John Williams To Appear At The Academy’s ‘Behind the Score: The Art of the Film Composer’ Program on July 21

86th Academy Awards, The Oscar Concert

Composers Gustavo Dudamel, Gustavo Santaolalla and John Williams will gather at the Academy for “Behind the Score: The Art of the Film Composer,” on Monday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Bing Theater in Los Angeles.

In a conversation hosted by Tavis Smiley, the illustrious trio will discuss significant musical moments in film that have inspired their work as they examine the art and process of creating a film score as well as the director-composer collaboration.

Dudamel, now entering his sixth season as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, made his first foray into composing for motion pictures with “THE LIBERATOR (Libertador),” a biopic about Simón Bolívar that screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival earlier this month.  The score for this film, as well as a CD on Deutsche Grammophon, was recorded with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, of which Dudamel is music director.  Dudamel also appears as a guest conductor with many of the world’s greatest musical institutions.

A renowned singer, guitarist, music producer and composer, Santaolalla earned consecutive Oscars® for Original Score for “Brokeback Mountain” and “Babel.”  His other feature credits include “Amores Perros,” “21 Grams,” “The Motorcycle Diaries,” “North Country,” “Biutiful” and “On the Road.”  Long before he won the first of his 16 Grammy® Awards, Santaolalla was a creative force in the Argentine rock nacionalmovement in the early 1970s.

Williams, whose career spans six decades, has written scores for more than 100 films, including “Lincoln,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” the first three “Harry Potter” films,  the “Indiana Jones” films, and “The Book Thief,” and has won Academy Awards® for five films: “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Schindler’s List.”  With 49 Oscar® nominations, he holds the nominations record for any living person.

Prior to the 86th Oscars earlier this year, the composer was part of the first-ever Oscar Concert hosted by actor Common and film critic Elvis Mitchell at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. Williams discussed his Oscar nominated score for THE BOOK THIEF, followed by conducting a suite from the movie with the Academy’s 80-piece orchestra.

86th Academy Awards, The Oscar Concert

Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show Tavis Smiley on PBS and the weekly radio broadcast “The Tavis Smiley Show” from Public Radio International.  He also has authored or co-authored 16 books, including his forthcoming Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year to be published this September.

Behind the Score: The Art of the Film Composer is supported by The New York Times, a founding supporter of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2017.

Tickets for Behind the Score are $5 for general admission and $3 for Academy members, LACMA Film Club members and students with a valid ID.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org.  The Bing Theater is located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.  For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

The Academy’s Statement Regarding “Alone Yet Not Alone” And Decision To Rescind Nomination

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Contributed by Michelle McCue and Melissa Thompson

The Best Song skirmish continues.

Last week, AMPAS announced that their Board of Governors had voted to rescind the Original Song nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” music by Bruce Broughton and lyric by Dennis Spiegel. The decision was prompted by the discovery that Broughton, a former Governor and current Music Branch executive committee member, had emailed members of the branch to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs stated in the press release that, “No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one’s position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one’s own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage.”

On Saturday, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences issued another statement regarding the decision due to all the flack they’ve received and this time, they weren’t kidding around.

The Board of Governors’ decision to rescind the Original Song nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” music by Bruce Broughton, was made thoughtfully and after careful consideration. The Academy takes very seriously anything that undermines the integrity of the Oscars® voting process. The Board regretfully concluded that Mr. Broughton’s actions did precisely that.

The nominating process for Original Song is intended to be anonymous, with each eligible song listed only by title and the name of the film in which it is used—the idea being to prevent favoritism and promote unbiased voting. It’s been a long-standing policy and practice of the Academy—as well as a requirement of Rule 5.3 of the 86th Academy Awards® Rules—­­to omit composer and lyricist credits from the DVD of eligible songs that are sent to members of the Music Branch. The Academy wants members to vote for nominees based solely on the achievement of a particular song in a movie, without regard to who may have written it.

