Matt Damon says the film industry has “a long, long, long way to go” when it comes to increasing diversity.
Hollywood must do “much, much, much more” to reflect the audiences who actually spend money at the movie theaters, the best actor nominee told reporters on Saturday.
“We’re talking about huge systemic injustices around race and gender that are a lot bigger than the Oscars,” Damon said. “They’re massive issues in our industry and in our country.”
Diversity has dominated the conversation surrounding the Oscars since last week’s nominations revealed a second consecutive year of all-white acting nominees. On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced major changes that including increasing female and minority members by 2020.
Matt Damon said the movie is “a wonderful first step.”
“But that’s what it is,” he said. “A first step.”
But, Matt Damon is no stranger to controversy. In September, Damon apologized for comments he made regarding diversity in filmmaking that sparked worldwide backlash against the Martian actor.
In an episode of HBO’s Project Greenlight, Damon was shutting down producer Effie Brown who made the case that a script dealing with sensitive subjects like prostitution should have a diverse directing team behind it. Matt Damon responded by saying diversity should be handled in “the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show.” Damon said the statement was taken out of context.
