Oscars: What Is an ‘Inclusion Rider,’ That Thing Frances McDormand Mentioned in Her Acceptance Speech?
Frances McDormand used her Best Actress acceptance speech to advocate for diversity on movie sets
Phil Hornshaw and Phil Owen | March 4, 2018 @ 8:52 PM
Last Updated: March 4, 2018 @ 11:40 PM
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Frances McDormand gave a powerful acceptance speech at the 90th Academy Awards when she won the Oscar for Best Actress, asking all the women nominees at the awards show to stand and be recognized.
McDormand ended the speech with something that will be confusing for everyone out there who doesn’t have a lot of experience negotiating contracts. “Two words, ladies and gentlemen: Inclusion rider,” she said.
If you don’t work in Hollywood, though, those two words might not make a lot of sense to you. What exactly is an “inclusion rider?” TheWrap has obtained a copy of a rider that McDormand wants to use moving forward, so we’ve all the answers you need.
In keeping with McDormand’s speech and the #MeToo and #TIMESUP movements taking place in Hollywood right now, an inclusion rider is something people working in film can include in their contracts. The clause can be added to contracts for actors and others working on a movie, requiring that the movie’s producers hire a diverse cast and crew. If the movie wasn’t diverse, it would give the actor a legal reason to back out of the contract — meaning the rider could have a serious effect on all the hiring practices on a film.
Adding the rider to contracts is a way that actors, directors and other people in high demand working on movies can use that power to advocate for diversity throughout the production.
McDormand’s inclusion rider contains specific provisions for how film productions should go about making hires for supporting on screen roles and behind-the-camera crew roles. It specifies that for auditions for all supporting roles must include at least one woman and one person “from any other under-represented group” — which it specifies as referring to “people of color, disabled, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender or Queer, or having a combination of these attributes.” And it states that roles written for a male actor are not excluded from that requirement. The big exception listed is in the case of concerns over “story authenticity.”
The same provisions also apply to key crew roles, including director of photography, editor, production designer and composer, among others. No exceptions are given for off-screen production roles.
While Hollywood has made some strides forward in recent years, the industry still struggles to achieve widespread diversity. At the Oscars, more than five times more men than women won awards, for instance — that’s 33 men taking home Academy Awards, and just six women.
The Oscars were also criticized in the past for including a vast majority more white nominees than people of color, which gave rise to the social media hashtag #OscarsSoWhite in 2015, when all the actor nominees were white. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences itself also has been criticized in the past for being mostly made up of older white men.
McDormand, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” advocated for more celebrities to make use of the rider as Hollywood has seen the rise of the #MeToo and #TIMESUP movements. Both rose as response to accusations of sexual misconduct against powerful men in Hollywood and beyond, as well as in answer to sexist hiring and pay practices against women.
All the Oscar-Nominated Movies You Can Watch at Home Right Now
The Oscars are almost here, but you don't have to head to the theater to catch up on all the nominees you missed -- most of the major nominees you can watch from the comfort of your living room. Here you'll find the list of every Oscar nominee available for home viewing and where you can find them.
"Abacus: Small Enough to Jail"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Documentary Feature. Available with an Amazon Prime subscription and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
“Baby Driver”
Three Oscar nominations, for Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Film Editing. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, as well as for rent or purchase from streaming retailers.
"Beauty and the Beast"
Two Oscar nominations, for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent or purchase from streaming retailers.
"The Big Sick"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Original Screenplay. Available on Amazon Prime, as well as Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Blade Runner 2049"
Five Oscar nominations, for Best Visual Effects, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Production Design and Cinematography. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent or purchase from streaming retailers.
"The Boss Baby"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Animated Feature. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, on Netflix, and for rent or purchase from streaming retailers.
"The Breadwinner"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Animated Feature. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, on Netflix, and for rent or purchase from streaming retailers.
"Call Me By Your Name"
Four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song. Available for purchase from streaming retailers.
"Coco"
Two Oscar nominations, for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent or purchase from streaming retailers.
"Darkest Hour"
Six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Actor, Cinematography, Production Design, Makeup & Hair, and Costume Design. Available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"The Disaster Artist"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Adapted Screenplay. Available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Dunkirk"
Eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Production Design, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Original Score. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent or purchase from streaming retailers.
"Faces Places"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Documentary. Available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and for purchase from streaming retailers.
"Ferdinand"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Animated Feature. Available for purchase from streaming retailers.
"The Florida Project"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Get Out"
Four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. Available on HBO and its streaming platforms, as well as DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Visual Effects. Available on Netflix, as well as Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Kong: Skull Island"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Visual Effects. Available on Netflix, as well as Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Lady Bird"
Five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Orignal Screenplay, Actress and Supporting Actress. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Last Men in Aleppo"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Documentary Feature. Available on DVD, on Netflix, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Logan"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Adapted Screenplay. Available on HBO and its streaming platforms, as well as Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Loving Vincent"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Animated Feature. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Marshall"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Original Song for "Stand Up for Something" by Common and Diane Warren. Available on Netflix, as well as Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Mudbound"
Four Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song and Cinematography. Available on Netflix.
"Roman J. Israel, Esq."
One Oscar nomination, for Best Actor. Available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent or purchase from streaming services.
"The Shape of Water"
Thirteen Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor and Cinematography. Available for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"The Square"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Foreign Language Film. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Strong Island"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Documentary. Available on Netflix.
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Actress, Supporting Actor and Original Screenplay. Available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"War for the Planet of the Apes"
One Oscar nomination, for Best Visual Effects. Available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Wonder"
One Oscar nomination, for Makeup and Hairstyling. Available on Netflix, as well as Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
"Victoria & Abdul"
Two Oscar nominations, for Best Costume Design and Hair and Makeup. Available on Blu-Ray and DVD, and for rent and purchase from streaming retailers.
The Oscar nominated short films in the live action, animation and documentary categories can all be streamed for free on Shorts.tv.
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Prep for the Oscars by checking out most of the nominated films from the comfort of your couch
The Oscars are almost here, but you don't have to head to the theater to catch up on all the nominees you missed -- most of the major nominees you can watch from the comfort of your living room. Here you'll find the list of every Oscar nominee available for home viewing and where you can find them.
