Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Lore & Background

The Academy was conceived by Louis B. Mayer, studio head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who sought to create an organization that could mediate labor disputes without unions and improve the film industry's image. Mayer met with actor Conrad Nagel, director Fred Niblo, and Fred Beetson of the Association of Motion Picture Producers to discuss the idea. On January 11, 1927, Mayer invited thirty-six film industry figures to a banquet at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where he presented the International Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; all attendees became founders. The name was shortened to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the time the Articles of Incorporation were filed on May 4, 1927.

Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was elected the first president at the first official meeting on May 11, 1927, held at the Biltmore Hotel. The original membership roster included 230 people divided into five branches: Producers, Actors, Directors, Writers, and Technicians. Initially focused on labor issues, the Academy lost credibility among studio employees during the Great Depression when it sided with major studios in advocating voluntary wage reductions, leading to its evolution into an honorary organization. The Academy opened its first film school in 1929 in a joint venture with the University of Southern California, with founding faculty including Fairbanks, D. W. Griffith, and Ernst Lubitsch.

Reader's Guide

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holds global significance as the institution behind the Oscars, the most prominent awards in film. Its influence extends beyond the ceremony through its extensive archival and preservation work: the Margaret Herrick Library, the Academy Film Archive, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which opened in 2021. The Academy maintains the world's largest film-related collection, with 52 million items conserved by the Academy Foundation. Over time, the Academy expanded its awards to include the Governors Awards for lifetime achievement and the Scientific and Technical Awards, reflecting its original technical committees. However, the Academy has faced criticism regarding diversity. In 2016, after all 20 acting nominees were white for a second consecutive year, President Cheryl Boone Isaacs—the first African American and third woman to lead the Academy—initially denied a problem in 2015 but later expressed being 'heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion.' Prominent African-American figures called for a boycott of the 2016 Oscars, and the Board of Governors announced it would address the issue. The Academy's legacy is thus one of both cinematic celebration and ongoing institutional reckoning.