Mr. Broughton sent an email to at least 70 of his fellow Music Branch members—nearly one-third of the branch’s 240 members. When he identified the song as track #57 as one he had composed, and asked voting branch members to listen to it, he took advantage of information that few other potential nominees are privy to.

As a former Academy Governor and current member of the Music Branch’s executive committee, Mr. Broughton should have been more cautious about acting in a way that made it appear as if he were taking advantage of his position to exert undue influence.

At a minimum, his actions called into question whether the process was “fair and equitable,” as the Academy’s rules require. The Academy is dedicated to doing everything it can to ensure a level playing field for all potential Oscar® contenders—including those who don’t enjoy the access, knowledge, and influence of a long-standing Academy insider.

Deadline is reporting on why this clarification made by The Academy. “Since the decision was announced, there has been blowback regarding the true intent of the Academy’s decision — particularly in a letter to Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs from Oscar-winning producer Gerald Molen (Schindler’s List) who was also an executive producer of the controversial documentary 2016: Obama’s America, a high-grossing documentary that became a lightning rod in the last Presidential campaign and a darling of right-wing critics of President Obama. In the letter, Molen accuses the Academy of bias: “Many will see this decision as faith-based bigotry pure and simple.”

The Music Soundtrack: Alternative Scores
Credit: Greg Harbaugh / Copyright A.M.P.A.S. September 27, 2007.

“I’m devastated,” Broughton told Variety on Wednesday after the decision. “I indulged in the simplest, lamest, grass-roots campaign and it went against me when the song started getting attention. I got taken down by competition that had months of promotion and advertising behind them.”

Kris Tapley (HitFix/InContention) put forth the question, “Was it to make an example? That seems to be what some are thinking this afternoon. Because why not just revoke Broughton’s Oscar tickets, as the Academy did for a similar email dust-up with “The Hurt Locker” producer Nicolas Chartier in 2010? Why not throw some of this rhetoric at actress Ann Dowd when she personally spent upwards of $13,000 to send DVD screeners of the film “Compliance” to voters, regardless of whether she was nominated or not (she wasn’t)?”

An additional nominee in the Original Song category will not be named. The remaining nominees in the category are:

“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams

“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

“The Moon Song” from “Her”
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze

“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

The members from each of the Academy’s branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, musicians and composers nominate song and score.

A maximum of two songs may be nominated from any one film.

Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, March 2.

Alamo Drafthouse & AMPAS To Archive Mondo Film Posters

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library is partnering with the Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse theater chain to archive the company’s growing collection of original film posters designed by contemporary graphic artists. The first group of the Alamo Drafthouse’s Mondo posters arriving at the Herrick will include the latest print, a poster for the classic horror film “Frankenstein” (1931), created by Drew Struzan.

 

The Alamo Drafthouse began producing limited-edition silkscreen posters in 2003. Mondo, the company’s art boutique, now produces more than 120 posters annually, and through it prominent artists such as Martin Ansin, Shepard Fairey, Olly Moss, Tyler Stout and Ken Taylor are commissioned to create new art for classic films, as well as alternative posters for contemporary movies such as “Inglourious Basterds,” “True Grit” and “Thor.”

“We are always seeking out the unusual, and the Mondo collection certainly fits the bill,” said the Academy’s graphic arts librarian, Anne Coco. “We are looking forward to working with the Alamo Drafthouse to ensure that its contribution to the art of movie posters will be around for future generations to appreciate.”

This ongoing gift from the Alamo Drafthouse will be housed along with the Herrick’s existing collection of more than 38,000 movie posters.  The posters in the library’s collection are stored in climate-controlled vaults, and are scanned and entered into the library’s online catalog, where they can be viewed by the public.     

“We’re extremely grateful to the Academy for its interest in archiving Mondo’s poster collection,” said Mondo Creative Director Justin Ishmael. “We’re fans of movie art, first and foremost, and to have our artists’ work archived alongside some of the classics of movie poster art is an incredible honor.”

