Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Selma’ Oscar Snub: People ‘Tired of Being Bombarded with Race ’ – Anthony Mackie

*Could it be a case of the right film arriving in theaters at the wrong time?

In a classic WTH moment, Anthony Mackie narrowed down the reason that “Selma” wasn’t recognized with more Oscar nominations, saying the film’s subject matter is a turn off for moviegoers.

“Selma”’s Oscar snub comes as this year’s nominees in the major acting categories are all white. The Ava DuVernay-directed film generated a total gross of $29 million since its limited release on Christmas after earning $11.5 million over the MLK holiday weekend

“People are just tired of being bombarded with race right now,” Mackie told thegrio.com. “So everybody is shying away from certain topics and certain movies.”

Instead of playing the race card, Mackie stated his belief that the Oscars aren’t being discriminatory. In his eyes, they’re simply rewarding the best the film industry has to offer this year.

“If you look at all the movies and actors that are nominated, they all gave damn good performances,” he said. “Me specifically, if that’s something I want, I have to step my game up. I have to do better movies and I have to act better.”

anthony mackie

Continuing on his Oscar soapbox, Mackie pointed out that African-American actors are disadvantaged when it comes to receiving more Oscar-worthy roles because “Hollywood believes that there’s no market overseas for black actors.”

“They say that about Denzel Washington, they say they have no foreign value,” the entertainer explained to the Grio. “If we’re not financing and doing our own stories, we can’t expect to see ourselves come award season.”

As if that weren’t enough, Mackie gave his two cents on the nationwide protests that have been held recently against racial profiling as he criticized a particular hairstyle worn by many black males.

“Like my nephew wanted to grow dreadlocks. I’m like fine, I’ll sit you down and I’ll watch The First 48 with you and everybody you see on that show, that’s doing something wrong, they’re black dudes with dreadlocks. So, do you want to be seen as part of the problem or do you want to be an individual?” said Mackie, who will next be seen with Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer in the film “Black or White” when arrives in theaters Jan. 30.

“Let’s just say you have locks and you walking down the street. The police pull you over and say you fit the description of somebody. You start yelling and arguing with the cops. Next thing you know you pressed up against the wall going to jail for something you’re not even involved in just because you look like somebody and you don’t know how to handle yourself,” Mackie said.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the world according to Anthony Mackie. Feel free to weigh in on his views below:

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

YOU MAY LIKE

SEARCH

- Advertisement -

TRENDING