Richard Dreyfuss, the Oscar-winning actor, expressed his disgust towards the Academy Awards' new inclusion standards, stating that they make him want to vomit.
In an interview with Margaret Hoover on the PBS program Firing Line on Saturday, Hoover mentioned that starting in 2024, films will be required to meet new inclusion standards to be eligible for the Academy Awards for Best Picture.
These standards require a certain percentage of actors or crew from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Dreyfuss responded by saying, "This is an art form. It's also a form of commerce and it makes money but it's an art. And 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."
Dreyfuss continued by stating that art reflects life and that no one should legislate what is considered moral. He added that catering to minorities or majorities is unnecessary and condescending. The actor cited Laurence Olivier, the last white actor to play Othello in 1965, as an example of how art should be free from restrictions.
Olivier played a black man in blackface and did it brilliantly. Dreyfuss questioned whether he would be told that he would never have a chance to play a black man or if someone else would be told they shouldn't play The Merchant of Venice if they were not Jewish. He concluded that art is art, and no one should restrict it.
Hoover asked Dreyfuss if he thought there was a difference between the question of representation and who is allowed to represent other groups. Dreyfuss responded that it is patronizing to assume that people are so fragile that they can't have their feelings hurt.
He added that people must learn how to stand up to bullies and that art should be based on the truth. If someone can't make a great film, painting, or opera based on the fact, they can make up some nonsense, but they shouldn't say they can't do it.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its new representation and inclusion standards for Best Picture eligibility in September 2020. The new rules require that at least 30 percent of all actors in secondary and more minor roles are from at least one of the following underrepresented groups: women, racial or ethnic, LGBTQ+, or people with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.
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