“How could there not be a cinema center in the global cinema center?”
That was a Netflix CEO question Ted Sarandos he had when he moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s and found that the entertainment capital of the world lacked, in his words, “a place to dive deeper, to learn more, to fully immerse yourself in the stories behind the films. ”After more than 15 years of development, the Academy of Cinema Museum it is finally ready to open this fall and become the world’s leading museum dedicated to the art and science of cinema.
Today, / Film participated in a virtual tour of the new facilities and got to know the programs and exhibitions that its executives and programmers planned. Read everything you need to know about the long-awaited museum.
In today’s presentation, the Oscar winner Laura Dern narrated a 300,000-square-foot virtual tour, a two-building campus connected by glass bridges and located in the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles. There will be a myriad of galleries and exhibits on display when the museum opens for face-to-face service in September 30, 2021but, surprisingly, it seems that the museum is not only interested in presenting a totally clean image to the world. Dern mentioned several times that various areas and facilities will specifically address “less proud moments in the stories of the Academy and the film industry”. There is a gallery called Identity that explores “examples of how hair and makeup were used to perpetuate racial stereotypes in films”, another area that investigates “some of the most disturbing stories in animation, including depictions of harmful racial stereotypes and the objectification of female characters ”, and, in an experience of two galleries dedicated to the Oscars, the museum“ does not shy away from problematic stories, including OscarsSoWhite, the lack of female representation and Hattie McDanielthe mistreatment at the Oscar ceremony. “
Highlights
The museum’s main exhibition is called Cinema Stories and will be a three-story exhibition “that explores the commemorative, complex, diverse and international stories of the people who make cinema and the films they create”. This will be a dynamic and constantly changing exhibition, but when the museum opens, it will start with an introductory corridor with floor-to-ceiling projections, provoking the films that will be highlighted in the other rooms. Next, guests will see six vignettes dedicated to specific films and artists: Citizen Kane (the actual Rosebud sled will be on display), Real women have curves, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, Bruce Lee, Cinematographic Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezkiand a pioneering black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux.
There will be a series of galleries called The Art of Moviemaking that “starts with the director’s inspiration, a space co-curated by the directors themselves”. The first will be a collaboration with Spike Lee, who appears to be transporting a significant portion of his collection from Brooklyn to Los Angeles for this experience. “My collection is a preview of my loves, my influences, and it’s for the whole world to see,” he said in a video message.
There is a gallery dedicated to the creation of a single film, with a focus on mechanics and the creation of history and giving “a deep dive into the collaborative process of film production”. The opening film will be The Wizard of Oz, and visitors will learn “about the film’s many contributors, from executives to special effects artists, filmmakers, costume designers and more”.
There will also be a gallery dedicated to the cast and performance that will feature screen tests, audition tapes and cast cards from people like Henry Thomas, Taraji P. Henson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Hilary Swank, and more. A sound-themed gallery will show a short film made on Skywalker Sound that “divides the main components and layers of sound design Raiders of the Lost Ark. ”And speaking of sound, Oscar-winning sound designer Ben Burtt created an original cylindrical installation dedicated to the evolution of space in films that is described as “a 320 degree dynamic experience”.
Composers will also be represented, with a sound camera dedicated to the work of a single composer at a time. Getting things started will be Hildur Guðnadóttir, who won an Oscar for his score in Clown. You will be able to listen to clips of your scores, as well as new songs created specifically for this space.
On the third floor, the Histórias de Cinema exhibition begins with an installation space that will be co-curated by a revolving list of international film artists. Pedro Almodovar he is responsible for the opening installation, which “brings twelve screens highlighting themes frequently found in his films: musicals, religion, melodrama and mothers, just to name a few”.
There is a gallery of effects that will focus on the influence of Ray Harryhousen and Willis O’Brien, the meaning of films like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2and much more, as well as a “Encontros” gallery full of original sets, costumes and characters from science fiction, fantasy and horror films.
And, as we have already seen, the Academy Museum will be home to the first North American retrospective in Hayao Miyazaki. Visit the Academy’s website for more information.
Pre-Programming and Inaugural Programming
There will also be several virtual pre-opening programs that will start a few days before this year’s Oscar ceremony. On April 22nd, the Academia Museum website will host Breaking the Oscars Ceiling, “a conversation presented by the curator of the Academia Museum Diane von Furstenberg and moderated by the Academy Museum Jacqueline Stewart, who will speak to women who have achieved Oscar milestones. Guests include actor Sophia Loren, actor and comedian Whoopi Goldbergactor Marlee Matlin, and singer and songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. “
Additional virtual programs will include the following (although no specific date or time has yet been released):
Movie screenings and conversations with the artists
- Pariah (2011), the cast and crew of this innovative fiction debut by screenwriter / director Dee Rees come together to discuss the conception, production and impact of this maturing story.
