R FROM THE PRESIDENT
Many of you probably have wondered when you'd be approached for a
contribution to the Endowment Fund campaign for the new Center jor
Motion Picture Study. Don't worry. We haven 'tfor gotten you. You
're on our list. And you'll be hearing from us several times over
the next few months.
We're working on the final $5 million of the campaign goal now. We
passed the $10 million mark injanuary. We 'll be approaching each
of you by branch, and our approach will be slightly different for
each branch. Some of the branches are "adopting " Center programs
or collections, and will be trying to create special endowments for
those adopted programs. The Directors Branch has adopted the
Special Collections Archive, the Public Relations Branch has
adopted the Poster Collection and the Music Branch has adopted the
Film Music Collection.
Some branches are concentrating on generat ing "deferred" gifts
from among the branch membership. A deferred gift is one that won
't be paid until the death of the donor, and it could be a bequest,
a life insurance policy or a charitable remainder trust. Deferred
gifts often allow a potential donor to make a much more Significant
gift than the donor could afford to make in cash. An estate
planning seminar to describe some of these techniques was spon
sored thefirst week o/june by the Sound Branch.
I hope all of our members will think of this campaign as an
opportunity to make a "life time " gift to the Foundation. We 've
never asked our members for contributions before and we don 't
expect to ask you again. So this is your chance to make a personal
commitment to film history and preservation, to show your pride in
an art form that 's been financially rewarding for most of
us.
The Center is preserving our work, our contri butions to motion
pictures. It 's our job to pass that work on to posterity. Think
big . Think stupendous. Think Hollywood! 1
The Pure
o R T
Four happy actors backstage at the Awards: Mercedes Ruehl, Anthony
Hopkins, jodie Foster and jack Palance.
In the printed program for the 64th Academy Awards, show producer
Gilbert Cates explained, "Motion pictures proVide us with laughter,
romance, adventure and a deeper understanding of ourselves. With
all the extraordinary events that are taking place today it's
wonderful that we can still get away to see a flim. That's what
we're celebrating this year at the Oscars: The pure joy of the
movies." And celebrate we did.
Television viewers around the globe helped us celebrate, as movie
fans in 90 countries tuned in to see what Cates, his team and
During the Awards telecast on March 30, the crew of the space
shuttle Atlantis beamed their congratulations to Thalberg recipient
George Lucas while an Oscar floated weightlessly nearby. On May 27
that Oscar was returned to the
the Academy voters had in store for them. The production team -
ably captained by host Billy Crystal for the third year - also
included director Jeff Margolis, writers Hal Kanter and Buz Kohan
(with special mate rial by David Steinberg, Bruce Vilanch, Robert
Wuhl and Crystal), production de signer Roy Christopher, music
director Bill Conti, choreographer Debbie Allen and costume
designer Ray Aghayan.
Each viewer will retain his or her own memories of the event: For
some, it will be the flim clip tributes to comedy and docu
mentaries, painstakingly researched and
(continued on page 4)
Academy in a brief ceremony. Pictured (left to right): Show
producer Gilbert Cates, Atlantis Commander Charles Bolden, NASA
Administrator Daniel Goldin, Karl Malden, Mission Specialist David
Leestma and Atlantis Pilot Brian Duffy.
I'.\(.E .2 .\( .\DD1Y RIJ'ORT
Branches Adive in Endowment Fund Activity As the Endowment Campaign
for the Center for Motion Picture Study heads into its final year,
it has passed the two-thirds mark on its way to a $15 million goal,
Campaign Chair Robert Rehme reported.
"The recession caught up with us in the first quarter of this year
and pledges and gifts slowed up somewhat," Rehme said, "but
Other special branch campaign goals include a $1 million goal set
by the Directors Branch to endow the Library's Special Col
lections Archive and $500,000 goals set by both the Music Branch,
to endow the Library's Film Music Collection, and the Writers
Branch, to endow the Scripts Collection.
they've begun to pick up again and the mood on the part of
prospective donors seems up
The Music Branch campaign was kicked off at a luncheon at the
Center which generated a $50,000 bequest pledge from
Academy Foundation President Robert Rehme (left) and Karl Malden
present a ceramic replica of the Center for Motion Picture Study to
Price Waterhouse's Frankjohnson in honor of the accounting firm 's
gift to the Center's Endowment Fund. beat once more. We now
have
$10,374,000 given or pledged, and we already have $5.2 million of
that in the bank earning interest."
