Rupert Murdoch’s Sons Lead Pack of Notable Executives to Join Academy

New members also include higher-ups at Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal, Will Packer, Netflix

James Murdoch Lachlan Murdoch

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn’t just validate artists when it invited more than 600 new members to its branches on Wednesday. It also gave resume boosts and bragging rights to many prominent Hollywood executives.

James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox, and his brother Lachlan Murdoch, Co-Chairman of News Corp., are among the notable C-suite figures who can now vote for the annual Oscar winners.

Also on the list sent out Wednesday are James F. Lopez, Head of Motion Pictures for Will Packer Productions; President and CEO of Franklin Entertainment DeVon Franklin; Senior Vice President at Paramount Pictures Rona Cosgrove; and AMC Networks President and CEO Josh Sapan.

Invitees were rolled out following a meeting on Tuesday night, at which the Academy’s board of governors reviewed and voted on prospective new members who were submitted by committees from each of the organization’s 17 branches.

Actors invited to join the Academy include Michael B. Jordan, Oscar Isaac, Ryan Coogler, Cary Fukunaga Anthony Anderson, Adam Beach, Kate Beckinsale, Chadwick Boseman, John Boyega, Carmen Ejogo, Idris Elba, America Ferrera, Greta Gerwig, Carla Gugino, Tom Hiddleston, Regina King, Patti LuPone, Rachel McAdams, Nate Parker, Anika Noni Rose, Emma Watson and Marlon Wayans.

Directors on the list include Lenny Abrahamson, Scott Cooper, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Adam McKay, Melvin Van Peebles and a number of noted international directors, including Haifaa al-Mansour, Ramin Bahrani, Catherine Breillat, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Xavier Dolan, Deniz Gamze Erguven, Ciro Guerra, Mia Hansen-Love, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Naomi Kawase, Abdellatif Kechiche, Tobias Lindholm, Ken Loach, Deepa Mehta, Cristian Mungiu, Laszlo Nemes, Park Chan-wook, Nicolas Winding Refn, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Maren Ade, whose “Toni Erdmann” was the critical hit of Cannes this year.

The list of new members, by far the largest the Academy has ever announced, includes 283 new international members from 59 countries. According to figures released by the Academy, 46 percent of the new invitees are women and 41 percent are people of color, far higher percentages than usual.

Scrutiny of this year’s invitations is particularly intense because the Academy has made a point of trying to change the makeup of an organization that is about 90 percent white and 75 percent male.

Here are some of the most notable executives on the Academy’s list:

Pam Abdy, President of Production at New Regency

Courtney D. Armstrong. Warner Bros. Executive Vice President, Worldwide Business Affairs

Arturo Barquet, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Finance at Universal Pictures

Arianna Bocco, Head of Acquisitions and Production Department for IFC Films

Rona Cosgrove, Senior Vice President at Paramount Pictures

Craig Dehmel, Executive Vice President of International Distribution at 20th Century Fox

Zanne Devine, Executive Vice President of Production and Development at Miramax

Lisa Ellzey, President, U.S. Motion Picture Production of EuropaCorp USA

Monique Esclavissat, Executive Vice President Europe and Latin America Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International

Pauline Fischer, Vice President, Original Films at Netflix

DeVon Franklin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Entertainment

David W. Greenbaum, Co-Head of Production at Fox Searchlight

Matthew Greenfield, Co-Head of Production at Fox Searchlight

Erica Huggins, President of Imagine Entertainment

Peter Kujawski, Managing Director of Universal Pictures International Productions

Pamela Kunath, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy for Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group

Christine Langan, Head of BBC Films

Bonni Lee, Senior Vice President of Production at Village Roadshow Pictures

James F. Lopez, Head of Motion Pictures for Will Packer Productions

Xavier Marchand, President of eOne Features

Anikah McLaren, Senior Vice President of Production at Fox Searchlight

James Rupert Jacob Murdoch, Chief Executive Officer of 21st Century Fox

Lachlan Murdoch, Co-Chairman of News Corp.

Gigi Pritzker, Chief Executive Officer of OddLot Entertainment

Josh Sapan, President & Chief Executive Officer of AMC Networks

Scott Shooman, ‎Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at CBS Films

Darren Throop, Chief Executive Officer of Entertainment One

Kelly Bush Novak, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ID PR

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