’12 Years A Slave’ Screenwriter John Ridley Explains Why He Feels ‘Lucky To Be A Black Man’ In Film

John Ridley scored a career milestone when he was awarded an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in “12 Years A Slave” during the 86th annual Academy Awards last year. However, although that particular award show marked a slight improvement with the Academy’s streak of diversity issues, the celebrated screenwriter feels the concern over the lack of representation extends much more beyond film.

“It’s difficult all the way around. And first and foremost, equal access is fair access is something we have to address. And it’s more than just if David [Oyelowo] got a nomination or not,” Ridley said to host Ricky Camilleri during a HuffPost Live segment on Tuesday. “If you look in the TV space and look at how few female directors are working. How few females are in the game…Latinas, Asian-Americans…”

The Huffington Post