Cinematographer Larry Fong was one of 176 invited to join the ranks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, home of the Oscars. Others include Best Supporting Actress winner Octavia Spencer, Best Documentary Short winner Daniel Junge, graphic designer Kyle Cooper, actor Matthew McConaughey, design Scott Chambliss, makeup designer Amanda Knight, Best Director winner Michel Hazanavicius, actress Melissa McCarthy, cinematographer Larry Fong and Best Film Editing winner Kirk Baxter.
It was a surprising Friday for Larry Fong last week. The “Super 8” cinematographer was one of 176 people invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Fong didn’t know, however, until The Gold Knight congratulated him on Twitter.
He called the invitation “the furthest thing from my mind” and said that he “was not seeking it out at all.”
Well, congrats, Larry. It’s well deserved. (“Super 8” was this editor’s favorite film of 2011).
@goldknightblog ??? What th...?
— Larry Fong (@larryfong) June 29, 2012
@goldknightblog The furthest thing from my mind. Was not seeking it out at all.
— Larry Fong (@larryfong) June 30, 2012
Among the other invitees are “artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures,” according to the Academy, which sends out invitations only once per year. Last year, 178 were invited to join.
Voting membership in the organization has remained at just under 6,000 members since 2003.
Among the invitees are (pictured above) 2011 Best Supporting Actress winner Octavia Spencer, Best Documentary Short winner Daniel Junge, graphic designer Kyle Cooper, actor Matthew McConaughey, production designer Scott Chambliss, makeup designer Amanda Knight, Best Director winner Michel Hazanavicius, actress Melissa McCarthy, cinematographer Larry Fong and Best Film Editing winner Kirk Baxter. Other Oscar winners and Oscar nominees from this year were also invited to join.
Also invited are Fritz Gabriel Bauer, Lee S. Berger, Ronald Bernstein, Ariel Emanuel, Jean-Marie Lavalou, Bryan Lourd, Dale Oliver, Jeremy Plager, John B. Quinn and Steve Weinstein to Associate membership, which does not include the ability to vote for Academy Awards (see titles at bottom of post).
Three were invited to join the Academy by multiple branches and they must choose one branch when joining (see asterisk in listing below). New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception in September.
The Academy’s Board of Governors also approved a recommendation from the Art Directors Branch that will change the branch's name to the Designers Branch. The branch includes production designers, art directors, set decorators and costume designers.
See all of the 2012 invitees after the jump.
Actors (25)
Simon Baker – “Margin Call,” “L.A. Confidential”
Sean Bean – “Flightplan,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
Bérénice Bejo – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies”
Tom Berenger – “Inception,” “Platoon”
Demián Bichir – “A Better Life,” “Che”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help,” “The Tree of Life”
Clifton Collins, Jr. – “Star Trek,” “Traffic”
Bryan Cranston – “Contagion,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jean Dujardin – “Les infidèls, “The Artist”
Richard E. Grant – “The Iron Lady,” “Withnail & I”
Jonah Hill – “Moneyball,” “Superbad”
Ken Howard – “J. Edgar,” “In Her Shoes”
Diego Luna – “Milk,” “Y Tu Mamá También”
Margo Martindale – “Secretariat,” “Million Dollar Baby”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids,” “The Back-Up Plan”
Matthew McConaughey – “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “A Time to Kill”
Janet McTeer – “Albert Nobbs,” “Tumbleweeds”
S. Epatha Merkerson – “Mother and Child,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”
Sam Rockwell – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Moon”
Andy Serkis – “The Prestige,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help,” “The Soloist”
Lili Taylor – “Being Flynn,” “High Fidelity”
Nia Vardalos – “For a Good Time, Call…,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Kerry Washington – “Django Unchained,” “Ray”
Michelle Yeoh – “The Lady,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”
Designers (10)
Laurence Bennett – “The Artist,” “Crash”
David Brisbin – “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” “Dead Presidents”
Scott Chambliss – “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Mission: Impossible III”
Wendy Chuck – “The Descendants,” “Sideways”
Maria Djurkovic – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Hours”
Sanja Milkovic Hays – “Battle: Los Angeles,” “Mission to Mars”
Mayes Rubeo – “Avatar,” “Apocalypto”
Anne Seibel – “Midnight in Paris,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Sharon Seymour – “The Ides of March,” “Friday Night Lights”
Sammy Sheldon – “X-Men: First Class,” “V for Vendetta”
Cinematographers (9)
Florian Ballhaus – “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” “The Devil Wears Prada”
Oliver Bokelberg – “Win Win,” “The Station Agent”
Anna J. Foerster – “Anonymous”
Larry Fong – “Super 8,” “300”
Alwin Kuchler – “Hanna,” “Proof”
Toyomichi Kurita – “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Waiting to Exhale”
George Mooradian – “Crazy as Hell,” “Nemesis”
Guillaume Schiffman – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies”
Terry Stacey – “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” “Friends with Money”
Directors (11)
Joseph Cedar – “Footnote (Hearat Shulayim),” “Beaufort”
Jean-Pierre Dardenne – “The Kid with a Bike (Le gamin au vélo),” “The Child (L’enfant)”
Luc Dardenne – “Lorna’s Silence (Le silence de Lorna),” “The Son (Le fils)”
Philippe Falardeau – “Monsieur Lazhar,” “It’s Not Me, I Swear! (C’est pas moi, je le jure!)”
