Somehow marking the very first time they’d discussed the hit movie together, the pair united for a screening at the Academy Museum on Saturday where they began at the beginning, with John Hughes first bringing the script to Columbus. That came after the filmmaker had quit Hughes’ National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation — with Columbus admitting, “I had to call John Hughes and say, ‘I don’t get along with Chevy Chase. I don’t think I can make a movie with him’” — and thinking he may never direct again.
Of course he did, with Home Alone becoming a smash hit and a holiday classic still to this day, something Columbus credits to “a feeling of timelessness about the look of the movie and the feel of the movie.” It’s also in the elaborate traps that 8-year-old Kevin McCallister lays for thieves Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) that were done so realistically that “every time [the stuntmen] did a stunt, it was not funny. We’d watch it and we thought they were dead.”
The stars also got in on the action. In the scene where Pesci’s character’s head catches on fire, the actor had to wear a special cap; Columbus remembered “when we offered it to Joe, he said, ‘There’s no way I’m wearing that fucking thing.’” Producer Mark Radcliffe then “brought out his 9-year-old daughter, put the cap on her and we put the torch on her to actually show Joe Pesci, you’re gonna be OK, Joe, this is fine,” which eventually convinced him. And Stern had a real tarantula crawl on his face, but couldn’t scream because the spider “would then bite and get upset;” he had to pretend to scream and have his vocals added in post, the filmmaker revealed.
The conversation also touched on possible ways Culkin and Columbus could return to the franchise; they both stopped after 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, but the movies carried on, with 1997’s Home Alone 3, 2002’s Home Alone 4, 2012’s Home Alone: The Holiday Heist and 2021’s Home Sweet Home Alone.
Columbus got honest about his thoughts on those films, telling The Hollywood Reporter before the onstage conversation that his problem returning to the franchise is “it’s been revisited with really bad sequels. Sorry to insult anybody, but they’ve completely fucked it up. It started with Home Alone 3 and then it just went downhill from there; Home Alone 3 is sort of the best of the bunch of the bad movies.” He partially blamed their failure on using wires in action scenes, which “give a false sense of the stunt,” and as Culkin pointed out, “also they didn’t have us.”
Despite this, Culkin has recently been speaking publicly about a sequel idea he came up with, which he elaborated on at the event. “I like the idea that maybe Kevin’s older, that he’s like a widower or something like that. He’s raising his kid and they don’t really get along, he’s working all the time. … it’s almost like a Liar, Liar kind of thing,” the actor mused. “There’s one of two ways you can do it. One, he actually leaves the kid behind by mistake; he calls up his mom like, ‘So sorry, I get it now.’ Or I leave him behind on purpose, like, ‘Oh, that made me the man I am today.’”
Culking continued, “Then he locks me out of the house and he’s setting up traps and things like that. And I think I see them coming because, you know, I’m the expert. It also explains why I don’t call the police or locksmith because I’m embarrassed my kid is beating me and this is my gig. And I think the house would be kind of a metaphor for getting back into the kid’s heart kind of thing.”
Chris Columbus, Macaulay Culkin and Academy Museum director of film programs K.J. Relth-Miller.
Academy Museum Foundation/Andrew Ge
Columbus, though — who said he’s “heard about 600 different ideas” over the years of how to continue the story — thinks it would only be worth it if Culkin, Pesci and Stern all returned, as Culkin joked, “Joe Pesci is 82; I’m pretty sure he would still take a fall, right?”
The filmmaker elaborated to THR that two decades ago, he considered an idea where Harry and Marv were getting out of jail after 20 years and “they’re bitter, they’re angry, and they want revenge. And who do they want revenge on? Macaulay. And at that point, I thought Macaulay could have a kid, sort of Kevin’s age, and it would be his own kid dealing with these two guys.” Columbus added, though, “I don’t think Joe Pesci would be interested. I haven’t seen Dan Stern since 1992, I don’t know if he would be interested. The problem is when you’re doing a film like this, a lot of it is really based on cast; part of it is based on the cast at that age, at that particular time, and I don’t think you can duplicate that.”
The pair finished out the conversation by answering questions from kids in the audience, as Culkin talked about showing the movie to his own children — who don’t realize that he’s the star.