Henry Mancini and a cash dona tion of $10,000 made by Georges
Delerue shortly before his death.
A campaign spearheaded by Past Presi dent Richard Kahn and
Endowment Cam paign Committee member Simon Kornblit, Executive
Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Universal Pictures, to
en courage contributions from advertising
agencies and other marketing service sup ply firms has received
$175,000 in pledges: $100,000 from Western International Media,
$50,000 from DDB Needham and $25,000 from Ogilvy & Mather.
These contributions will be credited to the Public Relations Branch
of the Academy, which has set itself a goal of $500,000 to
establish a special endowment to preserve the Mar garet Herrick
Library's poster collection.
Movie History Goes Downtown If you find yourself in the vicinity of
400 South Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles during the next few
weeks you might peek into the building at that address. A portion
of the lobby is dedicated to an ambitious exhibition sched ule,
and until June 25 you'll find Movie Milestones: The First Century,
a display of
The lion roars. Afilm crew captures Leo in a speaking part in 1929.
From the exhibition Movie Milestones: The First CenRlry on display
at 400 SOUlh Hope Street through june 25.
items from the holdings of the Margaret Herrick Library, including
photographs, letters, memos, publications and other artifacts
reflecting the 100-year evolution of movies as an artistic, techno
logical and cultural phenomenon.
ACADEMY R E p o R T
Published by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California 90211-1972
(310) 247-3000
Co-Editors ..
Karl Malden Robert Rehme Donn Cambern Arthur Hamilton Fay Kanin
Alan Bergman Bruce Davis
Mikel Kaufman Linda Wayne
This newsletter has been printed on recycled paper.
Why 400 South Hope? The exhibition provides an occasion for the
Academy to reach the downtown business community with information
about film history and the importance of the work being done at the
Center for Motion Picture Study. It also is a chance to recognize
the Academy's long term relationship with one of the distin
guished residents at that address, the most famous accountants in
the world, Price Waterhouse. i
The Sound Branch is concentrating on the development of deferred
gifts from among its members, such as bequests and chari table
remainder trusts. Branch members attended an evening reception and
tour of the Center in early May to hear about the
(continued on page 4)
Spokane rlelds Photo Treasure Academy photograph curator Robert
Cushman didn't know exactly what to expect when he got off the
plane in Spokane, Washington, to box and ship the collection
offered to the Academy by Frank and Shirley Gibson. On the phone,
the Gibsons had sin1ply referred to the "doz ens of file cabinets"
given to them by close friend Martha Smoots.
Mrs . Smoots ' late husband George, an oil company credit manager,
had a love for movies and collected the photos from the mid-20s un
til he passed Bette Davis in OF HUMAN away in 1951. BONDAGE (934).
From the Years after Gibson Family Gift.
George died, Martha Smoots, already in her nineties and with no
children of her own, gave "George's pictures" to her friends, the
Gibsons. The Gibsons toyed with the idea of selling the photos at
auction, but decided to donate the collection in toto because they
felt that the Smoots would have wanted it that way.
(continued on page 4)
.\( \J)nn HI POf{ I I' \(.1 ~
Animation, Comedy Highlight Foundation Calendar Players Directory
The conclusion of the Awards season means the resumption of the
Academy Foundation's active calendar of retrospec tive and
educational activities. In April the Wilshire building lobby was
host to The History of Swiss Cinema - A Film Poster Exhibition.
Comprising twenty-nine origi nal contemporaty graphics inspired by
and in tribute to landmark Swiss films, the show included posters
saluting such pic tures as CHARLES MORT OU VIF (directed by Alain
Tanner), HEUTE ACHT ODER NIE (directed by Daniel Schmid) and
L'INVITA TION (directed by Claude Goretta). Graphic artist Paul
Bruehwiler of Zurich designed the posters which feature still
photographic images from each film along with textual material
identifying the direc tor and the film's plot.
AMP AS screened selected examples from three periods of Swiss
animation. The programs were curated by Adrienne Mancia of the
Museum of Modem Art and Swiss filmmaker Heinz Schmid.
