Academy invites Jessica Alba, Lily Gladstone, “Hocus Pocus” and “High School Musical” director to join Oscars voting group

Catherine O'Hara, Danielle Brooks, Greta Lee, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Kenny Ortega are among 487 Hollywood professionals invited to join the Academy.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited hundreds of Hollywood professionals to join the Oscars' voting ranks — including actors and artists responsible for a range of both popular and prestige projects like Killers of the Flower Moon, American Fiction, Encanto, Hocus Pocus, and High School Musical.

Among the most notable figures among the Academy's 487-strong class of invitees this year are 29 actors, from Jessica Alba, Catherine O'Hara, Stephanie Beatriz, Kate Mara, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, and Erika Alexander to recent Oscar nominees and winners like history-making Killers actress Lily Gladstone, Anatomy of a Fall's Sandra Hüller, Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), and reigning Best Supporting Actress winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers).

Filmmakers asked to join the Academy include Don't Breathe helmer Fede Álvarez, Sorry to Bother You's Boots Riley, Anatomy of a Fall writer-director Justine Triet, Past Lives' Celine Song, and longtime director Jamie Babbit, whose work includes But I'm a Cheerleader and episodes of TV series like The L Word, Girls, Nip/Tuck, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Though he wasn't invited to the directing branch of the Academy, veteran Hocus Pocus and High School Musical director Kenny Ortega was asked to join the group under the Production and Technology sector.

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According to the Academy, 44 percent of its newly invited members identify as women, with a 41 percent of the overall number belonging to underrepresented communities. About 56 percent are from 56 countries and territories outside the United States, while 71 total invitees are past Oscar nominees — a number that also includes 19 Academy Award winners.

If all invited members accept their invitations this year, the total Academy membership will grow to 10,910 with emeritus (non-voting) members, though only 9,934 of those will be able to vote on the Oscars, the Academy further announced.

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"We are thrilled to welcome this year's class of new members to the Academy," Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang said in a joint statement. "These remarkably talented artists and professionals from around the world have made a significant impact on our filmmaking community."

The 2025 Oscars will air Sunday, March 2. See the full list of newly invited Academy members on the Oscars website.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.