New Academy Members! (Start Your Bribing Now)

Can Michael Cera’s Oscar vote be bought? Everyone has a price… 

People often complain that the Oscars go to movies no one sees rather than big box office hits because the Academy is made up of old, uncool people who don’t understand the value of a good summer blockbuster. Not so, my friends! The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited a group of new members, and most of them (at least) cannot be described as old and uncool (well, those terms are relative, of course–in Hollywood no one is really allowed to get old, and cool can disappear in a second). Here are the actors who will get to vote next year on things like “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” vs. “The Hurt Locker”:

Casey Affleck, Emily Blunt, Michael Cera, James Franco, Brendan Gleeson, Taraji Henson, Emile Hirsch, Hugh Jackman (this year’s Oscar host), Melissa Leo, Jane Lynch, Eddie Marsan, James McAvoy, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Michelle Williams and Jeffrey Wright.

Non-acting invitees (they may not be as pretty as actors, but they’re still important) include the directors Danny Boyle, David Frankel, Rod Lurie and Tyler Perry, among others, along with the executives Daniel Battsek and Claudia Lewis and the producers Russell Smith and Paula Wagner.

So with people like Seth Rogen, James Franco, Michael Cera, and Paul Rudd voting, can we hope that a comedy will have a shot at a best picture award? Oh, I guess someone will have to make a really good comedy first. And that’s the hardest thing to do in movies.