George Lucas finally opened his museum and basically all of Hollywood showed up
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art threw its invitation-only opening gala on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles, with a guest list that stretched from Oprah Winfrey and Christopher Nolan to Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton, capped by a drone show narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
In brief
George Lucas finally opened his museum and basically all of Hollywood showed up
The decades-long project is real now. On Saturday, September 19, George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson threw an invitation-only gala at the newly completed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles's Exposition Park, and the guest list read less like a red carpet and more like someone had just rounded up every powerful person in American entertainment and told them dinner was at 7.
According to Variety, Lucas and Hobson opened the museum Saturday night with an invitation-only gala. Hobson told the crowd that her husband had worried beforehand about who would actually show up. He needn't have. The guest list stretched across film, music, sports and politics. Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro, Christopher Nolan, Kim Kardashian, Harrison Ford and Leonardo DiCaprio were among those in attendance, Variety and Los Angeles Magazine both reported.
Deadline reports that Lucas hosted friends including Oprah Winfrey, Guillermo Del Toro, Laura Dern, Mark Hamill, Spike Lee and Greta Gerwig to celebrate the launch of his 11-acre campus. Also walking the red carpet were Nicolas Cage, Michael B. Jordan, Lewis Hamilton, Keke Palmer, Tracee Ellis Ross, Queen Latifah, Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau. That last pairing, Katy Perry and the former Canadian prime minister, generated its own share of attention online.
The filmmaking elite turned out in force. According to Los Angeles Magazine, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright, Denis Villeneuve, Ron Howard, Jon Favreau, Jon M. Chu, Lee Daniels, Tyler Perry, Nathan Fielder and Robert De Niro were all present. It was, frankly, the kind of room that almost never actually happens outside of a clip-reel fantasy.
When she came to the podium, Hobson issued the crowd a warning: "If your husband or spouse comes home and says they want to build a museum, I suggest your response is a hard 'no.'" The line got laughs. The building earned a longer look.
What the museum actually is
Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum traces visual storytelling across cultures and centuries, from prehistoric cave paintings to illustration, comics, cinema and murals. The soaring 300,000-square-foot building, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD with Stantec, houses more than 100,000 square feet of gallery space across 30-plus galleries.
The collection spans a wide range of eras and mediums, from Artemisia Gentileschi and Norman Rockwell to Frida Kahlo, Robert Colescott, Frank Frazetta and Robert Crumb, alongside film materials that include the complete Lucas Archives from 1971 to 2012. That last piece is the part film historians have been waiting on. Lucas's personal production archive, all of it, now lives in a publicly accessible institution for the first time.
The September 19 opening night was co-chaired by Julie Bell, Tom Cruise, Greta Gerwig, Jensen Huang, JR, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro and Pharrell Williams.
At the gala, Lucas addressed the crowd himself. ABC News reports he told guests: "You can't say this is art and this is not art. Art is in the eye of the beholder. If it's emotional to you, then it's art. Of course I've been criticized up and down sideways for that, but I believe that. Wholeheartedly. That you get to decide what art is." It's a position that has followed him since the first Star Wars, and he is clearly still unbothered.
A drone show, a surprise set, and a 27-piece orchestra
The night began with a cocktail reception outside, accompanied by a 27-piece orchestra. Then things escalated. The night ended with a special drone show from Nova Sky Stories, narrated by Oprah Winfrey and Samuel L. Jackson, featuring images from the museum's collection, including the Star Wars Millennium Falcon and Banksy's "Girl with Balloon." The celebration closed with a surprise performance from the Black Eyed Peas.
Multi-generational family pairs also made appearances: Meg Ryan came with her son Jack Quaid, Ron Howard with his daughter Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Tucker with his son Destin Christopher Tucker, Robert Rodriguez with his son Racer Rodriguez, and Camila Alves with her son Levi Alves McConaughey.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens its doors to the general public on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, as a first-of-its-kind institution dedicated to the universal tradition of storytelling through images. Tickets are available at lucasmuseum.org.
Meanwhile, Ken got a rock star
The Lucas gala was not even the only major pop-culture event of the weekend. On September 17, Mattel dropped a new wrinkle into the Barbie universe. Lenny Kravitz has become the first musician immortalized in doll form by the Barbie franchise. Mattel announced in 2025 that it was starting a Barbie Signature Kenbassadors Collection to recognize men who have made "an outsized impact on culture," with LeBron James as the inaugural honoree. Kravitz is now the second.
The Barbie Signature Kenbassadors Lenny Kravitz doll captures the singer in a look inspired by his recent Blue Electric Light Tour. Sculpted in Kravitz's likeness, the collectible features his trademark locs, tattoos and nose ring, and comes dressed in a bronze-colored mesh cowl-neck tank, boot-cut jeans, a studded belt, boots and sunglasses. The set includes a doll stand and a certificate of authenticity, with the doll presented in displayable packaging for collectors and fans ages 6 and up.
The price is $70. The demand was immediate. Within hours of launch, Amazon's direct inventory had sold out, with resale listings climbing past $100.
Kravitz, speaking to People in an exclusive interview, did not hide his reaction. "As a kid growing up with all my little cousins, there were Barbies everywhere, GI Joes and Kens and the whole thing," he said. "It just makes you think, 'When I was a kid, did I ever think I would have my own figure? No.'"
The doll also connects to a closing chapter. According to Yahoo Entertainment, the release coincides with the conclusion of Kravitz's two-year tour, culminating in a final performance at Central Park's Great Lawn on September 26. Kravitz told Kiss 95.1: "I've been touring for two and a half years now on this album. We're coming to a close. [The doll] marks this time and this tour, which has been really incredible for me. I think it's been the best tour of my career."
There is one more layer to the Kravitz story worth noting. Instinct Magazine reports that in a concurrent interview with Esquire, the musician opened up about his longtime connection to the LGBTQ+ community, particularly during his years in West Hollywood in the 1980s. Kravitz told the publication: "They raised me," explaining that he spent that period around artists, musicians, hairstylists and designers from the community.
Kravitz also told Yahoo that Mattel's attention to detail impressed him, noting they replicated the tattoo of his mother's portrait on his arm. That's either a very thorough toy company or a very attentive one. Either way, it's a $70 collectible that sold out on Amazon before lunch.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
