Academy Invites 134 to Membership

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 134 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2009 to the Academy’s roster of voting members.

“These filmmakers have, over the course of their careers, captured the imagination of audiences around the world,” said Academy President Sid Ganis. “It’s this kind of talent and creativity that make up the Academy, and I welcome each of them to our ranks.”

The Academy’s membership would have allowed a maximum of 166 new members in 2009, but as in the previous years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.

New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception at the Academy’s Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills in September.


The 2009 invitees are:

** Actors

Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Gone Baby Gone
Emily Blunt – Sunshine Cleaning, The Devil Wears Prada
Michael Cera – Juno, Superbad
Viola Davis – Doubt, State of Play
James Franco – Milk, Spider-Man
Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges, Mission: Impossible II
Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married, The Princess Diaries
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hustle & Flow
Emile Hirsch – Into the Wild, Lords of Dogtown
Hugh Jackman – X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Prestige
Melissa Leo – Frozen River, 21 Grams
Jane Lynch – Role Models, The 40 Year-Old Virgin
Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky, The Illusionist
James McAvoy – Atonement, The Last King of Scotland
Seth Rogen – Monsters vs. Aliens, Knocked Up
Paul Rudd – I Love You, Man, Knocked Up
Amy Ryan – Changeling, Gone Baby Gone
Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Michelle Williams – Wendy and Lucy, Brokeback Mountain
Jeffrey Wright – Quantum of Solace, W.


** Animators

J.J. Blumenkranz – Monster House, The Polar Express
Konstantin Bronzit – Lavatory-Lovestory, The Cat and the Fox
Kendal Cronkhite – Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Antz
Rodolphe Guenoden – Kung Fu Panda, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
Byron Howard – Bolt, Lilo & Stitch
Kunio Kato – La Maison en Petits Cubes
Doug Sweetland – Presto, The Incredibles
Chris Williams – Bolt, Chicken Little


** Art Directors

Andrew Ackland-Snow – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Notting Hill


** At-Large

Matthew D. Loeb
Redmond Morris


** Casting Directors

John Papsidera – The Dark Knight, Agent Cody Banks
Bernie Telsey – Sex and the City, Across the Universe


** Cinematographers

Russ T. Alsobrook – Paul Blart Mall Cop, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Anthony Dod Mantle – Slumdog Millionaire, The Last King of Scotland
Henner Hofmann – Ave Maria, La Leyenda de una Mascara (The Legend of the Mask)
Claudio Miranda – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Failure to Launch
Rodney Taylor – Save Me, Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France
Mandy Walker – Australia, Shattered Glass


** Costume Designers

Deborah Hopper – Changeling, Million Dollar Baby
Louise Mingenbach – The Hangover, Superman Returns
Michael O’Connor – The Duchess, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Michael Wilkinson – Watchmen, Babel


** Directors

Rachid Bouchareb – Days of Glory, Dust of Life
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine
David Frankel – Marley & Me, The Devil Wears Prada
Rod Lurie – Nothing but the Truth, The Contender
Thomas McCarthy – The Visitor, The Station Agent
Tyler Perry – Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, Madea’s Family Reunion
Henry Selick – Coraline, Monkeybone


** Documentary

William Gazecki – Crop Circles: Quest for Truth, Waco: The Rules of Engagement
Rachel Grady – Jesus Camp, The Boys of Baraka
Rory Kennedy – Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, A Boy’s Life
Scott Hamilton Kennedy – The Garden, OT: Our Town
James Marsh – Man on Wire, Wisconsin Death Trip
Megan Mylan – Smile Pinki, Lost Boys of Sudan
Doug Pray – Surfwise, Scratch


** Executives

Daniel D.A. Battsek
Steve Beeks
Graham W. Burke
Joe Drake
Erik Feig
Paul Hanneman
Donald P. Harris
Claudia Lewis


** Film Editors

Roger Barton – Speed Racer, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Hank Corwin – What Just Happened, The New World
Chris Dickens – Slumdog Millionaire, Shaun of the Dead
Elliot Graham – Milk, Superman Returns
Kathryn Himoff – Appaloosa, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Leo Trombetta – Little Children, Northfork
Brent White – Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Pam Wise – Then She Found Me, Transamerica


** Live Action Short Films

Reto Caffi – Auf der Strecke (On the Line), Leos Freunde
Jochen Alexander Freydank – Spielzeugland (Toyland), Dienst (Duty)
F. Carter Pilcher – The Dreaming, Bitter


** Makeup and Hairstylists

Howard Berger – Seven Pounds, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Mike Elizalde – Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer
Louis Lazzara – Race to Witch Mountain, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Gerald Quist – Tropic Thunder, The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause


** Music

Jeff Danna – Lakeview Terrace, Fracture
Andrew Dorfman – Baby Mama, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Peter Gabriel – WALL-E, Philadelphia
Clint Mansell – The Wrestler, The Fountain
A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire, Elizabeth: The Golden Age


** Producers

Mark Ciardi – The Game Plan, The Rookie
Christian Colson – Slumdog Millionaire, The Descent
Gordon Gray – Invincible, Miracle
Broderick Johnson – One Missed Call; P.S. I Love You
Cathy Konrad – 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line
Andrew Kosove – Racing Stripes, Dude, Where’s My Car?
James Lassiter – Hancock, Lakeview Terrace
Russell Smith – Juno, The Libertine
Paula Wagner – Death Race, Elizabethtown


** Production Designers

Donald Graham Burt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac
Michael Carlin – The Duchess, In Bruges
Jane Ann Stewart – The Savages, Sideways
Kevin Thompson – Duplicity, Michael Clayton


** Public Relations

Michael D. Camp
Marc Cohen
Megan Colligan
James C. Gallagher
David Kaminow
Sal Ladestro
Maria Pekurovskaya
Elizabeth Petit


** Set Decorators

Rebecca Alleway – The Duchess, The Last King of Scotland
Peter Lando – The Dark Knight, The Invisible
Barbara Munch-Cameron – Bottle Shock, Rent


** Scenic Artists

Robert Topol – Doubt, The Departed


** Sound

Michael Barry – The Reader, Mamma Mia!
Derek Casari – The Soloist, Beowulf
Aaron Glascock – Deception; Good Night, and Good Luck.
Ren Klyce – Zodiac, The Fight Club
Peter F. Kurland – No Country for Old Men, Walk the Line
Karen Baker Landers – 27 Dresses, The Bourne Ultimatum
Hamilton Sterling – Fool’s Gold, Scary Movie 4
Deborah Wallach – Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code
Kim Waugh – Shade, Monster’s Ball


** Visual Effects

Christopher Bond – Idlewild, Superman Returns
Matthew Butler – The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Letters from Iwo Jima
Chris Corbould – The Dark Knight, Casino Royale
Rob Engle – Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, Beowulf
Scott Gordon – Nim’s Island, Spider-Man 3
Hal Hickel – Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Van Ling – Milk, Vanilla Sky
Shane Mahan – Iron Man, War of the Worlds
Steve Preeg – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Tim Webber - The Dark Knight, Children of Men
Edson Williams – Star Trek (2009), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


** Writers

John August – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie’s Angels
Dustin Lance Black – Milk
Courtney Hunt – Frozen River
Howard A. Rodman – Savage Grace, Joe Gould’s Secret