Beverly Hills, CA – Academy President Tom Sherak announced today that Walt Disney Co. President and CEO Bob Iger will serve as chairman of the capital campaign for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Actress Annette Bening and actor-producer Tom Hanks will join as co-chairs. "With Bob, Annette, and Tom's leadership, our dream of finally opening a world-class film museum in Los Angeles will become a reality," Sherak said.
As Academy CEO Dawn Hudson noted,
"The momentum has been building for a long time, and with the enthusiasm Bob, Annette, and Tom all bring—and the respect they are accorded throughout the industry—we have marked the beginning of a new chapter for this project."
Earlier this fall, the Academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced their intention to work together in establishing the Academy-run museum in the historic May Co. building, currently known as LACMA West. With permanent and rotating exhibitions, the museum is intended to provide an interactive experience that will explore how motion pictures have evolved and how they continue to change.
"The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures represents a bold new way of saving and presenting film history," said Iger. "It will innovate not only the museum experience, but also the public's relationship to the art form."
"I am thrilled to be part of this crucial phase in what will be an extraordinary landmark," Bening remarked. "It will give so much to our city, to historians, and to visitors from all over the world, who love movies."
Added Hanks, "I was very excited to be asked to play this role in establishing the museum. The movies have done so much to shape world culture and our own lives. Preserving and sharing their history with the public should be an important undertaking for us all."
The museum, to occupy a 300,000 square-foot space, is expected to be the first in the nation dedicated to the art, craft, business, and history of film on such a large scale. The Academy anticipates that the museum will represent a significant addition to the cultural landscape of the city most associated with motion pictures.
