Mister President

Tom Sherak, a representative in the executive branch of the Academy of Moton Picture Arts and Sciences, has been elected its new president.

Sid Ganis has served the maximum time as AMPAS president (four consecutive one-year terms), and will be on his way out at the end of this year.

I don't know much about AMPAS politics, so I'll leave most of this news to the press release, but I am pleased that Tom Hanks was elected first vice-president, and John Lasseter got an officer's gig as secretary.

The full press release:

Beverly Hills, CA (August 18, 2009) — Tom Sherak was elected president of
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (8/18) by the
organization’s Board of Governors.

Sherak, who is beginning his seventh year as a governor representing
the Executives Branch, has served as treasurer of the Academy during the past
year. He succeeds Sid Ganis, who had served the maximum four consecutive
one-year terms in the office.

In addition, Actors Branch governor Tom Hanks was elected first vice
president; Producers Branch governor Kathleen Kennedy and Writers Branch
governor Phil Robinson were elected to vice presidents posts; Producers Branch
governor Hawk Koch was elected treasurer; and Short Films and Feature Animation
Branch governor John Lasseter was elected secretary. Ganis, representing the
Public Relations Branch, will serve as immediate past president.

These will be the first officer stints for Lasseter and Robinson. Hanks
had previously served as vice president and treasurer. Koch had previously
served one term as vice president. This will be Kennedy’s second consecutive
term as vice president.

Sherak, a marketing, distribution and production executive with more
than four decades in the motion picture industry, is currently a consultant for
Marvel Studios.

Previously, Sherak was a partner at Revolution Studios where he oversaw
the release of more than 40 films including “Black Hawk Down,” “Anger
Management,” “Rent” and “Across the Universe.”

Prior to joining Revolution, Sherak was chairman of Twentieth Century
Domestic Film Group and served as senior executive vice president of Fox Filmed
Entertainment. Previously, he held various positions at Fox, including senior
executive vice president, where he oversaw the distribution and post-production
of “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Speed” and “Independence Day,” among others.

In 1990 Sherak was named executive vice president of Twentieth Century
Fox. Prior to that he was president of domestic distribution and marketing for
Fox, where launched such films as “Romancing the Stone,” “Aliens,” “Wall
Street,” “Die Hard” and “Working Girl.” He began his career in the industry at
Paramount Pictures in 1970.

Academy board members serve three-year terms, while officers serve
one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive terms in any one
office.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Back at the end of June, Sid Ganis dropped a HUGE bombshell on the film community when he announced the Best Picture category would be expanding its number of nominees from 5 to 10. This is almost certainly due to the wild, unabashed fury over last year's snubs of The Dark Knight and WALL-E, two of the best reviewed films of the year.

The thought is that with 5 more slots, Academy members will be more willing to nominate summer action movies and animated films. But this doesn't seem like the answer. Now, if a top-notch animated movie or superhero flick makes it in, we'll all know they wouldn't have stood a chance without the recent update. Does the nod mean as much when this is the case?

You also have to wonder, since the show isn't really pulling in as many viewers as it used to, if the strategy is to include more blockbusters and films with large fanbases in order to boost ratings. We all know record numbers tuned in to watch Titanic sail away with 11 Oscars twelve years ago. Ganis may be hoping that the presence of higher profile pictures in the Academy's big category will bump his telecast back to its former glory.

It's a lot to think about. Not just in the nominating process, but also how this might affect the eventual winners. Will the best films suffer when voters are given so many choices? Will voters be less inclined to watch all the nominees before they turn in their ballots? Could films get into the Best Picture race without any other nominations? These are big questions.

We'll have to wait until next March to see how this all pans out. It may go as I've just discussed, with a wider array of genres represented on the list, or we could just see more of the same, if voting trends don't change. Either way, this is history.

Here's the full press release:

The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will
have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press
conference in Beverly Hills.

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its
earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said
Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner
– but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies
from 2009.”

For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best
Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10
nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of
that size; “ Casablanca ” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight
nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)

Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series
showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood ’s
greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse
classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The
Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to
recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the
other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top
prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like
when the nominees are announced in February.”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday,
February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at
the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood , and will be
televised live by the ABC Television Network.