designer Rick Carter (Avatar) is
developing the plan for the per-
manent collection in the Saban
Building that will offer both
crowd-pleasers like the Jaws shark
and a decade-by-decade tour of
what Brougher calls “the history
of film as seen from the perspec-
tive of the filmmaker.”
There have been hitches.
In January, Rich Cherry resigned
as COO after barely a year on the
job, which included overseeing
construction. “He got us through
a time of construction when his
help was greatly appreciated, but
he has his own museum consul-
tancy business and he’s gone on
to focus on that,” says Brougher.
Cherry declined comment.
Though no opening date has
been set — the Academy is cur-
rently eyeing a fall 2019 debut
— the museum has already been
embraced by industry leaders.
NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron
Meyer has come aboard as chair
of the new board of trustees,
which includes such names as
Tom Hanks and designer Diane
von Furstenberg. “Our main
priority now is to help Bob Iger
[who heads the capital cam-
paign] close out the fundraising,”
Meyer says. “About 80 percent
of the $390 million goal has
been raised.”
As the board’s vice chair,
Sarandos played a key role in
courting Cheryl and Haim
Saban, whose $50 million dona-
tion is the largest the project
has received. Other major con-
tributions have come from
David Geffen ($25 million) and
the Dalian Wanda Group ($20 mil-
lion). Calling the Sabans’ gift
“profoundly inspiring,” producer
and board treasurer Jason Blum
adds: “It’s very important that
the museum serves people who
love movies.”
THE SABAN BUILDINGThe ground floor of the old
May Co. Building, renamed the Saban
Building after Cheryl and Haim
Saban, is being transformed into a
two-story lobby that will include
a restaurant, retail space and the
Spielberg Family Gallery. The
gallery will house rotating collections
that, Brougher says, will serve as
“a kind of prelude to the historical
permanent collection” that
will occupy much of the second
and third floors. The museum also
is developing an app that will
offer augmented reality in various
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