From Creed To Concussion: Culturally Diverse Suggestions For 2016 Oscar Nominations
Academy Award sceptics are expecting another white-washed year, with diversity in Hollywood still not as broad as we need it to be. If you're one of the cynics, you'd be right to think that way, because even going through the ton of blockbusters seen in 2015, only a handful have any actors of colour.
We thought we'd throw a few of our own suggestions into the mix, ahead of the official announcement of this year's Oscar nominations. They're all deserving of a nod, so fingers crossed for each one of these:
Creed - Sylvester Stallone won the Golden Globe for this movie, but we reckon it's well deserving of a Best Picture Oscar and star Michael B. Jordan of Best Actor In A Leading Role. Director Ryan Coogler should also get some recognition, given that he has impressed enough to be chosen to helm the upcoming 'Black Panther' Marvel film.
Straight Outta Compton - It earned a total of $200.4 million at the worldwide box office and is the acting debut of Ice Cube's own son O'Shea Jackson Jr.. No-one could've played his father better than him, but both he and the movie deserve to be up for Best Actor and Picture for telling such an incredible story.
Tangerine - This film pretty much killed two diversity birds with one stone when it explored black transgender women making money as sex workers. It had a seriously low budget of $100,000 and was shot entirely on iPhone, but it still managed to make an impact and definitely deserves a Best Picture nod.
More: Read our review for 'Tangerine'
Concussion - Sure, Will Smith's accent was a little jarring in this movie, but it's exploring a massively important piece of medical history; Dr. Bennet Omalu's research into brain damage in NFL players. As well as being deserving of a Best Picture and Best Actor nod, emerging artist Leon Bridges should definitly receive attention for his Original Song 'So Long'.
Beasts of No Nation - A straight-to-Netflix epic about the plight of a child soldier in an African civil war based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, this one became a huge festival hit and star Idris Elba should not be forgotten in his role as a Supporting Actor.
Chi-Raq - An interesting and unique take on the classic Aristophanes play 'Lysistrata', which sees the wives and girlfriends of Chicago gangsters protest against their violence by disallowing them sexual contact, 'Chi-Raq' is another Spike Lee classic. Teyonah Parris makes for a remarkable modern day Lysistrata, with Nick Cannon personifying the idea of Chi-raq.
Dope - Co-produced by Forest Whitaker, Pharrell Williams and Sean Combs, this light-hearted crime comedy steps away from stereotypes by having the main characters as black, hip-hop loving high school geeks with the brains for Harvard. Unfortunately though, living in the LA 'burbs, they ultimately find themselves caught up in the dangerous world of drugs and violence.
NOT FORGETTING...: 'He Named Me Malala' is very much likely to be up for Best Documentary Feature, while John Boyega is a serious contender for Best Actor In A Supporting Role for his role as Finn in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. Plus, Samuel L. Jackson delivered another fine performance in Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight', and Rihanna was definitely partly to blame for the success of animated feature 'Home'.