Carey Mulligan says Oscar voters should "prove" they’ve seen all the nominated movies before casting their votes.
The 34-year-old actress believes there "should be a test" for the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who vote on the winners of the Academy Awards, in order to make sure they’ve watched all the nominated flicks and can cast a fair vote.
Carey spoke as she was asked her thoughts on women being shut out of the Best Director category this year, despite a number of high profile films with ladies at the helm.
The ‘Promising Young Woman’ star told Variety: "I don’t think you can watch those films and not think they deserve recognition. I think they need to be watched. I wonder if the system works in terms of getting sent 100 screeners. Maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to vote unless you can prove you’ve seen every single one. There should be a test. The films that did get left out are indisputably brilliant.
"I’m talking about ‘Hustlers,’ ‘Little Women’ and ‘The Farewell.’ I feel like the fact that they are getting made is progress. But it’s all baby steps."
Out of the 10,000 voting members of the Academy, it has been reported that most only watch a handful of the films before they vote for their winner.
‘Promising Young Woman’ director Emerald Fennell added: "The truth of it is getting sent 100 screeners. The Academy and, I suppose, all of these institutions have members who are incredibly busy. It’s difficult to make sure people have seen everything and necessarily the way humans are, they prioritise things they are comfortable with or they think they’ll like. They’ll go with the established filmmakers."
Amid the ongoing Oscars diversity row – which has also come as a result of the nominees being predominantly white – Jamie Foxx recently said that whilst diversity should be spoken about and kept "on the forefront", there needs to be a balance in how it is addressed.
He said: "It’s two things, and we have to be very careful in the way we address this.
"We always want to keep it on the forefront to keep the Academy’s eyes open. We also want to be respectful to those that have been nominated so we don’t cloud their moment.
"It has nothing to do with them, and we want them to enjoy what they’ve been bestowed because they deserve it. The other thing is, we do this for art."
Carey Mulligan: Oscar voters should watch all the movies
