Priyanka Chopra, Riz Ahmed among 774 new Oscar voters

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that it had invited 774 new members, including Justin Timberlake, Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot and Amy Poehler. It’s the second consecutive year that the organization that gives out the Oscars has broken its own record after it invited 638 last year.

A number of other high-profile actors made the cut, including Riz Ahmed, Priyanka Chopra, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Donald Glover, Dwayne Johnson, Leslie Jones, Channing Tatum, Kristen Stewart and Shailene Woodley.

Three of the four famous Chrises – Evans, Hemsworth and Pratt – were invited, too. (The fourth, Chris Pine, is already a member .)

The Academy has endeavored in recent years to increase diversity among its exclusive ranks, clearly exhibited by this year’s list. The new class, whose members originate from 57 countries, is 39 percent female and 30 percent people of color. This number bumps the overall female membership level to 28 percent, from last year’s 27. People of color will now make up 13 percent of the Academy’s members, versus the previous 11 percent. This effort follows the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2015 and 2016, when all 20 acting nominees were white.

The diversity extends to age as well. At 95, Betty White is the oldest of those invited. (No, she wasn’t already a member.) Elle Fanning, 19, is the youngest.

Invited directors include David Ayer (“Suicide Squad”), Garth Davis (“Lion”), Tom Ford (“Nocturnal Animals”), Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”).

A full list of invited members – in various branches, from acting to design to visual effects – is available on the Academy’s website.

The Washington Post