Latest in Dawn Hudson

Any half-conscious observer knew Hollywood's film awards business was pointed toward a reckoning as the audience for the Oscars and other ceremonies collapsed last year. Even I could see it coming, from way out here in the cheap seats, nowhere near Union Station. But now, eight months later, that inevitable settling…

EXCLUSIVE: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Dawn Hudson said Monday that her current term will be her last. She signed a new deal in March of 2020 for what was expected to be three years through May of 2023, but a statement to be released later today does not specify an actual date of her departure…

The Candid service, which monitors nonprofits, just recently posted a Form 990 tax filing from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, and the news was good for top Academy officers: Salaries were up across the board. Based on the filing—but correcting for an error…

Bahman Ghobadi, the exiled Iranian filmmaker who has won prizes at Cannes, Berlin, San Sebastian and many other international festivals, has penned a letter to the Film Academy saying, “It would be great if we could have one representative from exiled artists.” Read his missive in full below. Ghobadi, who has been in…

Many a metaphor was floated on Tuesday morning as Tom Hanks, Anna Kendrick and others gathered to celebrate the long-awaited September 30 opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. To architect Renzo Piano, the museum is not the “Death Star” of Star Wars lore, but a “soap bubble” or “a dirigible”—”a flying…

AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson on Friday assured members in an email that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opening remains on schedule for September 30. She also said the museum at the beginning would be operating at 50% capacity during business hours, with masks required for all indoor spaces. Of course, the Academy is…

“These are not tablets from the mountain,” Paramount Pictures Chairman Jim Gianopulos told me earlier this morning in explaining how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went about creating new standards of inclusion and representation for entry in to the Best Picture race. The controversial new…

The would-be candidates for 17 open slots on the 54-member Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be off and running, come 9:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Monday. On Friday, the Academy notified members that so-called "opt-in" voting for the board seats will be active through…

  It now seems reasonably certain that this film awards season will be remembered for delivering the "Oscars With An Asterisk." On Tuesday, governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, bowing to coronavirus-induced theater closings, approved a temporary rules change allowing Academy Awards…

“We are in Week 7 of the global pandemic and we are looking at everything in front of us, but that Oscar show is 10 months away from us now, and we can’t predict what is happening between now and February 28th,” Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Dawn Hudson said when I asked about a possible date change…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its board of governors, meeting virtually, have approved rules changes for next year’s 93rd annual Academy Awards, including lightening eligibility requirements for films debuting on streamers and VOD, There are are changes for some categories including broadening…

It's time for what's sure to become an annual debate since the last Oscar ceremony did fine without an emcee. What do we do this year: Host? Or no host? Or do we finally get serious about an idea that's been bouncing around the Internet at least since Kevin Hart ditched the gig after flirting with it in December of…