The 88<sup>th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday 28 February amid controversy over the fact that out of the 25 people nominated for acting and directing awards, none of them are actors of colour.

Actors have been speaking out about the issue and even Tommy Wiseau, the erstwhile director and lead actor in The Room (which is considered the best worst film ever made), gave us his two cents during a recent interview with IBTimes UK about the chaos of his film being made into a blockbuster movie starring and directed by James Franco.

"It's completely ridiculous. They change some rules, but you cannot force somebody or organisation to pick certain group of people based on who they are. That's not how it works – it's based on performance. If you perform good, it doesn't matter who you are, white, purple, Chinese, Indian – because of your performance you should get an award," he told IBTimes UK.

"To me it doesn't matter, at the end of the day it should be about the finished product. You as an audience, judges, whatever competition, whatever you do, that's what matters. And right now Hollywood is spread out all over the world, it's not just filming in Los Angeles."

Wiseau says that in the 13 years since The Room was first released, he has been asked on occasion in interviews and by fans why none of the cast are black.

"A lot of people say why didn't you cast a black guy? But I have a surprise, the first actor I cast for Mark was a black guy, and you can see it on YouTube, the audition," said Wiseau.

"Why didn't he make it? He didn't make it because he didn't show up! And he was such a great actor! And he didn't show up!"

Several prominent celebrities, including Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee, have decided not to attend the Academy Awards this year as a protest at the absence of racially diverse nominees. Countless more have spoken out about how the Oscars reflects what happens in other industries and wider society in the US.

Wiseau says that he prefers to stay out of the politics of the situation, but to him, none of the politics should have a place when it comes to film industry.

"To me, as an actor you have a story to tell on the big screen, and you present it in a certain way, and it doesn't matter which group does it as long as you do a good job," he stressed.

"That's not what it's all about. If you do some performance right, you should be recognised for it."

Read more about the Oscars racial diversity row:
Oscars 2016