By Katie J. OatesDecember 20, 2018, 9:09pm”We want to be really, really clear that this is not a stunt,” said James DeSantis, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, a union representing movie studios.
“The Academy is not going to put the movie industry on notice that we’re going to stop accepting nominations, but they are going to tell people that they can go to the movies now, which is really great.”
But the Academy’s decision to stop the nominations comes amid growing pressure on the industry to address the issue.
In an op-ed published by The New York Times, Oscar-winning filmmaker Judd Apatow said the academy should do more to curb the pressure on movie stars.
He wrote that Hollywood “must act fast to end this practice and make it clear to actors and audiences that their awards nominations have no bearing on their careers.”
In a statement, the Academy said it would continue to work with the union to promote transparency.
“The Academy has not made any announcements about the proposed changes, and we do not plan to make any further announcements,” it said.
“While we are aware of a petition that is circulating online calling for a boycott of Oscar-nominated films, we will continue to monitor these petitions closely and take appropriate action when they are deemed to be false or misleading.”
Apotow, who co-wrote the best picture Oscar winner Moonlight, said the industry has a lot to learn about why it takes so long to nominate films for Oscars.
“It is very, very clear to me that we can’t take the pressure of people like Judd Apitow on us to nominate the right film in the right categories.
We need to change our practices,” he said.
But he said the Academy needs to “change its ways.”
“We need to start acting like we’re in a movie industry that wants to work together,” he added.
Apotos decision comes amid a growing chorus of calls to boycott the Academy.
Actor Kevin Spacey recently quit his role on Netflix’s House of Cards over the nomination of a film that he said “shames” the film industry.
And actress Patricia Arquette, who has said she wants to boycott Academy Awards this year, recently said she won’t attend any of the awards ceremonies in 2019.
The Motion Picture Academy has long resisted calls for a full boycott.
The union represents Hollywood’s major film companies, which collectively control more than 2,000 film festivals, the majority of which are based in Los Angeles.
But DeSants office has been lobbying to end the nominations altogether.
“I am absolutely convinced that the Academy is right to stop awards for movies that they think are not worthy of nominations,” he told The Associated Press.
“I am convinced that we need to stop having awards for awards.”
Actors and other stars, including actors in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the academy’s governing body, have been urging the union not to end nominations.
Last month, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for a moratorium on Oscar nominations until Hollywood makes progress on the issue of sexual harassment in the industry.
The Oscar nominations have long been a source of controversy for Hollywood.
In recent years, some Academy members have publicly said they plan to boycott movies that are nominated for Oscars in order to protest what they see as a lack of progress on harassment issues.
In December, DeSantes’ petition to stop nominations garnered nearly 1 million signatures.
That’s nearly double the number of signatures it received in January.
But it’s not clear how many actors and others are considering boycotting the awards, or if the boycott will continue into next year.
“As we’re not going anywhere, we want to get the word out,” DeSantes said.
“This is not about the Academy, this is about the entertainment industry, and if the Academy continues to act as if it’s the only place for us, then we are going back to our offices.”ABC News’ Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report.
