Legendary “Taxi Driver” screenwriter and director Paul Schrader criticized the Oscars in a Facebook post on Monday, alleging the Academy has gone woke.
“Diversifying membership, recalibrating how votes are counted, these changes have transformed the Hollywood Oscars to the International Oscars. I rather like the provincial origins of the Oscars: Hollywood coming together to celebrate its own,” Schrader said.
03/13/23 pic.twitter.com/XKpL8YwuVi
— paul schrader’s facebook posts (@paul_posts) March 13, 2023
“Most film-making nations — Britain, France, Germany — have their national awards; the festivals have their awards. Why must Hollywood be Colpo Grosso? Barry Diller is right. If the Oscars are to save themselves they must return to their origins. The Oscars mean less each year. The reasons for this are clear: the need for revenue compounded by the debt carried by the museum and lowering film revenues and the scramble to be woke.” (RELATED: Pauly Shore Responds To Being Insulted By Jimmy Kimmel At Oscars)
The awards show has been criticized for its alleged lack of diversity, with CNN publishing a piece questioning why awards shows in general are “slow to change.” Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the Oscars “might be remembered as the most Asian Academy Awards yet” but that it still wasn’t diverse enough.
The 95th annual Academy Awards, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting, saw a 12% increase in viewership when compared to 2022.