Motion Pictures Academy invites record 928 new members

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has issued an invitation to 928 new members to join its ranks, as the organisation ramps up its efforts to diversify its membership.

Those invited include 17 Oscar winners and 92 Oscar nominees, including 'Call Me By Your Name' star Chalamet, Kaluuya, 'Little Miss Sunshine' actress Abigail Breslin, 'Girls Trip' star Tiffany Haddish, 'The Big Sick' co-writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, comedian and actor Dave Chappelle, and Quvenzhane Wallis, who became the youngest Best Actress nominee in 2013 for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

The 928 invited members reflect "the Academy's overall commitment to not only diversify the Academy for diversity's sake but for the Academy to reflect the entertainment community at large," Entertainment Weekly quoted diversity chairman of the executive's branch, as saying.

The new members will see a push in the Academy's overall female membership from 28 percent to 31 percent while the membership of people of colour will be up from 13 percent last year to 16 percent this year.

After The Academy was heavily criticized in 2016 for only nominating white actors for two years in a row, sparking the #OscarsSoWhite movement, it announced its diversity initiative to double membership of women and minorities by 2020.