My Five Big Reasons Why There Was No Oscar Snub Of Selma - #Oscarssowhite & #SelmaSub Debate - Part...

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I think Selma was great but just came out too late. And if the director [Ava DuVernay] suffered from anything, it was gender discrimination, not race

discrimination. This whole race thing was spun out of control by the

press....Scott FeinbergThe RaceThe Hollywood Reporter2-22-2015

I lived through the '60s and my most heartfelt opinion is that Selma did not suffer from racism but is just inadequate to the events that it covered to the civil rights movement and to [Dr. Martin Luther] King [Jr.] and to the various

demonstrations that were held and to the people involved. The scenes with LBJ

and [FBI director] J. Edgar Hoover conspiring together like two little white

weasels bothered me; I thought that was incredibly misleading. And the

portrayal of Malcolm X as having an alternative way is ridiculous he had no alternative. The whole film is kind of a left-wing, modern, black rap version there's no white people who have any speaking parts who are favorably depicted,

when, in fact, there were white people on the scene, beyond a few ministers, who

risked their lives and who died supporting the civil rights efforts.. .Scott

FeinbergThe RaceThe Hollywood Reporter2-22-2015

The Academy Awards have no problem honoring historical dramas, period pieces or scripts based on a true story, but has such admiration for these themes ever extended itself to films starring Black actors talking about Black issues, helmed by Black auteurs?...When the 2015 nominations were announced, Selma was disappointingly absent from categories outside of Best

Picture and Best Original Song. The snub inspired the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

The prestigious ceremony was accused of being out of touch and flippant

in their blatant omission of one of this years most remarkable films that portrays one the most significant eras and icons in history. The Selma blackout

prompted a discussion: does the Academy only honor the Black experience when

told through the interpretation of White filmmakers? Theres been a negligence on their part in not recognizing the next generation of modern-day Black

narrativesShardae JobsonNew Pittsburgh Courier2-28-2015

MY FIVE BIG REASONS WHY THERE WAS NO OSCAR SNUB

OF SELMA (2014) #OSCARSSOWHITE & #SELMASNUB DEBATE - PART 2 - 2-28-2015

2-28-2015 - Written By: David L. $Money Train$ Watts Journalist/Film Reviewer

FuTurXTV & HHBMedia.com - David Velo Stewart Editor www.hiphopbattle.com

David L. $Money Train$ Watts FuTurXTV HHBMedia.com [email protected] www.hhbmedia.com David Velo Stewart

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The first two comments are again are from random and unidentified

Academy Award 2015 voters who have been interviewed and chronicled in

The Hollywood Reporters Scott Feinbergs The Race which is an in-depth

series of articles about what they allegedly said they would vote for on their

Oscar ballots. The last quote is from an avid supporter of the #OscarsSoWhite

and #SelmaSnub social movement that wants there to be some type of racial

cinematic justice where just making any positive Black film deserves Oscar

love from Hollywood. I have read many of these #SelmaSub articles and none

of them in my opinion ever even consider for one moment that Paramount

Pictures Oscar campaign or strategy for Selma could have been flawed or

just bad. And these articles can find no faults with Selma or anything Ava

DuVernay did or said as a director in the media that would hurt Selma either.

3. There were several glaring historical errors with the depiction of former

President Lyndon B. Johnson that made Selma easy to criticize and

mount an anti-Oscar campaign by rival film publicists. Ava DuVernay

has never had a valid explanation or historical reference of why she

portrayed LBJ as someone stereotypical civil rights/racially insensitive

film villain. Oprah, Brad Pit and Paramount Pictures had to know that

Ava would face a huge wave of media criticism by making LBJ having a

hostile relationship with MLK over supporting the Voting Rights Act of

1965. Ava initially tried to ignore all the LBJ furor by acting like many

well-respected LBJ historians were nitpicking over a couple minor LBJ

facts in her film. Ava finally went on 60 Minutes on February 8, 2015

and answered her many LBJ critics by saying, History is to be

interpreted through the lens of the people who are reading it and

experiencing it on the page or at the time. And this is my interpretation.

Ava mistakenly said she did not want to make a typical white savior

film. Ava said, I'm interested in having people of color at the center of

their own lives. We don't need to be saved by anyone. We do not have to

have someone sweeping in on a white horse or someone saving the day or

assisting us in our own narrative. So that's what that meansI think the

thing that folks are talkin' about around LBJ is that he was a vigorous

champion of civil rights. He did turn out to be that. But he didn't start that

way. To try to push the idea that he was always 100 percent in the corner

of the black man and woman in America is to not know your history.


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But you cant watch Selma and learn anything informative or factual

about LBJ being against civil rights in the early and mid-1950s or why

he changed his mind supposedly after the 1954 Brown decision. Nope!

