Stephen King: Only quality...

[C.A. Hall]

As a writer, I am allowed to nominate in just 3 categories: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Screenplay. For me, the diversity issue--as it applies to individual actors and directors, anyway--did not come up. That said... I would never consider diversity in matters of art. Only quality. It seems to me that to do otherwise would be wrong.

As a Black man I have no problem watching movies by and/or about women. Last year I bought tickets to see The Souvenir, Little Women, Charlie's Angels, The Farewell, The Kitchen, Late Night, Booksmart, and Hustlers. However, I don't always enjoy them (even after watching them a 2nd time). So if I was in a position to decide who gets nominated for what, I wouldn't have given a Best Pic or Director nomination to the Greta Gerwig and Lulu Wang films. Both bored me the two times I watched them, although I'm hopeful that in the future I might finally see what you all see.

On the other hand, it took two viewings for me to enjoy The Souvenir, so I guess I would have given a nomination or more to it.

I don't like the idea of men or white straight men feeling pressure to like things. I do however agree that "minorities" deserve to have opportunities to make art. But those are two different issues.