Eminem’s ‘8 Mile’ Costume, Mike Myers’ ‘Austin Powers’ Suit & More Donated to Film Academy Collection

Paul Grein
·3 min read
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A costume worn by Eminem in his role as Jimmy, who went by the stage name “B-Rabbit,” in 8 Mile (2002) has been donated to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ expansive collection, which is housed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles.

In March 2003, “Lose Yourself” from that film became the first hip-hop song to win an Oscar for best original song. Eminem shared the award with Jeff Bass and Luis Resto. The smash topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks in 2002-03.

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The blue velvet suit worn by Mike Myers as Austin Powers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), the first of three films in that franchise, was also donated to the collection.

Other newly-acquired items include:

  • Costumes worn by Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis and Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The film won seven Oscars, including best picture, in March 2023.

  • Coat, hat, blouse, and pants worn by Regina King in her Oscar-winning role as Sharon Rivers in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018).

  • Costumes worn by Christian Bale and Amy Adams in their Oscar-nominated roles as Dick and Lynne Cheney in Vice (2018)

  • Pinstripe suit worn by Raul Julia as Gomez Addams in Addams Family Values (1993), the sequel to The Addams Family.

  • Two dozen costume design drawings illustrated by Julio Martinez for Diana Ross to wear in Mahogany (1975), her first film after her Oscar-nominated debut in Lady Sings the Blues. Ross sang the Oscar-nominated ballad “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To),” which was a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100.

  • Clapboards from The Omen (1976), Thelma & Louise (1991), and Sleepy Hollow (1999).

  • Typewriter used by Frank Pierson to write his Oscar-nominated screenplays to Cat Ballou (1965) and Cool Hand Luke (1967).

  • Oscar statuette presented to blacklisted screenwriter Nedrick Young under the pseudonym Nathan E. Douglas for best original screenplay for The Defiant Ones (1958).

  • Conceptual drawing for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), illustrated by Academy Award-winning special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi.

  • Large model pirate ship, three-dimensional prop skull of One-Eyed Willy, and treasure map from The Goonies (1985).

  • Harold Ramis papers: Materials documenting Ramis’ career as a writer, director and actor, including handwritten and annotated scripts for National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), Ghostbusters (1984), Groundhog Day (1993), and Analyze This (1999).

  • Steven Spielberg Animation Collection: 157 pieces of original animation art, dated from 1932-52, including cels and setups from films including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Pinocchio (1940), and animation setups and cels for characters including Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker. This was donated by Spielberg and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw. The Academy noted: “Their generous donation will be commemorated by the renaming of the Margaret Herrick Library’s Graphic Arts Department as the Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw Graphic Arts Department.”

“We are thrilled and honored to expand the Academy’s collection with these exceptional pieces,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement. “To be housed at our archive, library and museum, these vital components of the filmmaking process highlight the collaborative disciplines that develop and produce the movies we love. They also demonstrate the Academy’s unique capacity to preserve the full range of film history formats. We are incredibly grateful to our donors for their remarkable gifts to the Academy and for their commitment to illuminating our film history.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been collecting and preserving film and film-related material since 1927. Its permanent collection contains more than 13 million photographs, 8.3 million clippings, 95,000 screenplays, 73,500 posters, 145,000 production and costume design drawings, 45,000 sound recordings, 39,000 books, 1,900 special collections, 242,000 film and video assets, and 8,000 props, process, and production items.

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