The CEO of the Academy has publicly stated that they are taking our concern into account as they consider the upcoming Oscars. Quoting from Popsugar: ------- "It's a longstanding tradition that the winner of best actor or actress returns to the Oscars ceremony the following year to present the winner in the opposite gender's category. At Variety's Inclusion Summit on Nov. 1, the magazine's co-editor-in-chief, Claudia Eller, point-blank asked Academy CEO Dawn Hudson if the organization was 'giving any thought' to whether it'd allow Affleck to do so in light of his alleged past and the current conversation about sexual harassment and assault in the industry. 'Yes, we are. Of course we are,' she replied. 'We're giving thought to all of this.'" ------ The article mentions that the question was in reference to this petition, which I began after hearing and reading the overwhelming avalanche of me too stories online and in person. I wanted to take action, to say, "I hear you." The Academy CEO's answer is an extension of that, and I consider that a great success. Over the past week I've had an ongoing debate with many people from close friends to overseas journalists, and I've come to the realization that because these allegations are still unproven and have been legally settled, the Academy's acknowledgement and consideration is as much as we can justly expect. Whatever action they take from here, the message has reached them: there is enormous work to be done to change the culture of harassment and mistreatment of women in the industry and it must be reflected in how they present themselves and honor artists in the industry. Having now gotten the ear of the Academy on this issue, I want to take more responsibility in my own small independent sphere to continue making sure filmmaking on any scale is done with respect for everyone.