Richard Dreyfuss: Oscars’ Latest Diversity Rules “Make Me Vomit”

I would have to guess that there are many Academy voters who dislike the Oscars’ new diversity rules. They just can’t say it out loud.

Richard Dreyfuss says “hold my beer.”

In case you missed it, starting next year, to qualify for the Best Picture race, a film would have to check a certain number of diversity quotas. That could mean telling an “inclusive” story or featuring enough people of color in the movie’s cast.

Dreyfuss is very much against this. Speaking with PBS anchor Margaret Hoover, here’s what he said:

“They make me vomit. This is an art form … no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is. And what are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that. And you have to let life be life. And I’m sorry.  I don’t think there is a minority or a majority in the country that has to be catered to like that.

This is all part of the Academy’s new representation and inclusion standards for Oscar eligibility (RAISE). The Academy’s goal is to create more inclusive hiring — forget about quality of performer.

Yes, the Academy will be infringing your creative process to force you to cast an actor or actress that might not really gel with your story, just as long as they have the right skin color.

Dreyfuss didn’t stop there either. He decided he’ll  blowup a few more heads by praising Laurence Olivier’s 1965 performance in “Othello”, which was done in blackface:

“Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man? Are we crazy? Do we not know that art is art?”

Hoover tried to reason with him, noting the dark past of blackface in American history. Dreyfuss called such talk “patronizing,” adding there shouldn’t be a difference between an actor portraying a member of one group or another.

It’s a fascinating unhinged interview.

Dreyfus is best know for his roles in “American Graffiti,” “Duddy Kravitz,” “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “The Goodbye Girl,” “Stand by Me” and “What About Bob.”