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AFRICAN-AMERICAN NOMINEE NOT FAZED BY SHOW CONTROVERSY.


Byline: Phil Rosenthal This article is about the columnist. For the television producer, see Philip Rosenthal
Phil Rosenthal (born 1963) has been media columnist for the Chicago Tribune since the spring of 2005.
 Daily News Columnist

Dianne Houston Dianne Houston (born July 22, 1954 in Washington, D.C.) is a director and screenwriter. She is an African American and a vegetarian.

She became interested in theater while attending Howard University with her first plays being produced around 1977.
 has spent her entire career hoping to be singled out for the kind of attention an Academy Award nomination traditionally bestows.

But because her nomination for her first directing effort, the live-action short "Tuesday Morning Ride," is the sum total of African-American representation among the 166 nominations for Monday night's Academy Awards, that honor has been overshadowed by attention of another kind.

Houston, by virtue of nothing more than her own success, finds herself at the center of the ongoing controversy over minorities' poor representation among the motion picture academy's membership and within the Hollywood community as a whole.

Houston said she welcomes the spotlight, if not the spot it puts her in.

"I'm like any other artist out there," Houston said. "If you put the spotlight on me, I'm going to talk about my work. I don't care
This page is about the music single. For the meaning relating to digital logic, see Don't-care (logic)


"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary.
 why you put the spotlight on me."

Houston's "Tuesday Morning Ride" is a character study starring Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (born October 27, 1924) is an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist. Early life
She was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Harlem, New York.
 and Bill Cobbs as two senior citizens looking to live life on their own terms despite their advancing fragility.

"The good news is that people who have seen the film know that it stands on its own merit," Houston said. "Also, the vote in terms of short films for the academy were in - the envelope was sealed - long before People magazine started its crusade (reporting on the underrepresentation of minorities in Hollywood).

"So, whatever happens Monday night, whether I win an Oscar with this film or whether I don't, the victory is in the nomination. The point is, the nomination was because of the work. That's clear. It certainly wasn't any kind of tokenism to·ken·ism  
n.
1. The policy of making only a perfunctory effort or symbolic gesture toward the accomplishment of a goal, such as racial integration.

2.
."

Houston said she has encountered "relatively few" obstacles on account of race in her career.

She has written for such people as Suzanne DePasse, Dustin Hoffman Noun 1. Dustin Hoffman - versatile United States film actor (born in 1937)
Hoffman
, Charles Dutton
  • Charles S. Dutton the American actor/producer.
  • Charles M. Dutton Crew Chief Spc. in the Warlords, B-Company of the 123rd Aviation Battalion in the American Division, killed in the Vietnam War.
, John Singleton, Eddie Murphy Edward "Eddie" Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and comedian. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. , Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey, who provided Houston funding when it became clear she would need one extra day of shooting to finish "Tuesday Morning Ride."

"There are inherent obstacles in that black writers are often only considered to write black projects," said Houston, who was executive story editor for Winfrey's "Brewster Place" TV series. "It's completely a double standard, and I'd like to see that change, and I think it will change."
COPYRIGHT 1996 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1996, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Mar 22, 1996
Words:384
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