The Oscars have always been a lightning rod of controversy, with members of the Academy accused of being exclusionary towards specific filmmakers and genres. However, most recently it has come under major fire for discriminating against certain types of artist: stunt performers. For years people have been begging the Oscars to include an additional award category that recognizes the achievements of stunt artists, but so far the Academy has ignored these pleas. Now, it looks like many of the industry’s stunt performers are tired of having their work go unrecognized.
The Vulture has reported that some of the film industry’s stunt performers are now considering boycotting next year’s Oscars in protest. With more and more blockbusters being produced than ever before- including Oscar-winning titles like Mad Max: Fury Road– and the need for stunt work becoming increasingly more elaborate, finding nominees for a stunt award should be easy.
Just this past year the Oscars received major backlash when they considered not televising award categories for hair, makeup, editing, and cinematography. However, after multiple online protests, the Academy backtracked on this decision and televised all the award presentations, proving that they’re actually capable of responding to feedback. So far, there has been no comment on the controversy surrounding stunt performers, but right now it is too early to predict their decision. Will stunt performers finally get the recognition they deserve, or will the Oscars side line them once again?
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