The Margaret Herrick Library poster collection includes a wide range of works created by noted graphic artists, such as the Stenberg brothers’ constructivist poster for “Man with a Movie Camera” and Wiktor Gorka’s arresting poster for the Polish release of “Cabaret.” The library also holds all of the film posters designed by Saul Bass, including his groundbreaking key art for “The Man with the Golden Arm.” 

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

Posters: Courtesy Mondo/Alamo Drafthouse

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Academy Travels To Kenya And Rwanda For Cultural Exchange With Filmmakers

Beverly Hills, CA – Eight members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be traveling to Kenya and Rwanda for an educational and cultural exchange with African filmmakers, students and the local creative communities. The delegation will arrive in Nairobi on Saturday, July 9, and travel to Kigali on Sunday, July 17; they will return to the U.S. on Sunday, July 24.

The Academy delegation will include producer Stephanie Allain, cinematographer John Bailey, sound mixer Willie Burton, editor Carol Littleton; writer-director Phil Robinson, production designer Wynn Thomas, and actress Alfre Woodard. Ellen Harrington, the Academy’s director of exhibitions and special events, will accompany the group.

The itinerary in Nairobi includes numerous workshops and seminars at One Fine Day – Films (formerly known as FilmAfrica!), a training facility where more than 65 student filmmakers from nine African countries gain experience in a variety of filmmaking disciplines and collaborate on a feature-length production.

In addition, several delegates will present and discuss a film from their career; films to be screened include “Silverado” (Bailey and Littleton) and “The Shawshank Redemption” (Burton).

Academy members will also visit the Kakuma refugee camp near the Sudanese border, where they will experience the work of FilmAid International (an Academy Institutional Grants beneficiary), a non-governmental organization that provides film training and open-air screenings to help address social and medical issues affecting long-term camp residents, and the community of Kibera, a large Nairobi slum.

In Rwanda, the delegates will inaugurate the KWETU Film Institute, a professional training center, and lead master classes for students and filmmakers. The group will also take part in the opening night of the Rwanda Film Festival, held in Kigali, and its regional festival “Hillywood,” which presents open-air screenings of African films for audiences of up to 10,000 people per night in the hills region of the country.

This trip is being undertaken as part of the Academy’s International Outreach Initiative, which has previously sent members to Vietnam, Iran and Cuba. The program brings delegations of film artists to countries with developing film industries and creates opportunities for creative conversations between emerging and established filmmakers.

For more information, visit www.oscars.org/africa.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

Academy Invites 178 To Membership

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 178 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2011 to the Academy’s roster of members.

“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “Their talent and creativity have entertained moviegoers around the world, and I welcome each of them to our ranks.”

The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 211 new members in 2011, but as in other recent years, several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.

In an unprecedented gesture, the list of new members includes documentary filmmaker Tim Hetherington, who was killed in action in Libya in April. Hetherington had been a 2010 nominee for his film “Restrepo,” but died prior to the Academy’s spring meetings to select new members. The Documentary Branch proposed that Hetherington’s name be included among the year’s invitees. The governors agreed.

The 2011 invitees are:

Actors
Russell Brand – “Arthur,” “Get Him to the Greek”
Gerard Butler – “The Ugly Truth,” “300”
Vincent Cassel – “Black Swan,” “Eastern Promises”
Robbie Coltrane – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” “Mona Lisa”
Bradley Cooper – “Limitless,” “The Hangover”
John Corbett – “Sex and the City 2,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Rosemarie DeWitt – “The Company Men,” “Rachel Getting Married”
Peter Dinklage – “Find Me Guilty,” “The Station Agent”
David Duchovny – “Things We Lost in the Fire,” “The X-Files”
Jesse Eisenberg – “The Social Network,” “The Squid and the Whale”
Jennifer Garner – “Arthur,” “Juno”
John Hawkes – “Winter’s Bone,” “The Perfect Storm”
Thomas Jane – “The Mist,” “The Thin Red Line”
Nastassja Kinski – “An American Rhapsody,” “Tess”
Beyonce Knowles – “Dreamgirls,” “Austin Powers in Goldmember”
Mila Kunis – “Black Swan,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Winter’s Bone,” “The Burning Plain”
Tea Leoni – “Ghost Town,” “Spanglish”
Anthony Mackie – “The Hurt Locker,” “Million Dollar Baby”
Lesley Manville – “Another Year,” “Topsy-Turvy”
Rooney Mara – “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “The Social Network”
Dominic Monaghan – “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Connie Nielsen – “Brothers,” “Gladiator”
Ellen Page – “Inception,” “Juno”
Wes Studi – “Avatar,” “The Last of the Mohicans”
Mia Wasikowska – “Jane Eyre,” “The Kids Are All Right”
Jacki Weaver – “Animal Kingdom,” “Cosi”

Animators
Geefwee Boedoe – “Let’s Pollute,” “Monsters, Inc.”
Alessandro Carloni – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Over the Hedge”
Sylvain Chomet – “The Illusionist,” “The Triplets of Belleville”
Jakob Hjort Jensen – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Flushed Away”
Biljana Labovic – “The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger,” “Idiots and Angels”
Tomm Moore – “The Secret of Kells,” “Backwards Boy”
Teddy Newton – “Day & Night,” “Ratatouille”
Bob Peterson – “Up,” “Finding Nemo” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Javier Recio Gracia – “The Lady and the Reaper,” “The Missing Lynx”
Andrew Ruhemann – “The Lost Thing,” “City Paradise”
Kristof Serrand – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas”
Shaun Tan – “The Lost Thing,” “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”
Simon Wells – “Mars Needs Moms,” “The Prince of Egypt”

Art Directors
Anahid Nazarian – “The Virgin Suicides,” “The Godfather, Part III”
Lauren E. Polizzi – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

At-Large
George Aguilar
Barry Bernardi
Christopher Dodd
Ted Gagliano
James L. Honore
Dawn Hudson
Beverly Pasterczyk
Randall Poster
Ric Robertson
David Schnuelle
Randy Spendlove
Beverly Joanna Wood

Casting Directors
Nina Gold – “The King’s Speech,” “Jane Eyre”
Jina Jay – “The Reader,” “Layer Cake”
Lora Kennedy – “The Town,” “Syriana”

Cinematographers
Frank Byers – “Illegal Tender,” “Boxing Helena”
Patrick Cady – “Lottery Ticket,” “Broken Bridges”
Danny Cohen – “The King’s Speech,” “Pirate Radio”
Lukas Ettlin – “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Middle Men”
Steven Fierberg – “Love & Other Drugs,” “Secretary”
Barry Markowitz – “Crazy Heart,” “Sling Blade”
Charles Minsky – “Valentine’s Day,” “Pretty Woman”
Lawrence Sher – “The Hangover,” “Garden State”
Eric Steelberg – “Up in the Air,” “(500) Days of Summer”

Costume Designers
Odile Dicks-Mireaux – “An Education,” “The Constant Gardener”
Sarah Edwards – “Salt,” “Michael Clayton”
Danny Glicker – “Up in the Air,” “Milk”

Directors
Gregg Araki – “Kaboom,” “Nowhere”
Susanne Bier – “In a Better World,” “After the Wedding”
Neil Burger – “Limitless,” “The Illusionist”
Lisa Cholodenko – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Debra Granik – “Winter’s Bone,” “Down to the Bone” (also invited to the Writers Branch)
Tom Hooper – “The King’s Speech,” “The Damned United”
John Cameron Mitchell – “Rabbit Hole,” “Shortbus”
Yojiro Takita – “Departures,” “Himitsu”