“They don’t even call it Home Alone, they call it Kevin. They’re like, ‘Wow Kevin’s really funny’; I go, ‘He’s also handsome, somebody that your mom [Brenda Song] might be into,’” he joked. “I showed my oldest — he wanted to see a picture of me and my siblings, so I pulled up this old photo; it’s all my siblings and he looks right at me and he goes, ‘Who’s that? That looks like Kevin.’ I go, ‘Oh, no, nobody, here’s your aunt.’”
Culkin continued, “Their little cousin was over, she’s 5 years old. They told her, ‘We’re gonna watch Kevin tonight.’ And she turned to me, she goes, ‘You’re Kevin.’ I said, ‘No you’re Kevin, shut up!’ I’m trying to keep the magic alive.” He left the stage by giving Home Alone 2‘s signature line, telling the crowd, “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.”
With each year, horror movies have become increasingly popular among moviegoers, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles plans to recognize it with a new museum exhibit.
The immersive “Horror Show” presentation will chronicle the genre’s “enormous cultural impact and enduring legacy” with a focus on its tropes, themes, and resonance. From a starting point dubbed “The Hallway,” visitors can explore six different hubs modeled after the most well-known sub-genres: Religion, Science, Slasher, Ghosts, Gothic, and Psychological. Each hub will highlight specific films—like Get Out, Ju-On, 1931’s Dracula, and the original Alien—and offer behind-the-scenes insight at their production and storytelling. Finally, there’ll be a catalog and public programming that includes film screenings, gallery talks, and even educational tours that’ll get more information at a later date.
“Throughout film history, horror has thrilled and moved audiences, acting as a powerful outlet for expression and a tool for social commentary,” said the Academy’s senior exhibitions curator Jessica Niebel. “Through these stories, people have found catharsis and community among fellow horror fans around the world. I can’t wait for everyone—from horror enthusiasts to the horror-curious—to see The Horror Show.”
If all this sounds good to you, there’s a catch: The Horror Showwon’t actually start until September 20, 2026, and it’ll run through July 25, 2027. At time of writing, you can’t buy tickets that far ahead, but you can at least plan things out if you’re not local to LA.
More than 15 years later, Jennifer’s Body continues to pack a punch for its intended audience, and director Karyn Kusama is grateful for the film’s cult status.
After writer Diablo Cody expressed interest in making a sequel, Deadline spoke with Kusama about the “fun and crazy” idea for the followup and reminisced about making the original 2009 comedy horror ahead of her reunion with star Megan Fox at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ screening and Q&A on Saturday, as part of its “monstrous feminine” Halloween-themed programming.
“I know she’s working on it right now, and I’m very excited to hear what comes of it,” said Kusama of Cody’s sequel. “I know some of the bones of it, so I’m not going to give anything away, but it sounds fun and crazy like the first film. And I have no doubt that Diablo will do something absolutely incredible with it.”
After the original film was mis-marketed, in addition to suffering from fallout of the media’s attacks on Fox, Kusama said she’s “just so grateful that the film managed to find its audience” with its current cult status. She was particularly flattered by a recurring nod in Prime Video‘s Overcompensating, which featured a cameo from Fox.
“For the part of me that has a healthy ego that I try to keep in check, to have Jennifer’s Body be like the antidote to another classic film that I worship,” said Kusama. “But the idea that Jennifer’s Body would be somebody’s Godfather, that just tickles me all the way down to my toes.”
Johnny Simmons, Amanda Seyfried, Karyn Kusama, Megan Fox and Adam Brody attend the Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness screening of ‘Jennifer’s Body’ on Sept. 10, 2009 in Toronto, Canada. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Read on for Karyn Kusama’s memories of making Jennifer’s Body, Pete Wentz‘s audition and the dawn of Kyle Gallner’s “scream king” tenure. Although the Academy Museum’s screening and Q&A is sold out, standby is available.
DEADLINE: Obviously this movie was mis-marketed to begin with. Tell me what it’s been like seeing this cult following come up over the years.
KARYN KUSAMA: I’m just so grateful that the film managed to find its audience, perhaps on a different timeline than any of us might have expected or hoped for, but I’m just so thankful that the work continues to speak to people. I’m just so satisfied by that.
DEADLINE: I was curious, did you happen to see that it was mentioned and Overcompensating with?
KUSAMA: Yes. For the part of me that has a healthy ego that I try to keep in check, to have Jennifer’s Body be like the antidote to another classic film that I worship, but the idea that Jennifer’s Body would be somebody’s Godfather, that just tickles me all the way down to my toes.
