A screenwriter for the biopic “Reagan” starring Dennis Quaid said the film was ineligible to win Best Picture, the most prestigious prize at the Academy Awards, because it failed to meet the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ DEI requirements.
“I think the situation speaks for itself. There’s not really anger and indignation among those of us who made this film, we didn’t seriously expect to be nominated for anything by Hollywood in this cultural climate— it’s just sadness, really, what has become of the magnificent Dream Factory that once was Hollywood,” writer Howard Klausner told Fox News Digital via email.
“Once upon a time it spoke to the heart[s] and dreams of pretty much everybody, and the leaders and luminaries of the 20th century industry intuitively seemed to ‘get’ the middle of the country as well as the cultural elite,” he continued.
“We were among 116 films that were eliminated for consideration this year,” Klausner said. “Obviously, there needs to be a conversation about this policy.”
The Academy stipulates that any Best Picture nominee must meet one out of four DEI focused concepts, which include having a main character come from an underrepresented group or have at least 30% of all actors in minor roles come from at least two underrepresented groups.
Another option is to have the main storyline centered on an underrepresented group. Alternatively, the film must utilize at least two creative leadership positions, such as casting director, cinematographer, costume designer, makeup artist, or others, come from underrepresented groups such as women, LGBTQ, or racial and ethnic groups.
A Daily Wire poll conducted in 2021 after the DEI requirements for Best Picture at the Oscars were announced found that most Americans opposed them.
“Reagan” most likely would have been snubbed from the Oscars even if it had met the requirements as it painted the former Republican president in a favorable light and was mostly shunned by mainstream critics. The film currently has an 18% critic’s score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 98% audience rating.
The year’s most successful documentary by a landslide, the Daily Wire+ production “Am I Racist?,” was also snubbed by The Academy even though it did meet all the requirements for the category. It didn’t even make the list of top 15 documentaries despite having massive cultural influence and making over $12 million at the box office.
The film “Anora,” the big winner at Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony, won Best Picture in addition to four others, including Best Actress for the film’s star Mikey Madison. The movie tells the story of a prostitute who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.