Documentary
Jon Alpert – “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,” “Lock-up: The Prisoners
of Rikers Island”
Amir Bar-Lev – “The Tillman Story,” “Fighter”
Lesley Chilcott – “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” “It Might Get Loud”
Carl Deal – “Capitalism: A Love Story,” “Trouble the Water”
Charles Ferguson – “Inside Job,” “No End in Sight”
Tim Hetherington – “Restrepo” (posthumous)
Sebastian Junger – “Restrepo”
Thomas Lennon – “The Warriors of Qiugang,” “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
Diane Weyermann – “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” “Food, Inc.”
Ruby Yang – “The Blood of Yingzhou District,” “The Warriors of Qiugang”

Executives
William J. Damaschke
Richard M. Fay
Donna Langley
Leslie Moonves
Vanessa L. Morrison
Bill Pohlad
Rich Ross
Jeff Small
Thomas Tull

Film Editors
Tariq Anwar – “The King’s Speech,” “American Beauty”
Naomi Geraghty – “Limitless,” “Reservation Road”
Jon Harris – “127 Hours,” “Layer Cake”
Darren Holmes – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Iron Giant”
Pamela Martin – “The Fighter,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Joel Negron – “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “The Karate Kid”
Terilyn A. Shropshire – “Jumping the Broom,” “Eve’s Bayou”
Angus Wall – “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Andrew Weisblum – “The Black Swan,” “The Wrestler”

Live Action Short Films
Luke Matheny – “God of Love,” “Earano”

Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
Judy Chin – “Black Swan,” “Requiem for a Dream”
Kathrine Gordon – “3:10 to Yuma,” “Ocean’s Eleven”
Trefor Proud – “W.,” “Topsy-Turvy”
Cindy Jane Williams – “Burlesque,” “Hancock”
Wesley Wofford – “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son,” “A Beautiful Mind”

Music
Terence Blanchard – “Inside Man,” “Malcolm X”
Fernand Bos – “Crazy Heart,” “Cold Mountain”
Graeme Revell – “Darfur Now,” “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”

Producers
Iain Canning – “Oranges and Sunshine,” “The King’s Speech”
Cean Chaffin – “The Social Network,” “Fight Club”
Kevin Feige – “Thor,” “Iron Man”
Gary Goetzman – “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Mamma Mia!”
Sisse Graum Jorgensen – “In a Better World,” “After the Wedding”
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon”
Todd Lieberman – “The Fighter,” “The Proposal”
Robert Lorenz – “Letters from Iwo Jima,” “Mystic River”
Celine Rattray – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Grace Is Gone”
Emile Sherman – “The King’s Speech,” “Candy”
Emma Thomas – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Gareth Unwin – “The King’s Speech,” “Exam”

Production Designers
Howard Cummings – “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” “John Grisham’s The Rainmaker”
Therese DePrez – “Black Swan,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”
Guy Hendrix Dyas – “Inception,” “The Brothers Grimm”
Jess Gonchor – “True Grit,” “Capote”
Jane Musky – “Something Borrowed,” “Finding Forrester”
Eve Stewart – “The King’s Speech,” “Topsy-Turvy”

Public Relations
Susan Ciccone
Alissa Grayson
Jeffrey Hall
Jill Ann Jones
Mark Markline
Carmelo Pirrone
Ira Rubenstein
David Schneiderman
Loren Schwartz
Lance Volland

Set Decorators
Judy Farr – “The King’s Speech,” “Death at a Funeral”
Gene Serdena – “The Fighter,” “House of Sand and Fog”

