Name: Godzilla Minus One
Released: 2023

For an Academy that has spent recent years insisting the Oscars belong to the whole world, the most persuasive argument may simply be showing up. The Tokyo International Film Festival is staging ‘Academy in Tokyo’, a program that brings the organization’s top leadership to Japan — and seats its chief executive, Bill Kramer, across from the head of Toho, the studio behind Godzilla, to talk about where theatrical and streaming distribution go next and how international collaboration should evolve.

As Deadline’s Liz Shackleton reported, Kramer will be joined by Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor and Meredith Shea, the Academy’s Chief Membership, Impact and Industry Officer. The three will sit on a panel offering a behind-the-scenes look at the Oscars, the Academy’s global initiatives and membership programs, and its view of the current state and future of international cinema. Kramer, who is making his first visit to Asia, will then receive the festival’s Global Cinema Leadership Special Award, in recognition of his contributions to the development of the global film industry and the advancement of film culture.

The award reads as a verdict on his tenure. Since becoming Academy CEO in 2022, Kramer has worked to further diversify and globalize the membership, and he oversees all of the Academy’s global operations and programs, including the Oscars, the Academy Foundation and services for its 11,000 members worldwide. Howell Taylor, the producer of A Star Is Born, travels as a second-term president, re-elected by the Board of Governors this summer.

Hiro Matsuoka, Toho’s president and CEO, is the more pointed counterpart. His company has spent the past few years turning a domestic powerhouse into an international distributor. Godzilla Minus One, released in North America by its Toho International arm, became the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film at the U.S. box office and won the Oscar for best visual effects. Toho then bought GKIDS, the North American animation distributor that stewards Studio Ghibli’s films in the region, a deal Matsuoka framed as part of a push into animation, international markets and IP creation.

The 39th Tokyo International Film Festival runs October 26 to November 4. The Academy panel and Kramer’s award are scheduled for October 28, alongside a private reception for Academy members from around the world. Kramer and Matsuoka’s conversation follows on October 29, covering the global cinematic landscape, the future of theatrical and streaming distribution, and next steps for international collaboration.

When the two sit down, the executive who runs the Oscars will be discussing the future of distribution with the studio whose atomic-age monster already carried one of the Academy’s statuettes back to Tokyo.

Tags: film festivals, Oscars, Toho, Tokyo International Film Festival, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Bill Kramer