The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which held its fourth annual gala tonight, raised over $11 million to support the museum’s exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programming, including screenings, K-12 programs, and access initiatives in service of the general public and the local community of Los Angeles. Dedicated to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking, the gala was generously presented in partnership with Rolex—Founding Supporter and Official Watch Partner of the Academy Museum. The company has been with the museum since the beginning. Its recognition of excellence and achievement in cinema is the basis of its long partnership with the Academy. The gala was co-chaired by Academy Museum Trustee, physician, producer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Dr. Eric Esrailian; OscarⓇ-nominated actress, producer, director, and activist Salma Hayek Pinault; Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman; Academy Museum Trustee and actress, director, producer, and activist Eva Longoria; and Academy Museum Founding Supporter, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winner, actor, filmmaker, and studio founder Tyler Perry.
The celebratory evening, commemorating the acclaimed museum’s three-year anniversary, was a star-studded affair that honored three Hollywood icons for their contributions to film both past and present. Gala co-chair Eva Longoria kicked off the programming for the evening, introducing Director and President of the Academy Museum, Amy Homma, who welcomed guests to the special fundraiser event before introducing the first presenter of the night. Three-time Oscar-winning Director and 23-time nominee, Steven Spielberg presented the Icon Award to Oscar-winning actress, singer, and dancer Rita Moreno. After the dinner service, Colman Domingo made his way to the stage to welcome the next presenter, four-time Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan, who presented friend and recent co-star, Oscar-nominated actor Paul Mescal with the Vantage Award. The Luminary Award was presented by two-time Oscar nominee and long-time collaborator, John Travolta to two-time Oscar-winning and six-time Oscar-nominated writer and director Quentin Tarantino. During his acceptance speech, Quentin Tarantino announced the donation of his first handwritten draft of the script for Pulp Fiction (1994) to the museum. Before the night was over, Ariana Grande closed out the evening with a heartfelt introduction to co-star Cynthia Erivo, who treated guests to a surprise musical performance, singing “I’m Here,” from The Color Purple, Diana Ross’s “Home” from The Wiz (1978),” “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
The Vantage Award honors an emerging artist or scholar who is helping to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema. The Icon Award, presented by Rolex, celebrates an artist whose career has had a significant global cultural impact. The Luminary Award is given to an artist whose singular contributions have expanded the creative possibilities of cinema. The Icon and Vantage Awards, designed by the Haas Brothers and fabricated by UAP, are solid cast bronze, hand polished, hand stamped, and triple plated in nickel, copper, and 24k gold. The Visionary Award, fabricated by UAP, is a solid cast stainless steel statuette inspired by historic versions of the Oscar® statuette; it is mirror-polished by hand and attached to a cast bronze base with an engraved stainless steel nameplate affixed.
The event was attended by some of Hollywood’s most prolific and notable actors, filmmakers, and industry executives as well as members of the event’s host committee who came together to support the museum. Guests included: Awkwafina, H.E.R, Marisa Abela, JJ Abrams, Amy Adams, Joe Alwyn, Pamela Anderson, Jack Antonoff & Margaret Qualley, Kelsey Asbille, Elizabeth Banks, Monica Barbaro, Zach Baylin, Annette Bening, Jessica Biel, Sterling K. Brown, Quinta Brunson, Bobby Cannavale, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Joan Chen, Jon M. Chu, Sacha Baron Cohen, Josh Cooley, Carrie Coon, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Marion Cotillard, Alfonso Cuarón, Macaulay Culkin & Brenda Song, Lee Daniels, Andra Day, Ariana DeBose, Danielle Deadwyler, Cara Delevingne, Harris Dickinson, Amelia Dimonldenberg, Ava DuVernay, Winston Duke, Kirsten Dunst & Jesse Plemons, Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri, Hannah Einbinder, Maya Erskine & Michael Angarano, Gal Gadot, Karla Sofía Gascón, Kaia Gerber, Jeff Goldblum, Selena Gomez, Eiza González, Molly Gordon, Tony Goldwyn, Sofia Richie Grainge, Josh Greenbaum, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ludwig Göransson, Danielle Haim, Estee Haim, Mark Hamill, Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson, Laura Harrier, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Fred Hechinger, Brian Tyree Henry, Taraji P. Henson, André Holland, Nicholas Hoult, Ella Hunt, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Damson Idris, Joshua Jackson, Louisa Jacobson, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Rashida Jones, Mindy Kaling, Titus Kaphar, Kim Kardashian, Harvey Keitel, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Cooper Koch, Greta Lee, John Legend & Chrissy Teigen, Sam Levinson, Dan Levy, Eva Longoria, Eugenio López, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Natasha Lyonne, Clarence Maclin, Archie Madekwe, Mikey Madison, James Mangold, Rooney Mara, Ricky Martin, Charles Melton, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jamie Mizrahi, Demi Moore, Lamorne Morris, Henry R. Muñoz III, Kumail Nanjiani & Emily Gordon, Niecy Nash-Betts, Kathryn Newton, Amaury Nolasco, Ebony Obsidian, Sandra Oh, Elizabeth Olsen, Regé-Jean Page, Megan Park, Aaron Paul, Sarah Paulson, Tyler Perry, Joaquin Phoenix, Aubrey Plaza, Amy Poehler, Ke Huy Quan, Addison Rae, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Danny Ramirez, Édgar Ramírez, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Reneé Rapp, Eddie Redmayne, Halina Reijn, Renate Reinsve, Jason Reitman, Nicole Richie, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Joachim Rønning, Devon Ross, Bird Runningwater, Meg Ryan, RZA, Zoe Saldaña, Ted Sarandos & Nicole Avant, Peter Sarsgaard, Anna Sawai, Daniel Scheinert, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Francesca Scorsese, Naomi Scott, Rachel Sennott, Sarah Silverman, Cory Michael Smith, Jurnee Smollett, Steven Spielberg, Drew Starkey, Sebastian Stan, Harper Steele, Maisy Stella, Holland Taylor, Uma Thurman, Phoebe Tonkin, John Travolta, Nia Vardalos, Denis Villeneuve, Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union, Lena Waithe, Diane Warren, John David Washington, Malcolm Washington, Kerry Washington, Olivia Wilde, Jessica Williams,Taylor Zakhar Perez, and Hans Zimmer.
The event design was conceived by Keith Baptista and musical direction by Rickey Minor with talent relations overseen by Special Projects. Clarendelle & Domaine Clarence Dillon, the Academy Museum’s official wine partners, provided wine for the evening. Specialty cocktails provided by Tequila Don Julio. The evening’s food was prepared by guest chef Curtis Stone and Wolfgang Puck Catering.
Now in its fourth year, the Academy Museum Gala is an annual fundraiser and celebration that reflects the museum’s mission to advance the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema and to expand knowledge and conversation about cinema as a global art form and cultural force.
