"Life-Changing Cinematic Experiences": Academy Museum Prepares To Roll Out The Red Carpet
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Nearly a decade after being announced and after several delays, the red carpet will soon be rolled out for the highly-anticipated Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The museum will finally be open to the public on Thursday, September 30th.
Originally slated for a 2017 opening, the project suffered multiple delays and two pandemic postponements. On Tuesday, the opening date was officially announced during a media preview with the help of some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
"It's shiny and new and enormous, and it's crammed with about 125 years' worth of ideas and dreams and life-changing cinematic experiences," actor Anna Kendrick said at the preview.
Designed by architect Renzo Piano, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a 300,000-square-foot space made up of two buildings at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
The first thing most visitors will notice upon entering the building is Bruce, a 1,208-pound, 25-foot-long, 46-year-old shark made from the "Jaws" mold. Bruce was hoisted above the bank of main escalators last November in anticipation of the then-planned April opening.
According to the official website, visitors will be able to walk through multiple floors of exhibitions with displays ranging from costumes from "The Wizard of Oz" to works of Spike Lee.
The Museum will also feature 'The Oscars Experience', where visitors will be transported to the Dolby Theater stage, hear their name called and accept an award.
Tom Hanks, a member of the board of trustees, also spoke at Tuesday's event. He led the fundraising for the project along with fellow actor Annette Bening and Walt Disney Co. executive chairman Bob Iger.
"We all know, films are made everywhere in the world, and they are wonderful films," Hanks said. "And there are other cities with film museums, but with all due respect, created by the Motion Picture Academy, in Los Angeles, this museum has really got to be the Parthenon of such places."