DEADLINE: I think I commented on Instagram recently that it’s my Citizen Kane.
KUSAMA: I love that. And I also love the fact that the slow return to the film by different audiences is so much my experience with movies as well, and so, to kind of feel like I could be part of one of those groups of films, that find its people over time is so gratifying.
Megan Fox in ‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009) (Doane Gregory/Fox Atomic/Courtesy Everett Collection)
DEADLINE: Do you remember how you first became attached, when you first read the script and knew that you wanted to direct it?
KUSAMA: I had gotten the script, and I think I might have been turned off by the title even, and sort of put off reading it. And this was before Juno had come out, so I was aware that Diablo Cody was like a new voice on the scene, but I wasn’t really kind of aware of this project until I just decided to dig in and read it. And the experience of reading it, to have it be both so funny, so scary, so kind of tragic. All of that lit up for me, some of the films I’ve just loved over the years that are often hybrids of different genres, and that I have this incredibly emotional relationship to. I immediately felt that about Diablo’s script, that I just saw a way into it, even with the kind of secret language between those two girls and the sense of high school absurdity, which I think is so real for so many people. It just felt very emotionally authentic to me. So, I kind of put my name up in the mix. I think other people were meeting on it too. But when I met Diablo and Jason Reitman and Dan Dubiecki and Mason Novick, the producers, I was able to probably just speak to the themes of it as if they were my themes, and in many respects they are and were so. Once I got to meet Megan and know that she and I were gonna get along, I was on the movie. And we moved pretty quickly actually, now that I think about it.
DEADLINE: Tell me about working with Megan cause she is such an amazing comedic actor, and I feel like it’s awful how she was treated at that time.
KUSAMA: Yeah, I mean, I think that’s sort of her secret weapon is she’s really, really funny, and obviously, what’s behind that kind of humor is deep intelligence, and so she had both of those things but was clearly dismissed, attacked, mistrusted somehow for not just sort of staying in her place. And I feel like this role spoke to something in her that she must have already been sort of wanting to flex a little bit, given how up to that moment, she had been treated in the press, and by her professional colleagues. That must have been incredibly wounding, and so she brought this amazing comedy to the role, but she also has so much pathos, and I loved getting to see her dig into all those sort of different corners of the character.
DEADLINE: I also love the friendship between Jennifer and Needy. It’s just such great driving force behind the whole possession plot. Tell me about building that friendship and working through that on the screen.
KUSAMA: We auditioned so many wonderful actors for Needy, and it wasn’t until Amanda came in that I felt I could understand the role. She brought this really unpredictable rhythm incredible humor, and incredible lack of vanity to the part, which I think is essential to Needy, to be both smart and funny, but also sort of self-deprecating. She just nailed it in that audition. And then I feel like as soon as we were up in Vancouver prepping, she and Megan spent a fair amount of time together. The whole young cast did actually, and that was just a great way for everyone to sort of start. Just being in high school cliques, essentially, and I have a memory of inviting everyone to my hotel room on a Friday night to watch Evil Dead 2, and I ordered pizzas. And it was just a way to have people far younger than me, but about to launch into playing this set of characters who really spoke to me on an emotional level, like in my memories of high school. And so to kind of see the way those relationships developed behind the scenes is as entertaining in my memory as actually making the film.
Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried in ‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009) (Doane Gregory/Fox Atomic/Courtesy Everett Collection)
DEADLINE: And there’s so many amazing supporting actors in this: J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris and Kyle Gallner. Do you have any standout memories from working with the ensemble?
KUSAMA: There’s so many great moments, I mean, Kyle to me, brought something so specific to the role of Colin Gray. He really understood the pretentiousness in a way of that kind of guy, but I found it so touching and so incredibly accurate, that the self-important goth is just such an incredible sort of high school type. But he brought so much humanity to it. Amy Sedaris, I felt blessed that we got her, and she just played the role with this kind of distracted, exhausted quality, that I had to work to not be cracking up any day she worked. And J.K., the same. He did things that, like he would get choked up after the fire and talk about the people we’d lost, and there’s a way that he nrought such a “playing it straight” quality to absurd material that you just can’t not laugh.
DEADLINE: I also love that Kyle, since this movie, has become such a scream king in his own right.
