Billie Eilish is growing stronger, more powerful, and gaining widespread institutional support. Soon, all of Hollywood will cheer whisper her name. After her Oscar win for Best Song in the 2021 James Bond film No Time to Die (a song titled, funny enough, “No Time to Dieâ€), Eilish is one of 397 new members officially invited into the Academy, according to a press release. Finneas is there, too, in yet another win for homeschooling. There’s no telling what kind of voter Eilish will be yet, but we do know two of her favorite movies: According to her yearly Vanity Fair interview, they’re Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station and Mike Cahill’s I Origins.
Over in the non-pop-superstar category of new Academy invitees, notable picks include some of last year’s first-time winners — like West Side Story’s own Tony host Ariana DeBose and CODA’s incredible speech-giver Troy Kotsur. Other notable new members include Andrew Ahn, director of the rom-com and gay fantasia Fire Island, and Ryusuke Hamaguchi, director of Drive My Car, which was one of Vulture’s favorite films of 2021.
In total, the Academy’s new members represent 54 countries (including the U.S.). Of those new members, 44 percent are women (bringing the total percentage up to 34 percent) and 37 percent are from “underrepresented ethnic/racial communities†(bringing that total up to 19 percent). These numbers are about equal to last year’s percentages, but with the Academy still 81 percent white, there’s more work to be done, and it won’t be accomplished by driving Mahershala Ali around.