Barring a spectacular, FDR-esque power-play in the months ahead, Sid Ganis will soon end his maximum four-year reign as president on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. And while Ganis will be missed (I think?), at least one prognosticator is already stepping over his body to gauge potential heirs.
Noting both the end of Ganis's term in August and the forthcoming changes in the Academy's sprawling Board of Governors (which elects the AMPAS president), Michael Cieply speculates this morning that the Academy could use a little more star power at its head. Compared to most recent presidents Ganis and Robert Rehme (both producers), Frank Pierson (a screenwriter) and Arthur Hiller (a director), some of the possible candidates are indeed somewhat exotic: Tom Hanks and Kathy Bates front the list, with Ed Begley Jr. perhaps a more likely contender considering his historically activist leanings and the general time-suck of the job itself.
Begley Jr. also currently shares the acting-branch leadership with Annette Bening and Henry Winkler, both of whom sound potentially even more fun on Oscar night. Moreover, the Academy is due for a woman at the helm; only one woman, writer-producer Fay Kanin, has ever really held the post (Bette Davis managed for two months back in 1941). To that end, Cieply also cites producer Kathleen Kennedy as someone with the interest and support to make a run at the presidency.
More possible candidates are here, or consider the comments section your own write-in ballot space. If she'd only be invited to join the Academy, I'd say this is Dakota Fanning's job to lose, but hey. Baby steps.
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