Bill Kramer: Last News

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has moved the Oscar nominations announcement from Friday, January 17, to Sunday, January 19. It also extended the Oscars voting period, which started at 9 a.m. PT today, by two days to 5 p.m. PT January 14 at 5 p.m. PT.

EXCLUSIVE: Hamdan Ballal and his fellow No Other Land filmmakers are thanking top members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for signing a letter that pushed AMPAS leadership to take a firmer stance condemning an attack on Ballal by Israeli settlers.

The top brass at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued an apology today for not mentioning Oscar-winning No Other Land co-director Hamdan Ballan or the film by name in its initial response to his West Bank attack and detention on Monday.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has sent out a statement to its 11,000 members following mounting criticism over its lack of public support for Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” who was recently detained by Israeli forces. On Friday, the Academy issued a follow-up letter explicitly naming Ballal and apologizing for omitting both him and the film from an earlier message sent earlier in the week. “On Wednesday, we sent a letter in response to reports of violence against Oscar winner Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, connected to his artistic expression.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned the Academy’s board of governors is meeting in extraordinary session this morning to confront a deepening crisis over its response to the beating and detention of Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of No Other Land.

Oscar-winning No Other Land filmmaker Yuval Abraham is continuing to exert pressure on the Oscar Academy for the way it has responded to a violent settler attack on Palestinian co-director Hamdan Ballal and his Israeli military detention earlier this week.

Ellise Shafer The Academy has drawn backlash after issuing a statement to members seemingly addressing criticism for not speaking out in support of Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal — one of the filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” — who earlier this week was attacked by Israeli settlers and then detained by the Israeli army, according to the Associated Press. The statement, which was sent Wednesday night and signed by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang, did not mention “No Other Land” or Ballal by name. “The Academy condemns harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints,” reads the statement in part.

Oscars in 2026, joking that he took the gig so that he can “hear Adrien Brody finish his speech”.The comedian and talk show host made his hosting debut at the Academy Awards earlier this month, and now the Academy has confirmed he will take on the role again on March 15, 2026 at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre.Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang made the announcement on Monday (March 17), also confirming that production team Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan will also return.Responding to the news, O’Brien quipped: “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech”.Brody won Best Actor this year for his role in The Brutalist, with his acceptance speech coming in for widespread criticism for clocking in as the longest in the history of the Oscars while offering little in terms of entertainment value.“We are thrilled to bring back Conan, Raj, Katy, Jeff and Mike for the 98th Oscars!” Kramer and Yang said. “This year, they produced a hugely entertaining and visually stunning show that celebrated our nominees and the global film community in the most beautiful and impactful way.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Oscars want more Conan! After a rapturous reception at this year’s Academy Awards, emcee Conan O’Brien will return to the Dolby Theatre for the 98th Oscars on March 15, 2026. The announcement comes from Bill Kramer, Academy CEO, and Janet Yang, Academy president, who also confirmed the return of the Emmy-winning producing team Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, who will lead the show for the third consecutive year.

Just a short few months after last year’s Oscars had ended, Academy CEO Bill Kramer confidently told me the 97th annual Academy Awards broadcast was in many ways planned and well on its way to being locked in terms of what the show would be and how it would be executed. That sounded impressive.

2025 Oscars will be moving away from its traditional programming for select categories, it has been revealed.Ahead of the Oscars’ core nominations being revealed later today (January 23), Academy president Janet Yang and Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences shared an internal letter to members of the Academy outlining several changes to this year’s ceremony.Per Billboard, this year’s ceremony on March 2 will not include live performances for the Best Original Song category. Typically, artists who are nominated in the category will perform throughout the night in the lead-up to the award being presented.In their letter to Academy members, Yang and Kramer wrote per Billboard: “This year the Best Original Song category presentation will move away from live performances and will be focused on the songwriters.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Oscars have shared details about how they will honor the city of Los Angeles amid the devastation caused by wildfires, along with other updates to this year’s ceremony. In a letter sent to Academy members, CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang outlined plans for the 97th Oscars ceremony, set to take place on Sunday, March 2. The announcement comes on the heels of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, with the Academy using the opportunity to highlight its commitment to the resilience of the film industry and its home city.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sent a letter to members today ahead of Thursday’s Oscar nominations that said the ceremony will “honor Los Angeles as the city of dreams” and “reflect on the recent events while highlighting the strength, creativity and optimism that defines Los Angeles and our industry.”

The 2025 Academy Awards ceremony will not feature performances from the Best Original Song nominees, eliminating a huge part of past shows.

Oscars, also known as The Academy Awards, has been pushed back again due to the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.The voting deadline for members has been extended to January 17, while the reveal of the nomination has been moved to January 23. Both have been moved back almost a week from their original dates.

There have been some changes to the Oscars and Academy voting as the Los Angeles Fires are still greatly impacting the area.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events The deadline for Oscar nomination voting has been extended two days due to the Southern California fires. Voting for the nearly 10,000 Academy members opened Jan. 8 and was originally set to close on Jan.

A host has been selected for the 2025 Oscars!

Today the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has sent a letter to its membership clarifying recent staffing changes across their collections and preservation teams at the Academy archive, museum, and library. It was reported at the end of October that 16 staff members had been laid off as part of a broader restructuring designed to bring all collecting, restoration, and preservation efforts together under the newly created Academy Collection and Preservation Department. Among those let go were Mike Pogorzelski — director of the Academy Film Archive for the last 24 years — and many veteran Archive staff members Sean Savage, Lynne Kirste, Joe Lindner, Melissa Levesque, Mike Brostoff, and Ed Carter. Longtime Academy librarian Anne Coco was also among those leaving the organization.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has laid off about 16 employees, all of whom worked in the Oscar organization’s collecting and preservations departments. That amounts to about 2% of the Academy’s workforce of almost 800. We hear the layoffs took place Wednesday.

J. Kim Murphy The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences laid off a major contingent of staff members in its archive and library on Wednesday, including Academy Film Archive director of 24 years Mike Pogorzelski. A source with knowledge of the layoffs says that several impacted employees had worked at the Academy for more than a decade.