Bottom Left: The taxidermied horse head used only for rehearsals in “The Godfather”-a real horse’s head, taken from an anonymous local butcher somewhere near the filming location, was used in the final scene. Yes, I got seriously starstruck looking at that desk! Bottom Right: Props and fake newspapers used in the movie, including “Genco Olive Oil,” the front company for the Corleone crime family. Top Left and Right: The study/office of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) from “The Godfather”, including many authentic pieces used in the film, including the desk, chairs and other props. Bottom Left: Costumes and videos from various Academy Awards ceremonies over the last 95 years. Bottom Middle: Mockup of an Oscars ceremony stage. Bottom Right: Clark Gable’s Oscar for “It Happened One Night” (1934), next to an as-yet-empty display for Hattie McDaniel “Gone With the Wind” (1939). Top Right: The 1978 Oscar for Best Visual Effects, given to the crew of “Star Wars” (1977), including John Dykstra, Robert Blalock, John Stears and Grant McCune. Top Left: The first floor also has a rotunda of Oscars surrounding a small red seating area in a room that reminds me of the entranceways into Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars have been held nearly every year, since 2001. ![]() That these pieces from an 82-year old movie survive, let alone look as they did when first filmed, is a tribute to the restorationists servicing the museum’s many artifacts. Bottom Left Corner: The black-and-white globe seen at the very beginning of the film as well. Bottom Middle: The actual doors leading into “Rick’s,” the Moroccan club owned by American expat Rick Blaine (Bogart) in the film. The actual music was supplied by the actor-musician’s band mate, pianist Elliot Carpenter. Actor Dooley Wilson (“Sam”) was actually a drummer, and had to pantomime his piano playing. The pianos themselves were built in the 1920s. Top: The piano ‘played’ by Dooley Wilson (“Sam”), as well as another piano featured in the film ( bottom right). “Play it, Sam…”Įxhibit for Warner Bros wartime romance classic, “Casablanca” (1941), starring Ingrid Bergman (“Elsa”) and Humphrey Bogart (“Rick”). I won’t lie–I got more than a little starstruck being so close to Don Corleone’s actual desk from “The Godfather” yes, I was starstruck by furniture. “The Godfather” memorabilia occupied several sections, including a lovingly restored set of Don Corleone’s study, along with life-casts of actors Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, and even a surviving dental cast used to give Brando his famous “Vito Corleone” jowls. The first floor featured exhibits with actual, screen-used props, costumes, script pages and other artifacts from “Boyz in the Hood” (1991), “Casablanca” (1941) and “The Godfather,” Parts 1 & 2 (1972/1974). After you move through a darkened roomful of video monitors called Stories of Cinema ( showing clips from past Oscar winners), you make your way into the first floor full of exhibits… ![]() There’s a Q-code you can scan at the reception desk for an audio-guided tour via your phone, but we didn’t do that we took the museum sight-by-sight, piece-by-piece, at our own pace. No coincidence that the automotive museum attendees also park here…Īfter you get your wristbands for the museum, you begin your self-guided tour. ![]() Bottom: In the parking garage, there are some lovingly restored classic cars, like this Lincoln Continental, roped off in special niches. Top: The main lobby, with Oscar statuary that may (or may not) have been used in an Oscar telecast. Walking into the building, the lobby has some human-sized Oscar statues ( which may or may not have been used in past Oscar telecasts-not sure), as well as a quasi-industrial look and minimalist, red furniture that reminded me of something you’d see on the large Hilton Space Station in “2001: A Space Odyssey” ( probably not a coincidence, either). Right from the corner, you see the gold-plated architecture of the building, along with a hint of the large Dolby Family Terrace dome. Once there, we parked and made our way inside. Bottom: Down below the lobby are the restrooms, along with a rest area and donor wall. Top: Walking up to the Museum from Wilshire and Fairfax, the architecture is certainly eye-catching. Driving the hour and change to L.A, we were fortunate that the recent downpours in SoCal stopped long enough for us to enjoy a cool, overcast day for a change ( with relatively light traffic-light by LA standards, anyway). The museum is by-appointment only, via their website or app, and parking is across the street near, of course, an automotive museum ( need to see that one next time…). This week, my wife and I finally went where I’ve wanted to go since the place opened in September of 2021 ( at the height of COVID, sadly) the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
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