Oscar nominees weigh in on lack of diversity: 'there’s an elephant in the room'

Roughly a dozen protesters made their presence known outside the event’s venue, the Beverly Hilton, to protest at the fact that no actors of color were nominated for Hollywood’s most coveted honor for a second year in a row.

Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith and Tyrese Gibson are among the African American stars who have either signaled they would not be attending this year’s ceremony or called for a boycott. The Academy addressed the controversy by announcing a “sweeping series of substantive changes” to increase diversity among its members.

Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope, arranged the demonstration on Monday. Those participating held signs featuring white Oscar statues set against a black backdrop with #OscarsSoWhite scrawled in red across the top.

Many of this year’s nominees were called upon to address the topic backstage, with Sylvester Stallone leading the charge: the actor dropped the bombshell that he considered joining in the boycott, despite being a nominee (and rumored frontrunner) for his supporting performance in Creed.

Stallone, celebrating his first nomination since netting two nods in 1977 for Rocky, told the press in attendance that immediately upon receiving word of his nomination, he called Creed director Ryan Coogler (who is African American) to ask whether he should skip the ceremony to stand in solidarity with the movement. Stallone acknowledged that Coogler was “responsible” for him factoring into the awards race.

“I said, ‘If you don’t want me to go, I won’t,’” Stallone recalled. “‘He said, ‘I want you to go.’ That’s the kind of guy he is. He wanted me to stand up for the film.”

Stallone did, however, make a point to praise the Academy’s efforts to improve upon the issue. “There’s a universal law of existence – you either adapt or cease to exist,” he said.

He added: “I do believe that things will change. It’s a matter of time. Eventually, all talent will rise to the top. It’s a matter of getting a new paradigm, a new way of thinking.”

Tom McCarthy, the Oscar-nominated director of Spotlight, was also hopeful when prodded.

“I’m quite excited about [the discussion], to be quite honest,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in community – to be progressive and be inclusive. Keep pushing the needle!”

Rooney Mara, nominated for her supporting work in Carol, concurred, saying: “I think it’s a conversation that’s one we should all be having.” She also called for the hashtag #OscarsSoStraight to start trending, following the surprising best picture and best director snubs for Carol, a lesbian romance.

The Coen brothers, who were visible no-shows at the event despite being nominated for co-writing Bridge of Spies, weighed in on the matter last week while promoting their latest, Hail, Caesar!

“You don’t sit down and write a story and say, ‘I’m going to write a story that involves four black people, three Jews, and a dog’ – right?” Joel Coen told the Daily Beast. “If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand anything about how stories get written.”

Ethan concurred at the time, adding: “It’s important to tell the story you’re telling in the right way, which might involve black people or people of whatever heritage or ethnicity – or it might not.”

McCarthy echoed their sentiments backstage, explaining that in telling a true story set in Boston in Spotlight, he was tasked with representing a “very specific culture”. “You have to be true to the material,” he stressed.

Fellow best director nominee George Miller of Mad Max: Fury Road agrees.

“I think casting is story-driven,” Miller said. “Films are story-driven, and so if the story warrants it, of course there should be diversity of all kinds.”

• This year’s Academy Awards take place on 28 February.