Paul Bedard at the Washington Examiner reports “A new Ipsos/Reuters poll throws cold water on the racially-charged #OscarsSoWhite trend and other campaigns suggesting that the overly liberal Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was biased this year against blacks and other minorities in picking Oscar nominees.”
In a series of questions, the poll of 2,385 respondents found that most Americans believe that Hollywood doesn’t have a “problem” with women or minorities. By a margin of 70 percent to 30 percent, they agreed Hollywood does not have “a general problem with women.” The margin was 69 percent to 31 percent on the same question about minorities.
Asked if Hollywood “shies away from making Oscar-caliber movies that appeal to minorities,” 68 percent said no, 32 percent yes.
In other findings, 65 percent said they have not seen any Oscar-nominated films and just 9 percent have seen American Sniper. But it is the top choice for best movie, with 22 percent picking it. Second was Selma at 8 percent. Forty-four percent called themselves “unsure.”
In the Best Actor category, 26 percent picked Bradley Cooper in American Sniper, while 49 percent checked “unsure.” Reese Witherspoon in Wild led the Actress nominees with 15 percent.
