Oscar voters should prove they watched movies, says Carey Mulligan amid snub on women, minorities

British actress Carey Mulligan has spoken up after women and minorities were shut out of this year’s Oscar nominations.  Image: AFP FILE PHOTO

Amid criticism of the lack of diversity in this year’s Oscar nominations, Academy Award-winning actress Carey Mulligan has a proposal.

This 2020, the Academy did not include any female director nominees. In the acting categories, the only non-white person is Cynthia Erivo for Harriet Tubman biopic “Harriet.”

Mulligan has joined the chorus of voices who have spoken up on women and minorities being shut out of the Oscar nominations.

“I don’t think you can watch those films and not think they deserve recognition. I think they need to be watched,” Mulligan said of the female-helmed films in a Variety interview on Jan. 25. 

“I wonder if the system works in terms of getting sent 100 screeners. Maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to vote unless you can prove you’ve seen every single one. There should be a test,” she suggested. “The films that did get left out are indisputably brilliant.”

“I’m talking about ‘Hustlers,’ ‘Little Women’ and ‘The Farewell.’ I feel like the fact that they are getting made is progress. But it’s all baby steps,” she said.

Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” is said to have been snubbed for best director and an acting nomination for Awkwafina. Lorene Scafaria, who helmed “Hustlers,” is also believed to be deserving of a directing nom, while Jennifer Lopez was expected to get a supporting actress nomination. Although “Little Women” got a best picture nod and five other nominations, Greta Gerwig was notably out of the all-male director nominations.

Mulligan stars in the thriller “Promising Young Woman,” where she plays a woman getting revenge on sexual abusers. The film is directed by Emerald Fennell, one of the number of female directors Mulligan has worked with.

Fennell concurred with the actress’ view of how nominations are screened. “The Academy and, I suppose, all of these institutions have members who are incredibly busy. It’s difficult to make sure people have seen everything and necessarily the way humans are, they prioritize things they are comfortable with or they think they’ll like. They’ll go with the established filmmakers.”

The 92nd Academy Awards will be held on Feb. 10.  Niña V. Guno /ra

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