DirectorsSoMale: Oscar noms slammed for lack of diversity

Actress Issa Rae was ready with her quip, as if she had predicted the Oscar nominations that were announced Monday. “And yet they’re not allowed to be lauded by these cultural institutions for their directing prowess.” There’s a “complete disconnect,” Smith added, “between objective criteria of merit and what we are seeing in the nominations for directing at the Academy Awards.” In terms of race and ethnicity, there was disappointment that only Erivo’s nomination for “Harriet” prevented an entirely white slate in all four categories — a scenario that first happened in 2015, resulting in the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, and again in 2016. “It’s been a long, slow battle,” said Chris Tashima, an actor-director and a member of the Academy Asians Action Committee, an informal group of Asian and Pacific Islander members of the Academy. We’re seeing that playing out right now in the awards process.” At Time’s Up, the Hollywood-based organization devoted to fighting sexual harassment and sexual assault, Chief Operating Officer Rebecca Goldman pledged to work for change. “This is why TIME’S UP exists — to ensure women in entertainment and across industries get the opportunities and recognition they deserve,” she said.