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Academy Museum Publishes Catalog of Hayao Miyazaki's Works

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced on Tuesday that it is publishing a catalog of anime director Hayao Miyazaki's works. The catalog will be available on September 7 through the Academy Museum Store. DelMonico Books is co-publishing the book, and D.A.P. Artbook is distributing the book worldwide.

The book will feature never-before-seen production artwork from some of Miyazaki's films, and will be 288 pages long. It will also include a foreword by Studio Ghibli producer and co-founder Toshio Suzuki, as well as contributions by Pixar CCO Pete Docter, film critic Daniel Kothenschulte, and Academy Museum Exhibitions Curator Jessica Niebel.

The catalog is one of three debut catalogs the Academy Museum is planning, alongside similar catalogs for directors Spike Lee and Pedro Almodóvar.

One of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' first exhibits will feature the works of Miyazaki, presented in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. The museum plans to screen all of Miyazaki's films from October 5 to November 27.

The Museum's website previously noted that the exhibit will feature original production materials — "some of which have never been seen outside of Studio Ghibli's archives" — from such films as My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Spirited Away (2001). In particular, the exhibit will "present more than 200 concept sketches, character designs, storyboards, layouts, cels, backgrounds, film clips, and immersive environments." The exhibit will have accompanying events and "unique Studio Ghibli merchandise" at the Museum's shop.

The museum will open on September 30, after a gala on September 25. The museum's opening was delayed, and it was previously planned to open in April 2021. Actor Tom Hanks had announced during the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony in February 2020 that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures would open after several delays on December 14, 2020.

The Museum as a whole will delve into the 90-year history of the Oscars. It will open at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had announced the project in 2012 with a projected 2017 opening date. The academy announced the Miyazaki exhibit in December 2018, when the museum's projecting opening date had already slipped to 2019.

Miyazaki is now directing his next feature film, Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (How Do You Live?). Suzuki confirmed in March that the animation for the film is half finished.

Source: Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' website and Twitter account