According to Entertainment Weekly, a record 928 invitees have been asked to join the ranks of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. In an effort to boost diversity, 49 percent of those invites were sent out to women, while 38 percent of invitees were people of color.
Notable invitees include *takes deep breath*: Dave Chappelle, Taye Diggs, Jada Pinkett Smith, Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Mindy Kaling, Tiffany Haddish, Daniela Vega, Amy Schumer, Kyra Sedgwick, Sarah Silverman, Emilia Clarke, Daisy Ridley, Hannibal Buress, Timothée Chalamet, Daniel Kaluuya, Zoey Deutch, Amandla Stenberg, and Kumail Nanjiani.
As noted by Vanity Fair, a number of stars of The Simpsons also got invited, including: Julie Kavner, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, and Yeardley Smith.
Notable music invitees also included: Sufjan Stevens, Questlove, Chuck D, and (as noted in the headline lead) Kendrick Lamar.
If you're into raw numbers (and really who isn't?) the 928 invitees came from 59 countries. If everyone were to accept their invite, then the infusion of talent from diverse backgrounds would bump the Academy's ranks to 31 percent women (up from 28 percent in 2017), and 16 percent people of color (up from 13 percent in 2017). On top of last year's 774 invitees (which was also a record, at the time) this year's class would bump the Academy up to over 9,000 people.
To see the names of all the new invites in a full and exhaustive list that would rival many-a-movie-credit, click here.
