Bill Kramer: Celebs Rumors

Navigating the frenzied Cannes Film Festival scene can prove perilous for a first-timer, even if he’s boss of the Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday held a virtual town hall for its members to discuss the implementation of its new inclusion standards for its Oscar Best Picture category.

Academy CEO Bill Kramer, said in a statement. “Her vast knowledge of the film industry and Academy membership, along with her commitment to building and nurturing a diverse and equitable global film community makes her a perfect professional for this new role.”“I have a deep connection to the Academy and its membership,” Shea said in a statement.

And the new Academy post goes to … Meredith Shea.

Sophia Scorziello editor The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has named Meredith Shea as its chief membership, impact and industry officer. In the new position, she will oversee new member cultivation and outreach, awards administration, rules and regulations, membership branch structural changes, member and industry engagement, film festival and international strategies, talent development programs, and industry DEAI and sustainability efforts. Shea previously worked as an Academy executive for a decade. In her new role, Shea will report directly to Bill Kramer, Academy CEO. “We are thrilled to welcome Meredith back to the Academy in this leadership position. Her vast knowledge of the film industry and Academy membership, along with her commitment to building and nurturing a diverse and equitable global film community makes her a perfect professional for this new role,” says Kramer.

For the first time since the ceremony’s inception the 2023 Oscars featured a non-red carpet, with the Academy instead opting for a champagne colour. Organisers said the colour was chosen to “evoke the sunset” and that the decision had been approved by Academy boss Bill Kramer.The decision came from creative consultants Lisa Love, a longtime Vogue contributor, and Raul Avila, the creative director for the Met Gala in New York.

Will Smith, 54, cracked 94th Academy Awards presenter Chris Rock, 58, in the face after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.“Well, whatever I say about it, it’s going to have to be great, right?” he told The Hollywood Reporter last week. “Because so much has been said and there’s so much focus on it.

The 95th Academy Awards take place tonight, marking the biggest event in the film industry’s awards season. The Oscars will see the most famous faces in the business come together in recognition of the most impressive and groundbreaking films, performances, songs, visual effects, and more.

Lights, camera, fashion! The 2023 Academy Awards are almost upon Us.  

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the live broadcast last year.During the ceremony, a “crisis team” will be poised to intervene should anything unanticipated occur, Bill Kramer, the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told Time last month.“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” he said. “We’ve run many scenarios.

Makeover alert! The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to try something new ahead of the 95th Oscars on Sunday, March 12. 

As last minute preparations and rehearsals were busily taking place at the Dolby Theatre for this Sunday’s 95th Annual Academy Awards, I was able to carve out some time with AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer on Wednesday to talk about the show, handling potential crisis situations, continuing controversies about Oscar campaigning and social media, plus the future of the broadcast with ABC and the Dolby Theatre venue where it has taken place for several years. He was in a very upbeat mood about what he was seeing so far in his first year as CEO so involved with the Oscar show with new President Janet Yang on behalf of the Academy and what they hope will be somewhat of a return to Oscar’s former glory after a rough couple of years where the broadcast was deeply affected by the pandemic and then the now-infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock slap which we also talk about including Kramer’s reaction to Rock’s Netflix comedy special last Saturday and its timing just a week before this year’s show.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor At a Wednesday press conference about what audiences can expect from Sunday’s Oscars telecast, the creative team behind the 95th Academy Awards, including executive producer and showrunner Glenn Weiss, confirmed Lady Gaga will not be performing her Oscar-nominated song from “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Hold my Hand.” The Will Smith factor was also addressed by the creative team, which included executive producer and showrunner Ricky Kirshner, musical director Rickey Minor, writers Dave Boone, Nefetari Spencer and Agathe Panaretos and producer Sarah Levine Hall. Traditionally, the previous year’s best actor winner returns to present the best actress award, but Smith, who resigned from the Academy following his slapping of host Chris Rock is banned from attending for ten years. Executive producer Molly McNearney said, “We’re going to acknowledge it, and then we’re gonna move on.” She added, “We don’t want to make this year about last year. It’s certainly something we can and will address in a comedic fashion.”

