In Contention

Tag: Kathleen Kennedy

  • Tom Sherak tapped as new AMPAS president, Hanks first vice

    Tom SherakWith Sid Ganis on his way out as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the search for a replacement has come to an end.  Tom Sherak, a representative of AMPAS’s Executives Branch, has parlayed his seven-year stint on the Board of Governors and a one-year go at treasurer into the new head of the organization.

    “Sherak, a marketing, distribution and production executive with more than four decades in the motion picture industry, is currently a consultant for Marvel Studios,” the press release reads.

    Nikki Finke is rather beside herself at the news, chastising Sherak as a “major advocate” for what she calls “he worst idea ever in the modern history of the Oscars: the recent decision to have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category.”  She also uses the fact that Sherak was “responsible for lobbying the board to choose Jerry Lewis to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the last Oscars” as a mark against him.  You’ll recall there was something of a controversy around that particular award last year.

    Elsewhere, Tom Hanks left his post as a Actors Branch Governor to take on elected duties as first vice-president, while Producers Branch Governor Kathleen Kennedy and Writers Branch Governor Phil Robinson were elected vice-presidents.  Feature Animation Branch governor John Lasseter was elected secretary.

    Full press release after the jump.

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  • As Ganis prepares to exit, AMPAS searches for a new president

    Sid GanisAs you know, Sid Ganis will close out his fourth-straight one-year stint as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a matter of months (he’ll be packing up his stuff in August).  “If history is any guide,” Michael Cieply writes in this Carpetbagger item, “some deeply internal glad-handing and politicking will be underway in a month or so, as the world’s most glamorous deliberative body decides who will next sit in the big seat.”

    As Cieply notes, the Academy president is decided by and from its board of governors.  He offers up his own best guesses for who might win those “several seconds of annual face time” on the yearly Oscarcast.  After rattling off a list of names like Tom Hanks (could move the ratings meter with the right PR), Kathy Bates (ditto, to a lesser degree), Kathleen Kennedy (producer extraordinaire), Robert Rehme (a former president with lots of fans, Cieply says), Hawk Koch (another producer), he comes to this somewhat more plausible scenario (as I see it):

    Another wild card might be Ed Begley Jr., whose face is not quite as familiar as that of Mr. Hanks, but who would bring a little star power to a post that has lately been occupied by off-screen types like Mr. Ganis, who is a producer, or Mr. Rehme, who is the same, or Frank Pierson, who has done his share of producing, but is probably better known as a writer of films like “Cool Hand Luke” and “Dog Day Afternoon.”

    Whatever happens, you can bet the decision will take some level of publicity into consideration.  How could it not?  I’m sure 99% of the viewing audience has stopped and wondered aloud, “Who the heck is that Guy?” when Ganis graced Oscar’s stage to give the usual AMPAS spiel the last four years.  We’re not all obssessed with this nonsense, after all.

  • What will win the PGA?

    Tonight, we will receive our biggest precursor pointer to date, as the Producers Guild of America becomes the first of the guilds to make its final pronouncement.

    In case you’ve forgotten, the five films vying for the PGA’s top honour are “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire” — and the one nominee to fall foul of Oscar voters, “The Dark Knight.”

    “Slumdog Millionaire” appears to be the safest bet, even if its producer, relative newcomer Christian Colson, is less of an industry insider than his fellow nominees. (After all, the field includes such popular figures as Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, and previous winners Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks.)

    But with “Slumdog” hurtling towards all-but-inevitable victory on Oscar night, not having missed a single stop on the awards trail so far, that shouldn’t matter. It’s by far the most well-liked film in contention, as well as being a profitable indie with a scrappy-fighter backstory. I doubt the PGA will resist.

    Back when the nominees were announced at the start of the month — doesn’t that seem a long time ago? — Kris suggested that “The Dark Knight” was the “likely winner.” It made perfect sense at the time: these are producers, after all, so they value financial prowess as much as artistic achievement. (Previous PGA nominees include “Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”)

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  • PGA noms coming next week

    Producers Guild of AmericaThe Producers Guild of America announces its nominees Monday.  Then the DGA wraps up the big three (after PGA and SAG) on Thursday.  I expect “The Dark Knight” is a no-brainer nominee here and the likely winner.  After that, I’d say “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Slumdog Millionaire” are likely, especially in the case of the former, what with producing powerhouses Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall (the former popping up here last year for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” in something of a surprise).

    After that it gets a bit tricky.  I’d be tempted to think “WALL-E” will turn up here like “The Incredibles” in 2004.  Box office + critical acclaim + major awards consideration, all that.  But with the animated category being instituted a few years back, that scenario becomes less likely.

    There isn’t much that screams PGA about “Doubt” or, to a lesser extent, “Revolutionary Road.”  But Scott Rudin did well enough with two films last year.  “Milk” and “Frost/Nixon” might be a decent bets, but surely something will pop up in the way of the unexpected.  I just can’t put my finger on what that will be.  Since the group began a nominations format, the eventual five Best Picture nominees have never been assembled in the PGA collective, and that includes 2002 and 2003, the two years that netted six nominees.

    “Iron Man” popping up wouldn’t be a shock.  “The Wrestler” could be a nice indie call, but I think it’s doubtful.  Ah screw it, I’m going to go with the following, including a “Milk” snub that is most likely a mistake:

    “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Ceán Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall)
    “The Dark Knight” (Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas)
    “Frost/Nixon” (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard)
    “Revolutionary Road” (Bobby Cohen, John Hart, Sam Mendes, Scott Rudin)
    “Slumdog Millionaire” (Christian Colson, Paul Ritchie)

    What are your predictions?