Richard Dreyfuss slammed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its new rules regarding diversity at the Oscars. The legendary Jaws actor says that the changes “make me vomit.” Dreyfuss addressed the rules during an interview on PBS’ Firing Line With Margaret Hoover.
“It’s an art. No one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is. What are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that,” Dreyfuss told Hoover. “You have to let life be life. I’m sorry, I don’t think there is a minority or majority in the country that has to be catered to like that.”
Richard Dreyfuss On The Set Of “Jaws”
In total, the Academy is launching four new diversity and inclusion standards that they will institute for the 2024 Academy Awards. The organization announced the decision in 2020. For a film to qualify for best picture, it has to meet two of the four standards. The goal of the initiative is to expand on-screen representation, themes, or narratives as well as expand representation among creative leadership and department heads and provide industry access and opportunities to underrepresented demographics. One of the rules mandates “an underrepresented group” must comprise one-third of a movie’s cast
From there, Dreyfuss praised Laurence Olivier’s performance in the 1965 film Othello. In the role, Olivier wore blackface to portray the titular character. “He played a Black man brilliantly,” Dreyfuss argued. “Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man? Is someone else being told that if they’re not Jewish, they shouldn’t play [in] ‘The Merchant of Venice’? Are we crazy? This is so patronizing. It’s so thoughtless and treating people like children.”
In addition to Jaws, Dreyfuss’ most notable credits include American Graffiti, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Stand by Me. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977 for The Goodbye Girl. Check out Dreyfuss’ appearance on Firing Line With Margaret Hoover below.
Richard Dreyfuss Criticizes The Academy
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