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Film Academy Doubles Number Of Invitees After #OscarsSoWhite Outcry

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Six months after announcing intentions to double the number of female and minority members in its ranks by 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 683 new members to join the organization.

The academy says its invitees are 46 percent female, 41 percent minority and represent 59 countries.

"This class continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today," Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said. "We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider, and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry."

Should all of the invitees accept, the new class would make the academy's overall membership 27 percent female and 11 percent non-white, up from 25 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Idris Elba, Chadwick Boseman, Eva Mendes, America Ferrera and Anika Noni Rose are among the actors invited to membership. Other potential new members helping to increase the academy's diversity include Chinese cinematographer Zhao Fei, Japanese production designer Yohei Taneda, Mexican director Patricia Riggen and musicians such as Fitzgerald Diggs, who's better known RZA from Wu Tang Clan.

The list of new invitees to Academy membership includes 28 Oscar winners and 98 Oscar nominees, with a total of 109 nominations. The list includes 283 international members representing 59 countries, with the overall invitees ranging in age from 24 to 91.

Film academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement that the new class "continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today."

The academy announced sweeping changes to its recruitment and voting practices in January after a second straight year of all-white acting nominees for the Academy Awards.

In March, the organization added three new members to its board of governors and appointed six minority members to other leadership positions.

The size of the new membership class this year is double the number of 2015 invitees.

Pop Sugar Editorial Director Lyndsay Miller told KCAL9's Elsa Ramon the campaign to diversify the mostly-male and mostly-white Academy starts real change.

"I think people are really applauding this move by the Academy," Miller said, "their president -- who is a black woman -- Cheryl Boone Isaacs said they were going to take the lead and not sit around and wait for the industry to catch up."

Many actors, like Gabrielle Union, took to social media to thank for the Academy for the invite.

"Huge honor," she wrote, "and I cannot wait to vote."

Director and actor Jorge Gutierrez wrote, "A childhood dream for a chubby little Mexican boy just came true. :) "

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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