TWIG - German director Werner Herzog is one of 120 new inductees into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

With the nomination, Herzog becomes a member of the Hollywood elite that, among other special privileges, votes on which films win awards at the organization’s annual Academy Awards ceremony.

He was one of only five directors offered membership, including Nicole Holofcener ("Lovely and Amazing"), Gavin Hood ("Tsotsi"), Bennett Miller ("Capote") and Mark Waters ("The House of Yes").

Other high-profile invitees included actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Dokota Fanning, Maria Bello, Joaquin Phoenix, singer Dolly Parton and writer Noah Baumbach.

Herzog is among the best-known and critically acclaimed German directors of all time.

Films such as "Aguirre: The Wrath of God," (1972) and "Fitzcaraldo" (1982) cemented his reputation as a gifted film auteur – and helped to create the myth around the notoriously strained friendship he had with actor Klaus Kinski, which inspired his documentary "My Favorite Foe" (Mein liebster Feind").

His most recent film, the documentary "Grizzly Man" (2005), explores the life of bear-lover and amateur naturalist Timothy Treadwell, who devoted much of his life to studying grizzlies only to fall prey to a gruesome bear attack in 2003

Herzog based the film on over 100 hours’ worth Treadwell’s footage of bear activity in a remote area of Alaska that he had gathered among 13 summers there.

"Grizzly Man" has racked up awards from coast to coast, including best documentary nods at from the Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Herzog, who lives in Hollywood, has himself has proved himself an asset to the film community through his incomparable films and his inimitable directorial voice – but also through his everyday heroism.

In February of this year, Herzog pulled actor Joaquin Phoenix out of his wrecked car after his brakes had failed him, ushering him to safety and then absconding from the scene.

"There’s something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog’s voice," Phoenix said about the event. "I felt completely fine and safe. I climbed out. I got out of the car and I said, ‘Thank you,’ and he was gone."

Just last year, while promoting his film "Grizzly Man," Herzog was shot in the leg by a crazed fan during an interview with the BBC.

He persevered through the interview with blood running down his leg.