Revisiting #OscarsSoWhite with CEO of The Academy

to Sydney Portulade, Sydney Poitier received the distinction. It's hard to hear his name above the roar of applause. It is a long journey to this moment. I should say it's a very special thank you to The nineteen sixty four Academy Awards marked the first time that a black actor, male or female, one Hollywood's highest honor for their performance in a leading role. Almost forty years later, the first black female actor was awarded the same honor when Hallie

Berry won Best Actress in two thousand and two. This moment so much bigger than me today, She's still the only one. I'm Anita Hill this is a special episode of Getting Even. This week we're going to the Oscars. In recent years, the need to diversify Hollywood has become increasingly clear, and the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and

Sciences has made strides. Nine actors of color were nominated for Academy Awards in twenty twenty one, and Chloe Jow became the first woman of color to win Best Director. Like a lot of progress we've seen lately, this all started with a tweet in January twenty fifteen. I was watching the Academy Award nominations and category after category, twenty different fields, there were no people of color, So I said, Oscar so white. They asked to touch my hair. That's

media strategists. April Rain, the originator of the Oscars so white hashtag her viraled tweet, drew much deserved attention to the lack of diverse representation in Hollywood filmmaking, both on screen and behind the camera. The Oscar so white hashtag made rounds again the following year, but the impact of a conversation that April Rain started was on full display by twenty twenty one. With the twenty twenty two Academy

Awards coming up this weekend. I wanted to know more about how this progress was made, so I called up a good friend of mine. Hi, I'm Dawn Hudson. I'm the chief executive officer of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who has been at the forefront of change during a critical decade in Hollywood. I started with the Academy of June first, twenty eleven, and I asked her how we got where we are, where we're headed, and what the Academy actually does. I'm so happy to

be here, Anita. You are in Hollywood and I think one of the most important roles in the industry. But most of the people know only the words that you hear when people win an Oscar and say I want to thank the Academy, But they don't really. Most people don't know how it's made up, how it operates. It was started with just the intention of advocating for the arts and sciences of motion pictures. And it's unique in that it's an organization that isn't it isn't a guild,

or it isn't representing one single sector of filmmaking. We're representing everyone who makes a film. So when you say I'd like to thank the Academy, you're thanking all of those artists who make up filmmaking and the oscars are really but most people, we'll see, they don't realize that you are year round doing things to support the industry as well as the people who are in the industry. But for the most part, people do understand the awards programs.

That's what they see. That's the part that's most visible, and they don't know how what the workings or inner workings of that process is. So can you tell us a little bit about that? Sure? Sure, And I want to emphasize that that awards ceremony, well, it is that you know, this is our most public night, Oscar night. It is one day out of three hundred and sixty five days. This group who founded the Academy nineteen twenty seven, they really had a vision for this organization that extended

way beyond, you know, an awards ceremony. In the original charters, they talked about, let's create a library, let's preserve this art form of motion pictures. So as soon as they could, they started collecting scripts and collecting artifacts from movies, posters, production design drawings. They started collecting this all year long until they've been built a library and built a film archive. What you see on Oscar Night is an event that helps to fund all of that collection, all of these

programs all year long. It's sort of like, you know, you know, the Library of Congress is devoted to our our history in books and a lot of other things. That's what the Academy is from movies. And I think I know the answer to this question. But you keep the names of the Academy members confidential? Why is that? We don't. We used to, but we don't. You know, it used to be perceived as even a very Los

Angeles centric community. You know, people didn't even know how to become a member, or how you would even apply to become a member, or what's the requirements for becoming a member. So it was sort of like even if you were from New York, it was hard to understand what was going on. So now we are, you know, trying to mystify the process for filmmakers all over the world. After the break, Don Hudson and I talk about the tweet heard round the industry. I'm Anita Hill, this is

getting even Oscar special. I'm talking to Don Hudson, CEO of the Academy of Motion Pictures, about inclusion in Hollywood. You began at the Academy in twenty eleven, and I've actually heard you say that from the minute that you arrived in the position, you know, your board made it very clear that the industry was changing and that the

