Lupita Nyong'o

Following the criticism of the organisers of the Oscar Academy Awards for an apparent lack of diversity in nominations for the second consecutive year, British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo and British-Ghanaian actor Idris Elba have shared their thoughts on the issue, while calling for a change in the mentality of colour in Hollywood.

'A year ago, I did a film called Selma, and after the Academy Awards, [president Cheryl Boone Isaacs] invited me to her office to talk about what went wrong then.

George Clooney in an interview with Variety said that African Americans "have a real fair point that the industry isn't representing them well enough". But, should we really expect more from an industry where a white actor in blackface has an easier time getting nominated - looking at you Robert Downey, Jr. - than an actual black actor?

Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee are boycotting this year's Oscars because of a lack of diversity among the nominees, and George Clooney said he understands their reasoning.

This doesn't invalidate anything Clooney is saying; his statement is an important one that we should all take to heart.

But honestly, there should be more opportunity than that. "Think about how many more African Americans were nominated".

"In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond".

He ended his statement by saying that the Academy has to get better at picking the nominations because Oscars used to be great at it.

She has worked to diversify membership for the Academy, which a 2012 study by the Los Angeles Times found is overwhelmingly white and male. I Would Like To Thank President Cheryl Boone Isaacs And The Board Of Governors Of The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences For Awarding Me an Honorary Oscar This Past November.

The actor, who during his career has won two Academy Awards, slated the ceremony for "moving in the wrong direction".

He later added: "We should have been paying attention long before this".

Boone Isaacs and actor John Krasinski announce the 2016 Oscar nominees on January 14.

It's been a great year for movies - but, unfortunately, the same can't be said for film recognition. And on Friday, Straight Outta Compton producer Will Packer posted a lengthy note to Facebook, in which he called the industry's failure to recognize projects made by minorities "embarrassing".

The furore grew when Reverend Al Sharpton said he would lead a campaign encouraging people not to watch the February 28 telecast.

A video published on Monday by Janet Hubert, one of Will Smith's former co-stars on the sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, " criticized Pinkett's decision to boycott the Oscars and her suggestion that other black actors pull resources and talent away from mainstream acting organizations.