June 28, 2017

Los Angeles

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released its 2017 list of invitees. Asian American actors B.D. Wong and John Cho were included on the 2017 list of 774 people invited by the Academy. 

Other actors invited include Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed (The Night Of, The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Priyanka Chopra, Irffan Khan, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung,

Filmmakers invited to join the Academy's documentary branch include Grace Lee (American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs), S. Leo Chiang (Village Called Versailles, Out Run),  and Keiko Deguchi (Cats of Mirikitani, God Knows Where I Am). Greg Pak was invited to join the feature animation and short films branch.

This year, the move is to increase a more diverse membership to better reflect the industry, after the Oscar nominees in 2016 were all White for the second year in a row which sparked the #OscarsSoWhite backlash. If they accept, the new members will be able to vote in the acting categories.

Beverly Hills, CA

 Photo credit used by permission: Emmy Magazine, Lucy Liu

 
Congratulations to all of the 2013 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invitees.

"These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy. Invitees who accept their invitation to join will be eligible to vote in the annual Oscars.

The 276 invitees for 2013 include 12 names with Asian surnames that could be informally determined from the official Academy list. 

The 2013 invitees include actors Lucy Liu and Sandra Oh, CEO of Warner Bros Entertainment Kevin Tsujihara, documentary filmmaker Michael Chin, and composer and music director Joe Hisaishi who is a frequent collaborator to animation director Hayao Miyazaki ("Ponyo,""Spirited Away").

In 2012,  the overall list was 100 names shorter than 2013's. Only 7 people with Asian surnames made the 2012 list of 176 invitees including (Actor) Michelle Yeoh (“The Lady,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), (Cinematographer)  Larry Fong ("Super 8,” “300”), (Cinematographer) Toyomichi Kurita ("Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family," "Waiting to Exhale"), (Director) Wong Kar Wai (“My Blueberry Nights,” “In the Mood for Love”), (Music) 

Shocking stories are emerging as the Japanese military is enlisted to help at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Click here to the full story by Robert Booth and Justin McCurry reporting for the Guardian in Tokyo.

New census data for New York State shows a 36% gain in Asian population to 1.4 million. That's 375,000 more Asian New Yorkers from 2000 to 2010. 

Hispanic New Yorkers gained the most in population with 549,000, an increase of 19% to 3,1 million.

Click here for the full story.