Black Actors Matter

Do you think when Chris Rock hosts the Oscars he'll have anything to say about the fact that all 20 acting nominations went to white people? There are no nods for Will Smith (who was great in "Concussion") or Idris Elba ("Beasts Of No Nation"). Yes, the blackest movie of the year, "Straight Outta Compton," did get nominations for the two people who wrote its script -- but they're both white!

I'm also surprised that only 8 movies are nominated for Best Picture, when they could have easily expanded the list to ten by including "Trumbo" and "Inside Out." The latter is up for Best Animated Feature, but it, like many Pixar movies that preceded it, deserves to be considered for the top category. Then again, it's a comedy, which always gets short shrift at the Oscars (witness the exclusion of Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck").

One final disapountment: that my co-star in "Mississippi Grind," Ben Mendolsohn, wasn't nominated. 

Labels: