Robert Pattinson among new invitees to Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences

2 July 2021

Robert Pattinson and Janet Jackson are among this year's invitees to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Robert Pattinson

The organisation have previously invited around 800 new members every year but for 2021 just 395 people were asked to be involved, with Maria Bakalova, Issa Rae, Laverne Cox, Vanessa Kirby, Steven Yeun, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II among those receiving invitations.

Eight individuals have been invited to join by multiple branches and must choose one on acceptance, with Emerald Fennell, Florian Zeller, Kaouther Ben Hania, Shaka King, Lee Isaac Chung and Craig Brewer all invited by the director and writer divisions. Alexander Nanau was also asked by the directors branch, as well as documentary.

And Leslie Oodm Jr. was invited to join by both actors and music.

The 2021 invitation list is made up of 46% women, 39% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 53% international from 49 countries outside the United States.

In total, 89 people on the list have been nominated for an Oscar, including 25 Academy Award winners.

Last September, Academy announced a new set of Inclusion Standards for movies to be eligible for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, starting with 2024 ceremony in order "to encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going audience."

The movies will have to tick at least two of four representation boxes, which have a number of subcategories.

To be eligible to win the prestigious accolade the films must have employed a set number of actors, production members, marketing staff and interns who are women, people of colour, disabled or are among the LGBTQ+ community.

The storyline will also need to be diverse, and the motion picture needs to have offered traineeships or apprenticeships, be it on screen or behind the camera, to people from different backgrounds.

Although the new rules won't come into effect until 2024, an Academy Inclusion Standards form will be required in order to be considered for the 2022 ceremony and the 2023 ceremony.