Sound
Andrew DeCristofaro – “Hall Pass,” “Crazy Heart”
Joe Dorn – “The Wolfman,” “Spider-Man 3”
Marc Fishman – “Bridesmaids,” “Crash”
Lora Hirschberg – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Chris Jargo – “Robin Hood,” “American Gangster”
John Midgley – “The King’s Speech,” “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace”
Ed Novick – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Hammond Peek – “King Kong,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Brian Vessa – “Nemesis,” “Lambada”
Mark Weingarten – “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Visual Effects
Tim Alexander – “Rango,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
Rob Bredow – “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “The Polar Express”
Tim Burke – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” “Gladiator”
Peter Chesney – “No Country for Old Men,” “Men in Black”
Paul Franklin – “Inception,” “The Dark Knight”
Kevin Tod Haug – “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “Quantum of Solace”
Florian Kainz – “Mission: Impossible III,” “The Perfect Storm”
Marshall Krasser – “Iron Man 2,” “Titanic”
Sean Phillips – “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Polar Express”
Peter G. Travers – “Watchmen,” “The Matrix Reloaded”
Brian Van’t Hul – “Coraline,” “I, Robot”
Mark H. Weingartner – “Sex and the City 2,” “Inception”

Writers
Stuart Blumberg – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Keeping the Faith”
Lisa Cholodenko – “The Kids Are All Right,” “Laurel Canyon” (also invited to the Directors Branch)
Debra Granik – “Winter’s Bone,” “Down to the Bone” (also invited to the Directors Branch)
Karen McCullah Lutz – “The Ugly Truth,” “Legally Blonde”
Aline Brosh McKenna – “27 Dresses,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Bob Peterson – “Up,” “Finding Nemo” (also invited to the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch)
David Rabe – “The Firm,” “Casualties of War”
Anne Rosellini – “Winter’s Bone”
David Seidler – “The King’s Speech,” “The King & I”
Scott Silver – “The Fighter,” “8 Mile”
Kirsten Smith – “The Ugly Truth,” “Legally Blonde”
Aaron Sorkin – “The Social Network,” “A Few Good Men”
Daniel Waters – “Batman Returns,” “Heathers”

Additionally, the Academy invited John Coffey, Risa Gertner and Robert C. Rosenthal to Associate membership. Associate members are not represented on the Board and do not have Academy Awards® voting privileges.

Individuals invited to join multiple branches must select one branch upon accepting membership.
New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception in September.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

VINCENTENNIAL Among Film Orgs to Receive Grant From Academy

Beverly Hills, CA –The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded 68 grants totaling more than $500,000 to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher learning throughout the United States as part of its annual Institutional and Internship Grants programs. The monies will fund film-related internships, job training programs, filmmaking workshops, scholarly seminars, visiting artist programs and screening series.

 “The Academy strives to make the motion picture industry as accessible as possible to new talent and the public,” said Grants Committee Chair Andrew Marlowe. “Among the wide variety of programs earning the Academy’s support are internship and job training programs that provide students in underserved communities direct access to the industry, a key stepping-stone that might be otherwise unavailable.”

The Academy Foundation’s Grants Committee selected the following programs for 2011–2012:

Internship Grants
$12,500
California Institute of the Arts (Valencia)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

$10,000
Columbia University School of the Arts (New York City)           
Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
Emerson College (Boston)
Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles)
New York University – Kanbar Institute of Film & Television
New York University – Moving Pictures Archive and Preservation Program
Stanford University
University of California, Los Angeles – Film and Television Program    
University of North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem)

$9,000      
University of Southern California (Los Angeles)

$7,500
DePaul University (Chicago)
Florida State University (Tallahassee)
Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)         
University of Chicago

$6,765
Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY)
                                   
$5,000
Columbia College Hollywood (Tarzana, CA)
Montclair State University (New Jersey)
University of Arizona (Tucson)
                                               
                             
Institutional Grants
$15,000
FilmAid International (New York City) – African refugee camp screening program
Inner-City Filmmakers (Los Angeles) – Job training program
Streetlights (Los Angeles) – Job training program

$10,000
American Film Institute (Los Angeles) – Directing workshop for women
George Eastman House (Rochester, NY) – Visiting artist series
Los Angeles County Museum of Art – Film program
Writers Guild Foundation (Los Angeles) – Education programs

