Photo Credit: D. Stevens

The Academy will also screen and discuss Oscar^®-winning films “Rebecca” and “Giant”

Screenwriting Series to Feature Films by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, An Evening with Walter Bernstein, and a Special Sneak Preview of “Ghostbusters”

New York, NY – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present “Spotlight on Screenwriting,” a summer series illuminating the art of writing for motion pictures, beginning May 15 at various venues in New York City.  The programs include onstage conversations and screenings of acclaimed films spanning nine decades.

Acclaimed director Wong Kar Wai returns to the Academy for an in-depth examination of his cinematic style and career with “Wong Kar Wai: In Person” on Thursday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.  Hosted by writer-director Matthew Weiner, the evening of film clips and conversation will include insights from Wong biographer John Powers as well as personal reflections from the filmmaker himself in a rare Los Angeles appearance.

Eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken and three-time Oscar nominee and Honorary Academy Award recipient Angela Lansbury will join voice actors Paige O’Hara, Richard White and Robby Benson, supervising animators Andreas Deja, Mark Henn and Glen Keane, key story artist Brenda Chapman, Oscar-nominated producer Don Hahn, and director Gary Trousdale onstage for a 25th anniversary celebration of “Beauty and the Beast”

The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today 37 recipients of its FilmCraft and FilmWatch grants programs.  FilmCraft grants support high-quality educational programs that identify and empower future filmmakers from nontraditional backgrounds.

The regular deadline to submit entries for the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition is Monday, April 18, at 11:59 p.m. PT.  In November, as many as five $35,000 fellowships will be awarded to emerging screenwriters.  

Deadlines and entry fees are as follows:

The Academy is now accepting entries for its 2016 Student Academy Awards® competition.  All Student Academy Award® winners become eligible for Oscars® consideration.  The entry deadline for submissions is Wednesday, June 1.

Legendary casting directors Lynn Stalmaster, Juliet Taylor and Mike Fenton will be saluted and will discuss the evolution of their profession and the casting director’s essential role in filmmaking with “Perfect Choice: The Art of the Casting Director” on Wednesday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Three members added to Board of Governors

Seven members also added to Board committees

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs today appointed three new governors to join the Academy’s 51-seat Board. Reginald Hudlin (Directors Branch), Gregory Nava (Writers Branch) and Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Short Films and Feature Animation Branch) were confirmed by the current Board members for three-year terms, effective immediately.  

Renowned musician and Grammy^® Award nominee Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, with his band Orleans Avenue, is set to perform at the Governors Ball, the Academy’s official post-Oscars^® celebration, on Sunday, February 28.  The group will entertain the Ball’s 1,500 guests, which will include Oscar^® winners and nominees, show presenters and performers, and other luminaries.