Diversity in Hollywood dominates conversation at Sundance film fest

Matt Damon is the latest in a string of stars to say the movie business has "a long, long, long way to go" when it comes to diversity.

Hollywood must do "much, much, much more" to reflect the audiences who watch movies, the best actor nominee told The Associated Press in Park City, Utah on Saturday.

"We're talking about huge systemic injustices around race and gender that are a lot bigger than the Oscars," Damon said. "They're massive issues in our industry and in our country."

• Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling says diversity remarks misinterpreted​​
• Why #OscarsSoWhite may have it wrong about racism and the academy
• Why experts say Oscars' lack of diversity contributes to racial bias among public 

Diversity has dominated the conversation around the Academy Awards since Jan. 14 when the nominations revealed a second consecutive year of all-white acting nominees.

The announcement sparked a massive social media movement with the hashtag OscarsSoWhite, which, in turn, provoked celebrities such as George Clooney, Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon to voice their support for change.

On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced sweeping changes that include doubling its female and minority members by 2020.​

Questions about diversity have forced some to back-pedal on comments made recently in reference to the issue.

French-American actress Julie Delpy, known for her Oscar-nominated writing and roles in the films Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, apologized for the way her words came across in an interview on Friday when she said she "sometimes wished she were African-American because people don't bash them afterwards."

The comments were made as she was discussing a time when she complained about the Academy being very male and white two years ago and was harshly criticized for her views.

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Delpy, who was attending the Sundance Film Festival, said she "never meant to diminish the injustice done to African-American artists or to any other people that struggle for equal opportunities."

Also on Friday, Charlotte Rampling, nominated for an Oscar in the best actress category for her role in 45 Years, said her comments were misinterpreted when she told a French radio station she believed the #OscarsSoWhite campaign was "racist to white people."

The latest push for more diversity in Hollywood from Damon, who is up for a best actor Academy Award for his role in The Martian, signals a different tone from the stance he appeared to take in September of 2015. 

At that time, Damon apologized for comments he made regarding diversity in filmmaking that sparked widespread backlash, after a portion of a conversation from HBO's Project Greenlight circulated online.

In the segment, Damon was shown shutting down producer Effie Brown (Dear White People) who made a case that a script dealing with sensitive subjects like prostitution should have a diverse directing team behind it. Damon responded that diversity should be handled in "the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show."

Damon said the statement was taken out of context.