The ad features one of the most iconic images from the history of cinema, Harold Lloyd hanging from the hands of a clock tower in the 1923’s masterpiece SAFETY LAST! The image is just one of over 10 million photographs in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ vast collection. Harold Lloyd was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

In 2012 Girard-Perregaux announced it would be the Exclusive Timekeeper and Founding Supporter of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, scheduled to open in 2017 in Los Angeles. It will be the first U.S. museum dedicated exclusively to the history and ongoing development of motion pictures. To celebrate and promote this unique partnership, Girard-Perregaux launched a series of initiatives under the tagline Mechanics of Dreams. Last year’s ad campaign featured Alfred Hitchcock holding the production slate on set filming PSYCHO, while 2014 introduced a special edition book called “Mechanics of Dreams – A Photo Journey in the Mechanics of Hollywood and Behind the Scenes of Watchmaking”. The book highlights the similarities between the arts of manufacturing a watch and making a movie 

The tagline ‘Mechanics of Dreams’ encapsulates the very essence of this relationship between Girard-Perregaux and the Academy Museum. In different ways, both are masters of an art that makes people dream, that tells a story and that has the power of making one travel in time. “This iconic image of Harold Lloyd fits perfectly in the world of watchmaking and it’s very representative of man and one’s relation to time“, says Michele Sofisti, CEO of Girard-Perregaux and Sowind Group. “As founding supporters of the Academy Museum we are excited to work on inititives to promote its message worldwide.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Girard-Perregaux on the creation of the Academy Museum”, adds Bill Kramer, Managing Director, Academy Museum and External Relations. “Their thoughtful and creative partnership has helped launch the development and design of what will become the world’s leading movie museum.”

The Museum will be located in the historic Wilshire May Company building in the heart of Los Angeles, and will be designed by award-winning architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali. The Museum’s galleries, theaters, screening rooms, and education centers will draw from the Academy's extensive collections and archives, which include more than 140,000 films, 10 million photographs, 42,000 original film posters, 10,000 production drawings, costumes, props and movie-making equipment, as well as behind-the-scenes personal accounts from artists and innovators working in the motion picture industry. 

About The Academy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards—in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners—the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.