Nothing in Selma suggests any insights into LBJ reluctance to civil

rights a decade earlier or how that ambivalence played into the Voting

Rights Act of 1965. We are only dealing with MLKs and LBJs unique

relationship during Selma and not any years earlier. Ava does not even

attempt to seriously explore why LBJ was so gung-ho and successful at

getting the Civil Rights Act of 194 passed after JFKs death and then

suddenly soured or was angrily opposed on doing voting rights next.

And it was so sad for Ava when civil rights icons Andrew Young and

Julian Bond weighed in the LBJ controversy to correct the way LBJ

was portrayed in Selma and apparently unfairly by Ava DuVernay:

President Johnson did not say it had to wait, Young said. He said, I have a great agenda. We did not expect him to commit. We were really kind of letting him know that we had to pursue voting rights. His agenda,

I found out later, was that he thought that the Great Societywould be easier for him to bring first. If he had said that, we would probably have

agreed with him. But we didnt have a choice.We could not have had this bill without LBJ, but LBJ could not have passed it without Martin

Luther King and others, Young said. Its unfair for anybody to talk about credit. Too many people gave their lives. Too many people risked

too much.Evan McCurryMediaite1-4-2015

Julian Bond, a civil rights leader who worked with King, praised Selma but took issue with Johnsons depiction as an obstacle to


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progress.He did support Kings fight for voting rights. He probably is the best civil rights president America has ever had. The best. Absolute

best, Bond said, CBS News reported. I think the movie people wanted Dr. King to have an antagonist. Why not have it be LBJ?Alicia BanksHuffingtonPost

There are actual audio tapes that LBJ made between himself and Dr.

King during the height of Selmas violence and confrontations that Ava could have listened to help guide or shape her scenes between LBJ and

MLK that would have been more historically accurate to what actually

happened in their White House meetings. Furthermore, both LBJ and

MLK knew they could not get any major civil rights bills approved if

they publicly acted like they had a great and friendly relationship:

Historians agree the men challenged each other. But Julian Bond -- who organized protests in Selma at the time -- says Johnson was a key

ally for King"He was a strong person, helping Dr. King and suggesting to him, do this, do this," said Bond. "You can tell that by

listening to the tapes, the White House tapes."During his time in the White House, Johnson recorded nearly a dozen phone calls with King.

He first called him after hearing King's comments on the death of John

F. Kennedy"I want to tell you how grateful I am and how worthy I am going to try and be of all your hopes," said Johnson on the

recording"Well thank you very much," replied King. "I am so happy to hear that ..."A year later as tensions over voting rights began to boil in the south, Johnson can be heard encouraging King to bring more

attention to injustices"...If you could find the worst condition that you run into, and get it on the radio and get it on television, get it every

place you can," said Johnson. "Pretty soon the fellow that didn't do

anything but follow, drive a tractor, he'll say "well that's not right.

That's not fair."In one recording though, Johnson tells his press secretary to downplay his collaboration with King"If they ask you if I've seen him, you tell them you don't know," said Johnson. "Don't get

in there that I'm in continuous touch with him."Historians say both Johnson and King had to appear independent of each other in order to

reach their common goal: the right to vote for all AmericansMichelle MillerCBSNews.com1-12-2015


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Ava DuVernay also falsely portrayed in Selma that in the Spring of 1965

President Lyndon B. Johnson was so concerned or upset over MLK

pushing his Voting Rights Act agenda in Selma that he was the one who

approved J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI illegally wiretapping MLK. And

why would LBJ later approve Hoover sending MLKs wife Coretta

audio tapes of MLK allegedly having an affair? But once again this fact

in Selma can easily be proven false by just Googling MLK and FBI.

Former Johnson domestic policy aide Joseph Califano said Ava got her

LBJ and Hoover scene dead wrong and Andrew Young again had to

correct the false record and false history that Ava tried to establish in

Selma about LBJ and the FBI investigating King during Selma:

One point on which the film appears to be on weak footing: its suggestion that LBJ ordered the FBI surveillance and harassment of King. That I dont think is fair to LBJ, Young said. It was actually Robert Kennedy who signed the order allowing the FBI to wiretap all of us. We knew we were bugged, but that was before LBJ.Evan McCurryMediaite1-4-2015

We also have a very public document that FBI director James Comey

keeps on his desk to remind him of the rampant and unlawful abuses of

power the FBI used against U.S. citizens like Martin Luther, Jr. King:

