'Jaws' Star Richard Dreyfuss On Oscars Inclusion Standards: 'They Make Me Vomit'

Actor Richard Dreyfuss believes inclusion standards for the Oscars are absolutely insane and stupid.

Films hoping to win Best Picture at the Oscars must adhere to new guidelines mandating a certain percentage of cast and crew be from minority groups, according to the Oscars' website. Films also need to meet thresholds for LGBTQ+, disabled characters and female characters.

Below is one snippet of the inclusion standards that will be the total standard by 2024.

The Oscars mandate inclusion standards to be considered for best picture. (Credit: Oscars.com)

Dreyfuss isn't a fan. Not only is he not a fan of the new rules, he claimed they make him want to throw up.

Richard Dreyfuss rips Oscars inclusion standards.

"They make me vomit...Because this is an art form, it’s also a form of commerce, and it makes money, but it’s an art. And no one should be telling me, as an artist, that I have to give in to the latest most current idea of what morality is," Dreyfuss explained when bluntly asked his thoughts on the standards during an interview on PBS’ "Firing Line."

The famous "Jaws" actor further added, "And what are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that. And you have to let life be life."

Richard Dreyfuss rips inclusion standards for the Oscars. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Mandating anything in art is ridiculous.

Richard Dreyfuss' point is absolutely correct, even if a bit bombastic. It's not on the Oscars or any other awards body to tell filmmakers what to include in their movies.

The goal should be to entertain. If the film is good, people will buy tickets and it will print cash. If it's not, it will become a huge loss.

No film is a hit because the cast has a certain percentage of women, disabled, gay or minority characters. Did anyone watch "Top Gun: Maverick" because of casting decisions? No. People bought tickets because they wanted to watch Tom Cruise blow up enemy fighter jets.

Of course, "Top Gun: Maverick" was already shafted at the Oscars. You can be the most popular film of the year and save Hollywood, but still not be woke enough to win!

Furthermore, there are some films that are going to be borderline impossible to tell adhering to these rules. How could "Saving Private Ryan" or "Dunkirk" be accurately made if there had to be a bunch of minorities, women and disabled people? All the major players in the evacuation of Dunkirk in real life were white men for the most part on the ground and in the British government.

"Band of Brothers," the greatest limited series ever made, would have to literally change history in order to change the race and genders of all the people involved. Should the writers just have put a transgender minority into the series to appease the woke mob? The answer is no.

Focus on entertaining people. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you make a great product, people will come. If woke insanity becomes the goal, people will continue to lose interest in Hollywood. It's truly that simple.