June 24, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  John Pavlik - (310) 247-3000

      

Academy Invites 112 to Membership

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended membership invitations to 112 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves in the field of theatrical motion pictures. The group will be the only new voting members invited to join the organization in 2005.

“Our decision to slow the growth of the Academy, and to become even more selective in our membership process, is working,” said Academy President Frank Pierson. "The branch membership committees understand what the Academy is trying to do and have begun searching for the top exemplars in their respective areas, presenting to the board only their most impressive candidates."

The membership procedures instituted last year allow the organization to grow — after filling vacancies resulting from deaths and members opting for retired (non-voting) status — by a maximum of thirty new members annually. Pierson said that even if all the 2005 invitees accept their invitations, the Academy's number of voting members will actually shrink slightly compared to the roster of voting members at the same time period in 2004. "We're in the early stages of a slow but deliberate refining process, " he said.

Candidates for Academy membership are normally proposed by members and then considered by committees made up of prominent representatives of each of the organization’s fourteen branches — art directors, executives, film editors, etc. In addition, individuals nominated for Academy Awards, if not already members of the organization, are automatically considered by the appropriate committees, though not necessarily invited to membership.

Though the great majority of AMPAS members are based in the U.S., membership is open to qualified filmmakers around the world. The Academy roster currently includes theatrical motion picture makers from 36 countries.

New members will be welcomed into the organization at an invitation-only reception on Wednesday, September 21, at the Academy's Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills.

The 2005 invitees, listed by membership subcategories where appropriate rather than by branch, are:

# # #
©A.M.P.A.S.®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1972
(310) 247-3000
www.oscars.org
publicity@oscars.org