Academy elects Ganis president
Ganis elected Academy president
Aug 25, 2005
Producer Sid Ganis is the new president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, elected Tuesday night by the organization's board of governors. He succeeds outgoing president Frank Pierson, who had served the maximum four consecutive years in the office.
Ganis, who is beginning his 19th year as a governor representing the public relations branch, had served as first vp at the Academy for the past two years. He will be succeeded as first vp by Robert Rehme, an executive branch governor and past Academy president.
Said Ganis, who met Wednesday with Pierson and Academy executive director Bruce Davis: "The Academy now is a vast organization. Of course, there is the telecast, but it also has a solid series of programs under way here (in Los Angeles), in New York, London and San Francisco. Part of what I hope to do is making sure that the work we're doing is up to the needs of the membership and also that what we provide is important to the community."
Drawing on his own expertise as a marketing executive, Ganis added: "Another thing I want to do, personally, is try to make it clear not only to our constituency but to the world that watches the telecast that yes, we're about the Academy Awards, but we're also much more than that. Maybe there's a PR campaign -- a continuing PR campaign -- somewhere in that."
At the top of Ganis' to-do list will be selecting a producer to oversee the 78th Annual Academy Awards. But he joked that he has a little bit of extra breathing room because the awards will take place one week later next year, on March 5.
Additionally, a major initiative that Ganis expects to devote attention to during his upcoming tenure is the developing plan for a new film museum.
"Right now, it's in its infant stages; we have a museum committee, and we're just beginning to formulate our ideas," he noted, with the job of finding a location for the project on the front burner.
The board also elected the group's two vps: Tom Hanks, a governor in the actors branch, and Arthur Hamilton, a governor in the music branch. Hanks has not previously served as an officer of the Academy.
Sound branch governor Donald C. Rogers was elected treasurer, and actors branch governor Kathy Bates was elected secretary. Pierson automatically will serve this year as immediate past president, an officer slot.
Rehme was president for five terms, once in 1992-93 and again for the four years from 1997-2001. Hamilton, Bates and Rogers all have served in various Academy offices in previous years.
A marketing exec before he became a film producer, Ganis worked early in his career at Lucasfilm, where he held the post of senior vp. He then spent five years at Paramount Pictures as the studio's president of worldwide marketing and then president of the motion picture group. He next held various positions at Sony Pictures, including president of worldwide marketing for the Columbia/TriStar Motion Picture Cos. and then vice chairman of Columbia Pictures.
In 1996, Ganis founded Out of the Blue ... Entertainment, which is housed on the Sony lot. The company is in postproduction on Lions Gate's "Akeelah and the Bee," director Doug Atchison's story of a precocious 11-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles making a trip to the National Spelling Bee. Laurence Fishburne stars in the film, with Keke Palmer playing the title role.
Ganis noted that, in a nice bit of synchronicity, the project began with Atchison's screenplay, which in 2000 was one of the winners of the Don and Gee Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, sponsored annually by the Academy and its foundation.
Out of the Blue is in preproduction on "I Dream of Jeannie" for Columbia Pictures. Ganis also has produced "Mr. Deeds" and "Big Daddy" for his company.
Ganis was first elected to the board of governors in 1973 and served until 1977. He served another two years from 1979-81 and was elected to the Academy board again in 1992 and served the maximum nine consecutive years. He was returned by his branch in 2002 for a three-year term and was re-elected this year for three more years.
Academy board members serve three-year terms, while officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive terms in any one office.
Ganis, who is beginning his 19th year as a governor representing the public relations branch, had served as first vp at the Academy for the past two years. He will be succeeded as first vp by Robert Rehme, an executive branch governor and past Academy president.
Said Ganis, who met Wednesday with Pierson and Academy executive director Bruce Davis: "The Academy now is a vast organization. Of course, there is the telecast, but it also has a solid series of programs under way here (in Los Angeles), in New York, London and San Francisco. Part of what I hope to do is making sure that the work we're doing is up to the needs of the membership and also that what we provide is important to the community."
Drawing on his own expertise as a marketing executive, Ganis added: "Another thing I want to do, personally, is try to make it clear not only to our constituency but to the world that watches the telecast that yes, we're about the Academy Awards, but we're also much more than that. Maybe there's a PR campaign -- a continuing PR campaign -- somewhere in that."
At the top of Ganis' to-do list will be selecting a producer to oversee the 78th Annual Academy Awards. But he joked that he has a little bit of extra breathing room because the awards will take place one week later next year, on March 5.
Additionally, a major initiative that Ganis expects to devote attention to during his upcoming tenure is the developing plan for a new film museum.
"Right now, it's in its infant stages; we have a museum committee, and we're just beginning to formulate our ideas," he noted, with the job of finding a location for the project on the front burner.
The board also elected the group's two vps: Tom Hanks, a governor in the actors branch, and Arthur Hamilton, a governor in the music branch. Hanks has not previously served as an officer of the Academy.
Sound branch governor Donald C. Rogers was elected treasurer, and actors branch governor Kathy Bates was elected secretary. Pierson automatically will serve this year as immediate past president, an officer slot.
Rehme was president for five terms, once in 1992-93 and again for the four years from 1997-2001. Hamilton, Bates and Rogers all have served in various Academy offices in previous years.
A marketing exec before he became a film producer, Ganis worked early in his career at Lucasfilm, where he held the post of senior vp. He then spent five years at Paramount Pictures as the studio's president of worldwide marketing and then president of the motion picture group. He next held various positions at Sony Pictures, including president of worldwide marketing for the Columbia/TriStar Motion Picture Cos. and then vice chairman of Columbia Pictures.
In 1996, Ganis founded Out of the Blue ... Entertainment, which is housed on the Sony lot. The company is in postproduction on Lions Gate's "Akeelah and the Bee," director Doug Atchison's story of a precocious 11-year-old girl from South Central Los Angeles making a trip to the National Spelling Bee. Laurence Fishburne stars in the film, with Keke Palmer playing the title role.
Ganis noted that, in a nice bit of synchronicity, the project began with Atchison's screenplay, which in 2000 was one of the winners of the Don and Gee Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, sponsored annually by the Academy and its foundation.
Out of the Blue is in preproduction on "I Dream of Jeannie" for Columbia Pictures. Ganis also has produced "Mr. Deeds" and "Big Daddy" for his company.
Ganis was first elected to the board of governors in 1973 and served until 1977. He served another two years from 1979-81 and was elected to the Academy board again in 1992 and served the maximum nine consecutive years. He was returned by his branch in 2002 for a three-year term and was re-elected this year for three more years.
Academy board members serve three-year terms, while officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive terms in any one office.
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