On Thursday morning, once again, it is one of the most exciting days for those in film, because the 2016 Oscar nominations will be announced. Of course, most of the top films, actors, directors, producers, crews, and whoever had a hand in creating the works of art will be recognized by the Academy. But who is announcing the nominations? As previously reported, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, The Office's John Krasinski, and directors Guillermo del Toro and Ang Lee will announce the Oscar noms. Three of those names are well-known, but you may be wondering, "Who is Cheryl Boone Isaacs?"
Well, Boone Isaacs is the President of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, of course. In August 2015, she was re-elected as president and entered her third year as president and her 23rd year as a member of the Board of Governors representing the Public Relations Branch. Becoming the Academy's president was a huge milestone for the veteran Hollywood marketer, as she is the first African American to hold the title.
As president, some of her tasks are to select producers for the Oscar's broadcast and to oversee the Governors Awards, among many others. That said, she can only stay in the role for a maximum of four years. Whether or not she'll serve again remains to be seen, but if not, that won't be a problem for Boone Isaacs, who is beyond capable of working elsewhere in the entertainment industry.
Boone Isaacs is the head of CBI Enterprises Inc., where she has done marketing consulting for a slew of successful films, including The Artist, The King's Speech, and Precious. Before becoming president, Boone Isaacs was the president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema. If that's isn't impressive enough, in 1997, she acted as executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount Pictures. Way before that, she was even a Pan Am flight attendant, which she clearly didn't make a career out of. After seeing her older brother Ashley Boone, a marketing executive in the '60s for United Artists, in action at work, she knew what she wanted to do professionally.
During a 2015 event, Boone Isaacs said working during that time period felt "very Mad Men" and despite being overlooked for promotions, she never gave up. "I stuck it out and said, 'You're not taking me out of this.' Don't let other people steal your dreams. Just don't."
Need another reason to admire her? OK. As the Academy's president, she's striving to include more diversity. As she said in 2015 after the Oscar nominations,
In the last two years, we've made greater strides than we ever have in the past toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive organization through admitting new members and more inclusive classes of members. And, personally, I would love to see and look forward to see a greater cultural diversity among all our nominees in all of our categories.
There's no doubt Boone Isaacs has an impressive resume. And she is definitely someone you wouldn't want to have over during movie trivia night — unless she was on your team.