Katie Reul editor “Saturday Night Live” cast member Colin Jost, co-anchor of Weekend Update, levied a jab at the Academy for this week’s decision to hire a “crisis team” for the upcoming 2023 Oscars. Devised to ensure first-line responders are available at the awards show in the case of an emergency, the newly-implemented team comes on the heels of last year’s tumultuous ceremony. The 2022 Oscars saw actor Will Smith slap presenter Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife. The violent outburst resulted in Smith being banned from events hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the next decade. “Guys, it’s not going to happen again,” Jost joked, seeming to address the telecast’s producers. “I’m sure you wish it would, for ratings. If anything the promo should be, ‘Who’s going to get slapped this year?’ Can Ana de Armas beat the ‘Tar’ out of Cate Blanchett? Which banshee will knock the shoes off Marcel the Shell? And who has what it takes to ‘Whale’ on Brendan Fraser?”

95th Academy Awards, a move enacted in wake of the slap heard and seen 'round the world.Glenn Weiss, a veteran live events director and multi EMMY-winning producer who will executive produce the March 12 ceremony, spoke to ET about the reasoning for the plan's implementation. While Weiss didn't directly reference Will Smith slapping Oscars presenter Chris Rock during last year's ceremony — a controversy that continues to reverberate -- the 61-year-old producer said the crisis team is another safety layer.«We go in with a really good plan for the known,» Weiss tells ET, «but you have to be ready for what may transpire with what you didn't plan.»If anyone's prepared for the unknown it's Weiss, as well as host Jimmy Kimmel, who has not only hosted multiple Oscar shows but is also comfortable in front of a live audience.

The Oscars are making sure they’re prepared for everything this year.

Will Smith walk on stage to slap Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.Little has – despite the wave of criticism they have received for years with various concerns  – also caused such an urge to change things within the way things work than the shocking incident.In the aftermath, which included a hiatus for the King Richard actor and a 10-year ban from attending the annual awards, the Academy has rolled out a series of new measures to make sure everything goes far more smoothly.WATCH: Will Smith reappears months after Chris Rock Oscars slap to answer difficult questions and issue apologiesMORE: Will Smith pays heartfelt tribute to daughter Willow with unseen family photosAs the Academy continues to grapple with the fallout of the several controversies they have faced in recent years, they have decided to incorporate a "crisis team" into their organization to be on high alert during the show and beyond.Speaking with TIME, the Academy's CEO, Bill Kramer – who only became the organization's leader last July – detailed what measures would be in place should a surprise crisis arise in the middle of the show.MORE: Will Chris Rock attend the 2023 Oscars?When asked how they are preparing, the entertainment executive first praised their choice of host, Jimmy Kimmel, as someone who is more than adept at handling live television. The star has since apologized for the incidentSpeaking of the newly founded crisis team, he said: "We have a whole crisis team, something we've never had before, and many plans in place."DISCOVER: Taylor Kinney rocks bright red lipstick in first pictures after Chicago Fire departureDISCOVER: The Rookie star Nathan Fillion's secret struggle with ongoing condition revealedHe added: "We've run many scenarios.

Academy chief executive Bill Kramer says that a “crisis team” will be introduced for the first time at this year’s Oscars to prepare for any unanticipated events. Mr Kramer said the team had run “many scenarios” ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, which is due to take place on March 12 and be hosted by US comedian Jimmy Kimmel. It comes after unprecedented scenes at last year’s ceremony, which saw actor Will Smith storm the stage and slap presenter Chris Rock.

Movie Academy CEO Bill Kramer said there is “a whole crisis team” in place for the Academy Awards next — a first for the ceremony in its 95 years.

Andrea Riseborough was a surprised as anyone else when her name was called during the Oscar nominations announcement last month.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said today that it won’t take any action to repeal Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar nomination for To Leslie. “The Academy has determined the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film’s nomination should be rescinded,” AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement (read it below).

Awards season is officially in full swing! The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24.

