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The Academy Talks Membership Changes to Increase Diversity: ‘We’re Widening Our Net’

An Oscar statue
An Oscar statueMARK RALSTON/Getty

This is how it's going to be. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took to the Internet on Monday, January 25, to expand on the changes it's making to ensure a more diverse voting membership.

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The group gave detailed answers to a number of questions evidently being asked of it by current and would-be Academy members, clarifying the announcement it made on Friday, January 22, in which it vowed to double its female and minority membership by 2020, following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.

In addition to shifting the makeup of its membership, the Academy also announced plans to prevent those no longer active in the movie industry from casting Oscar votes, although they can still maintain emeritus status.

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The move follows a high-profile backlash from stars such as Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, who are all boycotting the 2016 Oscars ceremony to make a stand against the lack of diversity among the nominees.

The Academy’s announcement has raised a huge number of questions and on Monday, managing director of membership Lorenza Munoz addressed the main concerns via the Academy's FAQs section on its website.

"A lot of highly qualified potential members were falling outside our radar," the post explained. "We are not lowering any standards, we’re widening our net."

"These rules are not about age," continued the article. "In fact, under the new rules many veteran Academy members will retain voting rights. Working in the last 10 years is one way to ensure you have voting privileges. Another way is to have been nominated for an Oscar. And a third way is to show that since you were admitted as a member you’ve worked in motion pictures during three 10-year periods. This means that the longer your career, the more likely you’ll qualify for voting."

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Go here to read the new FAQs section in its entirety.

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