KUSAMA: I know, it’s true. And he’s so good at it. I think the thing is, he’s just a really great actor. And so it’s just so nice when people who can kind of put their head down and commit to a role just get to keep working. And that’s pretty much everyone in our cast, I feel like we saw a completely different side of Adam Brody. In fact, Chris Pratt had a larger role in the movie, but it was about kind of an ancillary story, so we had to cut some of his part down. But I always regretted that because I loved watching what he did in the movie. It is a really interesting population of really wonderful actors actually.
DEADLINE: I swear I wore the soundtrack out when I was in high school. It’s such a good soundtrack.
KUSAMA: Oh, I’m so happy to hear that.
DEADLINE: But I know Adam Brody didn’t actually sing his part, right?
KUSAMA: No, we had another—I mean, he did a great job of pretending to, but we found another band that some of the members could play as the backup band to Adam on stage. So it kind of helped create—they wrote that song ‘Through the Trees’, and they did the cover of Blondie’s ‘In the Flesh’. And they were able to sort of bring enough people on stage who actually knew the song, that it kind of felt like it was really happening.
Megan Fox in ‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009) (Fox Atomic)
DEADLINE: And did Pete Wentz audition for that part?
KUSAMA: He did, he did. But I was concerned, in my memory of it, that it was just almost too meta, like too much, even though I doubt it would have felt like stunt casting, it felt that way to me. But the irony was that we ended up working with Fall Out Boy’s label, and it was a nice way to sort of honor the tradition that we were both celebrating and skewering in the film.
DEADLINE: That’s awesome. And I love that the Fall Out Boy poster is one of the first things you see in the movie.
KUSAMA: Totally. I hope Pete has a sense of humor about it because it’s all filled with love.
DEADLINE: And now I couldn’t imagine anyone but Adam Brody in that part.
KUSAMA: Oh yeah, he’s so good in it.
DEADLINE: What was your favorite scene to direct? Cause there are so many iconic ones, from the abandoned pool to the the Melody Lane fire.
KUSAMA: There’s a sequence that is particularly long, because it’s intertwined and it’s cutting between Colin Gray going to this abandoned house to meet up with Jennifer, and Needy and Chip having sex over at his house. And I always felt like that scene, that sequence would work best if it was all intertwined and intercut. And we kicked it off with a song by a band that I really loved called Screeching Weasel, and they do an incredible cover of ‘I Can See Clearly Now’. I knew right away that I wanted that song, but I also knew I wanted an homage to Silence of the Lambs, when the senator’s daughter is singing ‘American Girl’ in the car. I always found that such an incredibly effective way to bond with her before she gets kidnapped in that film, and held prisoner. And so, I wanted to sort of honor that scene and see Colin singing at the top of his lungs and just at his most joyous teenage self before he lands at this abandoned, half-finished housing suburb. And so making it and putting those scenes together to create that one sequence, that lands in chip’s inimitable line, “Am I too big?” I just knew that that was how I kind of wanted it to work, and then to see it in theaters and just see how much audiences love that moment. It was a it was a really fun sequence to put together.
DEADLINE: Yeah, that was definitely one of the funniest line deliveries. I was curious, did Diablo want to be set on fire in the one scene?
KUSAMA: I’m trying to remember if—she was our bartender at the Melody Lane bar, but I don’t think she was allowed to be set on fire. Like, even if that was something she wanted to do, I believe we had a stunt coordinator who was like, “Absolutely not.” So, that did not happen.
DEADLINE: That’s funny though. I have to know, have you talked to Diablo about this potential sequel at all, or is there any movement?
KUSAMA: I know she’s working on it right now, and I’m very excited to hear what comes of it. I know some of the bones of it, so I’m not going to give anything away, but it sounds fun and crazy like the first film. And I have no doubt that Diablo will do something absolutely incredible with it.
DEADLINE: It also recently came to my attention that it was the 25th anniversary of Girlfight. What was it like for you and revisiting that?
KUSAMA: It’s just so wild because, on the one hand, it feels like maybe it has been 25 years, but on the other hand, it feels like maybe a quarter of that. I can’t account for how rapidly time seems to be passing, but I was really gratified that Criterion wanted to release an edition of the film. and that people are finding the film again that way. I look at each of my films as sort of teenagers going off to college and once they get to college, I sort of have to just cross my fingers that they’re gonna be OK. And I think Girlfight is representative of one of the movies that was very authentic for me at that moment and seems to be doing OK.
