The Academy Museum Gala returned in star-studded style Saturday night for its second annual celebration, with this year’s honorary titles Julia Roberts, Tilda Swinton, Steve McQueen and Miky Lee.
A-list guests at the Los Angeles event also included George Clooney, Emma Stone, Spike Lee, Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne, Laura Dern, Michelle Yeoh, Kerry Washington, Ava DuVernay, Selena Gomez, Olivia Wilde, Glenn Close, Sterling K Brown, Jonathan Majors, Selma Blair, Christina Ricci, Keke Palmer, Mindy Kaling, Regina Hall, Julianna Margulies, Natasha Lyonne, Adrien Brody, Ron Howard, Ryan Murphy and Luca Guadagnino, who mingled on the carpet and in the exclusive gala. (See photos here).
Swinton, who received the Visionary Award for “an artist or scholar whose extensive body of work has advanced the art of cinema,” said The Hollywood Reporter that the recognition was “kind of unimaginably honorable”.
“I can’t quite get over it,” she continued. “I don’t really know what it is until we get in there, it almost feels too much.”
McQueen, who received the Vantage Award for “an artist or scholar who has helped contextualize and challenge dominant narratives surrounding cinema,” added that “it is an honor to be honored by the Academy – who would you want to be honored even more for a filmmaker?”
Hunter Abrams
Miky Lee, who serves as vice chairman of the museum’s board of directors, was recognized with the Pillar Award for “exemplary leadership and support for the Academy Museum” and Roberts received the inaugural Gala Icon Award for “an artist whose career has contributed significantly global cultural impact.”
Robert’s appearance caused a stir among the star crowd, as Chastain – who walked the press line with her The good nurse costar Redmayne – joked that “Julia Roberts brought him out, he is very excited that Julia Roberts will be here tonight”, a sentiment Redmayne confirmed. When asked if he had any conversations scheduled for Roberts, Chastain teased, “I’m just a boy, I’m standing in front of a girl and asking her to love him…” from Notting Hill fame, as Redmayne revealed, this encounter would actually be a second attempt.
“I actually met her once, she gave me a very generous prize once and I made a fool of myself,” said the actor. “I just squirted. I was ashamed of that.” And since the gala also serves as a major fundraiser for the museum, Chastain also noted, “they raised $11 million last year, so hopefully — open your wallet, Redmayne. Make it 12!”
Hunter Abrams
Swinton also got some love on the carpet, especially from Majors, who named the star his favorite actress. “I hear she’ll be here. I may be too shy to talk to her, but she’s my favorite,” he confided, also talking about the importance of the Academy Museum as a home to Los Angeles cinema history.
“Cinema is the tool of democracy and if we can put our progress in capsules, if we can somehow commemorate it, we should,” he said. “It shows ways to live, and to live better teaches us lessons. I am happy to be here and honor these people today and their contributions to it.”
Swinton himself added: “The thing with film is that it never gets old and it’s really important that the archive is available to everyone. And this museum is truly phenomenal. I got around it yesterday and it’s so vibrant and so inclusive. I think anyone living in LA should come hang out here as much as possible.”
Sinna Nasseric
The event featured guests – including Judd Apatow, Jason Blum, The Daniels, Xolo Maridueña, Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas, Hailey Bieber, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jurnee Smollett, Lily Collins, Kaitlyn Dever, BJ Novak, Alexandra Daddario, Alexa Demie, Colman Domingo, Lena Dunham, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez and Rebel Wilson kicked off the party with a cocktail party at Fanny’s museum restaurant, where Ron Howard and Spike Lee chatted while she was in a booth with her in Thuso Mbedu. Wife king director Gina Prince-Bythewood. Yeoh also took in a choir that performed on the restaurant’s balcony before the party moved to the main hall.
Sinna Nasseric
For the prize portion, Jeffrey Katzenberg presented to Miky Lee, noting that she was an early investor in DreamWorks; Guadagnino, who walked on the carpet with his Bones and everything star Taylor Russell, presented to Swinton, who starred in his Suspiria. Daniel Kaluuya presented to McQueen, who introduced him widowsand Clooney presented his Ticket to paradise co-star Roberts (who wore Thom Browne).
At the end of the evening, Diana Ross dropped by for a special surprise performance as Blum, Alicia Vikander and Universal’s Donna Langley were among those listening to her hits. This year’s gala raised $10 million to support the museum’s admission, education and programming initiatives.
Hunter Abrams
The event was also co-chaired by Academy Museum administrators Blum and Ryan Murphy, as well as Halle Berry and Lupita Nyong’o. Gala Creative Director Lisa Love and Artistic Director Raul vila oversaw the production and design of the event for the evening, which was presented by Rolex, and guests were sent home with a goodie bag of chocolates from the luxury watch brand.
