By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com

Academy Named Christine Simmons CEO

Posted Thursday, December 20th, 2018 - Comments Off on Academy Named Christine Simmons CEO
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ACADEMY NAMES CHRISTINE SIMMONS
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

LA Sparks President and COO to come on board January 2019

 

 

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has named Christine Simmons to the position of Chief Operating Officer, it was announced today by Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. Simmons, president and COO of the Los Angeles Sparks, will assume her new role in January, reporting directly to Hudson.

Simmons will be responsible for the day-to-day management and enhancement of the Academy’s internal organization and infrastructure, with focus on the Academy Foundation, comprised of the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy Film Archive, its educational programs and the Science and Technology Council. She will join leadership in collaborative efforts to fulfill and further the Academy mission, that is to recognize and uphold excellence in the motion picture arts and sciences, inspire imagination, and connect the world through the medium of motion pictures.

“There has been—and continues to be—a sea change in our film community, our Academy, and in the culture at large. Christine brings both nonprofit and corporate management expertise, an ability to implement creative solutions, and a love of film to our Academy. It’s the perfect moment for an innovative thinker,” said Hudson.

“I look forward to joining the team and contributing to the innovation and growth of the operational excellence of the Academy. The organization’s efforts to support filmmakers and programs where every person’s story can be told are invaluable,” said Simmons.

The LA Sparks, a founding team of the WNBA, are three-time League champions and one of the League’s most successful franchise business operations. Prior to becoming President and COO, Simmons served as Executive Vice President of Magic Johnson Enterprises where she led the day-to-day operations of the Sparks throughout the team’s first season. Before working at MJE, she held senior positions managing and expanding supplier diversity at both Disney and NBC/Universal Studios.

Simmons serves on the advisory councils for Women in Sports and Events and Next Play Capital. She previously served as Board President of the UCLA Alumni Association and is a member of the UCLA Foundation’s Board of Directors and the UC Regents. In October 2018, Ebony magazine included her in its “Power 100” list of inspiring African Americans.

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ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 9,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is under construction in Los Angeles.

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
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