No one knew what had in the duffle bag.
He and many other A-listers were gathered recently at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles for its glitzy annual fundraising gala. . And as he approached the podium to make his speech, the bag did not go unnoticed. At the very least, it was unusual.
Then he opened it up and presented its contents: It was his original handwritten script for 鈥淧ulp Fiction,鈥� with mistakes, misspellings and all. He was giving it to the museum.
鈥淭he script is legendary,鈥� said Matt Severson, the executive vice president of academy collection and preservation. 鈥淣o one was expected it. This was not a coordinated effort on the part of the academy. This is Quentin thinking what can he do to make his stamp on the museum?鈥�
It鈥檚 one of many high-profile acquisitions to the vast film memorabilia collection that the organization announced Thursday, including original 鈥淧onyo鈥� art by Hayao Miyazaki, glasses worn by Mink Stole in 鈥淧ink Flamingos,鈥� Kurt Russell鈥檚 Snake Plissken costume from 鈥淛ohn Carpenter鈥檚 Escape from L.A.,鈥� animator maquettes of Figaro and Geppetto from Disney鈥檚 鈥淧inocchio鈥� and six storyboards from 鈥淭he Silence of the Lambs.鈥�
The museum has also acquired personal collections of filmmakers Paul Verhoeven, Barbara Kopple, , and , as well as 70mm prints of and David Lean鈥檚 鈥淟awrence of Arabia鈥� and 鈥淩yan鈥檚 Daughter.鈥�
鈥淲e want items from the history of cinema that relate to all ages and levels of interest,鈥� Severson said. 鈥淲e are preserving this global film history. And it鈥檚 something that the academy has been doing since its founding in 1927.鈥�
Some are coming directly from the stars themselves: Jamie Lee Curtis gifted her tearaway dress from 鈥淭rue Lies,鈥� Bette Midler gave two of her ensembles from 鈥淭he Rose鈥� and Lou Diamond Phillips contributed the guitar he used as Ritchie Valens in 鈥淟a Bamba.鈥� Others are through estates and private collectors. Just last year Steven Spielberg donated his collection of original, hand-drawn nitrate animation cells from 鈥淪now White and the Seven Dwarfs.鈥�
, which doesn鈥檛 work with any other American museum, donated more than 80 pieces of original animation art by Miyazaki and Noboru Yoshida, as well as the studio鈥檚 Japanese movie posters and an animators desk used at the studio.
鈥淭o have original artwork from Miyazaki? It takes your breath away,鈥� Severson said.
The Academy Museum has more than 52 million items in its collection 鈥� the largest in the world 鈥� spanning the history of cinema. Not everything is on display, but components of the Academy鈥檚 collection can be accessed several ways: The museum itself, the Margaret Herrick Library, the Academy Film Archive and online.
At the gala, Severson heard from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Demi Moore, Jeff Goldblum and Tarantino how passionate they are about the work the museum is doing. He was quick to point out that it all starts with the staff working to preserve and present all the items in the best way possible. That includes the film preservation team and the paper conservators who aren鈥檛 just binding books but restoring photographs and posters damaged over time, as well as the team who spent an enormous amount of time bringing the belt from the 1982 film 鈥淭ron,鈥� which had partially dissolved, back to life.
鈥淵ou may not be aware of the painstaking labor that goes into preserving those objects,鈥� Severson said. 鈥淚t is important to pass this knowledge on to new generations of creatives and young filmmakers and artists to understand the history of the art form.
"This museum does become a platform that showcases our dynamic history and not just the history of Hollywood, but the global film industry.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
