Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner to Produce the 95th Oscars Show
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang announced that members will receive recaps after each meeting of the board of governors, is restoring its member lottery for the Oscars and is committed “honoring all crafts and disciplines on air” during the live Oscars telecast.
Their choice reflects the Academy’s understanding that it needs to return to having telecast producers with “live TV expertise,” Kramer said.
Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang chaired the gathering , which was only the third of its kind (the other two were on May 4, 2013 and Sept. 28, 2017).
The ticket lottery through which members have been able to attend the Academy’s Governors Awards and the Oscars, which was paused during the pandemic, is being brought back.
The Academy is committed, in its discussions with ABC, to “honoring all crafts and disciplines on air” during the Oscars, garnering big applause in the room.
There was big applause when Kramer said that the Academy is committed to reinvigorating the Oscars. “From our recent member survey, we learned from our Academy members that they did not love the 94th Oscars,” he said.
“It had a 20% positivity rating from Academy members, compared to 61% for the 92nd; only 2% liked the Fan Favorite; only 17% approved the pre-recorded awards; fewer Academy members are watching the full show — 67% for the 92nd, 59% for the 94th.”
He continued, “We need to return the Oscars to position of power and importance by: hiring producing teams with live TV experience who are accountable to the Academy; determining how to best honor all categories; focusing on a love and reverence for film; creating an emotional investment in the nominees; exploring extensions of the show on streaming; solidifying the ongoing theatrical requirement for eligibility; making the red carpet an event — on the scale of the Met Gala and Cannes; and continuing to prioritize sustainability, access, inclusion and representation.”
The CEO noted that prior to the opening in September 2021, 90% of the Academy’s operating revenue was derived from the Oscars, but now the Oscars accounts for 75%, with the Museum bringing in 22% and member dues and other income 3%.
“We’re absolutely moving in the right direction,” he noted. The Academy has $650 million in reserves and endowments, but it still has to repay bonds used to fund the Museum.
Financial diversification is pivotal, given that “the Academy Awards still brings in a very large percentage of our revenue,” and the current international distribution deal for the show with Disney International ends in 2024 and the current domestic contract for the show with Disney-ABC ends in 2028.
Yang noted that recent Academy survey showed that 90% of Oscar voters use the Academy Screening Room, the members-only streaming service, up from 46% in the last survey. The Q&As after in-person member screenings will henceforth be added to the platform, as well.
Yang also noted that in addition to an annual all-member meeting, there will henceforth be all-branch meetings, and that the Academy intends to ramp back up in-person member screenings in Los Angeles, New York, Bay Area and London, which were shut down due to the pandemic; to enhance the Academy Members app; to add closed-captioning and Dolby Atmos audio capabilities to the Academy Screening Room; to launch an Android-compatible version of the Academy Screening Room; to appoint regional Academy ambassadors; to elevate membership affinity groups; and to continue to increase the Academy’s presence at film festivals around the world (she and Kramer just returned from the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film fests, and will soon be off to the fests in London, New York and Copenhagen).