Director Karyn Kusama on the set of ‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009) (Doane Gregory/Fox Atomic/Courtesy Everett Collection)
DEADLINE: Do you still box at all?
KUSAMA: I don’t, I’ve ruined—I mean, it’s so funny, I have now persistent issues with my neck and my shoulder, and it’s all because of boxing. That sport is so incredible and wrecks your body. So, I’m now paying for the paying the price for that hobby of mine.
DEADLINE: I really do appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. Like I said, Jennifer’s Body is such an important film to me.
KUSAMA: I really, really appreciate it, and there’s something about people saying that it’s an important film to them, it just means so much to me, because I knew, making the film, that I wanted it to be kind of exuberant and fun and crazy and have kind of a bad attitude in a funny way. And I just so appreciate that people understand I was trying to speak to them. It’s cool.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ annual gala has become one of the starriest events of the year — and also one of the biggest fundraisers for the now four-year-old museum devoted to the arts, sciences and artists behind moviemaking.
This year’s glitzy event, presented with partner Rolex, raised a record $12+ million in support of the museum’s exhibitions, education efforts and public programming. Jon M. Chu, Common, Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey, Jennifer Hudson and Academy Museum Trustee Alejandro Ramírez Magaña served as this year’s co-chairs.
Viola DavisCredit: Photo by Emma McIntyre/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
The evening started with an outdoor cocktail party, where guests enjoyed passed bites like tuna cones and pizza prepared by guest chef Nancy Silverton and Wolfgang Puck Catering. They sipped wine (Clarendelle Bordeaux Blanc and Rose), Lallier R. 021 Champagne, Dassai Blue 23 Junmai Daiginjo sake and cocktails (including the Amity Island drink, made with Tequila Don Julio Blanco, lime, orange juice, hibiscus-cranberry float and lime).
Kim KardashianCredit: Photo by Emma McIntyre/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
The fashion show began as gala-goers arrived. Kim Kardashian made headlines in a face-covering nude masked look by Margiela couture. White Lotus co-stars Leslie Bibb and Michelle Monaghan both impressed in Caroline Herrera numbers.
Leslie Bibb and Michelle MonaghanCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Tessa Thompson also went for texture, in yellow Balenciaga. Monica Barbaro stunned in a white draping Dior number, and Lakeith Stanfield rocked a black and white Dior look. Charli XCX stood out in a black Saint Laurent look. Colman Domingo, who can do no wrong, dazzled in a gold Valentino jacket. Davis was a vision in purple Gucci. And Jeremy Strong went for an arresting red Loro Piana suit (plus matching red shades).
Scroll to continue reading
Jeremy Strong and Joel EdgertonCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Other guests included: Adam and Jackie Sandler, Addison Rae, Adrien Brody, Alana, Danielle and Este Haim, Alex Israel, Amanda Seyfried, America Ferrera, Anna Kendrick, Annabelle Wallis, Ari Emanuel, Ava DuVernay and Donovan Burns, Ayo Edebiri, Barry Jenkins, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, Benny Safdie, Brian Tyree Henry …
Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King, and Logan LermanCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
…. Bong Joon Ho, Cara Delevigne, Channing Tatum, Charli XCX, Charlie Hunnam, Dakota and Elle Fanning …
Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, and Orlando BloomCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
… Demi Moore, Diane Lane, Diego Boneta, Dwayne Johnson, Ed Sheeran, Édgar Ramírez, Edward Berger, Elizabeth Debicki, Emily Ratajkowski, Eva Longoria and Pepe Baston, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, Gael García Bernal, George Clooney, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Hailey Bieber, Hilary Duff, Isla Fisher, Jaden Smith, Jared Harris, Jason Clarke, Jason Reitman and Lorraine Nicholson, Jennifer Hudson, Jeremy Allen White, Joel Edgerton, Joey King, Jon Hamm and Anna Osceola, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall, Kaia Gerber, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Bigelow, Kendall Jenner, Kerry Condon, Kerry Washington, Kristen Wiig, Laura Harrier, Lee Pace, Logan Lerman, Lucy Liu …
Lucy Liu, Penélope Cruz, Demi Moore, and Adrien BrodyCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
… Lulu Wang, Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song, Marlon Wayans, Martin Scorsese, Maude Apatow, Mikey Madison, Naomi Watts and Billy Crudup, Nicole Richie, Odessa Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Olivia Wilde, Orlando Bloom, Park Chan-wook, Quinta Brunson, Rachel Sennott, Regina Hall, Regé-Jean Page, Renate Reinsve, Riley Keough, Rita Wilson, Rose Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Ryan Coogler, Sam Worthington, Sebastian Stan, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, Sydney Sweeney, Ted Sarandos and Nicole Avant, Will Arnett and Zoey Deutch.
