LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Over four decades after terrorising beachgoers in Jaws (1975), the blockbuster movie's 7.6m shark model has been installed at the long-awaited Oscars museum in Los Angeles, it was announced on Monday (Nov 23).
"Bruce the Shark," rumoured to have earned its nickname from director Steven Spielberg's razor-sharp lawyer, now lurks 9m above the third floor of the Academy Museum, which is set to open in April next year.
The fibreglass predator is the only remaining version created for the classic movie, but with Jaws measuring nearly 1.5m wide, it was too large for the building's elevators - and had to be levered in by crane through the window.
"It's been a long journey for Bruce since he was acquired in 2016, and we couldn't be happier to welcome him to his new home," said museum president Bill Kramer.
Weighing more than 540kg, it is the largest object so far in the collection of the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures - a project by the body organising Hollywood's Oscars, first dreamt up nearly a century ago but beset with delays.
Billed as "the world's premier institution dedicated to the art and science of movies," the museum will showcase some 13 million photographs, scripts, costumes and props including late actress Judy Garland's ruby slippers from Wizard Of Oz (1939) and late actor Bela Lugosi's cape from Dracula (1931).
The museum is due to open on April 30, 2021, although all indoor museums in Los Angeles are currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The futuristic museum contains a 1,000-seat theatre inside a seemingly-suspended glass, steel and concrete orb designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, connected by sky bridges to a converted department store housing the main galleries - and the shark.
"We look forward to our opening when museum visitors can engage with our exhibitions, experience our beautiful Renzo Piano-designed building, and come face to face with one of the most iconic characters in film history," added Mr Kramer.
