Hollywood insiders are speaking out against a new set of “diversity” rules implemented by the Academy Awards that are set to take effect next year, leaving many with a bad feeling about what’s going on.
In order for any film to be in the running for “Best Picture,” the production has to follow the new diversity and inclusion guidelines or they won’t be considered — no matter how much audiences like them.
After the Academy Awards unveiled its Aperture 2025 initiative, which aims to foster equity and diversity in Hollywood through comprehensive regulations, a number of voting members expressed their concerns and raised the alarm.
“It’s completely ridiculous,” one director said during an interview with the New York Post.
“I’m for diversity, but to make you cast certain types of people if you want to get nominated? That makes the whole process contrived. The person who is right for the part should get the part. Why should you be limited in your choices? But it’s the world we’re in. This is crazy,” the director added.
Starting in 2024, the Academy will mandate that film producers and directors submit a dossier detailing the racial, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status of the cast and crew members involved in their films. This new requirement has garnered criticism, with one prominent Hollywood producer expressing that “very few people in the industry favor” the new guidelines.
But they refuse to speak out publicly against them because of the left-wing “cancel culture.”
“Imagine if great films were not made because of studio or corporate mandates that every film has to conform to the standard for a Best Picture nomination?” the director noted.
Classic films, including “The Godfather” and “Schindler’s List,” could not have been considered for Best Picture with the new inclusion guidelines that are currently being mandated.
Fox News noted:
Meanwhile, legendary actor Richard Dreyfuss condemned Hollywood’s new inclusivity standards in strong terms during an interview last month, claiming they make him “vomit.”
As first noted on Hollywood in Toto, PBS anchor Margaret Hoover brought up the new guidelines during her interview with the actor on “Firing Line.”
She asked, “What do you think of these new inclusion standards for films?”
Without holding back, Dreyfuss noted, “They make me vomit.”
Explaining, he said, “Because this is an art form, it’s also a form of commerce, and it makes money, but it’s an art. And no one should be telling me, as an artist, that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is.”
He added that he doesn’t believe any ethic group in the country should be given preferential treatment. “And I’m sorry, I don’t think there’s a minority or a majority in the country that has to be catered to like that,” he said.
