Nearly 400 invited to join US Academy, with big international contingent

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 397 artists and executives, half of them from outside the US, to join its ranks. 

Among the 30 actors invited are recent Oscar winners Troy Kotsur, from CODA, and Ariana DeBose, from West Side Story, along with Caitríona Balfe, Jessie Buckley, Jamie Dornan, Amir Jadidi, Kajol, Vincent Lindon, Hidetoshi Nishijima and Renate Reinsve. 

Twenty-one directors were invited, including Pawo Choyning Dorji (Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom), Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car), Sian Harries Heder (CODA) and Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Flee). 

The 30 producers offered Academy membership include Damon D’Oliveira, Michael Downey, Philippe Rousselet, Tim and Trevor White and Teruhisa Yamamoto. 

Executives in the group of invitees include Disney’s Dana Walden, Paramount’s Brian Robbins, BRON Media’s Brenda Gilbert, Globalgate’s Clifford Werber and Participant Media’s Liesl Copland. 

Overall, the group is made up of 44% women and 37% from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities. Those in the group who accept their invites will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership list this year.