Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster and Ralph Fiennes have signed on as co-chairmen of the Museum of Modern’s Art’s third annual fund-raising Film Gala. The event, now in its third year, is MoMA’s recently hatched version of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s tony spring cash cow, the Costume Institute Ball.
Taking place Nov. 10, the evening will honor Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker. Despite her recent Oscar cred, she’s an unlikely candidate: The two previous winners, Baz Luhrmann and Tim Burton, are both known for the elaborate visual design of their films. Ms. Bigelow, on the other hand, is famed for pop-culture classic Point Break, starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves as surfers/bank robbers, plus Blue Steel and Near Dark. Mindful of this contradiction, the Modern, which has acquired the director’s archives for its collection, said it is saluting her, in part, for “transforming the language of genre films.”
The top ticket price is $75,000 for a table, but with that guest list, and Ms. Bigelow’s Hollywood influence, MoMA shouldn’t have too hard a job selling tickets.
