Quincy Jones wants to talk about diversity, just not on the Oscar show. The 82-year-old Oscar, Grammy and Emmy winner says he agreed to appear on Monday's Academy Awards on the condition that he can address the film academy's Board of Governors to discuss inclusivity and the future of film. Some news reports suggested he intended to deliver a diversity message to the global Oscar audience. The composer and producer, who earned seven Oscar nods before receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1994 and producing the Academy Awards in 1996, said Saturday that he met with academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and plans to speak to the organization's other officials in the coming weeks. "I hope I can continue to inspire people to do something about this stuff," Jones said after rehearsing for his Oscar appearance. "I'm not a politician. I just know that it's very emotional. It's about opening the doors." He did not offer any specific plans for how to solve the entertainment industry's race and gender problems. But he encourages an open mind and an eye for excellence. His first film, 1985's "The Color Purple," had an all-black cast and earned 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture, screenplay, cinematography, actress for Whoopi Goldberg and supporting actress for Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery. "My record with the academy is like nobody else's," said Jones, an academy member for 50 years and the first African American to produce the Oscar telecast (in 1996). He blames "the philosophy of the nation" for its marginalization of people of color in entertainment. Money can be the bridge, he said. When profits start rolling in, "there ain't no color left," Jones said. "The money eliminates the concept of color," he said. - AP
