The new museum is a joy, but here’s how to strategically approach its collection.
When you visit the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles there are some stops you will constantly make . You will believably take a selfie in front of " Bruce , " the hanging shark fromJaws , that looms over the moving staircase on the third flooring . You might skip across the Barbra Streisand bridge to take in the gorgeous California vista . You ’ll believably expect at Rosebud , the sled fromCitizen Kane . ( Spoiler ? For a motion-picture show free in 1941 ? ) But the Academy Museum ’s compendium is one worth spend time with . The closer you await the more you ’ll get out of the experience .
The prospicient - in - the - works Academy Museum , from the same governing body that hosts the Oscars , opened last September , and features four level of galleries . The bulk of the compendium is house in the " Stories of Cinema " galleries , which span three spaces — though the first , stationed next to the gift shop , is just a series of clips on screen door . The museum does n’t purport to differentiate a comprehensive history of filmmaking . rather , it seeks to highlight the plant of artisans and creators across time . In that sense , stroll through can be overwhelming , and while some displays immediately force your attention , others you might overlook . Consider this a loose guide about where to direct your eyes from another fan . Tickets are timed entry so make yourreservationbefore you go .
The Oscar Micheux display
The gowns
Look , you are n’t start to miss Cher ’s 1986 ensemble design by Bob Mackie , as well as the dress that Rita Moreno wore to the Oscars doubly — first when she acquire forWest Side Storyin 1962 and the second when she presented in 2018 . They loom large in a huge infinite where screens play far-famed address on repetition . But I can not express the joy I felt to be capable to stare upon these looks . After all , I write abook about them . The museum does n’t give much context — you may not know that Cher wear out the square headdress and torso - baring black outfit after being snubbed forMask — but it ’s still sensational .
Spike Lee’s posters and his handwritten acceptance speech
When you come in the room full of Spike Lee ’s personal treasures your eye will immediately be draw to the highlights : The purple suit that Lee wore to accept his Oscar for theBlackKklansmanscreenplay , for instance ; the guitar Lee was gifted from Prince ; Mookie ’s jersey fromDo The Right Thing . But do n’t forget to look tight . My favorite part of Spike ’s room was his collection of signed posters and pic , which show the depth of his film love . He has anOn the Waterfrontposter signed by director Elia Kazan and screenwriter Budd Schulberg . Schulberg calls Lee " my independent man . " Lee’sJawsposter is ratify by Steven Spielberg , who write , " Jawsalmost eat me alert ! " There ’s a sign up image of Akira Kurosawa , and another of Lee hang out with Martin Scorsese , inscribed by the latter . I was also captivated by Lee ’s handwritten Oscars acceptance speech , observe that he publish out , in all caps , " BROOKLYN ‘S IN DA HOUSE BROOKLYN deliver the goods BROOKLYN WIN BOOM SHACKALACKA . "
The screenplays
Tucked in what is essentially an alleyway between Spike Lee ’s collecting and theWizard of Ozroom is a show about the artwork of the screenplay . It ’s easy to look out over , but it contains some of the most electrifying treasure the museum has to proffer , a face at process you ’re unlikely to get anywhere else . There , I happen a Thomas Nelson Page from the screenplay forWhen Harry Met Sally … annotated by screenwriter Nora Ephron herself , in impeccable penmanship . On the left deal side of the document she’sadded the bitwhere Harry and Sally , walk through the Metropolitan Museum of Art , speak in funny voice , resulting in Harry asking Sally out for the first time . It ’s a part of the movie that ’s so loose it almost seems ad-lib , but instead here you see it came directly from Ephron ’s hand . Elsewhere in that hallway you ’ll receive Gregory Peck ’s annotations on hisTo Kill a Mockingbirdscript , specifically his rousing speech endeavor to convince the jury of Tom Robinson ’s ingenuousness . Peck , in red pen , write in all caps : " DON’T HURRY GIVE IT WEIGHT ! BLOOD ! " And while you spend metre examining these Page , do n’t miss the video about Navajo extras in John Ford films . Their makeshift dialogue in their own spoken language is translated , bring out how they demoralize the white - focused narratives .
The casting room
Yet another elbow room you might miss is the one dedicated to casting , but do n’t skip over it , particularly the wall from the personal archive of legendary cast director Marion Dougherty . There , you could examine her notecards revealing her former take on pre - fame luminaries . Al Pacino " remind [ her ] of Dustin Hoffman . " She was confident Matthew McCounaghey was headed for vastness . " As I say before , " she pen . " This kid is going to be a star . " Dougherty ’s Polaroid are also not to be overlook . Yes , that fresh face youngsterisEthan Hawke . And there ’s Stanley Tucci with hair .
The conversation around theMidsommardress
apparently the floral dress fromMidsommar , which the Academy bought from an A24 auction , is one of the more instagrammable spot of the museum , but I found myself as captivated by Andrea Flesch ’s design as I was by hoi polloi ’s chemical reaction to it . Ari Aster ’s terrifying kinsfolk repugnance is not the most famous title represented in the museum , so while heart are drawn to the ensemble , there ’s also lost curiosity . And kids , who are way too immature to feel the saga about heartbreak and frightening boyfriends , eff it . One little girl was glued to the dress and the picture beneath it which prove Florence Pugh striding away from the burning bodily structure where her ex is being wipe out by flames . Her mother tell her Pugh was probably going to get water system . The relaxation of the initiation is terrific as well , an opportunity to essay studies for the likes of Tilda Swinton’sSuspiriarobes , as well as see Joan Crawford ’s green courting fromMildred Piercerendered on screen in pitch-black and white .
The animation gallery
Though you might be invariably reap to the room one over in the " Stories of Cinema " surface area on the third floor — which contains R2D2 , C3PO , E.T. , the costume fromEdward Scissorhands , and Danny DeVito ’s prosthetic Penguin nose — but I would encourage you to linger in the brio verandah before heading over to see those marquee items . Filled with models and studies it ’s a rattling look at the evolution of a design . I was especially rent with gorgeous subject forBambi , but you’re able to find character models fromFantastic Mr. Fox , Kubo and the Two Strings , andShrekas well as looks at how the like ofUpandInside Outevolved .
Photo by Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Photo by Esther Zuckerman
Photo by Esther Zuckerman
Photo by Esther Zuckerman
Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images
Photo by Esther Zuckerman
