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1 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 N E W S On Sunday, April 22, the 1932 film Grand Hotel launched the Art Directors Guild Film Society's 2018 screening series with a spotlight on Cedric Gibbons, MGM'S legendary Oscar ® -winning Supervising Art Director with a record 11 Academy Awards ® and 38 nominations. Gibbons' legendary film honors include Singin' in the Rain (1952), An American in Paris (1951), Pride and Prejudice (1940), The Wizard of Oz (1939) and The Great Ziegfeld (1936). He designed the iconic gold Oscar statuette and influenced the architecture of the majestic movie palaces. Following the screening, Production Designer and Film Society co-chair Thomas A. Walsh moderated a discussion with Maria Cooper Janis, Cedric Gibbons' great-niece and daughter of legendary actor Gary Cooper. They explored the legacy of Gibbons' work and position in the Golden Age of Hollywood socialites. "Gibbons was clearly the most influential Supervising Art Director of Hollywood's Golden Age," said Walsh. "It was a time where the studio dream factories created a luxurious world of make-believe, a place where people dined on caviar, dressed in tuxedos and danced the night away on luxury liners. Lavish sets were the apertures through which audiences could glimpse for a few hours, a life they otherwise only dreamed about." Accompanying Grand Hotel was a short tribute film narrated by Maria Cooper Janis, consisting of archival photographs, footage, home movies and many iconic film clips. This rags-to-riches story went from Gibbons' early days in Brooklyn as a troubled youth, to his early career at Edison Studios, his arrival in Hollywood, his fairy tale charmed existence and his experiences with the end of the studio system in the late fifties. This short depicted the range of Gibbons' extraordinary work and his enduring contributions to design and Art Deco in cinema. Upcoming films in the series will include: • The Planet of the Apes (1968) - celebrating the 50th anniversary: a tribute to Oscar-nominated Production Designer William J. Creber ADG on Sunday, June 24, 5:30 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre. • Space Hunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone - 3D (1983) - a tribute to Emmy ® -winning Production Designer Jackson De Govia ADG on Sunday, August 5, at the Egyptian Theatre. More information on the ADG Film Society can be found at: https://www.adg.org/?art=film-society ADG Film Society Launches 2018 Series with Grand Hotel C A. THE AERO THEATRE PRIOR TO THE SCREENING. B. PRODUCTION DESIGNER THOMAS WALSH AND MARIA COOPER JANIS WITH THE 2018 SEASON POSTER FOR THE FILM SOCIETY. C. THOMAS WALSH AND MARIA COOPER JANIS DISCUSSING THE LIFE AND ART OF CEDRIC GIBBONS. A B B Y D A V I D M O R O N G , E D I T O R