The Academy declines to add a category for Stunt Coordinators...

...and The Hollywood Reporter has the details:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences declined Tuesday to create an Oscar category for stunt coordinators, a group that’s been trying for 20 years to achieve such recognition.

Stunt coordinator Jack Gill, who has been leading that effort, told The Hollywood Reporter that the Academy informed him that it appreciates the work coordinators put into movies but will not add any new categories, even if the coordinators agreed to be in a non-telecast pre-Oscars ceremony.

In an e-mail, Gill said, “I will try again next year and gather more and more support.”

He also said that the Academy declined to reveal the number of votes for or against the proposal.

At the same meeting, the Academy’s Board of Governors revised the rules relating to the best picture award, to allow for anywhere from five to 10 nominees in the category.

Are we closer to an Oscar category for Stunt Coordinators?

Possibly, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

In a continuation of a twenty-year quest, stunt coordinators are once again asking the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to create an Oscar category for their work. Their proposal will come up for consideration at a meeting of the Academy’s Board of Governors on Tuesday.

“I’m baffled as to what it is that we’re lacking (in the Academy’s eyes),” said a visibly frustrated Jack Gill in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Gill has been leading the effort to obtain Academy recognition for the past two decades. Not surprisingly, the campaign is understood to have widespread support among stunt coordinators. In addition, some years ago, Gill obtained petition signatures from a range of Hollywood luminaries.

However, it’s an uphill battle. The Academy is known to be concerned about the length of the Awards show broadcast. The coordinators propose to have their Oscar be granted in a ceremony prior to the show, but are hoping for a clip of that ceremony, and a stunt sequence from the winning movie, to be shown as part of the broadcast.

Even that may run too long for the Academy’s taste, although a stunt clip would no doubt be a crowd-pleaser. Also, Academy governors from other branches might be uncomfortable setting a precedent for granting Oscars at an earlier ceremony, since they may be afraid that their branch could get yanked from the live show in future years.

Interestingly stunt coordinators can become members of the Academy, but in the At-Large branch (which also includes casting directors). Only 19 are, however, and at most two are admitted per year. At-Large members have all the privileges of branch membership, an Academy spokesperson told THR, except for representation on the Board.