Earlier this month, Twitter reacted angrily to the white-dominated Academy Award nominations. Many major Hollywood figures like Will Smith and Spike Lee have announced plans to boycott the Oscar ceremonies. However, the Academy doesn’t need to worry about a boycott from the cast of “Straight Outta Compton,” because they weren’t invited.
According to the Academy, only nominees are invited to the event, although in the past, the award ceremony is attended by the biggest stars in Hollywood, regardless of a nomination.
“Straight Outtta Compton,” the N.W.A. biopic, was released in August to critical acclaim and commercial success. Despite the film’s success, it was almost completely ignored by the Academy, missing nominations for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Jason Mitchell, who played Eazy-E. The film’s (white) screenwriters, Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff, received the film’s only Oscar nomination.
According to reports, the invitation wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Ice Cube, the film’s producer and one of its subjects, was not planning on attending even if he was invited.
However, Cube and others behind the film will be attending several other ceremonies where the film was recognized. The film received NAACP Image Awards for Best Picture, F. Gary Gray for Best Director, and Best Actor award for O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Corey Hawkins, who played Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, respectively. The film also received a Screen Actor’s Guild nomination for outstanding performance by the cast.
[The Root] Feature image via Business Insider
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