Laura Dern is in the running for Academy president

By William Hughes  |  April 29, 2017 | 8:56pm
Aux Features Film

Considering her work on great TV like Enlightened and Big Little Lies, and classic films like Jurassic Park and Blue Velvet, Laura Dern is something of a favorite around here. So it’s with some pleasure that we report that she’s apparently in the mix to become the next president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences. According to Variety, the twice-Oscar-nominated Dern’s name has come up repeatedly as a replacement for current president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, whose four-year tenure in the office hits its term limit in July.

Boone Isaacs presided over some of the most publicly difficult years in the group’s history—not just the embarrassment of the Best Picture fuck-up at this year’s ceremony, but also an increased push for representation, both in the Academy’s make-up, and in the films and performers it nominates. Although they both worked on boosting the Academy’s drive for diversity, Boone Isaacs reportedly had a contentious relationship with Academy CEO Dawn Hudson, a close friend of Dern’s who’s reportedly pushing the actress to run.

Upon election, Academy presidents—often drawn from the ranks of producers, rather than actors—serve for one-year, unpaid terms. Past performers in the role include Gregory Peck, Karl Malden, and Bette Davis, whose push for radical policies forced her to resign the position after just two months.

 
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