The big picture was clear enough in the fiscal 2022 financial report released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last Tuesday: Income down, expenses up, rough going overall in a tough financial climate.

Back to the old ways. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the 2023 Oscars broadcast will once again include all 23 award categories.

Roll out the red carpet! Movie lovers are already expecting the 2023 Academy Awards to be a star-studded affair.

Cynics have tabbed them “The Doomsday Summits.” To believers, however, their mission is to re-energize the Oscars at a moment when award shows in general are in massive retreat.

EXCLUSIVE: As a direct result of a  suggestion at the September 17 Academy membership meeting, AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang told the 10,000+ group in an email this morning that Academy members without tickets for the actual Oscar show will now be allowed to serve as seat-fillers during the broadcast.

New Academy CEO Bill Kramer provided something of a surprise Saturday morning, announcing the producers for the 95th Academy Awards during an in-person membership meeting. But considering it was his first big moment in front of his employees it was as good a moment as any to demonstrate his leadership skills.

The Academy needs to create new revenue streams that do not rely on the Oscars show, but it also needs to bring the Oscars to a position of “power, honorability and importance,” Academy leaders told the organization’s membership in an all-members meeting on Saturday.The meeting, led by new Academy CEO Bill Kramer and new president Janet Yang, took place in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and was available to be attended virtually by members not in Los Angeles.In some ways, the gathering was reminiscent of the all-members meeting held by then-president Hawk Koch and CEO Dawn Hudson in May, 2013, which took place simultaneously in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. At that point, the Academy consisted of about 6,000 members and was predominantly white and male; the #OscarsSoWhite protests had yet to push the organization to become more diverse, while the Academy Museum was in the planning stages.This year’s meeting came at a time when the Academy has expanded to 10,627 members, more than doubling the number of women and people of color and including a very large international contingent.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences new CEO Bill Kramer explicitly acknowledged there are fixes that need to be made in the Academy’s annual Oscars show and process and promised to address them while speaking at this morning’s AMPAS membership meeting held in person at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles  as well as virtually for members worldwide.

Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner will produce the 95th Oscars telecast, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Saturday.The announcement was made at the beginning of a meeting open to all Academy members, the first time in eight years that AMPAS has conducted such a forum. The hiring of Weiss and Kirshner means that the upcoming Oscars ceremony, which will take place on March 12, 2023, will be the first with a producing team whose experience does not include a substantial amount of work in film.Weiss, who will also direct the Oscars, for the eighth consecutive year, is a director and producer who known for his work on live telecasts like the Oscars, the Tonys and the Kennedy Center Honors.

Film Academy chief executive Bill Kramer dropped a reminder in Toronto on Saturday, that his group’s movie museum will in February devote space to the late director John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood.

Our own Nancy Tartaglione was on hand this week when Bill Kramer, new chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, set his sights on the whole wide world.

As new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer continues his inaugural outreach tour, he stopped in Venice today to discuss AMPAS’ relationship with global cinema and declared, “I think our future is with international cinema as much as with American cinema.”

Manori Ravindran International Editor Bill Kramer, the newly appointed CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, kicked off his charm offensive with the international film community at the Venice Film Festival, telling a small audience of journalists that the Academy’s “future is with international cinema as much as it is with American cinema.” Kramer — who is in Italy this week and will also be at Telluride — is keen to demonstrate the Academy’s support of its international contingent, which makes up more than 25% of its overall membership. Kramer said that international members comprised 50% of the latest class of new Academy members. Kramer, who was interview by Variety’s Rome-based international correspondent Nick Vivarelli, suggested the org is looking to “educate” and “encourage” its international members to submit to more Oscar categories apart from best international feature film, and cited the multi-category success of films such as “Worst Person in the World” and “Drive My Car” in the recent Oscar season.

Months after Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards in March, the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" alum appears to be feeling more optimistic. "Will is feeling much more confident and much more positive and less depressed," a source tells "Entertainment Tonight." "He was in very low spirits prior to making his public apology," the source continued.