Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Casting director David Rubin has been elected the new president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that bestows the Oscars.
He is the first casting director to ascend to the film academy's presidency. He succeeds cinematographer John Bailey, who has served as the academy's president since August 2017.
Rubin has more than 100 credits, including films such as "The English Patient," ''Men in Black, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and the hit HBO series "Big Little Lies."
He assumes the film academy's presidency as the organization continues its efforts to diversify its membership and improve viewership for the Academy Awards, which has the last two years dipped below 30 million viewers.
The film academy in 2016 pledged to double the number of female and minority ranks of its members by 2020. Then, just 25 percent of its members were female and 8 percent were non-white.
The Oscars will be presented Feb. 9 and broadcast on ABC.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
