LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) — A museum dedicated to telling the story of the Hollywood film industry, an endeavor that has been in the works since the 1920s when the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences was founded, came one stop closer to a reality on Wednesday (Sep. 27) after philanthropists Cheryl and Haim Saban donated $50 million to the project.
The donation was announced at the construction site for The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures during a press event. The gift brings the museum’s fundraising success to $288 million, nearly 75 percent of its $388 million goal.
“We should have the world’s most preeminent motion picture museum and now we have the opportunity to have that,” said Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucas Films, at the event.
Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the museum will be comprised of a building dedicated to exhibits and ‘devoted to exploring the art and science of movies and moviemaking’ as well as a theater topped with a glass dome.
“We have the ruby slippers from the “Wizard of Oz,” the pair used for the closeups in the collection which I think will be a big draw,” said Kerry Brougher, the director of the museum adding that there are plans for interactive displays to celebrate modern film technology techniques and practices as well.
The museum is scheduled to open in 2019.