Oscar, Emmy, Tony: Move Over for Ajax

Hollywood is known for its profusion of quasi-learned societies. There is the august Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, as well as the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences. There is even the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences splinter group.

So in Hollywood, where the latest buzzword is interactive , as in TV, it should be no surprise that there is now an Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

The brainchild of Century City entertainment lawyer Andrew S. Zucker, AIAS seeks to educate Hollywood about the emerging world of CD-ROM, virtual reality and interactive film and TV, in addition to “preserving the history of interactive entertainment.”

Next spring AIAS is scheduled to bestow its first award: the Ajax, which Zucker hopes will someday take its place alongside the Oscar, Emmy and Tony awards.