Latest in Dawn Hudson

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…

Oscar comes to Cannes. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President and veteran cinematographer John Bailey received a very special honor at the Cannes Film Festival Sunday when he was presented with the insignia of Officier des Arts et Lettres (Officer In The Order Of Arts And Letters) at a packed ceremony at…

There's more than meets the eye to those emails inviting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a "soirée" at the Terrasse UniFrance in Cannes on the evening of May 17. As it turns out, the event is something of a warm-up for an event two days later, at which Academy president John Bailey will…

UPDATED with meeting details: The president of the American Society of Cinematographers and a contingent of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated DPs met Thursday night with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Dawn Hudson and president John Bailey over the Academy’s plan to keep four categories out of the Oscar…

It's that time of year again—not just for the Oscars, but for an annual financial report from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which grants them. Based on recent practice, it's likely that Academy members will get a look at their yearly report this month, before the February 24 awards presentation…

The most fascinating part of Tuesday's Oscar nominations announcement will be watching to see whether someone, anyone, pops out of the bunker to say something, anything, about the issues afflicting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of late. In the best of circumstances, Hollywood's film Academy is about…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has hired Christine Simmons chief operating officer, the culmination of a search to find some executive backup for CEO Dawn Hudson. Simmons, currently president and COO of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, will assume her new role in January, reporting to Hudson. Deadline…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has been rapidly expanding the membership rolls, may soon add a new executive position: chief operating officer. Several people familiar with the situation said this week that the academy has quietly had a search firm looking for a COO to back up chief executive…