As FBI director, Comey has directly confronted his own agencys .troubled legacy on race, pointing out during his remarks that the FBI was

still overwhelmingly white and maleWe have to change the numbers, he said. Hes mandated that new FBI agents visit the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington as part of a history lesson on one of its

darkest chapters: founder J. Edgar Hoovers blackmail campaign against


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the famed civil rights leader. Comey told the audience that he keeps on his

desk on the seventh floor of the Hoover Building a copy of Attorney

General Robert Kennedys approval of Hoovers request to wiretap King. The reason I do those things is to ensure that we remember our mistakes and that we learn from them, he said. One reason we cannot forget our law enforcement legacy is that the people we serve cannot forget it,

either..Garrett M. GraffPolitico.com2-12-2015

Ava could have easily learned with Google, Bing or Yahoo Search when

she was doing her extensive page-one rewrite of Paul Webbs Selma

script that Hoover illegally wiretapped MLK two years prior to Selma

and was also leaking MLKs alleged sexual trysts two years before

Selma. Ava cannot blame Paul Webbs script for an inaccurate LBJ.

There was no need for a dramatic LBJ and Hoover against MLK scene:

King became a target of COINTELPRO following his famous I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington in 1963. We must mark him now, intelligence boss William Sullivan wrote in a government memo, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.Marked he was. Hoover authorized the FBI to conduct wiretaps against King and his

Southern Christian Leadership Conference. While they found no obvious

ties to communism, FBI agents did learn a lot about Kings romantic life notably, his fondness for women outside of marriage That King was a playboy was something of a little-known, mostly disregarded secret

within the civil rights movement, according to Yale professor Beverly

Gage. But federal officials seemed genuinely surprised by Kings womanizing. In a memo, Hoover described King as a tom cat with obsessive degenerate sexual urges.Hoover directed FBI agents to leak details of Kings private life to the press though reporters never took an interest in the story. When that failed, Hoover ordered agents to make

harassing phone calls and write threatening letters to King and members

of his family...Mathew KeysThe Blot Magazine11-13-2014

Avas arrogance of not citing a single historical source to back up her

new interpretation of LBJ in Selma may have greatly contributed the

most to her downfall among potential Academy Award voters. Why

would they reward Selma or Ava DuVernay as director for making


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Tom Wilkinson portray LBJ as a civil rights villain and antagonist to

the Voting Rights Act of 1965 over known media facts or living persons

during that era that suggested the opposite in Selma. And by causing a

LBJ character controversy in Selma Ava allowed many conservative,

neutral and liberal news outlets to question her motivations. This

ultimately was a huge distraction from making mainstream media focus

solely on MLK in Selma and the struggle of Selmas proud and poor

Blacks to defeat racism and violent racists who perpetuated overt voter

disenfranchisement in Selma and almost everywhere else in the South.

4. Selma greatly underperformed at the box office and no one has yet to be

able to easily explain why Black moviegoers and other multicultural

moviegoers did not go to see it in large numbers--even though everyone

on Black Twitter was allegedly so upset that it got snubbed by the

Oscars on the week of its widest release on MLK weekend. Oscar voters

can be influenced, rightly or wrongly, if a highly touted and historic

civil rights era film and the first serious MLK film like Selma does not

do well with its primary target audience demo of African-Americans.

Weekend Box Office (January 9 - 11, 2015):

Jumping up to second place in its first weekend of nationwide play was the MLK drama Selma which grossed $11.3M from 2,179 locations for a

mediocre $5,189 average. It was a disappointing showing for what has

been a hot film during awards season with the PG-13 pic earning rave

reviews across the board, plenty of nominations from numerous film

groups, and having a very relevant true story about civil rights for blacks

in America. The wide opening was less than half of the $24.6M for The

Butler and the $27.5M of 42 - other dramas about real African American

men from recent history. Both played in more theaters, however Selma's

average was down 39% vs. Butler's $8,400 and off 44% compared to 42's

$9,153But Selma does have plenty of upside in its near future. Next weekend is likely to post strong numbers given that it is the long MLK

holiday frame. Plus many Oscar nominations are expected this Thursday

including Best Picture which will ignite interest immediately. In addition,

the Paramount release's glowing A+ CinemaScore indicates a bright road

ahead as those who did show up loved the film and will be recommending


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it. The studio is hoping that this was more like a preview session which

will spark positive buzz going into next weekend when more people will be

in the mood to see Selma. Cume to date including the limited run over the

holidays is now $13.6MStudio research showed that Selma played older, as expected, with 83% of the audience for the 1965-set film being over 25.

Females made up 61% for the Oprah-backed project. The racial

breakdown was 43% black, 40% white, and 17% other. Though a story

about famous Americans, the cast was led by England-born actors who

played Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, President Lyndon B.

