Movie academy invites 928 new members in diversity push
LOS ANGELES— The group that hands out the Oscars said on Monday that it had invited 928 new members from 59 countries, in its biggest diversity drive after years of criticism of its mostly white and male membership. Those invited include “Girls Trip” star Tiffany Haddish; “The Big Sick” cowriters Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon; and actor-comedian Dave Chappelle, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement.
Other recognizable invitees include Timothée Chalamet, Jada Pinkett Smith, Amy Schumer, Christine Baranski, Sarah Silverman and Kyra Sedgwick.
If all those invited accept, female membership would rise to 31 percent from the current 28 percent. People of color will increase to 16 percent from 13 percent. Total membership would stand at more than 7,000 actors, writers, directors and executives.
A lack of diversity within the acade- my has long been cited as a barrier to racial inclusion in Hollywood’s highest honors. In 2016, the Academy responded by pledging to double female and minority membership by 2020.—