In a move to diversify its membership, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this year, has issued 774 invitations to new members.
What grabs our eyeballs is the list of Indian actors, writers, directors and other celebs as the invitees.
The list includes actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan.
Wonder why Shah Rukh Khan is missing on the list!
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Oscars body, which represents talent from 57 countries, has invited 39 percent female and 30 percent people of colour this time. The members have been invited from seven of the Academy branches- actors, casting directors, costume designers, documentary, executives and film editors.
Other than the actors, Indian directors such as Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Goutam Ghose, writer Sooni Taraporevala, costume designer Arjun Bhasin, documentary maker Anand Patwardhan and sound designer Amrit Pritam Dutta also have made their way to the coveted list.
According to the report, "The invitees to the acting branch alone - which numbered a whopping 105 - reflect the diversity the Academy has been pursuing. They include Avengers headliners like Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth; Star Wars stalwarts like Adam Driver, Riz Ahmed, Domhnall Gleeson and Warwick David; box-office stars like Dwayne Johnson, Kristen Stewart and the newly crowned Wonder Woman Gal Gadot; Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt; comic performers like Leslie Jones, Keegan-Michael Key and Wanda Sykes; recent Oscar nominees like Viggo Mortensen, Naomie Harris and Ruth Negga; and even veteran show-biz legend Betty White, who, at the age of 95, is the oldest of the new invitees. The youngest invitee is Elle Fanning, at the age of 19.
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