- And you too (2001), a celebration of the creative partnership between Oscar-winning filmmaker Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki and Oscar-winning writer and director Alfonso Cuaron (the event will be in Spanish with English subtitles).
In the series of conversations
- Spike Lee, a virtual conversation with the pioneering writer-director, exploring how Lee’s vast personal collection represents his many cinematographic muses in the museum director’s inspiration gallery.
- Hildur Guðnadóttir, a virtual conversation between Oscar-winning musician and composer (Joker, 2019) and Academy Museum Exhibitions curator Jenny He, discussing Guðnadóttir’s work and his approach to designing the museum’s inspirational gallery.
- Activism and Cinema, an in-depth conversation about the intersections between film production and social change with guests and a preview of the Impact / Reflection gallery of the Academia Museum.
Education workshops and programs
- How to use film as a teaching tool to have difficult conversations, a series of workshops for educators and caregivers.
- The Work of Black Artists VFX , celebrating the achievements of six visual effects professionals in a frank discussion about the perseverance and shared experiences of black film artists in the industry. Offering unprecedented access to your creative process through break-out sessions with visual effects professionals Lyndon Barrois, Lauren Ellis, Audrea Topps-Harjo, Greg Anderson, Andrew Roberts and Corey Turner.
- Hayao Miyazaki Family Day, introducing families to the world of Hayao Miyazaki’s films through a day of events, including art workshops and live performances. Family Day programs at the Academy Museum are made possible in part by a grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles.
The virtual projections themselves will only be available in the United States at the moment, but subsequent conversations will be available for access from anywhere in the world.
When the museum finally opens its doors, visitors will be able to engage with film series that celebrate a wide selection of cinematic perspectives, including:
- Branch selection, selected by each of the 17 branches of the Academy that represent significant advances in the evolution of their profession.
- Exhibition-inspired series expanding on themes, films and filmmakers in the museum’s galleries. For the museum’s inaugural temporary exhibition, Hayao Miyazaki, the museum will feature all of Miyazaki’s features in Japanese with English subtitles and English dubbing, as well as additional series exploring the worlds, ideas and stories created by this master filmmaker.
- Oscar Domingos, screenings of nominated films and Oscar winners, as well as a behind-the-scenes view of the Academy and the Oscars.
- Inspiration from filmmakers, expanding the gallery spaces curated by cinematographic artists Pedro Almodóvar, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Spike Lee with films selected by them highlighting their own works and films that influenced them.
- Preservation highlights, showing recently preserved films from archives around the world
- Retrospective offering expansive research on the body of a filmmaker’s work. Our inaugural year will include retrospectives from a number of film artists from Indian writer / director Satyajit Ray, from Ethiopian writer / director / professor Haile Gerima, Austrian exiles who helped shape much of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the actress and icon Anna May Wong.
- Shorts at Geffen, daily exhibitions celebrating the creativity of short film production – live-action, documentary and animation – at the David Geffen Theater during normal museum hours.
The museum will also present lectures, panels, symposia and lectures several times a month in its theaters, such as:
- Legacy, inviting members of the Hollywood legend family to discuss the legacy of film artists and provide a first-hand look at film history.
- Impact / Reflection, featuring film artists in conversations with academics and activists about the relationship between documentary and narrative film and topics featured in the museum’s Impact / Reflection galleries in Stories of Cinema, such as #MeToo, equal pay, Black Lives Matter, climate change and working relationships .
- The arts and sciences of cinema, providing information and context about the scientific discoveries and revolutionary techniques in cinematographic production, presenting personalities who made important contributions in their fields.
- In the series of conversations, with profiles of film artists, celebrations of significant film birthdays, discussions in which film artists speak to people who were their inspirations and influences and much more.
- Contextualizing Cinema, where members of the Academy and academics reveal challenging topics in the history of cinema – such as racialized makeup, degrading depictions of indigenous peoples and racism in animation – with the aim of increasing empathy and knowledge.
- Purchases of objects, inviting the public to follow the journey to the Academy Museum of iconic objects, such as Jaws’ “Bruce the Shark” model (1975) and ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939).
- Hayao Miyazaki, linked to the Academy Museum’s first temporary exhibition, Hayao Miyazaki, featuring themes in his films, including environmentalism, female empowerment, post-war society and Japanese spirituality and culture.
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