Sid Ganis

Sidney Ganis (born January 8, 1940) is an American motion picture executive and producer. He co-founded Out of the Blue Entertainment with his wife and business partner, Nancy Hult-Ganis, in 1996 following a distinguished career as a studio executive at Sony Pictures, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros., Paramount (where he served as President of the Motion Picture Group), and Columbia Pictures (where he was Vice Chairman).

On August 23, 2005, Ganis was elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serving a total of four consecutive one–year terms. As a Producer, he achieved box office and critical success with several films and documentaries, including Akeelah and the Bee, which he co-produced with Nancy.

Ganis also served for a decade on the board of Marvel Entertainment until its sale to Disney in 2009, and has held board positions with Film Independent, SF FILM, and the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (Bay Area).

He currently serves as a trustee of The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and SF Jazz in San Francisco.