Susan Downey, Robert Downey Jr. and Jared HarrisCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Once seated inside, Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey kicked things off by introducing the Academy Museum’s new director and president, Amy Homma — who in turn, introduced Academy Museum board chair Olivier de Givenchy.
Bowen Yang and Jon M. ChuCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Then came the awards presentations: Wim Wenders presented director Walter Salles with the Luminary Award. Jon M. Chu gave the Vantage Award to actor and comedian Bowen Yang.
Billy Crudup, Naomi Watts, Walter Salles and Penélope CruzCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
After dinner, Davis and Julius Tennon welcomed Zoe Saldaña, who presented the Icon Award to Oscar-winning actress Penélope Cruz. Martin Scorsese presented the evening’s final award, the inaugural Legacy Award, to Oscar-winning singer, songwriter and musician Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce Springsteen and Martin ScorseseCredit: Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
In a memorable finale, George Clooney came to the stage and introduced a performance by Springsteen, who closed out the event by belting his hits “Streets of Philadelphia,” “Atlantic City” and “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
The summer blockbuster film “changed popular culture in ways that are still reverberating today”
Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols
When it was released in the summer of 1975, Jaws established the new norm of what a blockbuster movie should be, and fifty years later, it remains a cultural touchstone across generations of moviegoers. Steven Spielberg’s shark-infested classic is the subject of a massive new exhibition newly opened at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Jaws: The Exhibition is “The first large-scale exhibition dedicated to a single motion picture,” museum president Amy Homma said at a preview. “Jaws is the summer blockbuster that changed popular culture in ways that are still reverberating today.”
Credit: Photo by Chris NicholsCredit: Photo by Chris Nichols
While some disaster movies like The Towering Inferno and Earthquake had made waves, the previous year’s crop of films saw family comedies like Benji, Herbie Rides Again and Young Frankenstein topping the charts. Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles was the highest-grossing movie of 1974. Jaws was a whole new kind of cinematic experience, only to be topped by Star Wars a couple of years later. Today, studios count on their summer tentpoles to drive much of the year’s business.
Credit: Photo by Chris NicholsCredit: Photo by Chris Nichols
The star of the new exhibition was already waiting in the wings of the museum. The 25’ fiberglass shark hanging above the entrance, the largest single object in the museum’s collection, was saved from a junkyard and restored in 2021. The extraordinary display of artifacts includes iconic elements from the movie, including sections of the Orca boat, the costumes Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw and Roy Scheider wore and the shark’s dorsal fin with the rig that allowed it to swim into frame, terrifying audiences whenever it appeared onscreen. The big shark, Homma says, has become the “mascot” of the museum.
Scroll to continue reading
Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols
Visitors can use a rig to recreate the famous dolly zoom shot of Chief Brody on the beach, learn notes from the iconic John Williams score on the keyboard, and even try their hand at piloting a miniature of the mechanical shark.
Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols
The props and costumes in the show, which runs through next July, were sourced from the archives of collectors all over the world who “knew something I didn’t know,” Steven Spielberg said at the museum. “When we shot the opening scene of Chrissie Watkins being taken by the shark, we had a buoy floating in the water. How did anybody know to take the buoy and take it home and sit on it for fifty years? And then loan it to the Academy. How could they know?”
Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols
Spielberg recalled the travails of filming on the open water of the Atlantic Ocean with a finicky mechanical shark. “It was a real exercise in hubris and futility. I thought my career was virtually over halfway through production,” the legendary director said. “Everbody was saying to me ‘you are never going to get hired again. This film is way over budget and way over schedule and you are a real liability as a director.’ I thought I’d better give this my all because I’m not working in the industry again after they see the movie. Fortune smiled on us.”
