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Steven Yeun attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station in Los Angeles, California on April 25, 2021. Getty Images/Matt Petit The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited Steven Yeun, Nathan Lane, Issa Rae, Robert Pattinson, Janet Jackson, Leslie Odom Jr., and Laverne Cox to join. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Thursday that 395 film industry professionals have been asked to join the 2021 class, with 46% of them being women and 39% being from an underrepresented group. If they accept, as the vast majority do, they will be eligible to vote in the Oscars the following year. Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”), Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”), and Paul Raci (“Sound of Metal”), as well as winners like “Minari’s” Youn Yuh-jung, “Mank” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, singer-songwriter H.E.R., and “Promising Young Woman” writer Emerald Fennell are among the new invitees from this year’s Oscar Along with fellow 2021 nominee Lee Isaac Chung, Fennell was invited to the director’s branch (“Minari”). Those who have been invited to various branches must choose one to join. A recent Oscar nomination does not guarantee an invitation, but it is a starting point for selecting artists and executives who have made major contributions to film, such as Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Carrie Coon (“The Nest”), Kingsley Ben-Adir (“One Night in Miami…”), Henry Golding (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Clea DuVall (“Zodiac”), Hugh Bonneville (“Paddington 2”), Stephen Root (“Office Space”), Eiza Gonzalez (“Baby Driver”), and Jonathan Majors (“Baby Driver”) are among the other actors who have been invited (“Da 5 Bloods”). Lizzie Borden (“Born in Flames”), George C. Wolfe (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Janizca Bravo (“Zola”), Shaka King (“Judas and the Black Messiah”), Nia DaCosta (“Candyman”), Cathy Yan (“Birds of Prey”), Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow”), and Jonathan Glazer (“Hustle & Flow”) are among the directors invited (“Under the Skin”). The film academy continues to prioritize diversity and inclusion, and this year’s class is particularly international, with a substantial number of women and underrepresented groups invited. More than half of the guests are from countries other than the US. In order to maintain “steady future growth,” the number of invitees was also reduced dramatically this year. Following the #OscarsSoWhite critiques, the group had recruited classes of roughly 800 new members or more annually in the previous few years to assist quickly diversify its numbers. The Academy’s total membership currently includes 33 percent women and 19 percent underrepresented groups, according to the latest class. The Academy has stated that it will continue to extend its own focus in the coming years./nRead More

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