Beverly Hills Courier
Beverly Hills Courier
Beverly Hills Courier

Museums & Galleries | The Scene

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Events

The event raised more than $11 million for the museum dedicated to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. As Spike Lee noted, “This is not just a museum for Los Angeles but for the world.”

BY Carole Dixon October 9, 2021
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Events
Lady Gaga
Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Oscars take place only once a year, but the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is honoring the art of film year-round. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano the much-anticipated museum is located in the historic Saban building on Wilshire Boulevard. Its opening warranted not one but three grand affairs before the public opening on Sept. 30. 

On Sept. 25, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures hosted an opening gala co-chaired by Jason Blum, Ava Duvernay, and Ryan Murphy. The event honored Haile Gerima and Sophia Loren, along with Bob Iger, Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. 

Halle Berry

Guests walked the green carpet decorated with large floral installations to a cocktail hour on the Wilshire Terrace, before entering a whimsical Hayao Miyazaki-inspired “tree tunnel” for a sit-down dinner by Wolfgang Puck catering and Piper-Heidsieck. Lady Gaga surprised the crowd with a performance that began from her seat. 

Katie Perry and Orlando Bloom

The event raised more than $11 million for the museum dedicated to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. As Spike Lee noted, “This is not just a museum for Los Angeles but for the world.”

Some of the notable guests included J.J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Angela Bassett, Warren Beatty, Colleen Bell, Selma Blair, Cher, Eva Chow, Darren Criss, Benedict Cumberbatch, Barry Diller, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tiffany Haddish, Lydia Hearst, Kathy and Rick Hilton, Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Keaton, Anna Kendrick, Regina King, Billie Lourd, Bob Mackie, Frank Marshall, Marlee Matlin, Christopher Nolan, Sarah Paulson, Zac Posen, Questlove, Issa Rae, Olivia Rodrigo, MJ Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Meg Ryan, Jurnee Smollett, Aaron Sorkin, Holland Taylor, Guillermo del Toro, John Waters, and Rita Wilson.

Jamie Lee Curtis

The following Tuesday, Sept. 28, was a low-key donor reception sans red carpet or media that started on the ground floor, then migrated up to the rooftop view for Wolfgang Puck’s famous smoked salmon pizza. Beverly Hills locals Tom Blumenthal from Geary’s, Agnes Lew from East West Bank and Courier Publisher John Bendheim mingled with the museum’s interior architect Kulapat Yantrasast. 

The final blow-out event on Sept. 29 was co-hosted by Vanity Fair with co-chairs H.E.R. and Robert Pattinson in attendance. Guests included Gia Coppola, Amanda Demme, Zooey Deschanel, Josh Lucas, Rebel Wilson, Sydney Sweeney, Evan Ross, Elizabeth Jagger, Alex Israel, Jason Wu, Jeremy Scott, Alex Prager, Simon and Niki Haas, and Kate and Laura Mulleavy. 

The evening began with guests crossing over the Barbara Streisand Bridge for a cocktail reception on the top floor under the stars of the glass dome on the Dolby Family Terrace. Later in the evening, the museum opened all of its five floors for the guests who took selfies in front of Dorothy’s iconic ruby red slippers from the “Wizard of Oz,” as if to remind themselves, “there is no place like home.” 

Ruby slippers from the “Wizard of Oz Photos courtesy Academy Museum
Sign in

Please sign into your account to access previous
e-editions of The Beverly Hills Courier.

  • {{ error }}
  • {{ error }}
Create Account

Please complete your details below to create an
account with The Beverly Hills Courier.

{{ errorMessages.email }}
{{ errorMessages.firstname }}
{{ errorMessages.lastname }}
{{ errorMessages.password }}
{{ errorMessages.confirmpassword }}

By creating an account, you agree to our Terms of Use.
We never share your data and you may unsubscribe at any time.

Password Reset

Please enter your email below to
start the password reset process.

  • {{ error }}
Account Profile

Please edit your account details below and tap
‘Update Account’ when complete.

{{ errorMessages.email }}
{{ errorMessages.firstname }}
{{ errorMessages.lastname }}
{{ errorMessages.password }}
{{ errorMessages.confirmpassword }}

No longer interested? Close Your Account.

Close Account

Enter your account email below and tap
‘Close Account’ to remove account.

  • {{ error }}