On the heels of the recent announcement about increased theatrical distribution requirements for Best Picture contenders in calendar year 2024, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed today the newly elected Board of Governors for the 2023-2024 year.
11 people became first-time AMPAS Board members, including actor Lou Diamond Phillips (actors branch) and technology executive and Television Academy Board member Wendy Aylsworth, who will represent the new Production and Technology Branch of the Academy.
Six incumbent members were re-elected to the board: Rob Bredow (visual effects), Ava DuVernay (directors), Linda Flowers (makeup artists and hairstylists), Lynette Howell Taylor (producers), Stephen Rivkin (film editors) and Debra Zane (casting directors). Cinematographer Ellen Kuras returns after a hiatus.
Several dozen returning members including Oscar winners Marlee Matlin (actors) and Ruth E. Carter (costumes) as well as three Governors-At-Large: DeVon Franklin, Rodrigo García and Janet Yang, all of whom were appointed by the President and elected by the board.
Termed-off governors from 2022-2023 include: Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Walker, Isis Mussenden, Kate Amend, David Linde, Christina Kounelias, Charles Bernstein, Wynn Thomas, Jon Bloom, Teri Dorman and Larry Karaszewski. With the exceptions of Bernstein and Bloom, who are permanently termed-off, all others are eligible to run again after a two-year hiatus, per Academy bylaws.
17 of the 18 Academy branches are represented by three governors, who may serve up to two three-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive), followed by a two-year hiatus, after which eligibility renews for up to two additional terms for a lifetime maximum of 12 years. The newly created Production and Technology Branch has a single governor.
The new Board is now comprised of 53% women and 25% from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups.
Elected to the Board for the first time:
Wendy Aylsworth, Production and Technology Branch
David I. Dinerstein, Marketing and Public Relations Branch
Richard Gibbs, Music Branch
Jinko Gotoh, Short Films and Feature Animation Branch
Kalina Ivanov, Production Design Branch
Simon Kilmurry, Documentary Branch
Hannah Minghella, Executives Branch
Daniel Orlandi, Costume Designers Branch
Lou Diamond Phillips, Actors Branch
Dana Stevens, Writers Branch
Mark P. Stoeckinger, Sound Branch
Incumbent governors reelected to the Board:
Rob Bredow, Visual Effects Branch
Ava DuVernay, Directors Branch
Linda Flowers, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch
Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers Branch
Stephen Rivkin, Film Editors Branch
Debra Zane, Casting Directors Branch
Returning to the Board after a hiatus:
Ellen Kuras, Cinematographers Branch
Returning Governors:
Marlee Matlin, Actors Branch
Richard Hicks, Casting Directors Branch
Dion Beebe, Cinematographers Branch
Jason Reitman, Directors Branch
Chris Hegedus, Documentary Branch
Nancy Richardson, Film Editors Branch
Megan Colligan, Marketing and Public Relations Branch
Jason Blum, Producers Branch
Missy Parker, Production Design Branch
Marlon West, Short Films and Feature Animation Branch
Peter Devlin, Sound Branch
Paul Debevec, Visual Effects Branch
Ruth E. Carter, Costume Designers Branch
Donna Gigliotti, Executives Branch
Howard Berger, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch
Eric Roth, Writers Branch
Pam Abdy, Executives Branch
Bonnie Arnold, Short Films and Feature Animation Branch
Lesley Barber, Music Branch
Susanne Bier, Directors Branch
Gary C. Bourgeois, Sound Branch
Brooke Breton, Visual Effects Branch
Paul Cameron, Cinematographers Branch
Eduardo Castro, Costume Designers Branch
Bill Corso, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch
Tom Duffield, Production Design Branch
Linda Flowers, Makeup and Hairstylists Branch
DeVon Franklin, Governors-At-Large, nominated by the President and elected by the board
Rodrigo García, Governors-At-Large, appointed by the President and elected by the board
Laura C. Kim, Marketing and Public Relations Branch
Stephen Rivkin, Film Editors Branch
Howard A. Rodman, Writers Branch
Terilyn A. Shropshire, Film Editors Branch
Kim Taylor-Coleman, Casting Directors Branch
Jennifer Todd, Producers Branch
Jean Tsien, Documentary Branch
Rita Wilson, Actors Branch
Janet Yang, Governors-At-Large, nominated by the President and elected by the board
Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013. He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.