As the Academy Museum continues ramping up for its eventual opening, now slated for next year after numerous delays, its leadership is getting added strength from many different areas, both inside and outside of the motion picture industry.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced the addition of six new members to its Board of Trustees: Patricia S. Bellinger, Arnaud Boetsch, Olivier de Givenchy, Ray Halbritter, Ryan Murphy, and Regina K. Scully. As the governing body of the Academy Museum, the board oversees the organization’s strategic vision, maintains its financial health, and ensures the institution fulfills its mission to create the preeminent motion picture museum for film lovers.
Ron Meyer, board chair and vice chairman of NBCUniversal, said, “We are thrilled to welcome these six remarkable leaders to our board of trustees. Their achievements in their respective fields demonstrate the passion and leadership that they will contribute to the Academy Museum. We look forward to working together on the world’s premier institution dedicated to the art and science of movies.”
Academy Museum Director Bill Kramer said, “The Academy Museum is honored to add these incredible trustees to our new and growing board. They bring a wealth of experiences and perspectives, spanning several disciplines, that will be vital to our thoughtful planning and development. I could not be happier to welcome them.”
Bellinger is chief of staff and strategic advisor to the President of Harvard University. Boetsch is global director of communication and image at Rolex. De Givenchy leads the West Region for J. P. Morgan’s private bank. Halbritter is the Nation Representative of the Oneida Indian Nation, New York and CEO of its enterprises. Scully is an Emmy winning and Oscar nominated producer and founder and CEO of Artemis Rising Foundation. Murphy, of course is an Emmy, Golden Globe, Tony and Peabody award winning producer, director and writer. He is also no stranger to Academy history, as he has fully recreated Oscar ceremonies from 1963 for his FX Limited Series Feud: Bette And Joan, and 1948 in the final episode of current Netflix Emmy contender, Hollywood (taking a little dramatic license with the actual winners in that case).
The new trustees join existing board members Ron Meyer, Chair; Ted Sarandos, Vice Chair; Kimberly Steward, Secretary; Jim Gianopulos, Treasurer; Jason Blum, Laura Dern, David Dolby, Sidonie Seydoux Dumas, Mark Johnson, Miky Lee (Mie Kyung Lee), Tom Hanks, Dawn Hudson, Katherine Oliver, Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, Dominic Ng, David Rubin, Emma Thomas, Diane von Furstenberg, and Kevin Yeaman.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is now scheduled to open to the public on April 30, 2021 after the coronavirus pandemic forced a change in plans to open at the end of this year on December 14, as announced on the 92nd Oscar telecast by Tom Hanks. The new date is closely tied to the revised date for the 93rd Academy Awards, now set for Sunday April 25, 2021. Of course, as we have seen numerous times, AMPAS has been a little snakebit in their plans to open this long-awaited landmark museum, but hopefully they can stick to this schedule.