The notion of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) began with
Louis B. Mayer, the studio head of
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He said he wanted to create an organization that would mediate labor disputes without unions and improve the film industry's image. In other words, the Academy was originally founded as a
company union. Mayer met with actor
Conrad Nagel, director
Fred Niblo, and the head of the
Association of Motion Picture Producers, Fred Beetson to discuss these matters. The idea of this elite club having an annual banquet was discussed, but no mention of awards at that time. They also established that membership into the organization would only be open to people involved in one of the five branches of the industry: actors, directors, writers, technicians, and producers. After their brief meeting, Mayer gathered up a group of thirty-six people involved in the film industry and invited them to a formal banquet at the
Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on January 11, 1927. That evening, Mayer presented to those guests what he called the International Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Everyone in the room that evening became a founder of the Academy. Between that evening and when the official Articles of Incorporation for the organization were filed on May 4, 1927, the "International" was dropped from the name, becoming the "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". Several organizational meetings were held prior to the first official meeting held on May 6, 1927. Their first organizational meeting was held on May 11 at the
Biltmore Hotel. At that meeting
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was elected as the first president of the Academy, while Fred Niblo was the first vice-president, and their first roster, composed of 230 members, was printed. During the
Great Depression, the Academy lost all credibility among studio employee members with respect to labor issues when it took the side of the
major film studios in the latter's efforts to convince employees to agree to voluntary reductions in wages and salaries. The Academy thus evolved into its modern role as an honorary organization. The initial location of the organization was 6912
Hollywood Boulevard. the Academy began a long history of publishing books to assist its members. Research Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences trained
Signal Corps officers, during
World War II, who later won two Oscars, for
Seeds of Destiny and
Toward Independence. In 1929, Academy members, in a joint venture with the
University of Southern California, created America's first film school to further the art and science of moving pictures. The school's founding faculty included Fairbanks (President of the Academy),
D. W. Griffith,
William C. deMille,
Ernst Lubitsch,
Irving Thalberg, and
Darryl F. Zanuck. 1930 saw another move, to the
Hollywood Professional Building, in order to accommodate the enlarging staff, Another publication of the 1930s was the first annual
Academy Players Directory in 1937. The Directory was published by the Academy until 2006 when it was sold to a private concern. The Academy had been involved in the technical aspects of film making since its founding in 1927, and by 1938, the Research Council consisted of 36 technical committees addressing technical issues related to sound recording and reproduction, projection, lighting, film preservation, and cinematography. the first African American and third woman to lead the Academy, denied in 2015 that there was a problem. When asked if the Academy had difficulty with recognizing diversity, she replied "Not at all. Not at all." When the nominations for acting were all white for a second year in a row
Gil Robertson IV, president of the African American Film Critics Association, called it "offensive." The actors' branch is "overwhelmingly white" and the question is raised whether conscious or unconscious racial biases played a role.
Spike Lee, interviewed shortly after the all-white nominee list was published, pointed to Hollywood leadership as the root problem, "We may win an Oscar now and then, but an Oscar is not going to fundamentally change how Hollywood does business. I'm not talking about Hollywood stars. I'm talking about executives. We're not in the room." Boone Isaacs also released a statement, in which she said "I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes." After Boone Isaac's statement, prominent African-Americans such as director Spike Lee, actors
Will Smith and
Jada Pinkett Smith, and activist Rev.
Al Sharpton called for a boycott of the 2016 Oscars for failing to recognize minority achievements, the Board of Governors announced it would double its number of women and minority members by 2020. In 2018, the Academy invited a record 928 new members. Casting director David Rubin was elected President of the Academy in August, 2019. In 2020,
Parasite became the first non-English language film to win
Best Picture. In June 2022, Bill Kramer was named the CEO of the Academy. Also in 2022,
Janet Yang was elected as the first Asian American President of the Academy. In 2024, Amy Homma was named Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. In July 2025, Lynette Howell Taylor was elected President of the Academy. ==Galleries and theaters==