Asghar Farhadi* – “A Separation (Jodaieye Nadar az Simin),” “About Elly (Darbareye Elly)
(also invited to the Writers Branch)
Rodrigo Garcia – “Albert Nobbs,” “Mother and Child”
Michel Hazanavicius* – “Les infidèles (The Players),” “The Artist” (also invited to the Writers
Branch)
Kasi Lemmons – “Talk to Me,” “Eve’s Bayou”
Terrence Malick – “The Tree of Life,” “The Thin Red Line”
Michaël R. Roskam – “Bullhead (Rundskop)”
Wong Kar Wai – “My Blueberry Nights,” “In the Mood for Love”
Documentary (10)
John Battsek – “The Tillman Story,” “One Day in September”
Amy Berg – “Bhutto,” “Deliver Us from Evil”
Simon Chinn – “Project Nim,” “Man on Wire”
Marshall Curry – “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front,” “Street Fight”
Johanna Demetrakas – “Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa
Rinpoche,” “Bus Riders Union”
Daniel Junge – “Saving Face,” “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
Mary Lampson – “Kimjongilia,” “Harlan County, USA”
Sam Pollard – “Gerrymandering,” “4 Little Girls”
Glenn Silber – “El Salvador: Another Vietnam,” “The War at Home”
Lucy Walker – “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom,” “Waste Land”
Executives (12)
James Amos – President, Sony Pictures Domestic Distribution
Michael Bostick – CEO, Walden Media
Richard Brener – President of Production, New Line Cinema
Howard Mark Cohen – Co-President, Roadside Attractions
David C. Glasser – COO, The Weinstein Company
Jeffrey B. Goldstein – Executive VP of distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures
Frederick Huntsberry – COO, Paramount Pictures
Jon Jashni – President and Chief Creative Officer, Legendary Entertainment
Michael Marshall – Executive VP of business affairs, Columbia Pictures
Tony Safford – Executive VP of worldwide acquisitions, 20th Century Fox
Gregory Silverman – President of production, Warner Bros. Pictures
Nigel Sinclair – CEO and co-chairman, Exclusive Media
Film Editors (5)
Kirk Baxter – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Social Network”
Nicolas De Toth – “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “The Sum of All Fears”
Scott Hill – “Zookeeper,” “Bruce Almighty”
Dan Lebental – “Iron Man 2,” “Elf”
Glen Scantlebury – “Transformers,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”
Makeup Artists and Hairstylists (5)
Mark Coulier – “The Iron Lady,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
Linda Flowers – “The Hunger Games,” “The Social Network”
Toni G – “Salt,” “Monster”
Amanda Knight – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” “Mission: Impossible”
Tami Lane – “Superman Returns” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe”
Members-at-Large (12)
Wendy Aylsworth – Senior VP for technology, Warner Bros.
Kyle Cooper – Designer and founder, Imaginary Forces and Prologue Films
Patrick Crowley – Producer, The Bourne series
Bud Davis – Stunt coordinator for "Forrest Gump," "Contact" and "Cast Away"
Chris deFaria – Executive producer for "Happy Feet Two" and "Sucker Punch"; production manager for "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
Sarah Katzman – Casting director for "The Change-Up" and "Horrible Bosses"
John Kilkenny – Visual Effects President, 20th Century Fox
Heidi Levitt – Casting director for "The Artist"
Kerry Lyn McKissick – Script supervisor for "Thor" and "The Hangover"
Elizabeth Sayre – Producer
Michael Tadross – Executive producer for "Sherlock Holmes" and "I Am Legend"
Mary Vernieu – Casting director for "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler"
Music (5)
Ludovic Bource – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Lost In Rio”
Alberto Iglesias – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Constant Gardener”
Conrad Pope – “My Week with Marilyn,” “The Rising Place”
Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Love Is the Devil,” “The Last Emperor”
Theodore Shapiro – “The Big Year,” “I Love You, Man”
Producers (12)
Letty Aronson – “Midnight in Paris,” “Match Point”
Michael Barnathan – “The Help,” “Rent”
Jean Bréhat – “London River,” “Days of Glory (Indigènes)”
Susan Cartsonis – “Beastly,” “What Women Want”
Tracey Edmonds – “Jumping the Broom,” “Soul Food”
Dede Gardner – “The Tree of Life,” “Running with Scissors”
Grant Heslov* – “The Ides of March,” “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (also invited to the
Writers Branch)
Thomas Langmann – “The Artist,” “Mesrine: Public Enemy #1”
William Packer – “Think Like a Man,” “This Christmas”
Aaron Ryder – “The Raven,” “The Prestige”
Peter Saraf – “Our Idiot Brother,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Mary Jane Skalski – “Win Win,” “The Station Agent”
Public Relations (11)
