studios, networks and talent agencies to produce films. Academy members vote on the results of decisions by others and make no decision about which films should be made, and therefore the membership should not be penalized for someone else's film choice.”

“The Academy consideration to revise the rules concerning diversity is nothing more than a "false flag" issue, and as such has set in motion an angry conversation, without intellectual sense, professional conviction or simple humility. It does not even begin to address the issue of diversity. What Academy, historically, ever has dealt with contemporary realities? For better and for worse, that has never been its role.”