Academy — The Show Must Go On:

Karen Kaye
5 min readDec 19, 2020

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Academy Museum Moves Opening to September 2021 Due to Pandemic

Dimensions: 84 3/4" (H) x 54" (W) x 288 1/2" (D)
 • Weight: 1208 lbs

The long awaited Academy Museum has been pushed back again from the spring 2021 to the Fall of 2021 due to the Pandemic, according to Bill Kramer, Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, The Academy Museum will open to the public on September 30, 2021 and will be preceded by a suite of opening events, including a gala on September 25, 2021.

Bill Kramer said, “We are putting the final touches on our stunning exhibitions and public spaces, and while we were ready and eager to welcome visitors in the spring, with the current surge of COVID-19, it would be irresponsible to maintain an April opening. We know a new day is coming for us all, and when it does, the Academy Museum will be ready to offer our visitors the remarkable experience we have all been wanting.”

The Academy Museum is dedicated to the art and science of movies, it will tell complete stories of moviemaking, celebratory, and educational. It will showcase an unparalleled collect of photographs, film and video assets, iconic costumes and props. The stories of cinema and the impact and reflection that will be a part of the core exhibition gallery, that includes how cinema contributed to social issues, conversations that have the capacity to shape the public’s awareness through various artforms.

ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES IN LOS ANGELES INSTALLS
THE ONLY SURVIVING SHARK MODEL FROM THE 1975 FILM JAWS

On Friday, November 20, 2020, the week-long installation completed Jaws one of the most iconic objects was installed as part of the permanent collection. and is the only surviving full scale shark model from the 1975 Oscar®-winning film. The 25-foot model (nicknamed “Bruce the Shark”) will be on view, free to the public.

The 25 feet long, this is the largest object in the Academy Museum’s collection, which also includes an underwater apparatus and fin used in Jaws and Jaws II. Bruce the Sharks, Dimensions: 84 3/4" (H) x 54" (W) x 288 1/2" (D), Weight: 1208 lbs and has 116 teeth. It is the fourth shark cast and last one surviving from the original shark mold for Jaws (1975). He is made out of fiberglass body, acrylic paint with urethane top-coat, urethane plastic (teeth), acrylic (eyes), steel support (internal structure). The 7-month restoration performed by Greg Nicotero, a special effects and make-up artist and co-Founder of the award-winning KNB EFX Group, and by the Academy Museum in 2016 -

“It’s been a long journey for Bruce since he was acquired in 2016, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome him to his new home,” said Bill Kramer, Director and President of the Academy Museum.

Bruce the Shark, on his way to the Academy Museum

Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, won Oscars® for Film Editing, Sound and Original Score, and was nominated for Best Picture at the 48th Academy Awards® in 1976.

“Bruce the Shark,” will be a part of the permanent collection, at the Academy Museum, and is free to the public to view. You are able to watch the installation of Bruce the Shark being put into his permanent home.

@AcademyMuseum #AcademyMuseum #BruceTheShark

When the museum opens it will feature core exhibits of Spike Lee as a part of the suite of galleries which highlight artists, films and understanding the art of moviemaking. The Inaugural Exhibitions will include Spieleberg Family Gallery, Stories of Cinema 1, the Wanda Gallery Stories of Cinema 2, Rolex Gallery Stories of Cinema 3 and the East West Bank Gallery OSCARS® Experience.

Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939) (academymuseum.org)

The Academy Museum will include a Special Collections Gallery, The Path To Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection, Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery Hayao Miyazaki, which is an unprecedented retrospective of legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki the first of its kind in North America.

Collection Highlights (academymuseum.org)

In the year of 2020 we have been affected with all kinds of social issues from equality, social justice and race. One of the Upcoming Exhibition will include Regeneration : Black Cinema 1898–1971, which is a groundbreaking exhibition that reveals the important and underrecognized history of African American filmmakers in development of American cinema

The importance and timing of this exhibition will be an important part of change in both our American filmmaking history. It will highlight and showcase some of the history of these African American filmmakers, and how it not only shaped our culture in film, but in our society aw well.

The Academy Museum has been three years in the making, and has faced its share of challenges, including the delay of the opening being pushed back because of the pandemic of 2020. Despite the challenges that the Academy Museum has faced, it is destined to be one of the newest attractions in Los Angeles.

Ted Sarandos, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Academy Museum, said, “Despite the many challenges of 2020, the museum has accomplished a great deal this year: completing its pre-opening fundraising campaign, obtaining LEED Gold certification, and the installation of exceptional exhibitions. We are fortunate to have one of the world’s most exciting new cultural institutions ready to go. Now it’s just a matter of patience, for all of us, as we look ahead to opening our doors on September 30.”

“We look forward to our opening when museum visitors can engage with our exhibitions, experience our beautiful Renzo Piano-designed building, and come face to face with one of the most iconic characters in film history.”

The Academy Museum hours are yet to be determined due to Covid-19, and the delay of the museum opening. It is located at 6067 Wilshire Blvd., in Los Angeles California.

Photo Captions: “Bruce the Shark” in 2016- Credit Michael Palma /C.A.M.P.A.S
“Bruce the Shark” installation at theAcademy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, November 2020- Credit: Photo By: Todd Wawrychuk/@Academy Museum Foundation

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Karen Kaye
Karen Kaye

Written by Karen Kaye

Hollywood Happenings is an on-line community newspaper, created, copyrighted and trademarked in 2003. I am an award winning sports writer, Red Carpet interviews

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