Larry Baldauf – Executive VP of marketing, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Cindi Berger – Chairman and CEO, PMK*BNC Public Relations
Matthew P. Brubaker – President of theatrical division, Trailer Park
Brian Daly – Partner, Mob Scene Creative Productions
Rebecca Kearey – Executive VP of marketing and distribution, Fox Searchlight International
Adam Keen – Executive VP for worldwide publicity and corporate communications, Relativity
Katie Martin Kelley – Senior VP for publicity, Paramount
Eric Kops – Senior VP of publicity, Summit Entertainment
Derek McLay – Senior VP of domestic distribution, MGM Studios
Michelle Sewell – Senior VP of global publicity, The Walt Disney Studios
Mark Woollen – Founder, Mark Woollen & Associates, marketing and PR firm known for movie trailers and advertising
Short Films and Feature Animation (11)
Paul Cichocki – “Brave,” “WALL-E”
Eric Daniels – “Tangled,” “Meet the Robinsons”
Amanda Forbis – “Wild Life,” “When the Day Breaks”
Emily Hubley – “The Toe Tactic,” “Pigeon Within”
William Joyce – “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” “Meet the Robinsons”
Marv Newland – “CMYK,” “Tête à Tête à Tête”
Floyd Norman – “Waking Sleeping Beauty,” “Mulan”
Jonas Rivera – “Up,” “Cars”
Michelle Steffes – “The Interview,” “Day Labor”
David Verrall – “Dimanche/Sunday,” “Madame Tutli-Putli”
Jennifer Yuh Nelson – “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Madagascar”
Sound (10)
Erik Aadahl – “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Monsters vs Aliens”
Deb Adair – “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” “Moneyball”
Stephen M. Bartkowicz – “Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds,” “Red State”
John T. Cucci – “Snow White & the Huntsman,” “Prometheus”
Chuck Garsha – “Misery,” “Die Hard”
Mildred Iatrou – “The Green Hornet,” “The Tree of Life”
Tim LeBlanc – “For Greater Glory,” “Something Borrowed”
Bo Persson – “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Fanny & Alexander”
Gary L.G. Simpson – “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”
Philip Stockton – “Hugo,” “Brokeback Mountain”
Visual Effects (12)
Scott Benza – “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Iron Man”
Greg Butler – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” “The Lord of the Rings: The
Return of the King”
Sheena Duggal – “The Hunger Games,” “Spider-Man 3”
Christopher Evans – “Hugo,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ben Grossmann – “Hugo,” “The Italian Job”
Dan Lemmon – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “King Kong”
John Rosengrant – “Real Steel,” “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”
Eric Saindon – “Avatar,” “X-Men The Last Stand”
R. Christopher White – “The Lovely Bones,” “Jurassic Park III”
Guy Williams – “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Avatar”
Joss Williams – “Hugo,” “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Writers (10)
J.C. Chandor – “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi* – “A Separation (Jodaieye Nadar az Simin),” “Beautiful City (Shahr-e ziba)”
(also invited to the Directors Branch) Iran won the Foreign Oscar
Michel Hazanavicius* – “The Artist,” “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies” (also invited to the
Directors Branch)
Grant Heslov* – “The Ides of March,” “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (also invited to the
Producers Branch)
Stephen King – “Pet Sematary,” “Creepshow”
Oren Moverman – “The Messenger,” “I’m Not There”
Annie Mumolo – “Bridesmaids”
Nicholas Stoller – “The Muppets,” “Get Him to the Greek”
Peter Straughan – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Men Who Stare at Goats”
Kristen Wiig – “Bridesmaids”
Associate membership (non-voting 10)
Fritz Gabriel Bauer – Founder, Moviecam (Three-time Sci-Tech award winner, Scientific & Engineering, 1987, 1993 and 1999)
Lee S. Berger – President/Film Division, Rhythm & Hues
Ronald Bernstein – Agent, ICM
Ariel Emanuel – Co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor (Talent agent)
Jean-Marie Lavalou – Co-founder, Loumasystems (Two-time Sci-Tech award winner, Scientific & Engineering plaque, 1980, and Academy Award of Merit statuette, 2004)
Bryan Lourd – Co-chairman, partner and managing director, Creative Artists Agency (Talent agent)
Dale Oliver – Partner, Quinn Emmanual Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
Jeremy Plager – Talent agent, Creative Artists Agency
John B. Quinn – General counsel, AMPAS, and partner, Quinn Emmanual Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
Steve Weinstein – President and CEO, MovieLabs
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