Sacha Baron Cohen, Diablo Cody among those invited to vote for next year’s Oscars.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has invited 105 individuals to join the organization for next year’s Oscars vote.
Among the highlights of those invited are actors Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Marion Cotillard, Jet Li, Josh Brolin and Allison Janney. Directors Judd Apatow, Michael Haneke, Walter Salles, Doug Liman, Jason Reitman, James Gray, Kimberly Peirce and Gore Verbinski and Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody also received invitations.
The invitations are not automatic inductions. The individual must accept the invitation in order to become a member (most accept; a few decline, and some fail to respond within the proper time frame).
To slow the org’s growth rate, the Acad adopted a policy in 2004 to allow a maximum of 137 members to be inducted annually. As in previous years, the various committees chose to endorse fewer candidates than were proposed.
Each committee has its own standards when picking members. The Academy said that a past nomination or win is not a guarantee of an invitation but is certainly a factor for consideration.
“These individuals are all incredibly talented and a credit to the world of filmmaking,” said Sid Ganis, academy president. The academy has just under 6,000 voting members.
The 81st Academy Awards honoring the best in film for 2008 will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.