TheAcademy Awardshave once again come under much scrutiny this year concerning the lack of diversity among its big award nominees. The highly coveted awards display a familiar absence of people of color, with performances from the likes of Eddie Murphy, Awkwafina, Jennifer Lopez and Jamie Foxx seemingly being left out. Well, Jamie Foxx has now been asked about the issue and has given a very measured response.
“It’s two things, and we have to be very careful in the way we address this. We always want to keep it on the forefront to keep the… Academy’s eyes open. We also want to be respectful to those that have been nominated so we don’t cloud their moment. It has nothing to do with them, and we want them to enjoy what they’ve been bestowed because they deserve it. The other thing is, we do this for our art,we don’t do it for nominations, if it happens it’s amazing.”
Jamie Foxxcertainly seems to have stayed level-headed about the whole thing, with the actor making absolutely sure that respect is paid to the actors who have been nominated this year. He clearly does not want to diminish the honor given to them in the name of diversity, but he does still assert that the matter needs to be looked at and considered. Foxx also points out that most actors do not choose projects purely for the award recognition, saying that they are simply a bonus.
Jamie Foxx put in anincredible performance as a wrongly-convicted prisonerwho is condemned to death row in the legal dramaJust Mercy. The movie, which is based on a true story, seemed tailor made for the Academy, but it has surprisingly not received a single nomination.
Foxx has of course broken through the Academy before, winning his first and only Oscar forhis performance as Ray Charles in the musical biopic Ray, back in 2005. He was in fact nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, but lost out in the latter category.
Just Mercyfollows Bryan Stevenson who, after graduating from Harvard, heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or those not afforded proper representation.One of his first cases is that of Walter McMillian, played by Jamie Foxx, who is sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite evidence proving his innocence. In the years that followed, Stevenson encounters racism and legal and political maneuverings as he tirelessly fights for McMillian’s life.
Alongside Foxx,Just Mercystars Michael B. Jordan, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall and Brie Larson. In the director’s chair isShort Term 12’sDestin Daniel Cretton. The movie currently sits at 84% on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of a very fresh 99%. This comes to us fromExtra TV.
