George Clooney's partner, Grant Heslov, invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts

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Fri., Jun. 29, 2012, 12:47pm PT

Film acad invites 176 to join

Hazanavicius, Spencer among new eligible members

By Jon Weisman

Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist") and supporting actress Octavia Spencer of "The Help" are among the 176 artists and execs invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences this year.

In addition, the Academy Board of Governors has approved a name change for the Art Directors branch to the Designers branch, emcompassing production designers, art directors, set decorators and costume designers.

Hazanavicius and Asghar Farhadi ("A Separation") were each invited to join both AMPAS writer and director branches, while Grant Heslov ("The Ides of March") received an invitation from the writer and producer branches. Each must choose one branch upon accepting membership.

"These film professionals represent some of the most talented, most passionate contributors to our industry," said Academy prexy Tom Sherak of the 176 invitees. "I'm glad to recognize that by calling each of them a fellow Academy member."

Among last year's Oscar-recognized thesps, lead actor winner Jean Dujardin and nominees Berenice Bejo, Demian Bichir, Jessica Chastain, Jonah Hill, Melissa McCarthy and Janet McTeer earned their membership papers, as did Screen Actors Guild prexy Ken Howard. Terrence Malick, nommed a year ago for directing "The Tree of Life," also received an invitation, likewise did "Midnight in Paris" producer Letty Aronson and "Bridesmaids" writers Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig.

New members will be welcomed into the Academy at a reception in September.

The full list of 2012 invitees:

Actors: Simon Baker, Sean Bean, Berenice Bejo, Tom Berenger, Demian Bichir, Jessica Chastain, Clifton Collins, Jr., Bryan Cranston, Jean Dujardin, Richard E. Grant, Jonah Hill, Ken Howard, Diego Luna, Margo Martindale, Melissa McCarthy, Matthew McConaughey, Janet McTeer, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Rockwell, Andy Serkis, Octavia Spencer, Lili Taylor, Nia Vardalos, Kerry Washington and Michelle Yeoh.

Cinematographers: Florian Ballhaus, Oliver Bokelberg, Anna J. Foerster, Larry Fong, Alwin Kuchler, Toyomichi Kurita, George Mooradian, Guillaume Schiffman and Terry Stacey.

Designers: Laurence Bennett, David Brisbin, Scott Chambliss, Wendy Chuck, Maria Djurkovic, Mayes Rubeo, Anne Seibel, Sharon Seymour and Sammy Sheldon.

Directors: Joseph Cedar, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Philippe Falardeau, Asghar Farhadi, Rodrigo Garcia, Michel Hazanavicius, Kasi Lemmons, Terrence Malick, Michael R. Roskam and Wong Kar Wai.

Documentary: John Battsek, Amy Berg, Simon Chinn, Marshall Curry, Johanna Demetrakas, Daniel Junge, Mary Lampson, Sam Pollard, Glenn Silber and Lucy Walker.

Executives: James Amos, Michael Bostick, Richard Brener, Howard Mark Cohen, David C. Glasser, Jeffrey B. Goldstein, Frederick Huntsberry, Jon Jashni, Michael Marshall, Tony Safford, Gregory Silverman and Nigel Sinclair.

Film editors: Kirk Baxter, Nicolas de Toth, Scott Hill, Dan Lebental and Glen Scantlebury.

Makeup artists and hairstylists: Mark Coulier, Linda Flowers, Toni G, Amanda Knight and Tami Lane.

Members-at-large: Wendy Aylsworth, Kyle Cooper, Patrick Crowley, Bud Davis, Chris deFaria, Sarah Katzman, John Kilkenny, Heidi Levitt, Kerry Lyn McKissick, Elizabeth Sayre, Michael Tadross and Mary Vernieu.

Music: Ludovic Bource, Alberto Iglesias, Conrad Pope, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Theodore Shapiro.

Producers: Letty Aronson, Michael Barnathan, Jean Brehat, Susan Cartsonis, Tracey Edmonds, Dede Gardner, Grant Heslov, Thomas Langmann, William Packer, Aaron Ryder, Peter Saraf and Mary Jane Skalski.

Public Relations: Larry Baldauf, Cindi Berger, Matthew P. Brubaker, Brian Daly, Rebecca Kearey, Adam Keen, Katie Martin Kelley, Eric Kops, Derek McLay, Michelle Sewell and Mark Woollen.

Short films and feature animation: Paul Cichocki, Eric Daniels, Amanda Forbis, Emily Hubley, William Joyce, Marv Newland, Floyd Norman, Jonas Rivera, Michelle Steffes, David Verrall and Jennifer Yuh Nelson.

Sound: Erik Aadahl, Deb Adair, Stephen M. Bartkowicz, John T. Cucci, Chuck Garsha, Mildred Iatrou, Tim LeBlanc, Bo Persson, Gary L.G. Simpson and Philip Stockton.

Visual effects: Scott Benza, Greg Butler, Sheena Duggal, Christopher Evans, Ben Grossmann, Dan Lemmon, John Rosengrant, Eric Saindon, R. Christopher White, Guy Williams and Joss Williams.

Writers: J.C. Chandor, Asghar Farhadi, Michel Hazanavicius, Grant Heslov, Stephen King, Oren Moverman, Annie Mumolo, Nicholas Stoller, Peter Straughan and Kristen Wiig.

Associate membership (no voting privileges): 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.

melbert wrote:Lorna, his other choice is Producer, not Director. Just a point of clarification. And I agree, which way will he go?