A set by Lady Gaga, toasts by Tom Hanks and Nicole Kidman, and more make for a night to remember in L.A

By Britt Hennemuth, Photography by Greg Williams, September 26, 2021

After nearly a decade of anticipation, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open on Thursday, September 30, in Los Angeles.

To toast the occasion on Saturday night, a room of Covid-compliant Oscar winners, history-makers, and hopefuls took a trip down the green carpet, a right past Dorothy’s ruby slippers, and a left under a massive fiberglass shark from Jaws, before crossing over the Barbra Streisand bridge to the top floor of the Renzo Piano-designed glass dome for the Opening Night Gala.

Creative director Lisa Love and Artistic Director Raul Ávila transformed the 360 degree vista into a modern Cocoanut Grove complete with 30 palm trees, a band stand, and a fleet of horns.

The evening recalled the Golden Age of Hollywood, and included toasts by Tom Hanks, Laura Dern, Bob Iger, Annette Bening, Ava DuVernay, Nicole Kidman, and Ted Sarandos. Admission (seats sold for upwards of $50,000) raised money for the museum’s access, education, and programming initiatives, and honored the Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima and Italian supernova Sophia Loren, with help from co-chairs DuVernay, Jason Blum, and Ryan Murphy.

The host committee included industry titans Spike Lee, Brian Lourd, Ralph Lauren, Barry Diller, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Vanity Fair’s own Radhika Jones, as well as the museum’s director, Bill Kramer, and its Chief Artistic and Programming officer, Jacqueline Stewart.

Source: The Superstars Align for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ Opening Gala | Vanity Fair