The Academy Has Lions

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This post was updated after the Academy Awards presentation on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

From the Bluff to the Oscars

Oscar weekend has a way of turning even casual moviegoers into commentators, awards strategists, experts in sound categories, and confident predictors of races they hadn’t considered 72 hours earlier.

At LMU, we do all of that too. But we also do something else: we celebrate the Lions behind the films, performances, and creative moments everyone is talking about.

And once again, this year, there are plenty of them connected to Hollywood’s biggest night.

But before we get to this year’s nominees, it’s worth remembering something remarkable: LMU’s connection to Hollywood didn’t start with our top film school rankings or even with the modern era of the entertainment industry.

It goes back nearly as far as Hollywood itself.

Hollywood Helped Build the Bluff (and Vice Versa)

When Loyola University (as LMU was then known) launched the campaign to build what would become our LMU Westchester campus in the late 1920s, university leaders turned to Los Angeles’ fastest-growing industry for support: motion pictures. Early Hollywood figures helped fund the university’s building campaign, and silent-film stars Buddy Rogers and Mary Brian even appeared in a fundraising film encouraging support for Loyola’s future.

That detail is especially fitting on Oscar weekend because Rogers starred in Wings, the film that won the first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1929.

Long before the Dolby Theatre existed, and before the Oscars became a global cultural event, Hollywood was already helping Loyola build the Bluff.

And if you’ve ever heard the campus legend that our Lions mascot somehow inspired the MGM lion, well — the historical record is admittedly a little fuzzy.

But like any good Hollywood story, it’s still fun to tell.

Lions Who Have Led the Academy

LMU’s connection to the Oscars reaches all the way to the organization that hosts them — and not just once.

Janet Yang, Presidential Fellow and clinical professor in LMU’s School of Film and Television, served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2022 to 2025, becoming the first Asian and fourth woman to hold the office. Yang is one of Hollywood’s most respected producers, with credits that include The Joy Luck Club, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Zero Dark Thirty, and Over the Moon.

John Bailey ’64, the acclaimed cinematographer, also served as Academy president and was the first cinematographer ever elected to the role.

So when we say LMU has a history with the Academy, we mean that quite literally: a faculty member and an alumnus have helped lead the institution itself.

Not a bad place to start.

Lions Nominated for the 2026 Academy Awards

This year’s Oscar nominations once again include members of the LMU family.

Best Cinematography

Autumn Durald Arkapaw ’02
Nominated for Best Cinematography — Sinners [Post-Oscars Update: She won!]

Durald Arkapaw, an LMU art history alumna, discovered cinema while studying at LMU. Her degree proved to be a powerful foundation — she went on to build one of the most respected visual careers in the industry.

Her nomination also marks a historic milestone: she is the first woman of color ever nominated for Best Cinematography.

Best Animated Feature & Best Original Song

Hannah McMechan ’18
Danya Jimenez ’18

Alumni co-writers of KPop Demon Hunters, which has been nominated for:

• Best Animated Feature [Post-Oscars Update: Winner!]
• Best Original Song (“Golden”) [Post-Oscars Update: Winner!]

The Netflix film became the platform’s most-watched film ever, highlighting the global reach of LMU storytelling.

A Major Oscar Contender with an LMU Connection

Another film drawing major attention this year is One Battle After Another, which earned nominations including:

• Best Picture [Update: Winner!]
• Best Director [Update: Winner!]
• Best Adapted Screenplay [Update: Winner!]
• Best Cinematography
• Best Original Score
• Best Sound
• Best Actor in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role [Update: Won!], Actress in a Supporting Role

The film is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation who visited campus to screen the film and engage with students and filmmakers. And just this week, SFTV also welcomed Oscar winner and current nominee Chloé Zhao for a screening of her current Oscar-nominated film Hamnet and a conversation with Janet Yang — another reminder that, at LMU, students do not simply study awards season from afar; they regularly encounter it up close.

Oscar Lions Across the LMU Family

LMU’s Oscar connections extend across decades through alumni, faculty, parents, and members of the broader Lion network—including those who have joined the LMU community as honorary alumni.

If you look closely at enough Oscar credits, a Lion tends to show up somewhere.

LMU Alumni and Faculty

Barbara Broccoli ’81
Recipient of the Academy’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (2024) and legendary producer responsible for stewarding the James Bond franchise.

