Steven Spielberg on Oscars row: The Academy isn’t racist but Idris Elba should have been nominated

Speaking out: Steven Spielberg wades into the Oscars diversity row
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Jennifer Ruby12 February 2016
The Weekender

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Award-winning director Steven Spielberg has waded into the Oscars diversity row, insisting that the Academy is ‘not racist’.

The filmmaker, nominated this year for Bridge Of Spies, admits that Idris Elba and Straight Outta Compton should have been nominated but doesn’t “100% support” a change in Academy rules.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he insisted that the lack of diversity is a deep-rooted problem within the film industry.

“I think we have to stop pointing fingers and blaming the Academy. It’s people that hire, it’s people at the main gate of studios and independents. It’s the stories that are being told,” he said.

Oscar nominations 2016

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“It’s who’s writing diversity — it starts on the page. And we all have to be more proactive in getting out there and just seeking talent.”

“I’m also not 100 percent sure that taking votes away from Academy members who have paid their dues and maybe are retired now and have done great service,” Spielberg continued.

“Maybe they’ve not won a nomination, which would have given them immunity to the new rules, but they have served proudly and this is their industry too — to strip their votes?

“I’m not 100 percent behind that.”

He added: “You have to look back a couple of years, where Lupita [Nyong'o] was recognized for 12 Years a Slave [and] 12 Years a Slave won best picture, you know?

“I don't believe that there is inherent or dormant racism because of the amount of white Academy members.”

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