$7,500
The ACME Network (Los Angeles) – The ACME Animation Program
American Documentary (New York City) – History of Documentary film project
California Institute of the Arts (Valencia) – Skirball Screening Series at REDCAT
Facets Multi-media (Chicago) – CineChat series
Film Independent (Los Angeles) – Project: Involve
Film Streams (Omaha) – Visiting artists program
The Flaherty/International Film Seminars (New York City) – 57th Flaherty Film Seminar
Frameline (San Francisco) – Frameline at the Center screening series
International Documentary Association (Los Angeles) – Doc U seminar series
Maysles Institute (New York City) – Producers program
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – Visiting artists program
Museum of the Moving Image (New York City) – Avant-garde filmmaker retrospectives
National Association of Latino Independent Producers (Santa Monica, CA) – Latino Producers Academy
UCLA Film & Television Archive – L.A. Rebellion screening series
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT) – Guest speakers program

$6,000
Jacob Burns Film Center (Pleasantville, NY) – Filmmaker residencies
Northwest Film Forum (Seattle) – Visiting artist program
Ringling College of Art and Design (Sarasota, FL) – Visiting artist program

$5,000
Appalshop (Whitesburg, KY) – AMI Advanced Lab program
Brooklyn Academy of Music (New York City) – Cuban film screening series
Cinema St. Louis (St. Louis) – “Vincentennial,” a Vincent Price retrospective (www.vincentennial.com, Vincentennial facebook page HERE.)
Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY) – Documentary Perspectives screening series
Hot Sun Foundation (Nairobi, Kenya) – Kibera Film School
IFP (New York City) – Independent filmmaker labs
Los Angeles Filmforum – Screening program
Millennium Film Workshop (New York City) – Personal Cinema screening series
New York Stage and Film Company (New York City) – Powerhouse Filmmakers Lab
Ninth Street Independent Film Center (San Francisco) – Canyon Cinema screening program
Purchase College, SUNY – Filmmaking workshops and seminars
San Francisco Cinematheque – Restoration and preservation program
San Francisco Film Society – Artist-in-residence program
South Arts (Atlanta) – Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers
Squaw Valley Community of Writers (CA) – Screenwriting program
Tribeca Film Institute (New York City) – Tribeca All Access program
University of Colorado Foundation (Boulder) – Brakhage Symposium
Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, OH) – Visiting artist program
Yale University (New Haven, CT) – Films at the Whitney screening program

$4,000
University of North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation (Winston-Salem) – Visiting artist program

$3,500
IFP Chicago – Producers workshop series
IFP Minnesota (St. Paul) – Independent Producers Conference and IFP Pro Program

$3,000
Northeast Historic Film (Bucksport, ME) – Summer film symposium

Since its establishment in 1968, the Academy Foundation has distributed more than 778 institutional grants totaling more than $6.8 million in funding.  For more information on the grants program, visit http://www.oscars.org/education-outreach/grants/.

The Academy Foundation – the Academy’s cultural and educational wing – annually distributes more than $1 million to film scholars, cultural organizations and film festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad. The Foundation also presents the Academy’s rich assortment of screenings and other public programs each year.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

Academy’s Contemporary Documentaries Series Returns Tonight With FOOD, INC., MUSIC BY PRUDENCE And MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences kicks off Part Two of its 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” screening series with “Food, Inc.” and “Under Our Skin” TONIGHT, Wednesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission to all screenings in the series is FREE.

From cruel and unsanitary conditions in cattle and chicken farming to the addition of corn syrup and sodium to many foods, “Food, Inc.” examines the ways in which large corporations in the American food industry dominate the marketplace and affect the quality of what we consume. Directed by Robert Kenner and produced by Kenner and Elise Pearlstein, “Food, Inc.” earned an Academy Award® nomination for Documentary Feature. Robert Kenner & Elise Pearlstein will be present to take questions from the audience following the screening.

