When George Lucas invites you to a party, attendance is a must. The opening-night soirée at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was as star-studded as any major film awards after-party. As dusk settled, Oprah Winfrey greeted Robert De Niro warmly, while Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart sidestepped the red carpet after a chat with Spike Lee. Laura Dern and Greta Gerwig shared laughs at the entrance, and Samuel L. Jackson claimed a bench with a jest: ‘Hey, look what I did!’
Many prominent figures converged at the event. Owen Wilson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian, Meg Ryan, Jack Quaid, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Justin Trudeau, Mark Hamill, and Magic Johnson were there, and that was just the start. After Pharrell Williams’ white-robe clad vocal group performed, Lucas’ wife Mellody Hobson reassured the crowd with humor. ‘George kept asking, “Will this person come? Do you think this person will come?” I replied, “They will all come,”‘ she recounted, prompting laughter.
The fifth-floor Skywalker Grill saw a notable gathering of directors for a photograph that might become an iconic Hollywood image. The lineup featured Lucas, Jon M. Chu, Chris Columbus, Francis Ford Coppola, Lee Daniels, Guillermo del Toro, Jon Favreau, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard, Peter Jackson, Chris Meledandri, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, Steven Spielberg, Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Nathan Fielder, and David Benioff. Meanwhile, artists like Jeff Koons, Refik Anadol, Judy Baca, and Takashi Murakami mingled with museum directors, including the Broad’s Joanne Heyler and Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Michael Govan.
Lucas and Hobson addressed why the museum is significant and its deviations from traditional ones. While the press preview gathered praise, critics panned the mix of masterworks with pop culture of the museum. Lucas elaborated on his decision to oversee the museum’s vast gallery space, mentioning others didn’t understand his vision of illustrating art in a different light. He stressed, ‘You can’t say this is art. This is not art. Art is in the eye of the beholder. If it is emotional to you, then it’s art.’
Lucas echoed the sentiment that illustrators deserved recognition within museums. ‘This is the way of giving back to them,’ he said. His vision aimed to spotlight illustrators often overlooked by major museums. Queen Latifah remarked, ‘Paris has the Louvre, New York has the Met and now L.A. has the artistic equal.’
The museum’s journey to L.A. was far from smooth, taking over a decade and bypassing potential locations like Chicago and San Francisco amid civic pushback and legal battles. Hobson highlighted this challenge humorously, suggesting spouses reconsider if the other proposes building a museum.
Hobson praised Lucas’ unwavering commitment to visualize the museum and celebrate remarkable illustrators, despite criticisms likening its approach to popcorn movies rather than art films. The evening concluded with a memorable drone show, narrating and celebrating illustrations within the museum’s collection. Following the show, guests enjoyed the final performance by the Black Eyed Peas.