The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has just announced that they will be implementing a new set of "diversity and inclusion standards" that films will be required to meet in order to be considered for an Oscar nomination. The New York Times broke the news on Friday (June 12th), in a report indicating that a new task force has been created to develop these new standards, which should be finalized by the end of July. According to the report, films submitted this year will not be affected by these new requirements.
While it’s still unclear what exactly these new diversity requirements will entail, it is clearly part of an effort to include more representation of different minority groups at the Oscars and, ultimately, in Hollywood itself.
“The need to address this issue is urgent,” Academy CEO, Dawn Hudson, said in a statement. “To that end, we will amend—and continue to examine—our rules and procedures to ensure that all voices are heard and celebrated.”
This news comes after the Academy announced on Wednesday (June 13th) that they'd added director Ava DuVernay and producer Lynette Howell Taylor to its new Board of Governors. This brings the number of female Academy governors up to 26 out of the 54 in total, as well as the number of people of colour to 12. They've also amended an internal bylaw that now limits each governor to serving a maximum of 12 years on the board.
In addition to these new requirements, the Academy also revealed that the Best Picture category will be capped at 10 nominations at next year's ceremony. The number of films nominated in this category has fluctuated from year to year since 2010.