A Tuesday wish for the Academy of Cinema: to elect a great communicator

Here’s a wish for Tuesday:

During the day, governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will meet with the new officials, including a president who will replace outgoing David Rubin. I wish they would pick a great communicator for the best job.

The Academy already has a great operator leading its staff in the new Bill Cramer. In less than a month in office, Cramer has already restructured the administration (a new 14-member “head” on the Oscars.org website combines academy and museum officials), reorganized priorities (appointed executive vice president of income and business development). indicates a tax tightening) and pave the way for a possible move to the Oscars (the Academy has quietly ended its long-term commitment of about four years at the Dolby Theater, perhaps in exchange for a one-time exemption. all Dolby after the 2024 show).

There is every reason to believe that Kramer, who is vocal and not shy, could also be a key spokesperson for the academy in his role as CEO.

But the members, about 10,000 at the moment, deserve an elected president, one of them, to be their collective voice, their communicator.

It’s a role that has declined significantly over the past decade, as a number of presidents (Rubin, John Bailey, Sheryl Boone-Isaacs) have moved away from the more liberal public stance of previous senior officials: Hawk Koch, Tom Sherak, Sidney Gannis.

In part, this was also related to professional experience. Rubin, the casting director, and Bailey, the cinematographer, were clearly rooted in a Hollywood tradition that largely limited communication to PR professionals. Neither spoke much in public, and when they did, it was cautiously and often with Kramer’s predecessor Dawn Hudson.

Similarly, Boone-Isaacs, although he was a marketing and public relations professional, seemed rather calm. The old school executive seemed to believe that Hollywood business was Hollywood business and generally not his business, unlike the previous three presidents, who were notoriously outgoing.

But Tuesday brings a twist. The next president, chosen by and from among the 54 board members, will be in the spotlight in eight months, when the Academy finally enacts a sophisticated and long-promised system of managing race, gender and disability standards and quotas. . . The contenders for the best film.

The identity Oscar ceremony will require a lot of explanation, both for the nominees and the general public.

Questions are already appearing in the expanded Frequently Asked Questions section of the Representation and Inclusion Standards Access Platform, where Oscar nominees are required to enter data about their artists, directors, crews, distributors and content.

Yes, the platform says, it is necessary. all To create a RAISE entry among the hundreds of nominations submitted by the Oscars, even if they do not want to be considered for the best film, “because we cannot distinguish the best film at the time of submission”.

No, the platform says that you cannot review your shipment until you have entered the information all of many standards. (And if you check the box that says you can’t provide information on any items, you’ll need to at least 10 words definition your failure “None of your business” or “I was held for privacy” will not do it at all).

Of course, bigger questions will arise when the Academy inevitably releases a list of films that qualify according to its inclusion standards, leaving those that don’t qualify, if any, to explain their exclusion. Are they racist? Are they sexist? Are they simply films born in a less multi-ethnic national culture or one that is attentive to the diversity of ours?

And if no movie is banned, why do we do it?

According to current rumors (where they come from, I have no idea), the top candidates in the closed academy presidential race are Janet Young and Devon Franklin, who have been appointed governors without representation. Branch – Board Diversity Initiative.

In fact, your background is less important than your persuasive power. As the next president, Young, or Franklin, or whoever else will eventually have to sell this new system on what’s best for academia and the industry it serves.