Latest in Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

It's July 1, summertime, a hot one. Political storms threaten. In West L.A., one of the awards-friendly billboards on Wilshire is blank; another is selling spring water. Not a moment to be worrying about the Oscars. Or is it? Last year on this…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday that it is extending invitations to 487 to join the membership ranks of the Oscar organizer. If all accept, it will bring the Academy’s total membership to 10,910, of which 9,934 would be voting members. This year’s list across 19 branches…

The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday that it has renewed the contract of CEO Bill Kramer through July 2028. His deal wasn’t scheduled to be up for renewal until 2025. Kramer was the director and president of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures when…

Pondering Will Smith's recent triumph at a local Cinemark and Donald Trump's post-conviction surge, I got to thinking about “movie-think.” You know, the way we've become accustomed, after watching hundreds and hundreds of mainstream films, to thinking…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has returned to its annual spring ritual and announced its 2024-25 Board of Governors today. Among new first-time governors are Patricia Cardoso (Real Women Have Curves), elected to the Directors branch, and…

In morose moments, and I'll admit to having a few, I sometimes stare at a framed illustration on my work desk. Entitled "HOLLYWOOD 1988," it is a whimsical map of the motion picture business as it existed back then. The concept and a lot of the sight gags were mine; but Nancy Ohanion was the artist who…

The loudest voice in Hollywood last week belonged to Haim Saban. "Bad . . . Bad . . . bad decision, on all levels," he roared, in an email to President Joseph Biden, sent via White House aides, denouncing the Administration's announced plan to withhold bombs and artillery shells from Israel if it proceeds…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Friday that it is launching Academy100, a $500 million “global revenue diversification and outreach campaign” that will lead up to the 100th Oscars ceremony in 2028. The fundraising initiative was revealed at a press conference today in Rome hosted…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed some rules changes for the 97th Annual Academy Awards next year. Among them are putting the brakes on the Covid-era rule about drive-ins as qualifying commercial venues and swapping one of the six qualifying U.S. metropolitan areas. A…

On Monday, some sharp-eyed members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were surprised by a small but perhaps significant twist in an invitation to recommend recipients for the next round of honorary Oscars. That is, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, historically given to those…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today set the date and timeline for the 97th annual Academy Awards. The envelope, please… The Oscars will be handed out Sunday, March 2 — a week earlier that this year’s March 10 show — and will return to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for a 24th…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday named Bridgette Wilder as its first Chief People and Culture Officer, a position that combines the AMPAS and Academy Museum's human resources teams. With a strong focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, Wilder will be…