Canadian members of Oscars academy hopeful about new code of conduct
TORONTO — Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta always thought it was wrong that there was no code of conduct for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that oversees the Oscars, especially when it came to sexual misconduct.
“It was an unspoken thing that it will be tolerated, and really perhaps nobody (would) believe the women,” said the writer and director of the Oscar-nominated “Water,” who is an academy member herself.
“The atmosphere was one of, even though personally you might not tolerate it, there were no consequences.”
That changed on Wednesday when the academy announced its first code of conduct for its 8,427 members, one that states its board may now suspend or expel those who violate the code or who “compromise the integrity” of the organization.