The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday the addition of a wide-ranging slate of high-profile film artifacts to its collection, including the bicycle from “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” rare scripts and correspondence from Orson Welles and behind-the-scenes photographs from “Jaws.”
The new acquisitions also include costumes from 1957’s “Desk Set” and 1997’s “Boogie Nights,” personal archives from prominent filmmakers and executives, and newly restored prints of 2004’s “Mysterious Skin,” 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and 1957’s “Saint Joan,” all of which recently had West Coast premiere screenings at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
“The preservation of our global film history is a core focus of the Academy, and we are honored to add so many exciting items to our ever-growing Academy Collection,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement. “The collection serves as an important tool for research, scholarship, exhibitions, and programs.”
Among the most notable additions is the late Paul Reubens’ screen-used “hero” bicycle from the 1985 film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”
The collection also acquired a group of rare Orson Welles materials from collector James Pepper, including a “Citizen Kane” script, a “Touch of Evil” script annotated by Welles, and a wrap party invitation from “Citizen Kane,” according to officials.
The Academy also added the gown worn by Cicely Tyson to the 91st Academy Awards, along with behind-the-scenes photographs from the set of “Jaws” taken by production boom operator Frank Meadows, offering a rare look at the making of the 1975 classic.
New technology and production artifacts added to the collection include life casts of Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Al Pacino, along with a camera used by documentary pioneer Robert J. Flaherty.
The Academy also added new Oscar statuettes, including John Alcott’s Academy Award for cinematography for 1975’s “Barry Lyndon.”
In addition, the Academy Film Archive added more than 1,000 audio and visual elements this past year, including casting session recordings featuring actors such as Zac Efron, Andrew Garfield, Jennifer Lawrence and Saoirse Ronan, a 35mm print of 2023’s “His Three Daughters” and a newly created 35mm print from the original negative of Federico Fellini’s “8 1/2” from 1963.
The Academy said the collection now contains more than 52 million items, making it the largest film-related collection in the world.