Frances McDormand left the Oscar stage after winning the Best Actress prize on Sunday with a call for an ‘inclusion rider’ -- an obscure method to increase film production diversity that she hopes will go mainstream.
The term is not well known in Hollywood, but by early morning on Monday after the awards ceremony, Twitter boasted an 'inclusion rider' hashtag and a Google search of the term produced more than 10 million hits.
While negotiating a contract, actors and film makers can use their star power to get a studio to hire more women and people of color on the production, McDormand explained backstage after her televised comment, which came in a ceremony notable for its activism.
“I just found out about this last week,” McDormand, who won the Oscar for her portrayal of a mother searching for her daughter’s killer in ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’, told media backstage. “You can ask for and/or demand at least 50 percent diversity in not only the casting but also the crew,” she added as an example.
University of Southern California professor Stacy Smith mentioned the “inclusion rider” idea in a 2016 talk on the lack of diversity in the film industry. She said that Hollywood ‘A-listers’ could stipulate in their contracts that minor roles be cast to reflect demographics of the real world. Studios could voluntarily do the same thing, she added.

Oscar winner McDormand wants an ‘Inclusion rider’, What’s that?
Frances McDormand poses backstage with her Best Actress Oscar. (Reuters)
Reuters, Los Angeles
Monday 05 March 2018
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:51 - GMT 06:51
DAY | WEEK |
-
20902 Views Coronavirus: Dubai temporarily postpones Pfizer vaccine campaign amid global shortage
-
9747 Views Saudi Arabia’s PIF to invest 3 trillion riyals over next 10 years: Crown Prince
-
3111 Views Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issues several new royal decrees
-
1792 Views Coronavirus: Dubai’s new restrictions disappoint hospitals; entertainers struggle on
-
1154 Views US will help Saudi Arabia defend against attacks on its territory: State Department
-
802 Views Full moon to align directly above Kaaba in Mecca on Jan. 28
-
20902 Views Coronavirus: Dubai temporarily postpones Pfizer vaccine campaign amid global shortage
-
19224 Views Coronavirus: Number of new UAE COVID-19 cases reaches record high
-
16813 Views Airstrikes pound Iran-backed militias south of Iraq’s Baghdad: Reports
-
10886 Views Coronavirus: Dubai orders hospitals to cancel surgeries amid surge in COVID-19 cases
-
8209 Views Coronavirus: Dubai suspends live entertainment permits as COVID-19 cases surge
-
7682 Views Coronavirus: Dubai's latest COVID-19 rules for weddings, restaurants, gyms, concerts
SHOW MORE