The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a must-see for cinephiles but make no mistake that they could do a better job of honoring those who built Hollywood up.

If you remember from a few weeks ago, I wrote about the Academy Museum’s erasure of the founding Jewish studio moguls. After seeing and experiencing the museum for myself, it’s my main complaint. Yes, there’s something for everyone but how can you tell the story of Hollywood without at least having an exhibit honoring the moguls who built Hollywood from the ground up. How many people would know of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle and how he saved some 300 Jews from the Nazis in the 1930s? My guess is only those who recently watched the Carl Laemmle film on TCM or ChaiFlicks.

After getting a pair of studio invites for events in Los Angeles, I made my way to the Academy Museum last Monday morning. There were a few groups of Critics Choice Association members touring the venue. I went over there with a pair of members from Oklahoma City, Jason Black and Craig Sanger. Before leaving back for the hotel, I found The Female Gaze in the Academy Museum Store. A few years ago, Alicia Malone asked me to contribute to the book so I wrote about Kelly Fremon Craig’s The Edge of Seventeen. Of course, I had to take a picture of myself holding the book and pointing to the blurb.