Directed and produced by Andy Abrahams Wilson, “Under Our Skin” investigates the untold story of Lyme disease.  As it follows patients and physicians fighting for their lives or livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of America’s broken healthcare system.

The 29th annual “Contemporary Documentaries” series is a showcase for feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2009 Academy Award nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year.

The screening schedule for Part Two, which runs through June 2011, is as follows:

Wednesday, March 30
Music by Prudence”
Directed by Roger Ross Williams
Produced by Williams, Elinor Burkett
Academy Award winner: Documentary Short Subject

“Music by Prudence” is the story about the most unlikely voice of hope – singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena and her band of seven young disabled Zimbabweans – trying to survive in a bankrupt country.  Directed by Roger Ross Williams and produced by Williams and Elinor Burkett, the film earned the 2009 Academy Award® for Documentary Short Subject.

“Mugabe and the White African”
Directed by Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson
Produced by David Pearson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock

In “Mugabe and the White African,” a courageous white farmer, Mike Campbell, challenges Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, before an international court in an effort to protect his property, his family’s livelihood and that of the 500 black workers who also live on his farm. The film was directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson and produced by David Pearson and Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock.

Wednesday, April 20
“Rabbit à la Berlin”
Directed by Bartek Konopka
Produced by Anna Wydra
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Short Subject

“We Live in Public”
Directed by Ondi Timoner
Produced by Timoner, Keirda Bahruth

Wednesday, April 27
“The Fence”
Directed by Rory Kennedy
Produced by Kennedy, Liz Garbus, Keven McAlester

“Which Way Home”
Directed and produced by Rebecca Cammisa
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature

Wednesday, May 11
“Soundtrack for a Revolution”
Directed by Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Produced by Joslyn Barnes, Jim Czarnecki, Guttentag, Sturman, Dylan Nelson

“Every Little Step”
Directed and produced by James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo

Wednesday, May 18
“Lt. Watada”
Directed and produced by Freida Mock

“Sergio”
Directed by Greg Barker
Produced by John Battsek, Barker, Julie Goldman

Wednesday, May 25
“Woman Rebel”
Directed and produced by Kiran Deol

“Burma VJ”
Directed by Anders Østergaard
Produced by Lise Lense-Møller
Academy Award nominee: Documentary Feature

Wednesday, June 1
“Facing Ali”
Directed by Pete McCormack
Produced by Derik Murray

“Tyson”
Directed by James Toback
Produced by Toback, Damon Bingham

All films will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The filmmakers will be present at screenings whenever possible.

The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). For additional information, visit http://www.oscars.org/ or call (310) 247-3600.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY:

www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

“Monday Nights With Oscar” Celebrates WHITE HEAT In NYC

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Monday Nights with Oscar®” series will celebrate film noir with a screening of “White Heat” (1949) on Monday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International in New York City. Academy Writers Branch member Richard LaGravenese (“The Fisher King,” “Water for Elephants”) will introduce the screening.

Directed by Raoul Walsh, “White Heat” marked the return of James Cagney to the gangster genre that made him a star. Cagney portrays Cody Jarrett, a mother-obsessed escaped convict and leader of a ruthless gang of thieves. While plotting the biggest heist of his life, Jarrett unwittingly befriends an undercover cop (Edmond O’Brien) and sets the stage for his own downfall. Virginia Moll rounds out the cast as the gangster’s wife.

The screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts features such memorable lines as “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” and was based on a story by Virginia Kellogg, who garnered an Academy Award® nomination for Motion Picture Story.  The print to be screened is from the Academy Film Archive.

Tickets for “White Heat” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org or by mail (a printable order form is available in the Events & Exhibitions section of the website). Tickets may also be purchased at the box office prior to the event (subject to availability). All seating is unreserved.

The Academy Theater is located at 111 East 59th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues) in New York City.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved. For more information, visit www.oscars.org or call (212) 821-9251.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY:

www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy