Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who are eligible to vote for the Oscars and want to be able to continue to do so will have to pony up an extra $100 per year, the Academy informed them in an email Oct. 15 — and, not surprisingly, some of the organization's nearly 9,000 members are not happy about it. By raising membership dues from $350 to $450 per year — the first increase since 2015 — the Academy will generate an additional $800,000 in annual revenue. Members were told this was needed to pay for "increased member events, screenings and branch gatherings in the Bay Area, New York and Europe" and "to ensure that high-quality programming is available both locally and to the many areas that now count themselves as part of the Academy." But some members feel it is simply a ruse to help pay for the over-budget and running-late Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. "It's not about the money," says a disgruntled new member of the public relations … [Read more...] about Oscars: Academy Raises Member Dues, Prompting Some Gripes
Academy museum of motion pictures
There’s no place like the rightful home: Wizard of Oz ruby slippers are returned to Judy Garland Museum
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By Kristine Phillips The Washington Post Tues., Sept. 4, 2018 A rare pair of red sequined slippers that Judy Garland wore in the classic film The Wizard of Oz have been found, the FBI announced Tuesday, nearly 13 years after the iconic shoes were stolen from the actress’s birthplace. The shoes, estimated to be worth at least $1 million (U.S.), had been kept in a Plexiglas case atop a podium inside the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. On Aug. 28, 2005, burglars (or a burglar) broke into the museum and smashed the case with a baseball bat. Investigators estimated that the heist took only seconds. The search for the famous ruby heels, which Garland wore while playing Dorothy, has taken investigators to a collector’s mansion in San Diego and to the bottom of the Tioga Mine Pit, just outside Grand Rapids. But the slippers reported to have been in the collector’s mansion were phonies and divers found nothing at the bottom of the pit. The … [Read more...] about There’s no place like the rightful home: Wizard of Oz ruby slippers are returned to Judy Garland Museum
A Place for All Film Lovers: The Academy Museum’s New Home and Contemporary Art Pedigree
Something incredible is unfolding at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax. Through the force of dollar signs, and the indomitable will of Hollywood’s glitterati, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is taking shape, glistening in the Los Angeles sun like an Oscar of immense proportions.Indeed, the Renzo Piano–designed complex has already stirred sighs and ahs from film buffs and passers-by alike, despite the fact that it won’t be completed until next year.Though the museum is one of the most talked-about coming cultural institutions in the state, less is publicly said of the busybody team overseeing much of its construction, particularly its director, Kerry Brougher, and Brendan Connell Jr., the museum’s newly appointed chief operating officer.“Kerry is just an inspiring, energetic visionary,” says Connell, who began his tenure as the museum's COO on June 20. He was formerly deputy COO for New York’s Guggenheim Museum. “I left a place I … [Read more...] about A Place for All Film Lovers: The Academy Museum’s New Home and Contemporary Art Pedigree
Oscars: Campaign Mailings Must Now Go Through Academy, Song and Score Categories Get Shortlists
Everyone who intends to wage an Oscar campaign this season will need to pay close attention to a host of new rules and regulations that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this morning. Impacting the largest number of people will be a new policy — first reported by THR back in January — that requires studios, distributors and filmmakers to use "an Academy-approved mailing house to send sanctioned awards materials for eligible films to Academy members," whether that material is physical or digital. The mailing houses will be furnished with an official list of Academy members who have opted-in to received mailings, ensuring that members actually receive things that are intended for them, while also regulating the amount of material with which they are inundated. Though not stated in Tuesday's announcement, the Academy, like its counterpart, the Television Academy, will charge a middle-man fee for each mailing, which will undoubtedly provide welcome … [Read more...] about Oscars: Campaign Mailings Must Now Go Through Academy, Song and Score Categories Get Shortlists
Motion picture academy president John Bailey faces accusations of sexual harassment
John Bailey, who was elected in August as the 34th president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is being investigated by the organization following allegations of sexual harassment against him.On Wednesday, three harassment claims were reportedly brought against the veteran cinematographer, whose credits include such films as “Ordinary People,” “The Big Chill,” and “Groundhog Day,” prompting the academy — which recently enacted new standards of conduct for its members — to open a probe.“The Academy treats any complaints confidentially to protect all parties,” the group said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “The Membership Committee reviews all complaints brought against Academy members according to our Standards of Conduct process, and after completing reviews, reports to the Board of Governors. We will not comment further on such matters until the full review is completed.”Variety first … [Read more...] about Motion picture academy president John Bailey faces accusations of sexual harassment