Larry Karaszewski and Diane Weyermann to Replace Mark Johnson as Oscars Foreign-Language Heads (Exclusive)

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Larry Karaszewski / AMPAS

Larry Karaszewski and Diane Weyermann have been named co-chairs of the Oscars’ Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, replacing longtime committee chair Mark Johnson, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed to TheWrap on Wednesday night.

Johnson had headed the committee for 17 of the last 18 years and was one of the driving forces behind the current three-step process of selecting nominees. An Oscar winner for “Rain Man” and a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors from the Producers Branch, he opted not to return after a year in which significant changes were made to the process, an individual with knowledge of his decision told TheWrap.

Academy President John Bailey, who has been an enthusiastic participant in foreign-language voting for years, choose Karaszewski, an Academy governor from the Writers Branch, and Weyermann, the president of documentary film and television at Participant Media.

Johnson headed the committee every year in this century except 2012, when term limits forced him off the board for a year. That year, the job was split between producer Ron Yerxa and the Academy’s former executive director, Bruce Davis.

Also Read: Oscars to Invite More Voters for Foreign Language Nominees, Allow International Streaming (Exclusive)

Johnson headed the committee during the 2007 outcry over the voters’ failure to nominate the acclaimed films “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” “The Edge of Heaven” and “Silent Light” or even put them on the Oscars shortlist.

He was tasked with fixing the process to prevent future embarrassments like that one, and helped design a system in which volunteers from all members of the Academy, known as the general committee, view all the eligible films and pick six films for a nine-film shortlist.

A hand-picked executive committee then added three more films to complete the shortlist. Finally, select Phase 2 committees in Los Angeles and New York viewed all nine shortlisted films and chose the five nominees. (San Francisco and London committees were added in subsequent years.)

Also Read: Oscars Overhaul and Open Up Foreign Language Voting Process

Under the system, glaring oversights were much less frequent than in the past, even as some members complained that they were given less input than they once had. Johnson typically responded to those complains by saying, “It’s what’s best for the films, not what’s best for the voters.”

Last year, John Bailey pushed for further adjustments to the Oscars foreign-language system, with the Academy opening up the Phase 2 committees to any members outside of Los Angeles who wanted to participate, and allowing overseas voters to view and judge the shortlisted films on a secure Academy members’ website.

The changes put the final choice of nominees in the hands of a large group of members rather than curated committees, and made the voters a far more international group than in the past.

So far, only about half a dozen countries have announced their submissions to this year’s foreign-language race, but the competition is expected to include Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War,” Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” and Laszlo Nemes’ “Sunset.”

16 Cannes Winners That Went on to Take Oscar Gold (Photos)

Despite being two of the longest running institutions in cinema, the Oscars and Cannes have not always been the best bedfellows. Only one film has won both the Palme d'Or and Best Picture. But many more films that have played on the Croisette at Cannes have been nominated or won other big prizes from the Academy. These are the 16 films that both won the Palme d'Or and won an additional Oscar:
"Marty" (1955)

In the first year that Cannes started calling their top prize the Palme d'Or, the Delbert Mann drama and romance based on a Paddy Chayefsky teleplay won the film festival's highest honor -- and went on to earn four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing and Best Actor for Ernest Borgnine. But since then, not one film has gone on to win both the Best Picture Oscar and Palme d'Or.
United Artists
"The Silent World" (1956)

Jacques-Yves Cousteau's pioneering, underwater nature documentary beat out films from Satyajit Ray, Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa and more to win the Palme d'Or, and it also took home the Best Documentary Oscar.
Columbia Pictures
"Black Orpheus" (1959)

Marcel Camus's dreamy, contemporary take on the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek myth won the Palme d'Or and the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
Lopert Films
"La Dolce Vita" (1960)

Federico Fellini's sensuous reverie of a film "La Dolce Vita" managed Oscar nods for Best Director and Screenplay, but only won for Best Costume Design.
Astor Pictures Corporation
"A Man and a Woman" (1966)

The Academy rewarded this French New Wave romance starring Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant with two Oscars, one for its screenplay and another for Best Foreign Language Film.
Allied Artists Pictures
"MASH" (1970)

It's surprising to see Cannes anoint a film as irreverent as Robert Altman's screwball war satire "MASH," but though the Oscars nominated it for Best Picture, the award went to another war film, "Patton." "MASH" did pick up a win for Altman's ingenious ensemble screenplay.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Apocalypse Now" (1979)

Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam war masterpiece was still a work-in-progress when it screened at Cannes, and it would split the Palme d'Or with "The Tin Drum" that same year. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won two, but lost Best Picture to "Kramer vs. Kramer."
United Artists
"The Tin Drum" (1979)

After splitting the Palme d'Or with "Apocalypse Now," "The Tin Drum" won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar with ease.
The Criterion Collection
"All That Jazz" (1980)

Weirdly, Bob Fosse's musical was nominated alongside "Apocalypse Now" at the 1979 Oscars, opening in December of that year, but it won the 1980 Cannes after cleaning up four Oscars just a month earlier.
Columbia Pictures Corporation/20th Century Fox
"Missing" (1982)

Jack Lemmon won Cannes' Best Actor prize for Costa-Gavras's political thriller in addition to "Missing" winning the Palme d'Or. And Lemmon and co-star Sissy Spacek each scored acting nominations in addition to the film being nominated for Best Picture, but it only won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Universal Pictures
"The Mission" (1986)

Starring Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons as Spanish Jesuits trying to save a native American tribe, Roland Joffe's "The Mission" won the Palme d'Or and earned seven nominations but only one Oscar win for Best Cinematography.
Warner Bros.
"Pelle the Conqueror" (1987)

The legendary Max von Sydow plays a Swedish immigrant in Denmark in this Danish film that won the Palme d'Or, the Best Foreign Language Oscar and netted Sydow his first acting nomination.
Miramax
"The Piano" (1993)

Holly Hunter won the Best Actress prize at both Cannes and the Oscars for Jane Campion's drama that won the Palme d'Or and was nominated for eight Oscars in all.
Miramax
"Pulp Fiction" (1994)

Much has been written about the bombshell Quentin Tarantino set off when "Pulp Fiction" debuted at Cannes and polarized audiences by winning the Palme d'Or, not to mention the cultural rift it created when it went head-to-head with "Forrest Gump" at the Oscars and lost.
Miramax
"The Pianist" (2002)

Winning Best Director for Roman Polanski and Best Actor for Adrien Brody, "The Pianist" was a strong favorite to win Best Picture after winning the Palme d'Or, but it lost to the musical "Chicago." Just don't expect a repeat from Polanski anytime soon.
Focus Features
"Amour" (2012)

Michael Haneke had just won his second Palme d'Or for his sobering romance about old age "Amour," and rightfully so. The film paired French New Wave legends Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva and scored five Oscar nominations in all, including Best Picture, but only came away with a win for Best Foreign Language Film.
Sony Pictures Classics

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But only one film has ever won both the Palme d’Or and Best Picture

Despite being two of the longest running institutions in cinema, the Oscars and Cannes have not always been the best bedfellows. Only one film has won both the Palme d'Or and Best Picture. But many more films that have played on the Croisette at Cannes have been nominated or won other big prizes from the Academy. These are the 16 films that both won the Palme d'Or and won an additional Oscar:

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