The Academy needs to create new revenue streams that are not dependent on the Oscars spectacle, but it also needs to bring the Oscars to a position of “power, honor and importance,” Academy leaders told members of the organization at a meeting of all members on Saturday.
The meeting, led by new Academy CEO Bill Kramer and new President Janet Yang, was held at the Academy Film Museum and was available for members not in attendance to attend virtually. The Angels.
In some ways, the meeting was reminiscent of the all-member meeting held by then-Chairman Hawk Koch and CEO Dawn Hudson in May 2013, which took place simultaneously in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. At the time, the Academy consisted of about 6,000 members and was predominantly white and male; the #OscarsSoWhite protests had yet to prompt the organization to become more diverse, while the Academy Museum was in the planning stages.
This year’s meeting came at a time when the Academy has grown to 10,627 members, more than double the number of women and people of color and includes a very large international contingent. The Academy Museum is now open, but movie attendance is suffering from a sharp drop in theatrical showing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Academy is reeling from a steady drop in Academy Awards ratings. Academy.
Speaking about the Oscars, Kramer admitted that “there’s clearly a need to reinvigorate the show,” noting that polls said only 20% liked the March ceremony, which included Will Smith taking the stage and slapping host Chris Rock.
He did not go into detail about how the program could be revitalized, but did offer several broad areas of focus, including creating a dedicated Oscars team within the Academy and continued theatrical requirements for eligibility.
Kramer admitted that many members had raised questions about this year’s decision to give out awards in eight categories before the broadcast began, clumsily editing those presentations on the live stream. “Determining how best to honor all of the artisanal areas on air – many of you have written in with questions about this and we are working hard with our producers and Disney-ABC,” he said.
Kramer’s goals for AMPAS include continuing to diversify its revenue, which is now 75% from Oscars and 22% from the Academy Museum after years of 90% from Oscars. He said new revenue streams were emerging from the Academy Museum’s fundraising, and he hoped the museum’s supporters would also support “a variety of Academy initiatives and programs.”
For her part, Yang referred to the makeup of the Academy’s membership, which is now 34% female, 19% from “underrepresented racial and ethical communities” and 23% from outside the United States.
Yang and Kramer also discussed the Academy’s Inclusion Standards, in which films will need to meet certain diversity benchmarks to qualify for Best Picture starting in 2024. “Our goal is not to disqualify any film, but to celebrate and encourage our collective progress toward greater representation and inclusion in the industry,” Kramer said, adding that all 10 of this year’s Best Picture nominees would have qualified under the standards.