Hollywood Came Out In Full Force For Opening Of George Lucas’ Museum Of Narrative Art – Inside The Star-Studded Event

In her remarks at the Saturday night opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts, the event’s co-host Mellody Hobson shared her husband George Lucas‘ anxiety whether A-listers would show up.

“George kept saying, would this person come, do you think this person would come,” Hobson recalled during the ceremony in the lobby of the Los Angeles museum. “I said they would all come, George.”

She was right — the opening night felt like the Sun Valley Conference, the Oscars, the Emmys, the Grammys and a political convention all rolled into one as CEOs, film and TV stars, marquee filmmakers and top California politicians all showed up for the occasion.

It was a momentous one — as Queen Latifah noted in her opening remarks, it is very rare that an art museum of this caliber opens in one’s lifetime.

“Met opened in 1872, I would have to be 150 years old,” she quipped, adding, “Paris has the Louvre, New York has the Met, and Los Angeles has the Lucas museum.”

She spoke about Lucas growing his collection from a $35 Alley Oop drawing to 40,000 pieces, largely illustrations which many don’t consider real art that belongs in a museum.

“My dear friends Mellody and George did, and they decided to build a museum for these artists that was so monumental that they would be impossible to ignore,” Queen Latifah said.

Added Hobson, “And if critics say that a museum of narrative art is too much like a popcorn movie and not enough like an art film, oh, we like popcorn movies in our family.”

Lucas, who is behind some of the biggest blockbusters in history, led by Star Wars, echoed the same sentiment.

“I believe it wholeheartedly that you get to decide what art is,” he said to a big applause.

Both Lucas and Hobson mentioned the skepticism, pushback and red tape they had to deal with for years until the filmmaker’s vision was finally realized more than a decade after they had started the process.

“We did not realize how hard it would be to give a city a museum,” Hobson said to a laugh, adding, “Third time is a charm.” (She and Lucas attempted to set up the museum in San Francisco and Chicago first before settling on Los Angeles after encountering legal hurdles.)

Lucas, Hobson and Queen Latifah were joined on stage by the event’s co-chairs Guillermo del Toro, Greta Gerwig, Lewis Hamilton, Steven Spielberg, Pharrell Williams, JR and Julie Bell.

The guest list featured buzzy celebrity pairings, including Lewis Hamilton and Kim Kardashian, who walked the red carpet separately but left together, as well as Katy Perry and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who browsed the galleries hand in hand. They were accompanied by the museum’s architect Ma Yansong, who, in his remarks on stage, corrected a popular misconception that the building is made to resemble a spaceship. It actually is modeled after a cloud. (Also at the opening was Perry’s ex-fiancé, Orlando Bloom.)

There were multi-generational pairs too, Meg Ryan came with her son Jack Quaid, Ron Howard with his daughter Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Tucker with his son Destin Christopher Tucker, and Robert Rodriguez with his son Racer Rodriguez.

Celebrity guests spotted taking in the exhibits also included Jon Batiste, who sat behind the piano to perform at the opening ceremony, Jack Black, Nicolas Cage, Francis Ford Coppola, Leonardo DiCaprio, Vin Diesel, Cynthia Erivo, Star Wars OGs Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, Christopher Nolan, David Oyelowo, Keke Palmer, Tyler Perry, Ludwig Göransson, Robert de Niro, Woody Harrelson, Al Pacino, Denis Villeneuve, Andy Garcia, Keegan-Michael Key, Alicia Keys, Spike Lee, Eva Longoria, Chuck Lorre, Jon M. Chu, Emma Watson, Kerry Washington, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Frank Marshall & Kathleen Kennedy, Janelle Monáe, Takashi Murakami, Zac Posen, Lee Daniels, Law Roach, Tracee Ellis Ross, Doja Cat, Diane Warren, Magic Johnson, and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

CEOs in attendance included Disney’s Josh D’Amaro, YouTube’s Neal Mohan, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Snap’s Evan Spiegel, with D’Amaro’s predecessor Bob Iger and fomer Paramount Pictures CEO Jim Gianopulos also on hand.

The political contingent was led by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was getting shout-outs for the latest tax credit bill covering post-production that he officially signed earlier on Saturday, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Given the caliber of attendees, it is no surprise that the event was held under tight security, with check points and timed entries.

At 9 PM, guests of the opening night were treated to a drone show featuring art pieces from the exhibit, from Star Wars’ R2-D2 and Marvel’s Captain America to Banksy and Frida Kahlo. It was introduced by Oprah Winfrey and Samuel L. Jackson who narrated the show.

The opening night aftrparty included performances by Taboo, George Pajon, will.i.am, and J. Rey Soul of Black Eyed Peas.