Nominee Sly wanted to boycott Oscars over racism furore

10 February 2016 - 02:09 By Reuters

Sylvester Stallone, thrilled to be back as an Oscar contender for the first time in 40 years, said he had thought twice about taking part in the ceremony because of the uproar over the scarcity of black talent in the contest. Stallone, 69, is the only person from the boxing movie Creed to be nominated for an Oscar, although the film stars African-American Michael B Jordan and was directed and written by Ryan Coogler, who is also black."I never thought I'd cross this threshold again," Stallone said on Monday at a lunch to celebrate the Oscar nominees ahead of the Academy Awards on February 28."I couldn't be more thrilled, and my daughters look at me now as an actor and not as a bad golfer."Stallone was last nominated for writing and performing the lead role in his 1976 movie Rocky, which won the best picture award without honouring his efforts.He is considered a frontrunner for supporting actor Oscar for his role as Rocky Balboa, now a boxing trainer, in Creed.After black actor Will Smith and director Spike Lee said they would not attend the ceremony in protest, Stallone said he asked Coogler what to do."[Coogler] said, 'Just go there and try to represent the film ... We feel you deserve it, but eventually things will change.' "I said, 'If you want me to go I'll go. If you don't, I won't. And he said, 'No, I want you to go.' That's the kind of guy he is."..

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