Legendary animator Marc Davis, one of the group of Disney pioneers
affectionately dubbed the "Nine Old Men," was honored in the Samuel
Goldwyn Theater on May 27. Moderated by Charles Solomon, the pro
gram encompassed conversations with Davis and noted animation
artists Andreas Deja, Joe Grant and Bob Kurtz. Clips from films
including SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (937), BAMBI (942), VIC
TORY THROUGH AIR POWER (943), SONG OFTHE SOUTH (946), CINDERELLA
(950), ALICE IN WONDERLAND (951), PETER PAN (953), SLEEPING BEAUTY
(1959) and 101 DALMATIANS (961) illustrated the special touchl:hat
Davis brougl:1t to his animated characters.
June offers two more Foundation pro grams. On the 15th, the Jack
Oakie Lecture on Film Comedy will provide Leonard Maltin an
opportunity to discuss comedy teams. Film clips from such comic
combi nations as Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Clark and
MCCullough, Wheeler and Woolsey, the Marx Brothers, the Ritz
Brothers, the Wiere Brothers and the Three Stooges will complement
Maltin's talk.
A six-week-Iong Film Editing Seminar will take place in the
Academy's Little Theater beginning June 17. Hosted by Academy Vice
President Donn Cambern, editor of such films as EASY RIDER,
ROMANCING THE STONE and GHOSTBUSTERS II, each evening will feature
a prominent film edi-
tor in a discussion of the craft. Participants include
Oscar-winners Paul Hirsch and Neil Travis as well as Dede Allen,
Mia Goldman, Richard Harris and Sheldon Kahn. Seating is limited.
For further infor mation call 310-247-3000 ext. 111. 1
Animator
In a couple of weeks the Academy Players Directory will be moving
from its current location on the 6th floor of the Academy's
Wilshire Boulevard headquarters to the 4th floor of the same
building. The new space, occupied by the staff of the Margaret
Herrick Library before their move to the Center for Motion Picture
Study, will allow the Directory staff a little more elbow room as
they prepare and publish the industry's casting bible three times a
year.
Marc Davis with Katherine Beaumont, the voice of Alice in ALICE I
WO DERLAND and Wendy in PETER PAN. DaviS was honored in a
retrospective at the Academy on May 27.
Issue #181 of the Directory is now avail able. Those seeking
copies of this latest edition can either come in or call,
310-247-3058 to order. 1
19th Annual StUdent Academy Awards Winners in the nation's largest
student filmmaking competition were announced on May 26. Competing
films were voted on by Academy members in screenings held last
month.
ANIMATION Gold Medal Silver Medal
Bronze Medal
DOCUMENTARY Gold
EXPERIMENTAL Gold
FOREIGN AWARD
NEXT DOOR by Peter H. Docter (Cal Arts) FIVE FEMALE PERSUASIONS by
Peter Hixson (The American University) FUR AND FEATHERS by Celia
Kendrick (Rhode Island School of Design)
BEYOND IMAGINING: MARGARET ANDERSON AND THE LITTLE REVIEW by Wendy
Weinberg (Temple University) DOLPHl S: MI DS IN THE WATER by
Christopher C. Carson (Loyola Marymount) IN AND OUT OF TIME by
Elizabeth Finlayson (Stanford University)
THE LADY IN WAITING by Christian M. Taylor (New York University)
EAGLE AGAINST THE SUN by John Akahoshi and Steve Foonberg (USC)
GOLD MOUNfAIN by RaChel Saltz and Kryssa Schemmerllng (Columbia
University)
I THE AQUARIUM by Robert Beebe (U.c.L.A.)
THIS BOY'S STORY by John Roberts and Michele Camarda (National Film
and Television School, England)
NUMBER OF ENTRIES: Animation 34 Documentary 30 Dramatic 239
Experimental 50
Total 353
Plus foreign entries from 32 schools in 23 countries around the
world.
CEREMONIES The awards will be handed out this Sunday, June 14 at
6:30 pm in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The presentation
will conclude with the complete screening of the Gold Medal
winners. To inquire about ticket availability call 310-247-3000.
