Some of the Australian nominees from this year’s Oscars have joined Sony Pictures Entertainment EVP Stephen Basil-Jones and Madman Entertainment CEO Paul Wiegard in being invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
They include five of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis collaborators – editor Matt Villa, hair and make-up artist Jason Baird, production designer Karen Murphy, sound designer Wayne Pashley, and writer Craig Pearce – as well Queensland filmmaker Lachlan Pendragon, whose short film An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It won a gold medal at the Student Academy Awards, and was also up for the Short Film (Animated) Oscar, and sound editor Leah Katz, known for her work on The Power of the Dog and Mortal Kombat.
Both Basil-Jones and Wiegard have been invited to join the executive branch.
The group is part of 398 new invitees announced today, with the likes of Austin Butler, Taylor Swift, and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye among the others selected for membership.
Wiegard said he was “chuffed” to have an opportunity to vote alongside the global filmmaking community, noting the Oscars represented “excellence, inclusivity and have a major influence on the Australian and New Zealand film industry”.
Pashley, whose career has spanned more than 100 credits across four decades, described the membership as “lifelong dream”, adding that being included alongside Villa – his brother-in-law – made the invite extra special.
“Being brothers-in-law, Matt and I are very close, so to be invited in the same year is pretty poetic really,” he told IF.
“It’s a great thrill.”
Of the 2023 class, more than 50 per cent are from countries and territories outside the US.
In a statement, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang expressed a warm welcome to the chosen artists and professionals, who represented “extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide.”