BRUCE DAVIS STEPPING DOWN AS HEAD OF OSCAR GROUP

Bruce Davis has announced that he will step down as executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences — the group famous for its annual Oscar awards — on June 30 of next year. Davis’s resignation was first disclosed by Nikki Finke on her DeadlineHollywood.com website. He joined the Academy in 1981 and became its executive director ten years later. In a message to AMPAS employees, David gave no reason for his departure other than to say that thirty years with any organization “seems like enough. Organizations and individuals both benefit from periodic shifts in perspective.”