The Guardian carried this snippet of news today about the BFI's projected film centre, apparently due to be open by 2015.
Arts diary
BFI plans gallery of film memorabilia
Francesca Martin
Wednesday July 16, 2008
The Guardian
Where can you see Marilyn Monroe's dress from Some Like It Hot or the first ever script for Coronation Street? Nowhere yet - but the BFI Southbank, which celebrates its 75th birthday this September, is hoping to open a new film centre to house all its TV and film memorabilia by 2015.
As well as a gallery and five cinemas, the film HQ would give the public access to thousands of hours of National Archive film and the opportunity to look at the BFI's posters, letters and scripts. Currently stored in Hertfordshire, the collection includes letters from Alec Guinness while he was filming with David Lean, an annotated early script of Star Wars and Peter Sellers' makeup diary.
"Once we have the green light, we will start a massive fundraising campaign," says Amanda Neville, director of the BFI. "It is vital that we have a centre for everyone to learn about film and film culture."
Arts diary
BFI plans gallery of film memorabilia
Francesca Martin
Wednesday July 16, 2008
The Guardian
Where can you see Marilyn Monroe's dress from Some Like It Hot or the first ever script for Coronation Street? Nowhere yet - but the BFI Southbank, which celebrates its 75th birthday this September, is hoping to open a new film centre to house all its TV and film memorabilia by 2015.
As well as a gallery and five cinemas, the film HQ would give the public access to thousands of hours of National Archive film and the opportunity to look at the BFI's posters, letters and scripts. Currently stored in Hertfordshire, the collection includes letters from Alec Guinness while he was filming with David Lean, an annotated early script of Star Wars and Peter Sellers' makeup diary.
"Once we have the green light, we will start a massive fundraising campaign," says Amanda Neville, director of the BFI. "It is vital that we have a centre for everyone to learn about film and film culture."
1 comment:
Oh dear. This all sounds a bit like the rescue exhibition rapidly organised after the closure of MOMI. A few special film objects with 'aura' assembled in a room is no substitute for an education in film history.
The BFI's special collections aren't exactly 'stored in Hertfordshire' either -- it's probably the most important film and television research collection in the UK. I think they were advertising for a Keeper quite recently: let's hope his/her job isn't restricted to laying out the BFI's most celeb-friendly documents in glass boxes for the public to gawk at.
While you expect these sort of announcements to get mangled in the press (there's no corresponding release on the BFI's site to set the record straight), it all smacks heavily of Nevill's obsession with glamour: that premier, those dresses, oh darling. I wonder how much her 'massive fundraising campaign' will acquire to get that dress-in-a-box on display again. By 2015. I can't wait.
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