Patrick Harrison, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences New York’s long-time top official, has been let go by the organization, The Hollywood Reporter learned.
In the last e-mail sent, Harrison communicated with approximately 1 of the college, Members of the tri-state area were communicated Friday by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Young. The officer began his career at 220 as an assistant to the Academy’s executive administrator and was at leaving to participate in Miramax’s awards campaign. He then returned to the Academy in February 1995 as Director of Programs and Membership in New York until July , when he was promoted to Vice President Member Relations and Global Outreach.
“Since we met with you in October, there have been some changes in the Tri-State operation,” Kramer and Young’s letter acknowledges. “As some of you know, Roger [Mancusi, Harrison’s deputy] left the academy in the fall, while Patrick has been We are on leave. We are writing to let everyone know that Patrick has now left the Academy. We thank Patrick for his work, contributions and efforts and continue to wish him the best.”
Dozens of tri-state members joined Cramer and Yang in a Friday morning Zoom call scheduled ahead of last week’s email in response to various other questions raised in recent months. Sessions include Oscar-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher , actress Dana Ivey and publicist Donna Dickman , as well as Academy Trustee Donna Gigliotti in Administration (also Academy Vice President and Secretary) and Wynn Thomas Designers Chapter of Production (also Vice President of the Faculty). Harrison’s departure, as their main attraction – connections within the Academy and host of most of their post-screening Q&As – was a major topic of discussion.
Some members expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency regarding Harrison’s “disappearance” in recent months. Kramer says he’s been limited in what he can share — “it’s in HR’s hands” — while Yang admits, “Things aren’t being handled as they should be, but you’re going to see positive changes.”
Harrison did not respond to a request for comment.
Additionally, some members complained that in Harrison’s absence, the tri-state operation has been overseen by Academy officials in Los Angeles — primarily its senior vice president of membership relations With Global Outreach Dilcia Barrera and evp Member Relations and Rewards Shawn Finnie — they felt they were less familiar with their concerns.
Members, for example, were frustrated that New York did not have a Central Academy “home.” From 1995 to 2002, the organization rented from Lighthouse International at 88 East 50th Street , which includes a 220 seated theater, is home to the offices of Harrison and Mancusi. But since the Academy was displaced by the sale of the property at 2002, members have no regular meeting space, but shuttle back and forth between MoMA’s screening rooms ( Rents are particularly expensive, sound and VFX branch members found missing) and Dolby and Dolby 50 Screening room (can accommodate fewer attendees).
An email from Cramer and Young to Tri-State members last week announced that the academy was “looking for more space” for screenings, given that “more than % of our tri-state members live in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey,” the college recently entered into an agreement with Spring Place, “a multi-use space , by Tribeca’s Film, Arts and Fashion Communities”. The location will serve as a new home for Academy staff, who will eventually replace Harrison and Mancusi, and serve as a space for member meetings and gatherings, as well as an upcoming Academy-sponsored event, timed at the Tribeca Film Festival. (The academy also recently hosted an Oscar night viewing party for its tri-state members at the Spring Place venue, which some members complained was a downgrade from the previous version held in the top-floor Rainbow Room30 Rockefeller Plaza downtown.)
Some members said they wished their horizontal A wider cross-section – rather than a small “New York Leadership Council” that includes Documentary Division Governors Chris Hegedus and Jean Tsien – at The deal is over. They noted that they were very concerned about safety, given that the part of Tribeca where Spring Place is located is largely empty at night, with only intermittent use of public transportation.
During the Zoom call, Cramer and Yang made it clear that neither of these arrangements is irreversible, and said efforts are currently underway to fill them with others based in New York. Positions previously occupied by Harrison and Mancusi. In the meantime, the New York-based team of the college’s communications firm, Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, will work with Barrera and Finnie to ensure members’ needs are being met, they added. Cramer added that he will travel to New York in April Members meet who would like to speak to him.
Kramer reached out to THR for comment, “Our New York-area community is important to the College Very important. We are listening to the concerns of our members and are committed to continuing these conversations and making important and necessary changes. We also acknowledge that we need to reinvigorate our New York Leadership Council and engage in more consistent engagement with our New York members Communication. We are expanding our presence in New York, resuming screenings and events, and acquiring new meeting space. Additionally, we have begun restaffing our New York office to create more space for our members to allow They came together to celebrate film as part of our global academy community.” 2022