For 50 years, audiences all over the world have watched and marveled at the brilliance of Jaws. It’s long been one of the true masterpieces in the history of movies and, starting next week, you’ll get to experience it in a way you never have before: by actually being in its presence. On September 14, the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, CA, is opening “Jaws: The Exhibition,” an unprecedented collection of over 200 items from the development, production, and release of the Steven Spielberg classic. And if you consider yourself a fan, you will not be able to contain your joy and amazement at what it entails.
io9 was invited to a press preview of the exhibit, which included opening remarks from Academy president Amy Homma, exhibit curator Jenny He, and Spielberg himself. The director regaled the audience with some stories from the making of the film (many of which are told in an equally excellent documentary released this year), but he also spoke of his amazement at what the exhibit actually had in store.
Spielberg spoke of “a collection of memories stimulated just in the last hour and a half by walking through the exhibition that they have so ingeniously assembled from the archives of collectors all over the world.”
These collectors “somehow knew something that I didn’t know,” the director continued. “I mean, why wouldn’t anybody… when we shot the opening scene of Chrissie Watkins being taken by the shark, and we had a buoy floating in the water, how did anybody know to take the buoy and take it home and sit on it for 50 years and then loan it to the Academy? How did they know? I didn’t know. I thought my career was virtually over halfway through production on Jaws.”
Well, you knew a little bit, Steven. Because, while yes, the buoy and much more were donated by private collectors, the exhibit is filled with pieces from Spielberg’s collection too. The exhibit has screen-used barrels from the Orca. It has the main character’s actual costumes. It has Hooper’s backpack, Quint’s beer, the shark cage, the spear, and Ben Gardner’s head. All original props that appear in the movie itself. Some are from private collectors, some are from the studio, and others are from Spielberg, but for all of them, being that close to something you’ve watched in a movie so many times is almost indescribable.
Here are a few of our favorite screen-used props from the exhibit. Click on each image to see it larger.
But that’s not all. Those props are spread across the multi-room space, which takes up the entire fourth floor of the museum and follows the narrative of the film as its structure. You enter through the seaweed of the opening credits and emerge on the beach. There, props and stories about the making of the opening greet you. Next, there’s Chief Brody’s house and objects from the town of Amity Island, all the way through the story of the film, culminating in a room with props from the Orca, a mechanical shark, and more.
Along the way, not only are there props, but there are also behind-the-scenes photos, script pages, concept art, and so much more. Plus, there are some super fun interactive things too. You can pose your arm to make it look like it was found chomped up on a beach. You can sit in the depths of the Orca and talk about scars. In the John Williams section, complete with some of the actual items he used during the writing and recording of the score, there’s a keyboard that shows you how to play his iconic theme. You can control a mechanical shark, and there’s even a place for you to do your own dolly zoom shot.
Using a QR code to access a webpage (see it here), you place your phone in the exhibit, and an employee gives you a dolly zoom, which you can then download on your phone. Here are a few highlights
Once you get through the film’s narrative, a room celebrates the legacy of Jaws since its release, with tickets from its premiere, all manner of merchandise, posters, and so much more. It’s not as extensive as other parts of the exhibit, but it’s a fond reminder of how the film has endured over the years. Be sure to make a stop in the gift shop before you leave, because there’s plenty of Jaws stuff for sale there too. Here’s a peek at some of that and just general signage.
As a massive fan of Jaws (and, really, who isn’t?), it was magical to stand in these spaces and look at the actual props and costumes from such an iconic movie. I’ve seen that arcade machine or that machete a million times watching Jaws. And now, I’m standing two feet from the same thing. It’s pretty fantastic.
“The fact that now, 51 years after the production and 50 years after it was released, people have a chance between now and July to come here to the Academy Museum and live for the first time some of the experiences I’m trying to relive for you here, I’m just so proud of the work they’ve done,” Spielberg said. “What they’ve put together here, this exhibition, is just awesome. Every room has the minutiae of how this picture got together and proves that this motion picture industry is really, truly a collaborative art form.”
“Jaws: The Exhibition” will be on display starting September 14 and will run through July 26, 2026. The museum has also announced that it has begun work on a retrospective covering Spielberg’s entire career that’s opening in 2028. And while that’s extremely exciting, and Spielberg has certainly made many incredible, unforgettable movies, I’m not sure anything will ever be as enduring as Jaws.
The Academy Museum Gala’s homage to three Hollywood icons brought the best of cinema and fashion to the red carpet in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Now in its fourth year, the fundraiser–co-chaired in part by Salma Hayek Pinault, Nicole Kidman, Eva Longoria, and Tyler Perry–raised over $11 million for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to support its filmmaking exhibitions and local community initiatives.
