The customer was the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, best known for its annual Academy Awards. The idea of creating a museum appeared several years ago, and now it is already close to being realized. A special selection committee of the academy, led by Steven Spielberg, considered more than 100 applicants for the role of the museum's architect, focusing on Portzampark.
The site will be a 3-hectare block near Sunset Boulevard, which was the center of cinema during the days of Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith. Now this area is in decline, and new construction, according to the leadership of the Academy, will be the beginning of its revival. The construction of a complex of several buildings, which will house the museum, should begin in 2009 and end in 2012.
The Academic Film Museum will be a serious institution, where, in addition to the exposition telling about the process of making a film and about the history of cinema, questions will be raised about the role of the "seventh muse" in the cultural life of society, about the mechanism of the appearance of cult movie heroes, and so on.
Christian de Portzamparc admits that he is very flattered by the choice of American film academics. According to him, his whole life is largely determined by the influence of cinema, and he sees a lot in common in making a film and designing a building: in both cases, movement, lighting, editing, framing play an important role; in both cases, it is about life around us.