Academy needed to change. So that was part of I'm sure what attracted you to the Academy, and what attracted them to you was that they thought that you could be that person to bring about some of the things

that we were already talking about. But in twenty fifteen, Sleepral Ryan tweeted Oscar so White they asked to touch my hair, which became a joke in a sense, but the tweet went viral and it really did china light on the Academy that I think surprised some people in the public, but also sparked even more of an urgency

for the change. Is that correct? Correct? That I was invited in because the Academy wanted to be more modern and contemporary and be a part of the contemporary world of filmmaking, and they felt they had become a little removed from it. But when I got there, the practices had been put in place. It was just reinforcing this kind of older boys club, you know, And because when I got there, I was like, wow, I'm the only I felt like I wasn't the only woman in the boardroom,

but there was just a few of us. And you know, you fought for this all your life. It's a very different feeling when you're just one or two female voices in the room. It was intimidating for me. It was intimidating. And luckily there were a lot of male and female governors who reached out and said no, no no, no, we want this change. Come on, you know, please keep keep talking to us. But it was hard for them to see at first the practices that were in place that

would be exclusionary. You know, someone at just a member commented to me one time when I first started, and he said, well, look, if anyone is good, they're already a member of the Academy. And I said, I know people. I can tell you people right now off the top of my head, twenty five people now who are not members of the Academy, who are the top top in the field. So we can't say we have everybody good here. So I think We began that commitment to change in

twenty eleven. When I started, you know, began very slowly, but it was like it was first of all, it was kind of an education of really, are we are we that exclusionary? And you say yes, because we have you know, eight percent you know, or even the fewer than eight percent, I think it was six percent, you know, people of color in our whole membership. We have twenty

just twenty two percent women in our whole membership. We're not reaching all the artists, I'll tell you, you you know, like this is bad or this is not representative of the best of the best. But what happened when we had our second year of all white actor nominees, because that's really what the public looks at, you know, that's

the most visible nominees with Best Picture and Director. But there's nothing like being called out publicly in a crisis like that that really motivates everybody to make very bold changes very quickly. So after the os are so White, we created something called twenty We've committed to doubling the number of women and doubling the number of people from

underrepresenting racial methanic groups in our membership. Well, it sometimes it takes a spark or somebody from the outside to really draw attention, to get your attention, it does take a while to identify the problem. Believe me, I understand that working with Hollywood Commission, that it takes a while to really identify the problem, convince people that it is a problem, convince people that you can solve the problem right, and that you're all going to be better off if

you do so. I think that's a process. You're absolutely right. I appreciate you're saying that. When I came in, there was no perceived crisis or emergency. There was like, well, everything's fine here. Some people felt we needed to do things differently, but some people were like, well, we've got a great show. The numbers are great. I've got the number one entertainment show in the world. We've got a brand that's recognized everywhere. What's your problem you know? Here?

And we were just like, well, there's a lot of problems. Let's start with these, you know. Let's start with starting, you know, being more transparent and how the membership process works. Let's start with allowing access to people who are working

on films to vote in the Academy Awards. We want more representation in the storylines and then the people in front from back of the camera, because it says, you know, hey, this can be your team too, And if you know, if the winners of the Oscars or this homogenious group, it doesn't say, come in, come play with us. So I think the Oscars are much more important than actually winning a statuette. I think it's what it represents to the world, and that's why we want to make them

this representative. The Academy's representative. Filmmaking is representative. Are you satisfied with the progress that you've made? You have results? Is this enough? No, it's not enough. It's still so painful to see different communities not represented proportionately, both in the companies who are making and distributing films and in the films themselves. Which films get chosen to be released

and to be promoted or to be funded. Films are primarily made by white men, and the actors are primarily white and mail. That's what the public season. That's the art, the narrative we're putting out into the world, The narratives we're putting out to the world. You know, when I was growing up, movies had such a profound influence on me. And then I went to college and I saw international films,

