New film academy members include Danielle Deadwyler, Ariana Grande, Jason Momoa, Conan O'Brien
NEW YORK (AP) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 534 new members to its organization on Thursday, adding recent Oscar nominees and many more to Hollywood's most exclusive club.
The newest class of Oscar voters includes a number of stars like Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Danielle Deadwyler and Andrew Scott. They, along with filmmakers, below-the-line professionals and executives will bring the film academy's membership total to 11,120, with voting members numbering 10,143.
That's the largest membership ever for the academy. Since the #OscarsSoWhite backlash, the film academy has added thousands of members to swell its ranks and diversify its voting body. This year's class is 41% female, 45% from underrepresented communities and 55% from outside the U.S.
Those new members will make the entire academy 35% women, 22% from underrepresented communities and 21% international.
'We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,' said academy chief executive Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang in a statement. 'Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.'
Invitations went out to 91 Oscar nominees and 26 winners, including best actress winner Mikey Madison ('Anora') and best supporting actor winner Kieran Culkin ('A Real Pain'). Recent nominees who were invited include Ariana Grande, Jeremy Strong, Sebastian Stan and Monica Barbara. Gints Zilbalodis, the director of best animated film winner 'Flow' will join the animation branch.
Other filmmakers set to join the academy include Mike Flanagan ('Doctor Sleep'), Azazel Jacobs ('His Three Daughters'), Brady Corbet ('The Brutalist'), Coraline Fargeat ('The Substance') Jane Schoenbrun ('I Saw the TV Glow'), Halina Reijn ('Babygirl') and Gia Coppola ('The Last Showgirl').
Payal Kapadia ('All We Imagine As Light'), Lena Waithe ('Queen & Slim') and Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley of 'Sing Sing' were all invited in the writers branch. In the music branch, new members include Brandi Carlile ('Elton John: Never Too Late'), Branford Marsalis ('Rustin') and Youssou N'Dour ('Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love').
The last two emcees to host the Oscars — Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien — were also invited as members. After a well-reviewed broadcast that drew 19.7 million viewers, O'Brien is returning to host the 2026 Academy Awards on March 15.
A few new rules will await the 2025 academy members.
For the first time, members will be required to watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final road of Oscar voting. This year, a new award category for casting will be voted on for the upcoming Oscars. The academy has also established a new Oscar for stunt design, but that won't be given out until 2028.
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Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account In F1 , which is now playing in theatres, Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a washed-up racer who is given a second chance when he's hired by his old friend (Javier Bardem) to mentor a hot-shot rookie driver ( Snowfall's Damson Idris) on a last-place team. 'I was probably five minutes into my pitch before Brad said he was going to do it,' Kosinski, 51, tells Postmedia in an interview in a midtown Manhattan hotel. 'He was at the top of my list for actors to play Sonny Hayes.' Made in collaboration with well-known names from the Formula 1 community, F1 boasts Pitt, Hollywood icon Jerry Bruckheimer and seven-time F1 champ Lewis Hamilton among its producers. 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Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Wintour, 75, was famous for making Vogue's front covers an authoritative statement on contemporary fashion, and for her total control over the glamorous pages inside. She will no longer run day-to-day editing of the fashion bible, but magazine group owner Conde Nast was quick to scotch suggestions that she was retiring. She will continue to hold senior roles at the group and remain Vogue's global editorial director, a company source said. British-born Wintour came to wider public renown as the inspiration for 'The Devil Wears Prada,' a hit 2003 novel and 2006 movie, for which Meryl Streep earned an Oscar nomination for her role as tyrannical magazine editor Miranda Priestly. 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