Twelve actors, crew from 'Parasite' invited to join Oscar voting body

Movies

Published: 01 Jul. 2020, 17:57

Twelve actors, crew from 'Parasite' invited to join Oscar voting body

The Oscars invited 819 additional members to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) on Wednesday, including 12 Korean actors and crew members for their contribution to the Oscar-winning "Parasite" (2019). [AMPAS]

Twelve actors and crew members from Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" (2019) are among the 819 new members the voting body of the Oscars has invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas).

Director Bong and actor Song Kang-ho were the first Koreans to join the voting body in 2015 and will be joined by actors Choi Woo-shik, invited for “Parasite” and “The Divine Fury” (2019); Jang Hye-jin for “Parasite” and “Poetry” (2010); Park So-dam for “Parasite” and “The Priests” (2015).

Actors Cho Yeo-jeong and Lee Jung-eun joined the list for “The Target” (2014) and “Okja” (2017) respectively, as well as “Parasite.”

Costume director Choi Se-yeon, film editor Yang Jin-mo, music director Jang Jae-il, production designer Lee Ha-jun, producer and CEO of Barunson E&A Kwak Sin-ae and screenwriter Han Jin-won round out the "Parasite"-family invitees.

If they accept the invitation, they will have voting privileges from the 93rd Oscars.

Thirty-six percent of the new additions are people of color and 45 percent are women, including Eva Longoria, Zendaya, Awkwafina, Cynthia Erivo and Constance Wu. The Academy reported that 49 percent of the new additions are international invitees representing 68 countries.

The push to diversify began following the backlash from the 88th Academy Awards in 2016, which saw only white actors nominated for Best and Supporting Actors and Actresses.

The Academy made an official announcement to “diversify,” promising to double the number of female and colored members by 2020.

Ampas consists of over 8,000 voting members, more than 2,000 of which have been added in the past three years.

“We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one,” academy CEO Dawn Hudson said in a written statement. “We look forward to continuing to foster an Academy that reflects the world around us in our membership, our programs, our new Museum, and in our awards.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]