As part of its effort to increase diversity among its ranks, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday issued a record 683 invitations to new members from rising stars like Star Wars' John Boyega and Harry Potter's Emma Watson to musicians like Mary J. Blige and Will.i.am to internationally recognized directors like Great Britain's Ken Loach and Iran's Abbas Kiarostami.
The new invitees are heavily weighted to favor women (46 percent) and people of color (41 percent). If all elect to join, it will begin to shift the demographic makeup of the Academy, which has been criticized in the past for being too old, too male and too white. According to the Academy, its membership was 75 percent male before this year's new members were recruited, and could move to 73 percent male once they join. Similarly, the Academy was 92 percent white before the latest list and could become 89 percent white in its wake.
Recent Oscar winners who were tapped include Brie Larson, best actress winner for Room; Alicia Vikander, best supporting actress winner for The Danish Girl; Mark Rylance, best supporting actor winner for Bridge of Spies; producer Michael Sugar, best picture winner for Spotlight; Laszlo Nemes, director of best foreign-language film Son of Saul; and Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, winners for best adapted screenplay for The Big Short.
Several names who were overlooked in the last round of Oscar nominations made the cut like Beasts of No Nation's Idris Elba (actors) and Cari Fukunaga (directors) and Creed star Michael B. Jordan. And Nate Parker, who directed and stars in The Birth of a Nation, which caused a sensation at Sundance and is expected to figure in the upcoming awards conversation, was also invited to join the actors branch.
More at the link including the full list of all the new members.
Here's just the list of the actors who were invited to be part of the Academy
Mahershala Ali The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Parts 1 and 2), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anthony Anderson The Departed, Hustle & Flow
Adam Beach The Departed, Hustle & Flow
Kate Beckinsale - Love & Friendship, The Aviator
Chadwick Boseman - Captain America: Civil War, Get on Up
John Boyega Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Attack the Block
Betty Buckley Wyatt Earp, Carrie
Rose Byrne X-Men: First Class, Bridesmaids
Julie Carmen The Milagro Beanfield War, Gloria
Enrique Castillo Déjà Vu, Bound by Honor
Morris Chestnut G.I. Jane, Boyz N the Hood
Cliff Curtis Live Free or Die Hard, Training Day
Idris Elba Beasts of No Nation, Pacific Rim
America Ferrera Cesar Chavez, End of Watch
Vivica A. Fox Kill Bill, Independence Day
Andrew Garfield 99 Homes, The Amazing Spider-Man
Greta Gerwig Frances Ha, To Rome with Love
Jesse D. Goins The Ugly Truth, Patriot Games
Bruce Greenwood Flight, Star Trek
Carla Gugino Watchmen, Night at the Museum
Luis Guzmán Punch-Drunk Love, Carlitos Way
Dennis Haysbert Dear White People, Wreck-It Ralph
Tom Hiddleston Crimson Peak, Marvels The Avengers
James Hong Safe, Mulan
Oscar Isaac Ex Machina, A Most Violent Year
OShea Ice Cube Jackson* Ride Along, Friday
Dakota Johnson Black Mass, Fifty Shades of Grey
Cherry Jones Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Signs
Michael B. Jordan Creed, Fruitvale Station
Daniel Dae Kim The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Crash
Regina King Ray, Jerry Maguire
Brie Larson Room, Trainwreck
Byung-Hun Lee Terminator Genisys, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Nia Long Keanu, Boyz N the Hood
Sal Lopez The Astronaut Farmer, Full Metal Jacket
Ignacio López Tarso Under the Volcano, Nazarin
Patti LuPone Parker, Driving Miss Daisy
Peter Mackenzie Trumbo, 42
Rachel McAdams Spotlight, Midnight in Paris
Eva Mendes The Place beyond the Pines, Hitch
Tatsuya Nakadai Ran, Kagemusha
Adepero Oduye The Big Short, 12 Years a Slave
Marisa Paredes The Skin I Live In, All about My Mother
Nate Parker Beyond the Lights, Red Tails
Harold Perrineau Zero Dark Thirty, 28 Weeks Later
Jorge Perugorría Che, Strawberry and Chocolate
Silvia Pinal Vintage Model, The Exterminating Angel
Freida Pinto Immortals, Slumdog Millionaire
Michelle Rodriguez Avatar, Girlfight
Anika Noni Rose For Colored Girls, Dreamgirls
Cecilia Roth Lucia Lucia, All About My Mother
Mark Rylance Bridge of Spies, The Other Boleyn Girl
Pepe Serna The Black Dahlia, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
Martin Starr Ill See You in My Dreams, Adventureland
Elizabeth Sung Memoirs of a Geisha, The Joy Luck Club
Sharmila Tagore Dhadkan, The World of Apu
Tessa Thompson Creed, Dear White People
Lorraine Toussaint Selma, Middle of Nowhere
Glynn Turman Super 8, Men of Honor
Gabrielle Union Top Five, Bad Boys II
Jacob Vargas The 33, Jarhead
Alicia Vikander The Danish Girl, Ex Machina
Emma Watson The Bling Ring, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Damon Wayans, Jr. Big Hero 6, Lets Be Cops
Marlon Wayans The Heat, Requiem for a Dream
Rita Wilson Its Complicated, Runaway Bride
Daphne Zuniga Staying Together, Spaceballs