Update June 20: The Academy announced today that Jennifer Todd has defeated Jason Blum in a runoff election that was held earlier this week. Todd, who produced the last two Oscar telecasts and films such as “Memento” and “Alice In Wonderland,” joins Albert Berger and Mark Johnson in representing the Producers Branch.
Original Post: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the results of the 2018-2019 Board of Governors election. This year saw 10 governors re-elected, two returning after a hiatus, four new members and one race to be decided. AMPAS clearly can never make it easy (especially as some members do not term out at the end of every year).
READ MORE: Best and Worst of the 2018 Academy Awards
The four new members of the board – whose goal is to provide “strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health, and assures the fulfillment of its mission” – include:
Alfred Molina, Actors Branch
Tom Duffield, Designers Branch
Susanne Bier, Directors Branch
Bonnie Arnold, Short Films and Feature Animation Branch
The returning governors are:
Bernard Telsey, Casting Directors Branch
Daryn Okada, Cinematographers Branch
Rory Kennedy, Documentary Branch
Jim Gianopulos, Executives Branch
Carol Littleton, Film Editors Branch
Lois Burwell, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch
Michael Giacchino, Music Branch
Scott Millan, Sound Branch
John Knoll, Visual Effects Branch
Billy Ray, Writers Branch
And the two governors who took a break before being elected once again are:
Jeffrey Kurland, Costume Designers Branch
Sid Ganis, Public Relations Branch
There was a tie in the race for the Produces Branch representative. Jason Blum of Blumhouse fame and Jennifer Todd, who co-produced the 2017 and 2018 Academy Awards, will participate in a runoff election that will begin next Monday, June 18 and end on Tuesday, June 19th.
While AMPAS is shoring up the diversity of its membership it appears that hasn’t spread to those willing to volunteer on its board. Not taking next week’s election into account, the Board currently includes just five women out of the 17 available seats. There are also just two members who are People of Color, Okada and Molina. The Academy cannot force more diverse candidates run, but they might want to encourage a few to put their hats in the ring next year.
This is not the full board of governors but the seats that were up for election this year. There are 51 governors total and much more than 5 women. You can see the full list on their site including Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Dern, and Kathleen Kennedy.
Yes, the point was among these members elected it’s not enough.