Film Academy’s New Invitees Include Zazie Beetz, Zendaya, Lakeith Stanfield
Written by SOURCE on July 1, 2020
Awkwafina, Zendaya, Constance Wu, and Atlanta stars Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, and Brian Tyree Henry are among the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new invitees for membership. In an attempt to diversify the Academy after years of criticism, the latest potential inductees (if they accept) are 45 percent women and 36 percent people of color.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, this year’s group helped the Academy meet its 2016 goal of doubling the number of women and people of color among its membership by 2020. The 2016 goal was set in response to the viral #OscarsSoWhite criticism of the institution’s lack of representation. Since then, the number of women in its membership increased from 1,446 to 3,179, and the number of people of color tripled from 554 to 1,787. International members also comprised 49 percent of this year’s 819 total invitees.
More actor invitees—many of them multi-hyphenates—include Natasha Lyonne, Cynthia Erivo, Niecy Nash, John David Washington, Olivia Wilde, Florence Pugh, Eva Longoria, Yul Vazquez, Teyonah Parris, Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Bobby Cannavale, Ben Mendelsohn, and Yalitza Aparicio. Among the filmmakers invited are Ari Aster (Midsommar), Kat Candler (Queen Sugar), Robert Eggers (The Witch), Matt Reeves (the forthcoming The Batman). Read a full list of all 819 people—which includes 13 who worked on Best Picture winner Parasite—right here.
“The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travelers in the motion picture arts and sciences,” Academy president David Rubin said in a statement. “We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now.”
While these additions are encouraging, this hopefully signals long-term commitment to structural change within the film industry.
“We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one,” Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement. “We are committed to staying the course.”
