Academy Museum adds ‘Pulp Fiction’ script, Miyazaki art to film collection

No 1 knew what Quentin Tarantino had successful nan duffle bag.

He and galore different A-listers were gathered precocious astatine nan Academy Museum successful Los Angeles for its glitzy yearly fundraising gala. Tarantino was among nan honorees. And arsenic he approached nan podium to make his speech, nan container did not spell unnoticed. At nan very least, it was unusual.

Then he opened it up and presented its contents: It was his original handwritten book for “Pulp Fiction,” pinch mistakes, misspellings and all. He was giving it to nan museum.

“The book is legendary,” said Matt Severson, nan executive vice president of academy postulation and preservation. “No 1 was expecting it. This was not a coordinated effort connected nan portion of nan academy. This is Quentin reasoning what tin he do to make his stamp connected nan museum?”

It’s 1 of galore high-profile acquisitions to nan Academy's immense movie memorabilia postulation that nan statement announced Thursday, including original “Ponyo” creation by Hayao Miyazaki, glasses worn by Mink Stole successful “Pink Flamingos,” Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken costume from “John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A.,” animator maquettes of Figaro and Geppetto from Disney’s “Pinocchio” and six storyboards from “The Silence of nan Lambs.”

The statement has besides acquired individual collections of filmmakers Paul Verhoeven, Barbara Kopple, Nicole Holofcener, Oliver Stone and Curtis Hanson, arsenic good arsenic 70mm prints of Christopher Nolan’s best-picture winner“Oppenheimer,” and David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Ryan’s Daughter.”

“We want items from nan history of cinema that subordinate to each ages and levels of interest,” Severson said. “We are preserving this world movie history. And it’s thing that nan academy has been doing since its founding successful 1927.”

Some are coming straight from nan stars themselves: Jamie Lee Curtis talented her tearaway dress from “True Lies,” Bette Midler gave 2 of her ensembles from “The Rose” and Lou Diamond Phillips contributed nan guitar he utilized arsenic Ritchie Valens successful “La Bamba.” Others are done estates and backstage collectors. Just past twelvemonth Steven Spielberg donated his postulation of original, hand-drawn nitrate animation cells from “Snow White and nan Seven Dwarfs.”

Studio Ghibli, which doesn’t activity pinch immoderate different American museum, donated much than 80 pieces of original animation creation by Miyazaki and Noboru Yoshida, arsenic good arsenic nan studio’s Japanese movie posters and an animators table utilized astatine nan studio.

“To person original artwork from Miyazaki? It takes your activity away,” Severson said.

The Academy Collection consists of much than 52 cardinal items — nan largest successful nan world — spanning nan history of cinema. Not everything is connected display, but components of nan Academy’s postulation tin beryllium accessed respective ways: The museum itself, nan Margaret Herrick Library, nan Academy Film Archive and online.

At nan gala, Severson heard from nan likes of Nicole Kidman, Demi Moore, Jeff Goldblum and Tarantino really passionate they are astir nan activity nan depository is doing. He was speedy to constituent retired that it each starts pinch nan unit moving to sphere and coming each nan items successful nan champion measurement possible. That includes nan movie preservation squad and nan insubstantial conservators who aren’t conscionable binding books but restoring photographs and posters damaged complete time, arsenic good arsenic nan squad who spent an tremendous magnitude of clip bringing nan loop from nan 1982 movie “Tron,” which had partially dissolved, backmost to life.

“You whitethorn not beryllium alert of nan painstaking labour that goes into preserving those objects,” Severson said. “It is important to walk this knowledge connected to caller generations of creatives and young filmmakers and artists to understand nan history of nan creation form.

"This depository does go a level that showcases our move history and not conscionable nan history of Hollywood, but nan world movie industry.”