New Oscar Producers Say They'll Find a Host 'Momentarily'
August, 23, 2012 2:30 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Craig Zadan, culture, hawk koch, Neil Meron, oscarsCraig Zadan and Neil Meron, who were announced as producers of the 85th Academy Awards on Thursday morning, already have a list of potential hosts and are ready to start making calls, they told TheWrap.
"The No. 1 priority is to find a host, and we'll get to it momentarily," Zadan told TheWrap in an interview a couple of hours after the theater, film and television producers were announced to oversee the Oscar show by Academy President Hawk Koch.
"We have some names that we've been batting around, and so does Hawk. We've shared lists, and come up with a few people that we both love and think would be fantastic. And now we need to start talking to people."...
New Oscar Campaign Rules Limit Email, Screening Invites
July, 25, 2012 10:04 am | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Oscar campaigning, oscarsThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its yearly tweaking of Oscar campaign regulations, with the new regulations including tighter restrictions on post-nomination screenings and on mailings and email promoting films.
Many of the new regulations are focused on the period between nominations and the Oscar show, when Academy members can only be invited to four screenings of a nominated film, if those screenings include filmmaker participation. (A fifth screening is permitted in the U.K.) Receptions are forbidden at those screenings.
A 2011 rule change had limited any person involved with a nominated film to only participate in two screenings, but Academy COO Ric Robertson told...
Will Oscar Voters Look Past the 'Dark Knight Rises' Tragedy?
July, 23, 2012 6:46 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, christian bale, Christopher Nolan, dark night shooting, Michael Caine, Movies, oscars, The Dark Knight RisesBefore last Friday, "The Dark Knight Rises" was a strong candidate for Oscar recognition, but one that had to overcome some serious prejudices on the part of Academy voters.
In the aftermath of the shootings in Colorado, Christopher Nolan's film not only has to overcome those prejudices, but it has to do so with the air of tragedy hanging over the entire enterprise.
In the scheme of things, damage to the film's Oscar chances is one of the least important effects of the shootings. But just as the horrific events impacted dollars and cents at the box office, they could have an effect on how the film is perceived by Oscar voters, who are normally reluctant to embrace films with...
Academy Names Andy Horn Chief Financial Officer
July, 18, 2012 1:09 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Andy Horn, Awards, dawn hudson, oscars, Ric RobertsonAndy Horn, who has served as controller of the Academy for more than a decade, has been named to the newly created position of Chief Financial Officer, AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson announced on Wednesday.
Horn has managed the financial activies of the Academy since 2001, and has been involved in contract negotiations with ABC and with the CIM Group, which owns the Hollywood & Highland Center where the Oscars take place.
"Andy is an exceptional executive and an outstanding financial strategist," said Hudson in a press release announcing the appointment. "Over the years, his skills and expertise have earned him the respect of the Board, and he has led us in uncertain economic times...
Oscar Watch: Who Will Succeed Tom Sherak as President of the Academy?
July, 17, 2012 6:42 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, annette bening, Awards, Bill Kroyer, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Gale Anne Hurd, hawk koch, oscars, Phil Robinson, Sid Ganis, Tom Hanks, Tom SherakIt's a full-time job, but an unpaid one. It requires being the face of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which also means making yourself the most obvious target for everyone from haters of the Oscar show to disgruntled voters.
Yet on July 31, a new person will step into that line of fire to become 32nd president of the Academy.
Also read: Bill Condon, Lisa Cholodenko, Michael Mann Join Academy Board of Governors
It could be the first second-generation leader in the Academy's history, or only the third woman in 85 years, or the first African-American.
Tom Sherak (above), who has served as president for the last three years, loses his spot on the AMPAS Board of...
Read MoreBill Condon, Lisa Cholodenko, Michael Mann Elected to Academy Board of Governors
July, 17, 2012 12:27 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Awards, oscars, Tom SherakBill Condon, Lisa Cholodenko and Dante Spinotti are among the new members of the Academy's Board of Governors, AMPAS announced on Tuesday.
Six first-time members were elected to the board, along with three former governors returning to the board, and seven sitting governors retaining their seats.
The unusually large list of first-time governors includes directors Condon and Cholodenko, cinematographer Spinotti, executive Dick Cook, visual effects technician John Knoll and sound mixer Scott Millan.
The returning former governors are producer Kathleen Kennedy, director Michael Mann and composer Arthur Hamilton.
Governors who retained their seats included actor Tom Hanks...
Read MoreCheryl Boone Isaacs To Produce 2012 Governors Awards
July, 09, 2012 2:24 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, ampas, Awards, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Don Mischer, Governors Awards, oscarsCheryl Boone Isaacs will produce the Academy's fourth annual Governors Awards, Academy president Tom Sherak announced on Monday. A longtime marketing executive and member of the AMPAS Board of Governors, Isaacs will share the job with Don Mischer Productions, which has been involved in all of the prior Governors Awards.
The 2012 Governors Awards will take place on Saturday, Dec. 1 in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland Center. The event was created three years ago to give honorary Oscar recipients a separate night, rather than sandwiching their presentations into the already-lengthy Academy Awards shows.
Typically, recipients of the Governors Awards are chosen at a special August or September meeting of the Board of Governors. Honorary Academy Awards, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Awards and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award can all be handed...
Read MoreMatthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Terrence Malick Get Academy Invites
June, 29, 2012 12:48 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, academy of motion picture arts and sciences, Awards, oscarsThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 176 filmmakers, artists and executives to become members. The list includes actors Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Matthew McConaughey, Melissa McCarthy and Andy Serkis and directors Terrence Malick, Michel Hazanavicius and the Dardenne Brothers.
While the Academy came under fire before the last Oscars for being predominantly old, male and white, the roster of new members is typical of recent years. It is more than 25 percent female and includes a number of younger artists and people of color. It is also strongly international in nature.
Among the acting invitees are several who are best known for television, including Simon Baker ("The...
Academy, Disney Media Distribution Extend Distribution Agreement for Oscars
June, 29, 2012 9:41 am | Comments On #ABC, Academy Awards, anne sweeney, Awards, Disney, Disney Media Distribution, oscars, Tom SherakDisney Media Distribution and the Academy have signed a six-year extension of their agreement for DMD to serve as the international distributor for the Academy Awards telecast. The extended agreement will last through 2020, Academy president Tom Sherak and Disney/ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney announced on Friday.
Under a deal signed in 2011, ABC also has the domestic rights to broadcast the Oscar show for the same period of time.
February's Oscar show was broadcast in more than 225 countries around the world – including, for the first time, live streaming on an internet site in China.
"Disney Media Distribution has been successful in securing distribution around the...
Read MoreOscar Rule Changes Include More Songwriters, Bigger VFX Shortlists
June, 28, 2012 1:52 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Song, Board of Governors, Oscar rules, oscars, Visual EffectsThe Academy's Board of Governors made several minor changes to Oscar rules in its annual review of those rules this week, but it left intact the controversial system that produces a variable number of Best Picture nominations.
The board's changes include the Original Song category, in which the Music Branch Executive Committee can now recommend that a fourth songwriter be credited for a nominated song. For the past six years, the number of nominees for any song had been limited to two, or in special circumstances to three.
Rules in the Foreign Language Film category were amended to remove the requirement that the submissions must have been exhibited in their home countries in 35mm or DCP; they...
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Description
The Odds is an informed, bemused, skeptical and authoritative look at all aspects of the Academy Awards race. Steve Pond, author of the L.A. Times bestseller The Big Show, has been covering this particular circus for more than two decades, much of that time as the only reporter with full backstage and rehearsal access to the Oscar show.
