By Lindsey Bahr
Actor Marlee Matlin, director Jason Reitman and producer Jason Blum are joining the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The organization that puts on the Oscars said Wednesday that they are among the 12 Hollywood professionals who have been elected to the board for the first time. Others joining are cinematographer Dion Beebe, casting director Richard Hicks, marketing and public relations executive Megan Colligan, documentarian Chris Hegedus, film editor Nancy Richardson, production designer Missy Parker, sound artisan Peter Devlin, VFX maestro Paul Debevec, and Marlon West from the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch of the Academy.
Each of the academy’s 17 branches are represented by three governors who help set and guide the strategy for the academy and manage its financial health. Other governors currently serving include Whoopi Goldberg, Ava DuVernay and Rita Wilson. With this election, a majority of the board is female and 28 percent of members belong to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.
The academy, and the board, have been under more scrutiny than usual following the incident in which Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony earlier this year. Several days later, the board banned Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years.
Lindsey Bahr is an AP film writer
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More