Architect Renzo Piano has one request regarding his new work, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures: “Please do not call it the Death Star.” Speaking at the opening press conference for the new museum, the celebrated Italian designer was referring to the domed sphere that forms the rear of the building and houses the 1,000 seat David Geffen Theater. “Call it a flying vessel. Ready to take off,” he adds. “Or a soap bubble. But this soap bubble will never blow up.”
READ MORE: Academy Museum’s Inaugural Exhibits Focus On Black Film History & Hayao Miyazaki
Unfortunately for Renzo, Tom Hanks kept the “Star Wars” theme alive joking, “In the words of Han Solo, as he approached the Death Star, ‘I have a good feeling about this.’” Hanks pauses and quips to the assembled press, “Y’know, I thought that joke was going to kill. You are such a jaded group of Fifth Estaters.”
Hanks was on hand because he, along with former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Annette Bening, led the fundraising efforts to build the Museum in the first place. He notes, “We did not sign up because we liked to go around asking people for money, although we did do it with enthusiasm. That’s partly because Bob, Annette, and I, who call ourselves the Odd Squad, have had the company of many, many great people whose names you can look at on the very pillars of this building.”
He also spoke to the importance of having the museum in Hollywood.
“There are other cities with film museums, but with all due respect, a place like Los Angeles, with the Academy, is going to be the Parthenon of such places,” Hanks says. “Do we need a movie museum? Yeah, because we need to celebrate everything this town brought to the world and everything in the art form.”
Renzo and Hanks were not the only dignitaries on hand. Korean entertainment mogul Miky Lee whose company CJ Entertainment funded “Parasite” and was part of the funding process, spoke. Academy President David Rubin, Academy CEO Dawn Hudson, and Academy Museum Director and President Bill Kramer were clearly proud they got the Museum, whose opening was delayed almost a year because of the COVID pandemic, across the finish line. And Jacqueline Stewart, the Chief Artistic and Programming Officer who will have to deal with the inevitable criticism that will come with such an endeavor (even though she’s only been on the job for a year), spoke of her love of silent films.
Oh, and Anna Kendrick was there too, because, um, star-power?
The museum itself is an intriguing prospect. There isn’t a bad sightline in the new Geffen Theater and traveling between floors is a seamless experience (with a view of the shark from “Jaws” no less). The Sidney Poitier Lobby on the ground floor is inviting and easily gets you to the Academy Museum Store or Fannys, the on-site restaurant that wasn’t open for the press. Bathrooms are plentiful and parking is easy (although we’ll see how that parking garage handles things when LACMA reopens).
That being said, the exhibitions and galleries are honestly both euphoric and frustrating at the same time. The Miyazaki exhibition, taking over the top floor of the museum, is simply spectacular. You can lay on fake grass and look at animated clouds flowing above you. You can explore a physical model of the house from “Spirit Away” and take in character designs from numerous films in Miyazaki’s career. The exhibit is so rich you almost wish it was permanent (it’s also the only part of the museum where visitors are asked not to take photos or videos at the artist’s request).
“The Path to Cinema” features the technological precursors of film from the 1800s such as magic lanterns and a Lumiere cinematographe. In fact, the historical aspect of the museum’s offerings from before the silent era are incredibly detailed but seem a little lost in the all-black designed gallery. There is adequate space, but the presentation could use a revamp.
Outside of Miyazaki, the most successful exhibition is for “The Wizard of Oz,” which is part of the larger “Stories of Cinema.” The film is given just enough space to enthrall you with the ruby red slippers from the film, the Tin Man’s oil can, Dorothy’s costume, and the wig and hat from the Wicked Witch of the West. You can view makeup tests for the Wicked Witch and alternate screen tests for different character costumes. It’s the one exhibit that reminds you how packed the rest of the “general” content in “Stories” is.
It should be noted that there is genuinely great stuff on display. The “Rosebud” sled from “Citizen Kane,” costumes from films such as “Midsommar,” “The Wiz,” and “Million Dollar Mermaid,” and a huge painted backdrop of Mount Rushmore from “North by Northwest.” There are also small one-room exhibitions for Spike Lee and Thelma Schoonmaker which clearly should be much bigger than they are. And the costumes display, in general, should be three times the size that it is, not sharing the same space with a makeup display from “Dolemite is My Name.” That same area awkwardly segues – out of the blue – to a small wall space chronicling Hollywood’s impact on environmental causes, Gender/#MeToo, and Black Lives Matter issues. And yet, there is nothing about LGBTQ+ in the same space? The same industry that nominated “Brokeback Mountain,” “Milk” and “Moonlight” for Best Picture? We actually tracked down the curator for this portion of the exhibit and she could only respond that it was mentioned under the Gender section and that “The Lives of Harvey Milk” winning Best Documentary in 1984 was part of the Oscar exhibit. Perhaps, if you can’t adequately represent Hollywood’s activism wait until you can?
The overall sense from visiting the Museum, however, was that it simply needs more space. It feels like it needs another floor or another large gallery to properly cover this expansive subject matter. Maybe the current Tea Room, constituted for events such as the opening Gala Saturday night, isn’t necessarily needed on the top floor? Maybe the basement space can be reconstituted for another gallery? In any event, these issues won’t probably matter to most visitors. There is a quite fun Oscar portion of the museum where you can have a video taken accepting and holding an Academy Award (for an added fee, of course). And you can check out a well-thought-out timeline of Oscar acceptance speeches and the history of the telecast itself. And, of course, one of Cher’s original Bob Mackie Oscar gowns is there for you to gawk at in all its glory.
To answer Hanks though, yes, we need a movie museum. Los Angeles has needed one since AMPAS first discussed it over 92 years ago. The current Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a good start, but we’re hoping it fixes some of its frustrating fumbles sooner rather than later.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opens to the public on September 30.