The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures which is due to open in 2017, will be a museum devoted to the preservation, presentation, and education of filmaking. It  will contain over 290,000 square feet of state-of-the-art galleries, exhibition spaces, original props and costumes from films, movie theaters, educational areas, and special event spaces. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will be one of the world’s premier museums devoted to exploring and curating the history and future of film.

The museum is being designed by architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali, and will be located next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) campus in the landmarked Wilshire May Company building.

To date of the $300-million capital campaign, chaired by Disney’s chairman and chief executive, Bob Iger, with co chairs, Annette Bening and Tom Hanks, the Academy has publicly (more donations have been made privately), announced over $50 million dollars as been donated, including a $25 million dollar donation from Producer, David Geffen, $10 million dollar gifts each from, Producer, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Director, Writer, and Producer, Steven Spielberg, a donation by Leonardo Di Caprio (per The Hollywood Reporter:“DiCaprio led the group of donors that enabled the purchase, which was brokered by auction house Profiles in History. Steven Spielberg and LACMA co-char Terry Semel were also among those involved”) of the original, screen used close up Ruby Slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz“, millions donated from Producer and Writer, Gale Anne Hurd (“The Terminator Trilogy“, “The Walking Dead,” “The Incredible Hulk“, and other films) philanthropist and Onex Chief Executive, Gerald Schwartz and his wife, Heather Reisman, and the family of film exhibitor Ted Man, and many others.