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PEOPLE & ARTS Thursday 15 March 2018
George Lucas breaks ground on LA's Museum of Narrative Art

By JOHN ROGERS Museum and on the edge
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wield- of the University of South-
ing a silver shovel instead of ern California, where Lucas
a lightsaber, "Star Wars" cre- studied in the 1960s.
ator George Lucas joined a Although Lucas attended
handful of elected officials college nearby, the site
Wednesday in breaking was the third choice for the
ground on a billion-dollar museum. Lucas and his wife
museum dedicated to the couldn't reach an agree-
art of visual storytelling. ment with the director's
Construction of the Lucas hometown of San Francis-
Museum of Narrative Art, co or his wife's hometown
a dream of the 73-year- of Chicago.
old writer-director for more The museum's wide-rang-
than a decade, is expect- ing collection will include
ed to be completed by the paintings by Norman Rock-
end of 2021. well, Edgar Degas and
Trucks rumbled by the mu- Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
seum site near downtown comic strips by "Peanuts"
Los Angeles as Lucas, creator Charles Schulz and
dressed casually in a white- underground artist Robert
and blue-checkered shirt, Crumb, animation from
jeans and tennis shoes, "Star Wars" creator filmmaker George Lucas, right, and his wife Mellody Hobson, left, and Don films such as "Who Framed
Bacigalupi, Founding President, center, attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the on his $1.5
thanked more than 100 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles Wednesday, March 14, 2018. Roger Rabbit" and special
well-wishers. Among them Associated Press effects from films such as
was his collaborator and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."
longtime friend, director art is an insight into a soci- headed to a private re- amenities. Numerous pro- Classic films represented
Steven Spielberg. ety and what they aspire ception. Lucas pointed out grams are being planned will range from 1927's fu-
"I think it's important to have to, what they really want, the blocks-long museum for children from surround- turistic masterpiece "Me-
a museum that, as I was what they really are," Lu- site that until recently was ing schools. tropolis" and Orson Welles'
joking and saying, supports cas said before grabbing a a parking lot behind the Lucas and his wife, Mellody groundbreaking 1941 film
all the orphan arts that no- shovel and joining several Los Angeles Memorial Coli- Hobson, are picking up the "Citizen Kane" to the Lucas-
body else wants to see, local officials in turning over seum where the 1932 and cost, which museum offi- Spielberg collaborations on
but that everybody loves," some dirt. 1984 Olympics took place. cials expect will exceed $1 the "Indiana Jones" movies.
Lucas said, describing the At times, the groundbreak- It will be transformed into a billion for construction and And, of course, The Force
project. His museum's mis- ing resembled a movie pre- multistory museum resem- its operating endowment. will be strong at the muse-
sion, he added, will be to miere minus the red carpet, bling Han Solo's Millennium That will make it the largest um. People will find every-
explain the myths, legends, with television cameras Falcon spacecraft that ap- public gift ever given to a thing from Luke Skywalker's
stories and portraits of peo- and photographers cap- pears to hover over an area municipality, local officials first lightsaber to Darth Va-
ple that shape societies turing the moment. Lucas surrounded by 11 acres of say. The museum will be in der's helmet. Storyboards
and bring them together as called on Spielberg to join green space. The museum Exposition Park, across the laying out the tale that Lu-
one. The art will range from him on the mound of dirt, itself will contain more than street from the Natural His- cas created and that lives
paintings and digital works directing his friend to give a 100,000 square feet of gal- tory Museum of Los Angeles on in new film iterations also
to comic strips and, yes, thumbs-up to the cameras. lery space, underground County, the California Sci- will be on display, along
movies like "Star Wars." "It's a great location," parking, a restaurant, ence Center and the Cali- with stormtrooper uniforms
"To my feeling, popular Spielberg told him as they movie theaters and other fornia African American and other set pieces.q

CNN morning anchor Chris

Cuomo moving to prime-time

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN is time as viewers retreated day. "Every. Damn. Day.
sending Chris Cuomo into into partisan corners. Cuo- Just like always. Have to
battle against the two cur- mo, the brother of New talk TO people more and
rent giants of cable televi- York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ABOUT them less. Debate
sion news, Sean Hannity has found a niche with with decency. The need is
and Rachel Maddow. sharp questioning of Trump clear. Hopefully we help fill
The network said Wednes- administration officials and it."
day that they are shifting maintains an active social He faces a stiff challenge.
the morning show co-host media presence. Fox News Channel's pug-
into a prime-time slot at "Cuomo Prime Time," which nacious firebrand Hannity is
9 p.m. EDT, to debut later was tested on the network television's most vocal de-
this spring at a date not yet in January, will include in- fender of President Donald
specified. The change will terviews with newsmakers, Trump. He and the brainy In this Nov. 10, 2015 file photo, Chris Cuomo arrives at the 9th
shave Anderson Cooper's news analyses and break- Maddow, who nightly Annual Stand Up For Heroes in New York.
current two-hour show into ing stories. weaves stories about inves- are the two most popular will be filled by CNN's John
one. "We will test power," Cuo- tigations into Trump's be- figures in cable news. Berman, who joins current
CNN has struggled in prime- mo tweeted on Wednes- havior with breaking stories, Cuomo's spot on "New Day" co-host Alisyn Camerota.q