Documentary Filmmakers Invited to Join Motion Picture Academy

Seven documentary filmmakers have been invited to join the elite ranks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) community as active, voting members. Congratulatons go to:

• William Gazecki - Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997)
• Rachel Grady - Jesus Camp (2007)
• Rory Kennedy - Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007)
• Scott Hamilton Kennedy - The Garden (2008)
• James Marsh - Man On Wire (2008)
• Megan Mylan - Smile Pinki (2008)
• Doug Pray - Surwise (2007)

Of these fine filmmakers, James Marsh and Megan Mylan have won Oscars (for the films mentioned), and William Garecki, Rachel Grady and Scott Hamilton Kennedy have been nominated for Oscars (for the films mentioned).

Along with the documentarians, AMPAS extended invitions to eight narrative feature directors, including Rachid Bouchareb, Danny Boyle, David Frankel, Rod Lurie, Thomas McCarthy, Tyler Perry and Henry Selick and to 20 actors, including Casey Affleck, Emily Blunt, Michael Cera, Viola Davis, James Franco, Brendan Gleeson, Anne Hathaway, Taraji P. Henson, Emile Hirsch, Hugh Jackman, Melissa Leo, Jane Lynch, Eddie Marsan, James McAvoy, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Michelle Williams and Jeffrey Wright.

Membership in the Academy is by invitation only, and there are about 6,000 members in all. Only 134 invitations were sent to prospective new members in all Academy branches for 2009. New members are formally accepted in to the Academy in September. They will participate in nominating and voting for the Oscars for next year.

Although the Academy has decided to increase the number of narrative feature nominees from five films to ten, the number of documentaries that will receive nominee nods remains at five. Seem fair to you?