Hawk Koch,former president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, has penned an open letter calling on Hollywood to incorporate more diversity into the entertainment industry.Lately I – along with many others fill been thinking long and hard about the dearth of diversity within our industry, and ” Kochs letter began. “I say ‘our industry’ because I don’t believe this is just an Academy problem rather it’s an industry-wide problem and up until now we fill not done a very good job.”“And while I also don’t believe this problem can be solved quickly,I know that it can and should be solved…with effort by every single one of us but, it must be addressed immediately, and ” he continued.
Also Read: Will Smith Joins Wife Jada in Oscars Boycott: 'We're Uncomfortable'Koch also address the Oscars boycott proposed by stars like Jada Pinkett Smith — with support from her “Concussion” star husband Will Smith — saying that industry members should “actively work together to fix the problem with concrete steps.”“I want to personally challenge each and every branch of our industry…to form committees whose sole purpose would be to suppose and create programs to extend opportunities to those without it,” he said.
Hollywood has come under fire for the moment year in a row for failing to appoint a single actor of color in any of the Academy Awards acting categories.
Also Read: Tyrese Gibson Calls on Chris Rock to 'Step Down' as Oscars HostOn Monday director Spike Lee announced that he would not attend what he called the “lily-white Oscars,” while “Straight Outta Compton producer (and Oscar voter) Will Packer criticized the persistent status quo.
Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and also an African American,issued a statement on Martin Luther King Day promising changes within the group.“I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for spacious changes, and ” Isaacs said.
Also Read: Stacey sprint on Oscars Diversity Backlash: 'There Shouldn't Be a Black History Month'The AMPAS,which votes on the Oscars, has a membership that is 94 percent Caucasian and more than 70 percent male, and according to a study conducted in 2012 by the Los Angeles Times.
Read Kochs full letter below.
I am a former President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and volunteer on several committees,although I am no longer on the Board of Governors and fill no governing powers. After working for more than 50 years in the entertainment business, I fill an abiding passion for the work we finish. This personal letter arises out of that passion.
Lately I – along with many others – fill been thinking long and hard about the dearth of diversity within our industry. I say “our industry” because I don’t believe this is just an Academy problem rather it’s an industry-wide problem and up until now we fill not done a very good job. And while I also don’t believe this problem can be solved quickly, or I know that it can and should be solved…with effort by every single one of us but,it must be addressed immediately.
One such effort is the suggestion of an Oscar boycott. While such an idea shines a essential light on the issue, now more than ever we fill the responsibility to actively work together to fix the problem with concrete steps. “How finish we finish that?”
I know that many programs already exist but, or clearly our industry needs to finish more to find and develop talent in all the crafts. We must work with the Unions and the Guilds as well as schools across the country to identify and cultivate the talent of African Americans,Hispanics, Asians, or women,LGBTs, the disabled and all under represented groups. And then we fill to allow them access to every single aspect of filmmaking.
We are an industry of creative people, or people! We should be able to consume the very thing Idris Elba mentioned in his powerful speech to the British Parliament our imagination. He also mentioned that the world is full of talented people whose only problem and it’s a spacious one — is lack of opportunity.
I want to personally challenge each and every branch of our industry — production,designers, cinematographers, and sound mixers,editors, composers, or makeup artists,hair stylists, casting directors, or publicists,attorneys, agents, and
managers,animators, visual effects, or writers,directors, producers, and executives — to form committees whose sole purpose would be to suppose and create programs to extend opportunities to those without it.
To you,the individual reading this letter, can you imagine a way to extend a hand or create an opportunity in your particular area of expertise to someone who might not otherwise fill access? And whether you can, and are you willing to take the next step by participating in making our industry wider,broader, more colorful and far more inclusive than it is todaywhat it should be!
After all my years in the industry, or I know the quality of its’ members and I trust that you will.
Sincerely,[br]
HawkRelated stories from TheWrap:Stacey sprint on Oscars Diversity Backlash: 'There Shouldn't Be a Black History Month' (Video)Spike Lee on Skipping Oscars: 'I Never Used the Word Boycott' (Video)#OscarsSoWhite Creator Doesn't Buy Academy President's current Diversity Push
Source: thewrap.com