At LMU, Broccoli’s impact is felt not only through her remarkable career but also through Broccoli Theater, a central learning and viewing space on campus where students regularly gather to study the craft of filmmaking. Having one of the most influential producers in cinema history as a Lion—and namesake of one of our key creative spaces—is a source of pride for the entire LMU community.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw ’02
Academy Award Nominee Winner — Sinners (Cinematography)

Bob Beemer ’77
Multiple Academy Awards — Speed, Gladiator, Ray, Dreamgirls (Sound Mixing)

Shana Hagan ’89
Cinematographer on the Oscar-winning documentary short Breathing Lessons and the Oscar-nominated documentary short Walk Run Cha-Cha

Brian Helgeland ’87
Academy Award Winner — L.A. Confidential (Adapted Screenplay)

Peggy Rajski
Academy Award Winner — Trevor
Former Dean, School of Film and Television

Shane Acker
Academy Award Nominee — 9 (Animated Short)
LMU faculty member and mentor to emerging animators.

Ted Caplan
Academy Award Nominee — A Complete Unknown (Sound)

Krushan Naik ’22
Producer and editor on the Oscar-nominated live action short Anuja

Student Academy Award Winners and Finalists

The Academy pipeline starts early for LMU filmmakers.

Hayley Foster ’13
Student Academy Award Winner — Animation (Yamashita)

Jiaxuan “Jacky” Song ’19
Student Academy Award Finalist — (Incognito)

Lions Across the Extended LMU Family

LMU’s connection to the Academy also includes Lions who joined the community through family ties, honorary degrees, and commencement.

Walter Lantz
Recipient of an Honorary Academy Award for his pioneering contributions to animation. At LMU, his legacy lives on through the Walter and Grace Lantz Undergraduate Animation Program. (Learn more).

Ken Burns DHL ’12
Legendary documentary filmmaker and LMU honorary degree recipient whose work has shaped American storytelling. Nominated for two Academy Awards (Brooklyn Bridge, The Statue of Liberty)

Clint Eastwood P ’08, ’10, ’18
Legendary filmmaker, multiple Academy Award winner (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby), and proud LMU parent.

John Legend DHL ’24
Academy Award Winner — “Glory” (Original Song)

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson DHL ’25
Academy Award Winner — Summer of Soul (Documentary Feature Film)

Quincy Jones, P ’15
Multiple Academy Award nominee; recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a posthumous Honorary Award for his artistic genius, relentless creativity, and trailblazing legacy in film music.

Cameron Crowe, P ’23
Academy Award winner — Almost Famous (Original Screenplay)

The Hollywood Mentors Who Shape the SFTV Experience

Beyond Lions who have won or been nominated for Academy Awards, LMU’s School of Film and Television is deeply integrated with the professional film industry. Through programs like The Hollywood Masters and PBS Fine Cut, Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers regularly mentor, teach, and collaborate with LMU students.

That learning environment has included filmmakers such as Clint Eastwood P ’08, ’10, ’18, Jane Fonda, William Friedkin, Aaron Sorkin, Hilary Swank, Kenneth Branagh, David O. Russell, John Singleton, Gary Ross, Cord Jefferson, S.S. Rajamouli, and Hans Zimmer, among many others.

For LMU students, these are not distant Hollywood names. They are guest lecturers, mentors, collaborators, and working artists shaping the educational experience in direct and meaningful ways.

Why This Keeps Happening

None of this is accidental. LMU’s School of Film and Television is consistently ranked among the top film schools in the world. Most recently, The Hollywood Reporter ranked SFTV No. 5 in the nation, reflecting the program’s strength across directing, producing, writing, animation, and cinematography.

LMU’s College of Communication and Fine Arts is also an origin for much of LMU’s creative excellence. The college develops traditional performing and fine artists with a strong sense of voice, ready to make an impact on the cultural conscience. The college’s emphasis on interdisciplinary curriculum means actors, artists, musicians, dancers, and storytellers get to interact to discover their full potential.

Located just minutes from Hollywood, the programs provide students with unparalleled access to the creative industries.

And increasingly, those students are helping shape them.

From the Bluff to the Oscars

The Academy Awards celebrate the power of storytelling.

For the LMU community, Oscar weekend also serves as a reminder that the Lion network is part of that story.

From the early days when silent-film stars helped Loyola build the Bluff…to today, when LMU alumni and collaborators are nominated for the industry’s highest honor…the connection between LMU and Hollywood has become part of the industry’s DNA.

So when the envelopes are opened Sunday night, listen carefully.

There’s a good chance you’ll hear an LMU Lion’s name.

And from the Bluff, we’ll all be cheering.

—John