by Gregg Kilday
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Frank Pierson was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science by the organization's board of governors Thursday night. And Friday, he immediately plunged into the latest Academy flap as he firmly denied news reports that the Academy is considering moving next year's Oscar show -- in whole or in large part -- to New York.
The Academy quickly moved to end speculation that any significant portion of next year's Oscar show might originate from Manhattan. Such a move is being encouraged by a group of New York entertainment figures and government officials led by Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein and Cablevision Systems president and CEO James Dolan with the support New York Gov. George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as a way of helping New York recover from the events of Sept. 11.
At a City Hall news conference Friday, Bloomberg, joined by Pataki, said: "We'd like to get the Oscars. This is a place for big events. This is a showcase place, and I think we can make a good case."
But even as the mayor extended the invitation, the Academy was discouraging the idea.
Issuing a statement on behalf of the Academy, Pierson said: "The Academy is not moving the Academy Awards telecast to New York. The Academy has received no proposal from any group in New York City regarding moving the Academy Awards telecast, or any portion of it, to New York in 2003 or any date thereafter."
Although the statement allowed that there could be "discussion about the possibility of broadcasting a segment of the telecast from New York," it pointed out that no producer has yet been appointed for next year's show and forcefully reiterated, "The Academy has no proposal in hand to react to. There have been no internal discussions about any such proposal. There has been no discussion with members of the board of governors prior to these press stories, no discussion with (ABC), no discussion with members of previous production teams, no discussion with venues here or in New York."
New York's proposal to move part of next year's show to the Big Apple was reported in Friday's New York Times, which quoted Pierson as saying, "Clearly, it is an interesting idea. But moving the whole Oscar show to New York presents enormous problems with the contractual obligations we have with the Kodak Theatre. Even splitting the show between the two cities would double the cost, while our television licensing fee remains the same."
Seemingly caught off guard by the publicly floated proposal, the Academy's immediate response was characterized by several different readings in competing news reports. In reporting Pierson's remarks, the New York Times wrote, "the Academy might be willing to find a compromise." But the Los Angeles Times, paraphrasing an interview with Pierson, reported, "Frank Pierson, the Academy's president, said Thursday that the organization would seriously consider moving some segments of next year's show to New York as part of a one-time deal. He said an early proposal from Weinstein to move the entire show to New York was 'out of the question.' "
Simultaneously, in The Hollywood Reporter, Academy spokesman John Pavlik downplayed the possibility of such a move, saying, "I've never heard anything bandied about within the organization that there's any desire to do that." (HR 8/9).
In explicitly restating its current position Friday, the Academy appeared to be putting the brakes on the New Yorkers' proposal.
However, according to one source close to the New York coalition, the group is undaunted. Response to its suggestions were positively received Friday in New York, and the group intends to put together a proposal demostrating the plan's economic feasability that it hopes to submit to the Academy shortly.
The New York story eclipsed the Academy's more routine business of announcing officers for the coming year.
Pierson, a member of the writers branch of the Academy, was elected president of the organization last year.
Robert Rehme, an executives branch governor and past president of the Academy, was elected first vp. Roger Mayer of the executives branch and Kathy Bates of the actors branch were both named vps. Cheryl Boone Isaacs of the public relations branch was elected treasurer, and Don Rogers of the sound branch was named secretary.
Rehme has served five terms as president, four as vp, one as first vp and two as treasurer; Mayer has served a single term as first vp; Rogers has served two terms as vp, two terms as treasurer and eight terms as secretary; Bates has logged two terms as vp and one as secretary. Isaacs has not served as an officer of the Academy.
Board members serve three-year terms, while Academy officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive terms in any one office.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
© 2002 The Hollywood Reporter