Reprinted from The Hollywood Reporter by Scott Feinberg on November 13, 2020.
Factoring in capital gifts, endowments, funding for education programs and other special gifts, the long-gestating Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has now met — and, in fact, exceeded — its pre-opening fundraising goal of $388 million, the museum announced on Friday.
A donation from the animation studio LAIKA moved the museum — which is located at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax, and is set to open this spring — over the finish line, closing out a campaign that was launched in 2012 and overseen by chair Bob Iger and co-chairs Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. A gallery dedicated to special collections will be named after the Oregon-based company.
More than 13,000 donors contributed to the campaign, the museum reported, with gifts coming from individuals, corporations, foundations and government entities. The largest contribution, $50 million, came from Cheryl Saban and Haim Saban; the portion of the museum that occupies the former May Company department studio will be named the Saban Building in their honor. …