Honoring Rita Moreno, Paul Mescal, and Quentin Tarantino for their contributions to film, the gala’s highly coveted guestlist included Amy Adams, Kylie Jenner and Netflix chief Ted Sarandos.
Longoria kicked off the evening’s programming, introducing Director and President of the Academy Museum, Amy Homma, who welcomed the guests and introduced the first presenter of the night, three-time Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg who presented the Icon Award to EGOT legend Moreno.
After the dinner service, Colman Domingo returned guests to their seats by introducing the next presenter, four-time Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan, who presented friend and recent co-star, Oscar-nominated actor Mescal with the Vantage Award.
The Luminary Award was presented to Tarentino by Pulp Fiction star John Travolta. During his acceptance speech, Tarantino announced the donation of his first handwritten draft of the script, which won an Oscar in 1995 for best original screenplay, to the museum.
Before the night was over, Ariana Grande closed out the evening with a heartfelt introduction to co-star Cynthia Erivo, who treated guests to a surprise musical performance, singing “I’m Here” from The Color Purple, Diana Ross’s “Home” from The Wiz (1978)” “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Prince’s “Purple Rain.” After every song, Grande stood up to cheer her fellow co-star in the upcoming Wicked musical.
There were so many stars and notable guests, it was a challenge to keep anyone in their seats. From Pamela Anderson to Demi Moore to the cast of Emilia Pérez, everyone mingled between tables to catch up after a busy fall festival season. At the end of the night, guests made their way downstairs to their cars and limos, excited to be a part of a night that celebrates cinema. The gala was presented in partnership with Rolex.
Italian cinema is in the spotlight at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles where the screening series “Ennio Morricone: Essential Scores from a Movie Maestro,” programmed in partnership with Cinecittà, is currently playing to sold-out audiences.
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates Rome’s recently refurbished movie studios, but also acts as a promotional entity for the country’s film industry.
“We took an approach to the Ennio Morricone series really foregrounding the restorations of Italian films that have been completed by Cinecittà,” said K.J. Relth-Miller, the Academy Museum’s director of film programs.
But, she added, another part of Morricone’s story is his work in Hollywood that came primarily after becoming an established maestro in Italy.
In selecting from Morricone’s body of work, which comprises more than 400 film and television scores, Relth-Miller and Cinecittà tried to expand the horizons of current and new Morricone fans in the U.S. by “opening that door a bit wider” beyond Leone, De Palma and Tarantino titles, “inviting them to experience just how creative and thoughtful and wide-ranging his approach to adding character through a score to a film could be,” she said.
That meant screening Elio Petri’s Oscar-winning psychological thriller “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion,” starring Gian Maria Volonté and Florinda Bolkan, as a double feature with Petri’s lesser-known thriller “A Quiet Place in the Country,” which stars Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave. Another example is Giuliano Montaldo’s political drama “Sacco and Vanzetti,” about the 1927 trial and execution of accused Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, “which had an amazing run on the festival circuit at the time, but didn’t really import stateside,” Relth-Miller pointed out.
Another Morricone-scored rarity in the selection is Lina Wertmüller’s first feature “The Lizards” (1963), which followed the lives of impoverished people in Southern Italy and has not been seen in the U.S.
“This title is not a restoration but we are bringing in the DCP [with English subtitles] from Italy,” Relth-Miller said.
The event’s main series was was preceded on Oct. 1 by a gala featuring a freshly restored copy of Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning “Cinema Paradiso,” with the director and Morricone’s two sons in tow.
“The “Cinema Paradiso” screening in L.A. was very emotional,” said Cinecittà CEO Nicola Maccanico, “because it reiterated how contemporary this film is while also showing the quality of the restoration.”
Maccanico underlined that “the promotion of classic Italian cinema, along with new auteurs, is a way for us to draw more attention to our industry at a time when there are several Italian directors who can legitimately aspire to winning an Oscar.”
Case in point is Matteo Garrone’s timely immigration drama “Io Capitano,” Italy’s current Oscar candidate, which won two prizes at the Venice Film Festival in September and is considered among the top contenders for the Academy’s best international feature film statuette.
The Cinecittà chief called the Morricone screening series, which is part of its ongoing collaboration with the Academy, “a bridge between the past and the future that is strengthened today by the fact that Italian cinema has a strong future ahead.”
