Last night on the 79th Annual Academy Awards, Ellen Degeneres claimed that she bet the Academy’s President Sid Ganis a dollar that he couldn’t explain everything that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences does (beyond the Academy Awards) in under 60 seconds. Off Mr. Ganis went – super speed talking and highlighting all the fabulous things the Academy does when it isn’t on TV giving out little statues. There in the middle was a beautiful cameo for the Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Film Archives. It was all going so fast it was hard to get more than a fleeting impression of shelves full of film canisters, movie posters and a beautiful research space.
It is nice to see archives and special collections such as these being featured realistically and enthusiastically in the middle of a show with such a wide reach to the general public.