EDITOR'S NOTE: Spectrum News 1 multimedia journalist Loureen Ayyoub spoke to the Academy Museum's Chief Artistic and Programming Officer Jacqueline Stewart. Click the arrow to watch her video.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — At long last, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened to the public Thursday.

In December of last year, the museum's director announced that the much-anticipated opening would be moved from spring of this year to fall due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

What You Need To Know

  • The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened to the public Thursday

  • The museum is restoring and revitalizing the historic Saban Building at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles 

  • The museum held its Opening Gala on Saturday, and its Premiere Party took place Wednesday night

  • One highlight is acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's space inside the museum, which he curated with his own montages produced specifically for the installation

“This museum has been in the works for over 90 years,” said Ana Santiago, assistant curator of the museum. “It was a dream of some of the early Academy members to create a museum, and it’s finally happening. And it’s very exciting to now finally be able to see people in the galleries.”

It was a star-studded affair Saturday night for the Academy’s Opening Gala, featuring countless appearances by A-listers such as Laura Dern and Spike Lee — both of whom have contributed to the museum’s current offerings.

One of the museum’s exhibitions features Lee’s work, for example, as part of a suite of galleries highlighting artists and films that have shaped our understanding of filmmaking.

"One of the great things about our core exhibition, Stories of Cinema, is various components of it are designed to rotate," said Santiago. "[Following] our temporary exhibition, which is currently on [Hayao] Miyazaki, our future one will be titled Regeneration, and that is exploring Black cinema before Blaxploitation."

Meanwhile, Dern’s annotated script from “Blue Velvet” (1986) is on display, which the museum was able to feature since Dern is an Academy member herself.

"We have access to all these great members who really have so much knowledge and so many materials, and we can just draw from them," said Santiago. "And I think that’s what really sets us apart as a film museum."

Actress Laura Dern seen at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Gala at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)

As curator for the museum located on Miracle Mile, an area already bustling with other museums, Santiago has developed several exhibitions, including The Path to Cinema: Highlights from the Richard Balzer Collection. And in addition to her Stories of Cinema gallery, another offering that will "change over time" is acclaimed filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s space.

“That was curated by him,” said Santiago. “He created these montages for this space, and as soon as you walk in, there’s flush blue carpeting, and you’re really immediately transported into his cinematic universe.”

Curators like Santiago were Wednesday night for the Premiere Party, which was hosted by co-chairs Robert Pattinson, H.E.R., Vanity Fair's Britt Hennemuth and museum president Bill Kramer.

Britt Hennemuth, from left, H.E.R. and Robert Pattinson arrive at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Premiere Party on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

The museum's official ribbon-cutting took place Thursday.

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