What does it mean to resign from the Academy?

FOUNDED on May 11, 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is an honorary organization based in Los Angeles.

Over 10,000 individuals working in cinema are members of the ever-coveted Academy.

What does it mean to resign from the Academy?

When one voluntarily resigns from the Academy, they are no longer voting members.

However, they are still eligible for future nominations and invitations to Academy ceremonies.

Few members have actually resigned from the Academy, yet the action is not entirely unfounded.

In 2022 alone, three members have left their memberships behind: Tom Fleischman, a sound engineer, left at the start of March; Peter Kurland, a sound mixer, followed suit, leaving two weeks later; and famed actor Will Smith resigned after he slapped Chris Rock on stage at the 94th Annual Academy Awards ceremony.

Academy Award nominees are automatically considered for memberships, although it is uncertain if they can rejoin after resigning.

How do you join the Academy?

To be considered for the Academy, one must either be an Oscar nominee or have two sponsors who are already members.

The Academy’s Board of Governers reviews membership recommendations and decides which people will receive invitations each year.

Membership reviews take place in the spring – the deadline to apply in 2022 was January 7.

According to the Oscars website, “sponsoring a candidate for membership in the Academy is a serious commitment.”

There are 17 different branches within the Academy, including:

• Actors
• Casting Directors
• Cinematographers
• Costume Designers
• Directors
• Documentary
• Executives
• Film Editors
• Make-up Artists and Hairstylists
• Marketing and Public Relations
• Music
• Producers
• Production Design
• Short Films and Feature Animation
• Sound
• Visual Effects
• Writers

Members can typically view new movies for free at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, located on campus at the Academy’s headquarters in Beverly Hills.

Has anyone been expelled from the Academy?

Several big-name celebrities have seen expulsions from the Academy for various reasons throughout the years.

In 2004, the Academy asked the late actor Carmine Caridi to leave due to copyright infringement.

Producer Harvey Weinstein saw the boot for predatory behavior and harassment in 2017, followed by actor Billy Cosby and director Roman Polanski for assault convictions in 2018.

reported in 2020 that cinematographer Adam Kimmel is a registered sex offender, the Academy rescinding his membership the following year.