With the movie “Selma” seemingly shut out from Oscar Nominations -except best picture- the Reverend Al Sharpton has an opportunity to exploit his most recent antagonism.
Many people might remember the controversy over the Sony Entertainment hacked and leaked emails which showed some tongue-in-cheek snark toward President Obama.
The presidential advisor on race issues, Al Sharpton, compared the Sony Executives to formerly labeled racist LA Clippers owner, Donald Sterling; then demanded a meeting with the Hollywood executives to lay down his expectations for improvement. They acquiesced:
[December 18th, 2014] (Reuters) – Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton on Thursday did not call for Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Amy Pascal to step down over racially insensitive emails, despite expectations that he might seek her resignation.
The private emails, leaked through a massive hacking attack on Sony Corp, included joking remarks related to U.S. President Barack Obama and his taste in movies.
Pascal, who has publicly apologized, met with Sharpton Thursday to discuss the emails and perceived racial bias in the film industry. Sharpton’s spokeswoman earlier this week had said he was weighing whether to call for Pascal’s resignation.
“The jury is still out on where we go with Amy,” Sharpton told reporters after the meeting in New York. “We’re not going to be satisfied until we see something concrete done.”
Pascal did not speak publicly after the meeting. (read more)
So with the movie Selma, a story of MLK, only getting one Oscar nomination, this becomes Al Sharpton’s first opportunity to file grievance charges.
National Action Network [NAN] January 15, 2015 (New York, NY)— “The lack of diversity in today’s Oscar nominations is appalling and while it is good that Selma was nominated for ‘Best Picture,’ it’s ironic that they nominated a story about the racial shutout around voting while there is a racial shutout around the Oscar nominations.
With all of the talent in Selma and other Black movies this year, it is hard to believe that we have less diversity in the nominations today than in recent history. National Action Network (NAN) has formed a task force on the movie industry to deal with diversity as I engage in dialogue with Sony Pictures Co-Chairman Amy Pascal.
The movie industry is like the Rocky Mountains, the higher you get, the whiter it gets. I have called an emergency meeting early next week in Hollywood with the task force to discuss possible action around the Academy Awards.”
–Rev. Al Sharpton, President, National Action Network
The Sharpton approach continued with the White House calling all of the cast and crew of Selma to a special appearance at the White House.