1
1'\(.1 • \( \HI\!) HII'OHI
New York Events Oscar had an even larger proftle than usual in New
York this year as the occasion of the 64th Academy Awards was
marked by two gala parties. The first, hosted by Mayor David
Dinkins on March 22, At the Russian Tea Room (left to right): Dane
Clark, Arlene Dahl, Jane was held at Le Pactole Powell, Ruth
Warrick, Claire Trevor, Tina Louise and Sylvia Miles.
on the Hudson River. Invitees included New York-based nominees as
well as representatives of the 500-plus East Coast Academy
membership.
A week later - and for the third consecu tive year - a cross
section of that member-
ship celebrated Oscar night at New York City's famed Russian Tea
Room, where monitors were placed throughout the res taurant and
guests were invited for cock tails and dinner to watch the
festivities originating from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los
Angeles. 1
Academy, IDA to Host Documentary Congress Members of the
international documentary community will converge on the Academy
next fall for the first International Docu mentary Congress,
co-hosted by the Inter national Documentary Association and the
Academy.
From October 21 - 24, the Congress will be attended by filmmakers,
distributors, pro grammers, scholars and critics with an active
interest in documentaries. The event's sessions and seminars will
address such
Photo Treasure (continued from page 2) What Cushman found would
become the largest one-time donation of photographs ever made by a
private party to the Library: over 171,000 photos. Included in the
col lection are items documenting the careers of virtually every
film actor of the period both stars and characters - with many
major performers represented by hun dreds of photos including
studio portraits, on-location candids and scene stills. After
Endowment (continued from page 2) branch campaign. A seminar on
estate planni·ng was held for branch members in early June. Similar
campaigns are expected to be conducted by other branches.
Two other unusual contributions have been credited to the Endowment
Fund.
A "residual" check for $41,250 from HOL LYWOOD, THE GIFT OF
LAUGHTER, a com pilation television film, was received through the
Motion Picture Association of America. The Academy's participation
in the profits from this film was promoted by then-President Fay
Kanin almost ten years ago. That film has generated $209,239 for
the Academy Foundation, although only
issues as the role of documentaries in social change, ethical
standards, freedom of expression and censorship, preserva tion of
film and videotape, new technolo gies and aesthetics, and survival
strategies for documentary ftlmmakers.
The Congress marks two key dates in the history of the documentary
film: the 50th anniversary of the documentary Oscar, and the 10th
anniversary of the founding of the IDA. 1 four days in Spokane,
Cushman packed the photographs into more than one hun dred boxes.
So extensive is the collection that just the production of a
preliminary inventory took five photo archivists eight weeks of
counting and cataloging. Final processing of the material will be
ongoing for several years. The Library's Photo graphic Stills
Archive - the largest collec tion of its kind in the world - now
holds approximately 6 million photos. 1
the most recent payment is being added to the Endowment Fund.
The Academy Foundation also shared -equally with four other
industry charities in a distribution of the remaining funds of the
Council of Motion Picture Organizations, which was created for the
purpose of representing the motion picture industry in connection
with a World War II federal theatrical admission tax
proposal.
COMPO disbanded itself last year, and the money left in the
treasury was distributed to several industry charities. The Academy
Foundation received $4,450, which has been placed in the Endowment
FU!ld. 1
In his grand entrance, Billy Crystal paid tribute to Hannibal (the
Cannibal) Lector.
Academy Awards (continued from page 1) assembled by Chuck Workman
and Rich ard Schickel, respectively. For others, their memories
will center on the honoring of two very different pioneers in film
history: Ray Harryhausen and Satyajit Ray, the latter all the more
poignant in light of the great Indian ftlmmaker's death less than a
month later.
But none will forget the opening award of the night, when in
mid-speech Supporting Actor winner Jack Palance dropped to the
floor for a set of one-armed pushups, thereby marching into Academy
history as one of the more energetic winners ever to pick up an
Oscar, while at the same time proViding Crystal with a wellspring
of material for the remainder of the program. SILENCE OF THE-LAMBS
also made history: by earning Oscars for Best Picture, Actor,
Actress, Director and Adapted Screenplay, the film joined IT
HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
(1975) as the only pictures to sweep those five awards. 1
Academy President Karl Malden sits amid some of the 3,500 feature
screenplays submitted to the 1992 Nicholl Fellowships in Screen
writing program by new screenwriters from across the United States
and from thirteen foreign countries.
June 1992-1
June 1992-2
June 1992-3
June 1992-4