by Nathaniel R
Ava DuVernay is now on a Governor in the Director's Branch of the Academy
As you might imagine, steering a behemoth institution like The Oscars is no small task. To do that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has about 8 "officers" (including the current President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson) as well as a 3 "Governors" from each of the 17 branches.
Each governor serves a 3 year term so there aren't huge upheavals from year to year since only 33% of a board might change). Some of the Officers are also Governors within their respective branches. The Academy recently held elections again for the 2020/2021 season and these folks will be helping to make the difficult decisions like "what to do about the upcoming Oscar ceremony given COVID-19" and such...
First Time Governors!
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Debra Zane, Casting Directors Branch
(credits include: The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga, and more) -
Ava DuVernay, Directors Branch
(1 Oscar nomination, 13th for Best Documentary)
A great choice as she's a natural leader. She replaces Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) whose 3 year term was up. Denmark's Susanne Bier and Legend Steven Spielberg remain as the other Governors of this important branch. -
Stephen Rivkin, Film Editors Branch
(1 Oscar nomination, Avatar) -
Linda Flowers, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch
(credits include Widows, The Hunger Games, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) -
Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers Branch
(1 Oscar nomination, A Star is Born) -
Rob Bredow, Visual Effects Branch
(1 Oscar nomination, Solo)
Incumbents Reelected (so they'll be at the job until the summer for 2023)
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Whoopi Goldberg, Actors Branch
Her reelection means we have the same acting branch executives as last year. She runs this particular branch with Laura Dern and Alfred Molina (Molina's term is up in 2021). -
Mandy Walker, Cinematographers Branch
She's so gifted but she has yet to be Oscar nominated. Next up for her: Mulan (whenever theaters reopen). -
Isis Mussenden, Costume Designers Branch
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Kate Amend, Documentary Branch
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David Linde, Executives Branch
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Christina Kounelias, Marketing and Public Relations Branch
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Charles Bernstein, Music Branch
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Wynn P. Thomas, Production Design Branch
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Teri E. Dorman, Sound Branch
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Larry Karaszewski, Writers Branch
Karaszewski -- who writes really cool biopics like Ed Wood, Dolemite is My Name, and The People Vs Larry Flynt -- also serves as an Academy Officer (Vice President). Most importantly, for our particular fixations here at The Film Experience, he's a key figure in the International Feature Film competition each year as a Co-Chair of our much beloved Executive Committee. They've vastly improved that category with their tweaks over the past several years. We interviewed him for the Parasite piece we wrote for Vanity Fair last season.
Returning to the Board after a hiatus:
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Jon Bloom, Short Films and Feature Animation Branch
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW GOVERNORS.