Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox, Adele Invited to Join Motion Picture Academy

By Jon Burlingame

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Oscar winners Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox and Adele are among the 28 composers, songwriters and music editors invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year.

The three multiplatinum pop stars are probably the best-known of this year’s crop. Gaga won for “A Star Is Born,” for “Skyfall,” and Lennox for her “Into the West” from the final “Lord of the Rings” movie “The Return of the King.”

Three other Oscar winners are on this year’s list: “Black Panther” composer Ludwig Goransson and Gaga’s “Shallow” co-writers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. Two other nominees from last year’s movies were added to the roster: “Mary Poppins Returns” songwriter Scott Wittman and “Star Is Born” music editor Jason Ruder.

Other composers include Michael Abels (“Get Out”), Nathan Barr (“The House With a Clock in Its Walls”), Kris Bowers (“Green Card”), Jane Antonia Cornish (“Citizen Jane”), Annette Focks (“Ostwind”), Rupert Gregson-Williams (“Aquaman”), Hildur Guonadottir (the upcoming “Joker” film), Jed Kurzel (“The Babadook”), Anne Nikitin (“American Animals”), Heitor Pereira (the “Minions” movies) and John Swihart (“Napoleon Dynamite”).

Also invited to join were songwriter Roxanne Seeman (“Get on the Bus”) and music editors Missy Cohen (“The Informant”), John Finklea (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”), Richard Ford (“Hidden Figures”), Bryan Lawson (“Suicide Squad”), Peter Myles (“Jason Bourne”), Arthur Pingrey (“Racing Extinction”), Sherry Whitfield (“The Zookeeper’s Wife”) and Robin Whittaker (“Amy”).

Admitted to other Academy branches were veteran music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg (in the members-at-large branch) and Sony music chief Spring Aspers (in the executives branch). Music supervisors and department heads are not permitted in the music branch, but are occasionally invited by other groups within the Academy.

They are among the 842 new members of the Academy announced today.