7th Heaven in 4K

In person: author A. Scott Berg

In person: Kenneth Turan

In 1916, Jewish producers Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky merged their studios to form the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, which soon acquired and took the name of its distributor: Paramount Pictures. Zukor was known for challenging runtime restrictions with his long-form narratives drawn from classical sources. Under his watch, Paramount films reflected the sophistication he valued. A groundbreaking romantic war epic, William A. Wellman’s Wings became the first film to win an Oscar, for Outstanding Picture (the category now known as Best Picture), an achievement that helped cement Paramount’s legacy.

On display in the exhibition Hollywoodland is a letter from Frank Woods, then-secretary of the Academy, to Zukor, commemorating the film’s momentous win at the first-ever Academy Awards in 1929.

Jewish, German-born producer Carl Laemmle merged his East Coast-based studio with five others to form Universal in 1912. As president of Universal, Laemmle soon converted a 230-acre San Fernando Valley farm into Universal City, California, the world’s largest filmmaking facility. Shot at this facility as well as around Southern California, this epic adaptation of the 1929 German novel by Erich Maria Remarque offers a staunch and enduring antiwar message through the eyes of German soldiers during World War I.

On display in the exhibition Hollywoodland is a photograph of Laemmle accepting an Oscar from presenter Louis B. Mayer at the 3rd Academy Awards ceremony in 1930, for Outstanding Production for the film; filmmaker Lewis Milestone won an Oscar for Directing on the picture.