The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday continued its string of annual election announcements, this time sharing that casting director Kim Taylor-Coleman was re-elected president of the Academy Foundation Board.

The Academy Foundation oversees all educational, preservation, and cultural activities of the Academy, including the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library, the Academy Film Archive, the Academy Collection, and the Academy’s talent development programs.

The Academy Foundation Board comprises 12 trustees who also are members of the Academy Board of Governors. The rest of the newly elected 2026-2027 Academy Foundation Board members and officers include Visual Effects Branch member Brooke Breton and Cinematographers Branch member Paul Cameron, who were both elected vice presidents; Marketing and Public Relations Branch member David Dinerstein, who was elected treasurer; and Animation Branch member Marlon West, who was elected secretary.

The rest of the board members are Patricia Cardoso (Directors Branch), Peter Devlin (Sound Branch), Richard Hicks (Casting Directors Branch), Lynette Howell Taylor (Producers Branch), Larry Karaszewski (Writers Branch), Chris Tashima (Short Films Branch), and Terilyn A. Shropshire (Film Editors Branch).

“The Academy Foundation plays a vital role in expanding our global reach and supporting our film community through the Academy Museum, Academy Collection, educational initiatives and preservation work,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer via statement. “I am incredibly grateful to our Academy Foundation Board members for dedicating their time, expertise and support to drive forward these impactful and important efforts.”

Academy Foundation Board members and officers serve one-year terms. As representatives of the Foundation Board, Dinerstein, Howell Taylor, and Taylor-Coleman will also serve on the Academy Museum Board of Trustees for one-year terms.

The Academy Foundation election announcement comes one week after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the result of its Board of Governors election, where producer Howell Taylor was re-elected president, Music Branch member Lesley Barber as Vice President (chair, Membership Committee), Producers Branch member Jennifer Fox as Vice President (chair, Awards Committee), Actors Branch member Lou Diamond Phillips as Vice President (chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee), and Writers Branch member Howard A. Rodman as Vice President/Secretary (chair, Governance Committee). 

Marketing and Public Relations Branch member Dinerstein was also elected to his first officer role as Vice President/Treasurer (chair, Finance Committee).

EXCLUSIVE: VIZ Media, a leading global producer of anime, manga and original graphic novels, has teamed with The Gotham Group to develop film and television adaptations based on titles from its original intellectual property. The deal includes the company’s acclaimed VIZ Originals graphic novel line and its landmark animated RWBY franchise.

VIZ is behind some of the most prestigious anime brands in the industry, including One Piece, Demon Slayer, Naruto, and Jujutsu Kaisen.

Under the agreement, The Gotham Group—whose credits include Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Search for WondLa, Washington Black, the Maze Runner franchise and biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere—will identify and package projects drawn from VIZ Media’s library of original IP.

At the heart of the collaboration is RWBY, created by the late Monty Oum. Since its debut in 2013, RWBY has amassed more than 350 million views globally while expanding into publishing, video games, consumer products and multiple spinoffs, including RWBY: Ice Queendom and two Justice League x RWBY animated crossover films.

Widely recognized as the first anime series produced in the United States—and the first Western-produced anime to be dubbed and distributed in Japan—RWBY helped pave the way for a new generation of globally developed anime-inspired storytelling.

RWBY, set in a world filled with horrific monsters bent on death and destruction, humanity’s hope lies with powerful Huntsmen and Huntresses. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long are four Huntresses in training whose journeys will take them far beyond the halls of Beacon Academy. Together, they must overcome powerful enemies and protect the world of Remnant.

“From the beginning, our vision for RWBY has been to build a global franchise that connects with fans across every medium,” said Brad Woods, President and CEO VIZ Media. “With Volume 10 officially underway, we’re excited to take the next step by partnering with The Gotham Group to develop RWBY, alongside our growing portfolio of original graphic novels, for film and television. Together, we look forward to bringing these stories to new audiences around the world.”

The deal also includes VIZ Originals, VIZ Media’s original manga imprint. Featuring works from acclaimed creators Rem & Bikkuri (Devil’s Candy), author Rainbow Rowell (Fangirl), Eisner nominee Sam Sattin (Lynx), and renowned artist Acky Bright (Galaxic Baseball League) among many others.

“We are thrilled to be working with the iconic VIZ on RWBY and beyond,” said The Gotham Group’s Founder & CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein. Its titles have captivated audiences for decades and VIZ has been instrumental in bringing the global phenomena of manga and anime to the US. The RWBY franchise is one of the most prolific out there and we’re excited to be a part of bringing new stories to life.”

Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Re:wild and Jeff Bezos‘ Bezos Earth Fund have launched this week the Phoenix Species Project, a new philanthropic initiative dedicated exclusively to helping protect and resurrect critically endangered species around the world.

The project’s launch coincides with a $200 million commitment shared by DiCaprio’s Re:wild, Bezos’ Earth Find, Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation. It is the single largest philanthropic initiative dedicated to the recovery of critically endangered species. The $200 million commitment will help those fighting to stop animal and plant life extinction by allowing them to move beyond short-term grant funding and focus on the kind of ambitious, sustained work that is needed to save endangered species.

Working in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, scientists and conservationists, the project promises to provide new support to 100 species that are facing imminent extinction, including certain mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, invertebrates, birds and plants.

“For decades, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and conservation leaders have been on the front lines of protecting nature, and what has been made clear through research, is that species on the brink of extinction are often the ones that anchor some of the world’s most important ecosystems,” DiCaprio, founder of Re:wild, said in a statement. “When we protect those species, we also protect the forests, wetlands, grasslands and oceans they depend on.”

“The Phoenix Species Project has the potential to drastically shift how we approach conservation and combat the climate crisis at a global scale,” DiCaprio continued. “By creating the largest philanthropic initiative in history dedicated to the recovery of critically endangered species across continents, made possible by a transformative gift from the Bezos Earth Fund, we have an opportunity to make a lasting impact where it’s needed most. The goal is for the Phoenix Species Project to become a global movement that inspires others to invest in nature and help protect our planet.”

$100 million of the Phoenix Project’s initial funding comes directly from the Bezos Earth Fund. The other $100 million has been provided by Re:wild, with support from DiCaprio, Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation.

“Kids fall in love with animals before anyone tells them those animals are disappearing. Ask any seven-year-old about their favorite creature. It’s something wild. Something most adults have never heard of. What do we tell them when the night parrot or the golden-crowned sifaka isn’t there anymore to fall in love with? This project is our answer,” Lauren Sánchez Bezos, vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, said in her own statement. “One hundred species, thirty countries and a real commitment to bringing them back. Not managing their decline. Recovering them. That’s the whole difference. We know how to do this. We just have to stay committed long enough to see it through.”

Among the endangered species targeted by the fund are the ancient bowmouth guitarfish, the tree-dwelling Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander and the freshwater Charco Azul pupfish. You can find the full list of endangered species highlighted by the Phoenix Species Project on the initiative’s new website.