Dolby Laboratories and the Ray Dolby family have contributed a total of $12 million in technology and cash to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Academy announced on Tuesday.
The gifts include $7 million from Dolby Laboratories to provide cutting-edge technology in the museum’s movie theaters, and another $5 million gift from the family of the inventor and Dolby founder, Ray Dolby.
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Because of the gifts, the rooftop terrace at the Academy Museum will be named the Dolby Family Terrace.
“Dolby Laboratories, founded nearly 50 years ago by Ray Dolby, continues to enhance and transform how we experience the movies,” said Bob Iger, co-chair of the Academy Museum’s capital campaign, said in a statement. “These generous gifts will help to ensure that the world will continue to experience the magic of cinema through the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.”
Added Ray Dolby’s widow, Dagmar Dolby, “My husband Ray was passionate about elevating the sound of entertainment and his company’s contributions to cinema sound are well known. My sons, Tom and David, and I are honored to continue this legacy by supporting this important cultural project.”
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The Academy has already secured $225 million in pledges. The museum, located in the old May Co. building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is scheduled to break ground in 2015 and open in 2017.
Other major donors to the project have included David Geffen, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Brett Ratner, Gale Anne Hurd and the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda.