The Academy invites 774 new members, from Timberlake to Betty White

THE ACADEMY of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday that it had invited 774 new members, including Justin Timberlake, Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot and Amy Poehler. It’s the second consecutive year that the organisation that gives out the Oscars has broken its own record after it invited 638 last year.

A number of other high-profi le actors made the cut, including Riz Ahmed, Priyanka Chopra, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Donald Glover, Dwayne Johnson, Leslie Jones, Channing Tatum, Kristen Stewart and Shailene Woodley.

Three of the four famous Chrises — Evans, Hemsworth and Pratt — were invited, too. ( The fourth, Chris Pine, is already a member .)

The Academy has endeavoured in recent years to increase diversity among its exclusive ranks, clearly exhibited by this year’s list. The new class, whose memb er s originate from 57 countries, is 39 per cent female and 30 per cent people of colour. This number bumps the overall female membership level to 28 per cent, from last year’s 27. People of colour will now make up 13 per cent of the Academy’s members, versus the previous 11 per cent. This effort follows the # OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2015 and 2016, when all 20 acting nominees were white. The diversity extends to age as well. At 95, Betty White is the oldest of those invited. ( No, she wasn’t already a member.) Elle Fanning, 19, is the youngest. Invited directors include David Ayer (“Suicide Squad”), Garth Davis (“Lion”), Tom Ford (“Nocturnal Animals”), Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”). A full list of invited members — in various branches, from acting to design to visual effects — is available on the Academy’s website. — WPBloomberg