David Rubin Will Continue as Academy President During This Strange Pandemic Year
Casting director David Rubin, who has been holding down a full-time job during a challenging time as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was re-elected Tuesday by the organization’s Board of Governors. Rubin begins his second term as president and his eighth year as a governor.
Also re-elected to officer positions by the Board were First Vice President Lois Burwell
(chair, Awards and Events Committee), representing the Makeup and Hairstyling branch, and Vice President Larry Karaszewski (chair, Preservation and History Committee), a member of the Writers branch, who also runs the International Feature Film Committee with Diane Weyermann. Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos returns as Treasurer (chair, Finance Committee) after a hiatus.
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This will be the first officer stint for Vice President Isis Mussenden (chair, Museum Committee), representing the costume designers, Vice President Wynn P. Thomas (chair, Education and Outreach Committee), representing the production designers, and Secretary Janet Yang (chair, Membership and Governance Committee), who is an independent producer.
Academy board members may serve up to two three-year terms, followed by at least a two-year hiatus, after which they may serve up to two additional three-year terms. Officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive years in any one office.
At the Academy meeting on June 15, the Governors pushed back the Oscars 2021 telecast to April 25, eight weeks back from the old date, February 28. With a date change comes an extended eligibility period (to February 28), to give a wider swath of films (many of them independent) a chance to finish production and reach audiences.
Rubin has cast such features as “The English Patient,” “Men in Black,” “Hairspray,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Get Shorty,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet,” “Spaceballs,” “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “The Firm.”
The Board of Governors runs the show at the Academy, directing its strategy, finances and mission. Governors attend 6-8 board meetings annually (these days, by Zoom). Each Governor also serves on one board oversight committee and their branch’s executive committee, and are expected to rep their branch at Academy events through the year.
AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson oversees a staff of more than 300 who conduct the Academy’s day-to-day business.
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