When Oscar winners say, “I’d like to thank the Academy,” this is the Academy their referring to. This June, the Motion Picture Academy selected 842 new members — the list of inductees includes a few familiar faces. From A Star Is Born’s Lady Gaga to Spider-Man: Far From Home’s Tom Holland, here are a few of the 2019 inductees into the Motion Picture Academy.
The 2019 Motion Picture Academy inductees include women and people of color
This year’s new members include 842 people from 59 countries. Ten branches of the Academy invited more women than men, including the branches of directors, writers, and producers. Of the inductees for 2019, 29% of new members are people of color. That’s a sharp increase from past classes — according to their website, in 2015, only 8% of the class were people of color.
Some say the diversity of this class helps bring visibility and inclusivity to the world of cinema. Others state that this is only the stepping point. Actor George Lopez, who was asked to join the Academy in 2018, commented on the diversity in Hollywood.
“Change starts with writers, casting, and producing. The Academy [only functions] as a tree once it’s bloomed,” George Lopez said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “You have to go down to the seed and make sure that when the tree’s growing, every branch is inclusive of what our society looks like. This influx of new eyes… can get everybody to see a broader scope.”
Does the Academy vote for the Oscars?
What does this membership mean for new inductees? Often referred to as “the Oscars,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional organization. Their goal is to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures, according to Liberty University.
While it is not confirmed what the voting process is like within the Motion Picture Academy, members play a role in nominating and selecting winners for the Oscars. Additionally, a
Tom Holland stars in ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ and Lady Gaga stars in ‘A Star Is Born’
The list of new members includes many familiar faces, from Sterling K. Brown to Lady Gaga to Elisabeth Moss. The Academy offered memberships to multiple female directors. One proud father tweeted about his daughter, Zoya Akhtar, who the Academy offered a membership.
“I am sure that fellow Indians will be happy and proud to know that my daughter, Zoya Akhtar, who is a well-known writer-director has been offered the membership of Oscar academy which is rare honor,” tweeted Javed Akhtar.
Additionally, the Motion Picture Academy invited a few members of the Marvel family to join. Those actors include Winston Duke of Us and Black Panther, Tom Holland of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Letitia Wright of Black Panther and Ready Player One.
The Academy invited Lady Gaga to join for her acting in A Star Is Born and her musical endeavors in The Hunting Ground and A Star Is Born. Other 2019 inductees for music include Adele for Skyfall, Annie Lennox for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and A Private War, and Scott Wittman for Mary Poppins Returns and When Harry Met Sally.
