Anybody who has issues with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) instituting new diversity quotas in order to qualify for Best Picture can “f*** off,” according to “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Andy Samberg.
Speaking with Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast about his new film “Palm Springs,” Samberg said that Academy’s diversity requirements are loose enough to allow for artistic freedom.
“The parameters if you look at them closely…you can have the ‘whitest’ cast in the history of cinema and still very easily meet them by just doing a few key roles behind the camera. People who have problems with it can f*** off,” he said.
In September, the Academy released its new guidelines for inclusion, which dictated that movies must meet a diversity threshold, employing specific minority individuals in front of or behind the camera to qualify for Best Picture.
As The Los Angeles Times reported:
Those standards require one of the following: at least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors is from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group; at least 30% of all actors in secondary and more minor roles are from certain underrepresented groups; or the main storyline, theme or narrative is centered on an underrepresented group.
To be eligible for best picture, a film must meet at least two standards across four categories: “Onscreen Representation, Themes and Narratives,” “Creative Leadership and Project Team,” “Industry Access and Opportunities” and “Audience Development.” Within each category are a variety of criteria …
Not everyone in Hollywood welcomed the change. Actress Kirstie Alley (“Cheers,” “Star Trek”), for instance, said that the new rules are “a disgrace to artists everywhere” and likened it to telling Picasso what he could and could not paint.
“This is a disgrace to artists everywhere…can you imagine telling Picasso what had to be in his fu***** paintings,” tweeted Kirstie Alley. “You people have lost your minds. Control artists, control individual thought .. OSCAR ORWELL.”
Kristie Alley deleted that tweet and later clarified that she supports diversity and inclusion, but opposes the mandating of it.
“I deleted my first tweet about the new rules for best movie OSCARS because I feel it was a poor analogy & misrepresented my viewpoint. I am 100% behind diversity inclusion & tolerance. I’m opposed to MANDATED ARBITRARY percentages relating to hiring human beings in any business,” she tweeted.
In the same interview, Samberg said that “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” would tackle issues like police brutality and systemic racism.
“Our country is going through a hard time. It’s been going through this. I’ve been hearing about this in rap music for 30 years. We’ve been told if we wanted to listen. It’s been happening. What the show is going to do is further the conversation,” he said.
“I do believe that our characters need to examine their roles in the world. They’re going to be forced to look in the mirror and see who they’re complicit with. We have a decent track record of addressing social issues,” he added.
Related: Kirstie Alley: New Oscars Inclusion Requirements ‘A Disgrace To Artists Everywhere’