Canadian protests Oscar voting changes
A Canadian member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is concerned that diversity reforms will discriminate against older members. Nancy Beiman of Burlington, Ont., a member in the short films and feature animation category, has opposed changes in members’ voting status in a letter to academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
On Friday, the academy announced that voting status will last 10 years and “will be renewed if that new member has been active in motion pictures during that decade.” The changes come after two straight years of all-white acting nominees and public outcry over a lack of diversity. Some Hollywood stars, including director Spike Lee and actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, have said they will not attend the Oscars on Feb. 28.
Beiman said she felt “shock and hurt” when she received the directive, noting it didn’t define what “active in motion pictures” means.
“It is a poorly thought out, poorly designed and highly divisive ruling, which was done without consulting any of the membership,” she told The Canadian Press on Monday.
“Since 2005 I’ve been working in related fields (teaching, writing) and freelancing on films for which I do not receive screen credit. I’ve been a script doctor, character designer and storyboard artist on three unproduced theatrical pictures,” the Sheridan College professor, 58, writes in her letter to the academy, noting she’s been a professional animator for 37 years.
“What does my resumé or that of any other member of AMPAS have to do with who is nominated for Oscars? Nothing. The membership’s experience is not the problem. The nominating system is flawed, but the blame is put on older members rather than the voting process.”
Beiman adds that as a female in her category she’s also a minority.
The academy had not responded to a request for comment at press time.