Academy Museum celebrates Star Wars on May 4th

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will present a Star Wars-inspired May the 4th celebration.

This exciting event will include photo ops with R2-D2, hands-on activities related to the Star Wars universe, a 15% discount* on select Star Wars merchandise at the Academy Museum Store, and a special 40th anniversary screening of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.

In addition, there will be two book signings, one with Paul Hirsch, Oscar-winning film editor of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Howard Kazanjian, producer of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983).

Guests are encouraged to come dressed in their best Star Wars-themed costumes!*

*Discount valid in-store only on selected Star Wars merchandise; does not apply to online orders. Discounts cannot be combined with other discounts and promotions.
**The following are not allowed when dressing in costume at the Academy Museum: body paint, props and toy weapons, and/or full-face coverings. Guests in costume are subject to search at the discretion of Academy Museum staff at any time, and we reserve the right to refuse entry for any reason.

WHEN:

Thursday, May 4, 2023
1:30-9:45pm PDT

This event includes photo ops, art-making activities, and book signings. It will culminate with a movie screening in the museum’s David Geffen Theater. Tickets to the book signings and screening are sold separately.

Schedule:1:30–3:30pm | Photos with R2-D2! | Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby
1:30–5:30pm | May the 4th Art-Making Activities | Shirley Temple Education Studio
4:30–6:30pm | Photos with R2-D2! | Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby
5–7pm | Book Signings | Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby
7:30pm | Screening of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi | David Geffen Theater

WHERE:

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
6067 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles

BOOK SIGNING DETAILS:

5pm | Paul Hirsch | Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby

Paul Hirsch, A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits—Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mission: Impossible, and More: A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away  provides a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most influential films of the last fifty years as seen through the eyes of Hirsch, the Oscar®-winning film editor who worked on such classics as George Lucas’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)—for which he won an Academy Award—and Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) and Mission: Impossible (1996), Herbert Ross’s Footloose (1984) and Steel Magnolias (1989), John Hughes’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and Planes, Trains & Automobiles  (1987), Joel Schumacher’s Falling Down (1993), and Taylor Hackford’s Ray (2004)—for which Hirsch received his second Oscar nomination.

5pm | Howard Kazanjian | Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby

J. W. Rinzler, Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life: Howard Kazanjian, a film producer whose career spans fifty years, has collaborated with Hollywood legends such as Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Sam Peckinpah, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas, and has worked on such classics as Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and  Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983). Complete with personal anecdotes from the front lines, and coupled with rare archival photographs, this full-length biography tells the story of Kazanjian’s rise in Hollywood and takes us behind the scenes of the producer’s role in some of the biggest blockbusters in film history.

SCREENING DETAILS:

7:30pm | Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) | David Geffen Theater | DCP

Celebrating its 40th anniversary with our screening of the Special Edition, this final episode in the original Star Wars trilogy begins as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), stunned by the news of his true parentage, makes a desperate attempt to rescue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt. Soon the construction of a new Death Star leads to a confrontation with the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) as well as a decisive battle against the Empire, with the unexpected help of the plucky Ewoks. This action-packed intergalactic adventure was the final Star Wars film until George Lucas reignited the franchise 16 years later with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).

TICKETS:

Tickets to the Academy Museum are available only through advance online reservations via the Academy Museum’s website and mobile app.

Access to the R2-D2 photo opportunities and educational activities are complimentary with the purchase of general admission; tickets are $25 for adults, $19 for seniors (age 62+), and $15 for students. Admission for visitors ages 17 and younger, and for California residents with an EBT card is free. General admission tickets include access to R2-D2 and education studio activities.

Book Signings: Tickets are $30 for each book separately; $55 for both. Tickets include access to the event and a signed copy of the book(s). You must have a ticket to attend the book signing.

Film Screenings: Film screening tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors (age 62+), and $5 for students and children (age 17-). Ticket prices for Academy Museum Members are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $4 for students and children.