Black actors gain record Oscar esteem

“I think it’s a sure sign diversity is finally coming to Hollywood,” said Ron Brewington, Hollywood correspondent for Radio One/XM, a satellite service aimed at black audiences. “African-Americans spend a tidy sum for Hollywood, and we feel like Hollywood owes us something. Now it seems like Hollywood is listening.”

In the academy’s 77-year history, a scant 3.2 percent of the acting nominations have gone to blacks. While that figure has risen from 2.8 percent three years ago, it remains a weak track record given that blacks make up 13 percent of the U.S. population.

The Oscars were largely a whites-only affair in their first four decades, with just eight black nominees before 1970 and two winners, Poitier for best actor with 1963’s “Lilies of the Field” and Hattie McDaniel for supporting actress with 1939’s “Gone With the Wind.”

Including this year’s five contenders, there have been 38 black nominees since 1970, six of them winning. Previously, the most black nominees in a single year was three.

“We’re looking at slow and steady progress,” said Kevin Willmott, who directed “CSA: The Confederate States of America,” a faux documentary due in theaters this summer examining the racist nation that might have resulted if the South had won the Civil War.

“But the thing that always counts in these kind of successful moments is: Will it translate to more of these films being produced by studios? Will it make it easier for us to go to studios with films that deal with black people? Will they give us the ‘black films don’t do well overseas’ line, or will they really try to invest in making these kinds of movies a success?”

The outlook is more positive than ever, with stars such as Washington, Berry, Queen Latifah, Murphy, Lawrence and Ice Cube opening doors for black actors to gain mainstream appeal, particularly among younger moviegoers who drive the box office.

“I feel our audience, the MTV generation, is colorblind in that respect,” said Lauren Lazin, director of the MTV-produced “Tupac: Resurrection.” “They are very open and eager to hear stories about lives that are like theirs and that are not like theirs. Diversity is something innate to this younger generation.”

“Hotel Rwanda” nominee Okonedo noted that the Oscar field also had included such potential black nominees as Kerry Washington and Regina King for “Ray,” a sign that real variety was coming to Hollywood.

“I feel like I’m in a great year at the Oscars,” said Okonedo, a British actress co-starring in Charlize Theron’s upcoming action flick “Aeon Flux.” “There’s not only a diversity of actors but also diversity of films, little-budget films to great big ones.

“That’s what it’s all about. Not just the same old formula, the same old people, going up for the same old type of awards. I think it’s really turned a corner this year.”

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