It’s no secret that many people are outraged at the lack of Oscar nominations for Selma (it did receive nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Song). It’s old news in yesterday’s paper that’s next to that cold cup of coffee you sorta half finished.
Also See: 4 Things That Tick Us Off About This Year’s Academy Awards
There is a bit of info coming through the grape vine, however, that comes straight out of the Academy. One of the members bluntly explained why they snubbed Selma in the way they did:
What no one wants to say out loud is that Selma is a well-crafted movie, but there’s no art to it. If the movie had been directed by a 60-year-old white male, I don’t think that people would have been carrying on about it to the level that they were. And as far as the accusations about the Academy being racist? Yes, most members are white males, but they are not the cast of Deliverance — they had to get into the Academy to begin with, so they’re not cretinous, snaggletoothed hillbillies. When a movie about black people is good, members vote for it. But if the movie isn’t that good, am I supposed to vote for it just because it has black people in it? I’ve got to tell you, having the cast show up in T-shirts saying ‘I can’t breathe’ [at their New York premiere] — I thought that stuff was offensive. Did they want to be known for making the best movie of the year, or for stirring up shit?
Does the Academy member’s statement help at all? Perhaps not, as it’s laced with seeming resentment that isn’t aiming to solve any problems or make excuses, but it’s an interesting reveal nonetheless.
Thanks to Cinema Blend for this new info as we head into the final days before the 2015 Academy Awards.