I saw Burgman films, I saw for Leaning film. I thought, oh my god, there's a whole world I didn't existed. Then I even saw films you know that dramatize the South and my family situation. And I learned about myself and I learned different ways of thinking. And I know that narrative and movies have that impact on everyone across the world. They need to be as honest and representative as the world is. So no, I'm not satisfied. But

am I gratified with the progress we have made. Yes, very much, with all of the changes, all of the need for change, and really a movement I see inside the industry calling for a change. Do you think that the pieces that you are putting in place right now and probably will continue until you clean out your desk and leave, will leave a lasting impression and will have

a lasting effect. It's a great question, Anita, and I absolutely do believe that, because in order for us to be relevant and important and a symbol of aspiration for the future, we have to reflect our world in all its diversity. This is not a temporary movement. I have no doubt that these changes will not last. Thank you, Thank you for your leadership, thank you for all of the measures you put in place, and thank you for just being true to your passion. Thank you, Anita, and

thank you for the same thing, and thank you. I did want to say one thing with the Hollywood Film Commission when you'd agreed to lead, that that was a very bright day for Hollywood because we knew this was going to happen. You were serious and just what you symbolize for us, for women, for equity, for inclusion, and you're putting your time. I'm into this organization. It's meant a lot to us, and that is part of the

reason why these changes are here to stay. The fact that this girl from Oklahoma sitting with me here and I from Arkansas are here on a podcast to talk about conclusion in Hollywood. I think that neither path could have been predicted. I mean, when I read that you were originally from Arkansas, I thought, oh, yeah, that's maybe that's why we hit it off. We're in this together, so yes, no, I can count on you as a partner.

Yes you can, as you know. Yes, I don't know if people know I call you many times in the late hours to get advice. I appreciate that, Yes, you're great. The twenty twenty two Academy Award nominees may not be as racially diverse as last year slate, but there is much to celebrate about this year's nominated class. Two queer women are nominated for awards, Arianna DeVos and Kristen Stewart.

King Richard, a dramatized telling of Richard Venus, and Serena Williams's Triumphant Journey, is nominated for six Academy Awards, and Coda, a film about a deaf family that features deaf actors in its leading roles, received three nominations, including Best Picture. No one knows who'll take home the big prize on Sunday Night, But this year, when you hear the winners thank the Academy, you'll at least know who they're talking about.

On the same night, twenty years ago that Halle Berry became the first black woman to win the Award for Best Actress, Sidney Poitier received an Honorary Oscar for his out standing role as an artist and a human being. I accept this award and memory of all the African American actors and actresses who went before me in the difficult years on whose shoulders I was privileged to stand

to see where I might go. I know that the path the late actor forge will continue to draw artists of color to Hollywood, and I hope that the entertainment industry will embrace its role as a mirror to the world, in the stories it tells and in the people who

tell them. Here I am this evening at the end of a journey that in nineteen forty nine would have been considered almost impossible, and in fact, might never have been set in motion were there not an untold number of courageous, unselfish choices made by a handful of visionary American filmmakers, directors, writers and producers. Thank You. Getting Even is a production of Pushkin Industries and is written and hosted by me Anita Hill. It is produced by Mola

Board and Brittany Brown. Our editor is Sarah Kramer, our engineer is Amanda kay Wang, and our showrunner is Sasha Matthias. Louis Gara composed original music for the show. Our executive producers are Mia Lobel and Letal malad Our, Director of development is Justine Lane at Pushkin thanks to Heather Fane, Carl Migliori, Jason Gambrel, Julia Barton, John Schnar, and Jacob Weisberg. You can find me on Twitter at Anita Hill and

on Facebook at Anita Hill. You can find Pushkin on all social platforms at pushkin Pods, and you can sign up for our newsletter at pushkin dot fm. If you love this show and others from Pushkin Industries, consider subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Subscribe to Pushkin Plus and you can hear Getting Even and other Pushkin shows add free and receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up on the Getting Even show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin dot fm.

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