This February the Oscars went to the big costume dramas, as usual, but there were a surprising number of alternative grace notes to the proceedings, from James Franco's weirdo co-hosting (which was, some say, ruined by his love of contemporary art) to the Banksy and Vic Muniz documentary nominations. Now the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the insular organization behind the Oscars, has made a surprise pick suggesting that the oft-bloated awards ceremony might be going even more indie: they've gone outside the academy to pick Dawn Hudson, head of the alternative movie-advocating nonprofit Film Independent (producer of the Spirit Awards), to replace outgoing veteran CEO Bruce Davis.
Are the Oscars going Indie? / Courtesy Getty Images
According to the Los Angeles Times, this move means that Ric Robertson, Davis's longtime right-hand man who joined the academy in 1981 and seemed a top contender for the CEO job, will instead fill the newly-created position of COO of the academy, and will report to Hudson. The duo will assume their in-tandem leadership duties, including overseeing the logistical side of the annual Academy Awards ceremony, starting June 1.
Hudson's appointment follows a six-month search process, during which the academy's officers -- among them screenwriter Phil Robinson, director James L. Brooks, actress Annette Bening, academy president Tom Sherak, and producers Hawk Koch and Sid Ganis -- interviewed numerous candidates. A new leader, meanwhile, has not yet been named for Film Independent, which produces the Los Angeles Film Festival in addition to the lively Spirit Awards, which are held on the eve of the Oscars and offer an irreverent counterpart to the increasingly lacklusuter academy-organized ceremonies.
"I think to be able to work with the most talented people in our industry to chart the new path for the academy is really exciting," Hudson told the L.A. Times. "I'm also passionate about making the academy and film as accessible to as many young artists as possible through academy programs. With so much focus on the annual award show, one thing that is lost a bit are the year-round programs, such as panels focusing on specific crafts, and the philanthropy the academy does."
Just a few days before the academy tapped Hudson, Film Independent made waves when the nonprofit partnered with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to revive that museum's unprofitable film program, which LACMA director Michael Govan controversially tried to cut in 2008, and which has since then barely limped along. With Film Independent, the museum will launch its new weekly film series in September.
-ARTINFO, ARTINFO
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