Johnson, and Governor George Wallace. With a $20M production budget

and promising weeks ahead, Selma should be able to reach

profitabilityGitesh PandyaBoxofficeguru.com1-9-11-2015 Weekend Box Office (January 16 - 19, 2015):

Paramount's acclaimed Selma followed with $13.9M over the long weekend with the three-day figure off 23% in its second session of wide

play. Despite rave reviews, an Oscar nod for Best Picture, and this being

MLK weekend, the Oprah-backed film still is not bringing out large

crowds and averaged $6,197 over four days. Cume is $31.5M after 11 days

of national release which is less than what the Jackie Robinson drama 42

grossed in just its first five days.Gitesh PandyaBoxofficeguru.com1-16-19-2015

Weekend Box Office (January 23 - 25, 2015):

Best Picture contender Selma followed with an estimated $5.5M, down 37%, for a new cume of $39.2M for Paramount which is still an

underwhelming figure for an Oscar contender with so much love from

both critics and audiences. Over 300,000 tickets have been given away to

students for free, paid for by local business leaders, contributing about $2-

3M of the gross. Even with many getting to see the acclaimed MLK movie

at no cost, Selma looks on track to end its run below such real-life dramas

as Ray, Coach Carter, 42, and The Butler. Three weeks into its wide

release and its total is still below the $48.2M final of Malcolm X from 22

years ago when ticket prices were half as much.Gitesh PandyaBoxofficeguru.com1-16-19-2015


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Selma was widely released in well over 2,200 theaters for three straight

weeks before it started dropping 500 theaters a week for the next three

straight weeks. Presently, Selma has earned $50 Million and will

probably end up making $51 or $53 Million before it is completely out

of U.S. theaters. If there had been a huge box office turnout to see Selma

like what happened for American Sniper than you would have more film

critics, the media and Industry insiders all saying loudly that Selma was

snubbed and should have gotten more respect from Hollywood. But the

fact that Selma was not a hit at the box office makes that argument that

#OscarsSoWhite and #SelmaSnub limited to the people who spent more

time Tweeting their outrage about Selma than going with their friends

to see it once or twice before they saw Taken 3 or The Wedding Ringer.

5. Selma was not best film this year or even one of the best five nominated films, Ava DuVernay was not the best director or even one of the best

five directors nominated and David Oyewole was not even the best

Black actor this year. Chadwick Boseman playing a multi-generational

James Brown for Get On Up got subbed and deserved to be nominated

as a Best actor choice more than David. I can actually say all those

statements because I did something that #OscarSoWhite or #SelmaSnub

supporters rarely or maybe are incapable of saying which is that I

actually saw all of the other Best Picture film nominees, American

Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation

Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash. One cannot

honestly, intelligently or credibly demand that Selma, Ava and David

faced a massive conspiracy winning Oscars unless you took the time to

see what Selma was being compared to for this years Oscars. I do not think anyone in Hollywood thought Selma didnt deserve a Best Picture nomination. But no one seriously thought that Ava would get a Best

Director Nomination after the DGA passed her over and David would

get a Best Actor nomination after SAG passed him over as well. But

everyone in the Hollywood trades did have a prevailing mindset that

Selmas Glory by John Legend and Common would easily win an Oscar for Best Original Song for Oscar was never really in doubt or

question. Glory was going to get a gold statue because it was the best song this year among its competitors. And one can see Oscar trends in

the same overwhelming way everyone knew and expected Frozens Let It Go by Idina Menzel to win Best Original Song at last years Oscars.


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I will list in order my Best Picture nominees as how would have voted if

I was an Academy Award member. I agree with Birdman winning Best

Picture because it was a very compelling and innovative drama. My

second choice would be The Theory of Everything because this is just an

amazing story of hope and triumph of the human spirit. My third choice

would be The Imitation Game because there is too much homophobia

today and maybe there would be way less if they saw this historic film.

My fourth selection is American Sniper because Clint Eastwood made

not only a superb war film, but a war film that was intensely personal.

My fifth selection is Whiplash because of the editing of Miles Teller

drumming and J.K. Simmons mesmerizing acidic performance. My

sixth selection is the wry, amusing and farcical The Grand Budapest

Hotel for really pushing the edge of being a real biopic and a fantasy

one. I give Selma the seventh place on my imaginary Best Picture List

and it would have been as high as third, fourth or fifth if it was not

riddled with historical inaccuracies between LBJ and MLK and the lack

of any strong or well-developed supporting actor roles. Ava actually had

Malcolm X in Selma and did absolutely nothing with him. And despite

Oprahs powerful scene of being cheated out of her right to vote we and

her attacking the racist Selma sheriff Oprah doesnt have any other

memorable or substantial dialogue in the film. The rest of the Selma

cast, especially the women characters, are merely window dressing roles

that do not stand out among any other similar civil rights biopics or

white savoir period films. My last Oscar Best Pic selection would have

been Boyhood only because Richard Linkletter failed to show Ethan

Hawke when his ex-wife and kids were victims of domestic abuse. So

those are my 5 reasons why Selma was not snubbed at the 2015 Oscars.


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