Los Angeles: Moments after the nominations of the 87th Oscars were announced, social media was abuzz with debate over lack of diversity in the list, which is dominated by white people and men, besides Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs’ mispronunciation of one of the nominees.
The last time the acting contenders were only white was in 2011, and before that it hadn’t occurred since 1998. The most obvious snub from the group was David Oyelowo for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr in ‘Selma’, which left Twitter users none too pleased.
“Golden statuette? Paint that Oscar statuette white. It’s not golden when you consistently ignore one gender and other races. #OscarNoms,” one angry fan tweeted about the absence of black people in the nominations list.
While another showed even more outrage, tweeting, “I cannot believe there is not one non-white nominee in the acting categories. That is appalling. #OscarNoms.”
Not only were the acting categories filled with white men and women, the Academy also seemed to overlook women in other major categories such as directing and original/adapted screenplay including the likes of Angelina Jolie (Unbroken), Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and Ava DuVernay (Selma). “I guess white men can *finally* have their day in the sun, you know? #OscarNoms,” tweeted another user.
On Thursday during Oscar nominations announcement, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs accidentally mispronounced one of the nominees in the Best Cinematography category.
While presenting with Chris Pine, Isaacs inadvertently nominated a man named “Dick Poop” for his work on Mr Turner, instead of Dick Pope the British cinematographer who actually worked on the film. The president quickly fixed her slip, but not before the Internet took notice.
Hundreds of amused fans declared Dick Pook an Oscar winner as the name started trending on Twitter. However, Dick Pope isn’t bothered by the odd online fame that has come along with his Oscar nomination.
“You know what, I have been called a lot worse in my time,” the cinematographer told USA Today. “I don’t think twice about anything like that. I am happy to be nominated.” He, somewhere, joked that an Oscar should come his way for the embarrassment caused by the mispronunciation.
The 87th Academy Awards to be hosted by Neil Patrack Harris is scheduled for February 22.