THE ACADEMY MUSEUM OPENS ITS DOORS TO THE PRESS

 

By Wladimir Weltman

Since 2019, everyone in Los Angeles has been waiting for the opening of the Academy Museum. The pandemic made it impossible for it to happen in 2020. Now, on September 30^th, 2021, the long-awaited inauguration will take place. And, to promote this mega-event, the Academy today, September 21^st, invited local and international press to visit the museum before the general public.

The building itself is a spectacle. Originally budgeted for $250 million, it ended up costing $388. The delays and cost increases were due, according to The Hollywood Reporter to: "Unforeseen challenges involving the spherical structure similar to the Death Star (from Star Wars)", which is the greatest architectural find of the place.

This nickname seems to have offended the project's creator, award-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano. At the conference today, in the great theater inside the sphere itself, he said: “This is not the Death Star, but a dreamlike soap bubble, or a flying spaceship ready to take off. "

Actors Anna Kendrick and Tom Hanks were also present. Tom was one of the great enthusiasts of the project. Along with other celebrities such as Laura Dern, Whoopi Goldberg, Ryan Murphy, Ted Sarandos, and Diane von Fürstenberg, he struggled to raise funds to bring the museum to life.

The museum's Director and President, Bill Kramer, also spoke to the journalists, saying that it was about time for the movie capital of the world to have its own museum. The President of the Academy, David Rubin, agreed with him, telling the presents that this has been a dream of the American movie industry since 1927 when the Academy was created; almost 100 years ago.

Despite being an old dream, the philosophy that guides its creators today is very current, keeping up with the “inclusive” mentality so fashionable in the new millennium Hollywood. The Museum's Artistic and Programming Director, Jacqueline Stewart, said that "There are multiple histories of film and multiple ways of looking at them." 

I was able to verify this intention to be true, when I saw, to my delight, the poster of the Brazilian film PIXOTE by Hector Babenco exposed in one of its rooms. And, among the various exhibitions, an exhibit of Pedro Almodóvar's films, and a wonderful temporary show of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.

The four-story museum is considered the largest in the United States dedicated to the history, arts, sciences, and cultural impact of the film industry. It is located in West Hollywood, at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue (oddly enough, the location from the 1997 disaster movie VULCANO).

The museum comprises the aforementioned round structure (Death Star) and the 1939 historic May Company Art Deco building. Inside there are several exhibition spaces, containing a collection of more than 13 million artifacts from cinema history. Among his best-known pieces are Dorothy's ruby ​​sleepers from THE WIZARD OF OZ, Alfred Hitchcock's typewriter, STAR WARS R2-D2 and C-3PO, past and present Oscar’s statues, and a multitude of other wonderful things.

Tom Hanks was keen to promote his TV special with Laura Dern called “A Night in the Academy Museum” and which will air on October 12th at ABC, about the art and magic of cinema, so the many fans who cannot immediately visit the museum can have a glimpse of what is stored for them.

On September 30th, the museum opens its doors to only 50% of its capacity, requiring the use of masks by all visitors. Coming to Los Angeles, be sure to visit it.

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