Jason Reitman and Teddy Schwarzman Among Five Elected to Board of Academy Museum

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On Monday, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures revealed that filmmakers Jason Reitman, Teddy Schwarzman, and Tom Dolby, Toho chief Hiro Matsuoka, and banker Cindy Huang have been chosen to serve on their board of trustees.

Amy Homma, director and president of the Academy Museum, expressed her delight in announcing that Tom, Cindy, Hiro, Jason, and Teddy have joined our Board of Trustees. Their strong dedication to our museum’s purpose will undoubtedly enhance our offerings, including exhibitions, screenings, programs, projects, and collections, and aid us in expanding our international audience.

The newly formed board, effective from July 1st, will consist of several prominent individuals such as Olivier de Givenchy, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Jim Gianopulos, Howard Berger, Arnaud Boetsch, Effie T. Brown (honorary trustee), Sidonie Seydoux Dumas, Sid Ganis (honorary trustee), Donna Gigliotti, Julia S. Gouw, Ray Halbritter, Tom Hanks, Travis Knight, Academy CEO Bill Kramer, Miky Lee, Eva Longoria, Ryan Murphy, Katherine L. Oliver, Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, Shira Ruderman, Ted Sarandos, Regina K. Scully, Kimberly Steward, outgoing Academy president Janet Yang, Kevin Yeaman, and Homma.

De Givenchy, as the chair of the Academy Museum’s board, stated that its mission is fueled by the commitment of forward-thinking leaders and a wide range of viewpoints. He warmly welcomes our latest trustees, who embody these principles, and will assist in steering the museum towards further development and influence.

Below are additional details about the new board members.

Tom Dolby is a filmmaker and the creator of Water’s End Productions. Known for penning and directing films like Last Weekend (2014), starring Patricia Clarkson, and The Artist’s Wife (2020), featuring Lena Olin and Bruce Dern, Dolby’s company was the initial investor, four years prior to its release, in the Oscar-winning film Call Me By Your Name (2017). Among his executive producer roles are Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017), Little Woods (2018), Regarding Susan Sontag (2014), and Little Men (2016). In addition, he has penned four novels, with his latest published by HarperCollins. As a comedian, Dolby has performed at various venues such as the Hollywood Improv and Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club in Las Vegas. His upcoming stand-up special, Samantha Hale: Horror Nerd, shot live at the Hollywood Improv, is set to be released by Comedy Dynamics in fall 2025. Originally from London and raised in San Francisco, Dolby obtained his B.A. in Art History from Yale University, specializing in 20th-century photography. Currently, he resides in Los Angeles with his partner, Spencer Alcorn.

Cindy Huang is a seasoned banker and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience at Citibank N.A. and HSBC under her belt. She co-founded the multibillion-dollar venture capital firm, Edgewater Investment Group (EWI), which concentrates on tech-focused venture capital, including SpaceX, Palantir, and Veea-AI. As CEO of EC Lending Group, she manages a billion-dollar private credit capacity and co-founded Swift Plus, a FinTech company specializing in open banking and cross-border payments. Currently, Cindy is at the helm of Apex Financial Holdings, an organization dedicated to ushering U.S. banking into the digital banking era. In February 2025, she was appointed to the Board of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. Apart from her professional endeavors, Cindy is deeply engaged in philanthropy and champions AAPI empowerment as CEO of the California State Friendship Committee. She holds degrees in Science from National Taiwan University, with a focus on global climate research and GPS systems, and resides in Los Angeles.

Hiro Matsuoka currently serves as President and CEO at Toho Co., Ltd., a prominent Japanese entertainment company since its establishment in 1932. Over the years, Toho has been responsible for creating some of the world’s most famous films, such as the Godzilla series and Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai. Matsuoka started his career in media at International Creative Management in Los Angeles as an apprentice agent. Throughout his professional journey, he has been instrumental in connecting the Hollywood film industry with Japan’s entertainment sector.

Under his leadership at Toho, the company’s international business has experienced substantial growth. Some of the notable achievements include Godzilla Minus One (2023), which became the third-highest-grossing non-English film in the U.S., winning the 2024 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and collaborative projects like Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019), each earning more than $350 million at the global box office. Toho is also involved in the production and distribution of its anime entertainment through TOHO Animation, which includes popular titles like My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen.

Matsuoka graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Keio University in Tokyo and holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, Inc., and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Additionally, he serves on the boards of various companies, including The Pokémon Company.

As a film enthusiast, I’ve been fortunate enough to direct some incredible movies over the years. My journey began with the Sundance hit, “Thank You for Smoking” (2005), which marked my feature film debut. The accolades started pouring in after that, with Academy Award® nominations for directing “Juno” (2007) and “Up in the Air” (2009). I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with the talented Diablo Cody on four critically acclaimed films, such as “Young Adult” (2011), “Tully” (2018), and “Jennifer’s Body” (2009).

I’ve also ventured into producing, overseeing four seasons of the Hulu comedy series “Casual”. My production work has been recognized with an Academy Award for “Whiplash” (2014) and Jean-Marc Vallée’s “Demolition” (2015). During the COVID pandemic in 2020, I created and directed a special tribute to “The Princess Bride”, titled “Home Movie: The Princess Bride“, which raised over a million dollars for World Central Kitchen.

In 2021, I stepped into the director’s chair again for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and co-wrote its screenplay. In 2023, I produced and co-wrote its sequel, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire“. Most recently, I rallied 35 prominent film directors to save the Westwood Village Theater in early 2024. It’s been a wild ride, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Teddy Schwarzman, currently serves as the CEO of Black Bear, a globally recognized media company that excels in various aspects of film and television production, finance, and distribution. Under his guidance, Black Bear has expanded its reach to countries like the UK and Canada, where it directly releases films. An Academy Award nominee, Schwarzman has been instrumental in over forty feature films, with notable works such as The Imitation Game (2014), nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Mudbound (2017), nominated for four Academy Awards, Sing Sing (2023), this year’s three-time Academy Award nominee, and Nyad, a two-time Academy Award nominee the previous year. Recent projects include Clint Bentley’s upcoming release, Train Dreams (2025) on Netflix, David Michôd’s Christy Martin biopic starring Sydney Sweeney, and The Rivals of Amziah King (2025), featuring Matthew McConaughey. Schwarzman has also executive produced films like David Ayer’s action hit, A Working Man (2025) starring Jason Statham, the horror sensation, Longlegs (2024), and this year’s top-grossing documentary, October 8 (2025), which delves into the startling rise of antisemitism in America following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Producers Guild of America, Schwarzman serves on the Board of Directors of the Gotham Film Institute, the Cedar-Sinai Board of Governors, and is an honorary member of the Duke University School of Law Board of Visitors.

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2025-06-16 20:26