LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� John Bailey, a cinematographer who during the initial died Friday at 81.
Bailey died 鈥減eacefully in his sleep鈥� in Los Angeles, his wife, Carol Littleton, said in a statement distributed by the film academy.
Bailey 鈥� who worked on films ranging from 鈥淥rdinary People鈥� to 鈥淕roundhog Day鈥� to 鈥淗ow to Lose a Guy in 10 Days鈥� 鈥� was the first cinematographer to preside over the Academy, serving two terms that spanned 2017-2019.
Those were tumultuous years for the film industry. When Bailey took over, the Oscars alone with falling ratings, controversies over the homogeneity of its choices and the in 2017 that marred the Scarcely two months into his presidency, The New York Times and The New Yorker released bombshell reports about sexual assault allegations against movie mogul that ignited an about
The Academy's Board of Governors voted to expel Weinstein shortly after the reports. Afterward, with questions arising about other members who remained in good standing despite being accused, Bailey that the organization "cannot, and will not, be an inquisitorial court, but we can be a part of a larger initiative to define standards of behavior and to support the vulnerable women and men who may be at personal and career risk because of violations of ethical standards by their peers.鈥�
The Academy subsequently adopted a code of conduct stipulating it was no place for 鈥減eople who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency,鈥� and made it easier to suspend or expel members.
鈥淚 may be a 75-year-old white male, but I鈥檓 every bit as gratified as the youngest of you here that the fossilized bedrock of many of Hollywood鈥檚 worst abuses are being jackhammered into oblivion,鈥� Bailey
Soon after, of attempting to touch a woman inappropriately on a movie set a decade prior. Bailey denied the allegation and an Academy investigation He was reelected to a second term later that year.
Bailey's tenure also saw attempts to change the Academy Awards ceremony that grew contentious. In 2018, the Academy a popular film award and shorten the telecast by bumping the presentation of certain categories to commercial breaks.
鈥淲e have heard from many of you about improvements needed to keep the Oscars and our Academy relevant in a changing world,鈥� Bailey and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson wrote in an email to members.
The moves sparked immediate backlash, including fears that the new category would relegate hits like that year's 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� out of contention for the best film award. A month later, the 鈥渙utstanding achievement in popular film鈥� award had been tabled.
Bailey that he had been surprised by the intense reaction.
鈥淭he idea of this award was not about trying to make sure that certain kinds of big mass market pictures get recognized. To my mind, it鈥檚 more about the kind of pictures that are so difficult to get made,鈥� he said. He championed 鈥渕iddle pictures,鈥� citing his own films as examples of movies with larger budgets that don't tend to get laurels.
(The decision to cut categories from the telecast 鈥� temporarily. All categories have since been restored to the show.)
Bailey is survived by Littleton, a former Academy governor and film editor who was nominated for an Oscar for 鈥淓.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.鈥� She was announced as the recipient of this year, but the Governors Awards ceremony was delayed because of
The Oscars are ever-evolving, with more changes since Bailey's time at the top. In his view, the Oscars could not be a static entity. Instead, he told the AP in 2018, the statuette 鈥渋s a symbol of excellence in an ever-changing industry. And what we鈥檙e trying to do is keep up with those changes and honor those changes. It鈥檚 not like it鈥檚 frozen in time, these awards.鈥�
鈥淔or an institution that people keep saying is irrelevant and is out of touch with everything to do with the industry, and there are people who say that, they seem to be very eager to kind of jump into the fray, voice their opinions and create discussion,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e that irrelevant, why is everybody so concerned about it?鈥�
The Associated Press
