Every June, bloggers like to pick over the list of newly invited AMPAS members, seeing which recent nominees or long-serving industry stalwarts have been deemed good enough to vote for the Oscars. This year’s crop has yet to be announced, but at least one invitee has been named: Jeremy Renner. Thanks to Steve Pond for sharing this minor but happy tidbit.
The “Hurt Locker” star — still, I think, the most deserving of 2009’s Best Actor nominees — had his membership made public at Saturday’s Student Academy Awards, by AMPAS president Tom Sherak:
Introducing actor Jeremy Renner, Sherak … called him “the very talented – and now, brand new member of the Academy, Jeremy Renner.”
Beaming, Renner walked onstage and said, “Yeah, that does sound good, doesn’t it?”
Lest you think the invitation is a mere formality following an Oscar nod, Pond reminds us that Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning producer of “Titanic” and “Avatar,” has had his application for membership rejected twice since his 1997 victory. (Will producing the all-time highest grosser — again — do the trick this year?) So it’s not as simple as all that. Congrats to Renner.
Comments
10 responses to “Jeremy Renner joins the club”
Really? I thought he was quite easily the least deserving of the nominees, especially when you put him up against the mastery of Jeff Bridges and, especially, Colin Firth.
The National Society of Film Critics got that race right. I guess he’ll have to wait until he is 60 to be deemed the Academy favorite. Until then, we will be fortunate enough to see what roles he undertakes.
God damn, he was magnificent in that movie, wasn’t he? No histrionics, no “Oscar bait” hooks, just great characterization through and through.
Anyways, congratulations to him on his accomplishment.
“I thought he was quite easily the least deserving of the nominees”
Quelle surprise.
Are these “list of new Academy member” things really that surprising? I’ve always assumed that the most recent crop of new nominees is virtually assured of Academy membership.
Joe: Did you read my last paragraph?
Guy: good idea, I must’ve missed your last paragraph. But still, by and large, doesn’t most of the nominee crop get invited the following year?
Yes, though they often make people wait for some reason. Michelle Williams, for example, only got the nod last year — over three years after her nomination.
Just to be a contrarian, Williams didn’t carry a Best Pic winner.
In the past, it was easy to become a member of the academy. If you had a nomination or you had the right connections . Because so many so-called producers ( producers in name only) won for Shakespeare in Love (best picture), it angered many academy members . The Motion Picture Arts & Sciences decided to change the rules – be more selective. Now, it is incredibly difficult to be an academy member ( almost as challenging as getting into Harvard or Yale Drama School ) . A potential member has to submit an application, a resume , referrence letters, two academy sponsors, and has to approved by a couple of the Motion Picture Art & Sciences’ committees- before he or she can be approved. I heard stories of people submitting applications every year for years without approvals. I hear the academy is trying to add more younger members & more people of color.