Hello and welcome to the London Film Museum website. Have a look around, explore and enjoy. If you need to call us our number is 020 7202 7040.
Summer is nearly over so we are back to closing at 5pm weekdays, and 6pm on weekends.
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History of the London Film Museum
The London Film Museum (previously The Movieum) was founded and created by Jonathan Sands in February 2008 following the success of Star Wars The Exhibition to which he co-promoted at the same venue the previous year. About 80% of the museum’s collection is from his private archive.
Jonathan began his career as a commercial and advertising photographer, opening his own studio at the age of 17. He moved to the famous Elstree Film Studios as resident photographer in 1997 where he met Nicholas Harrison who owned a prop and events company called Weird and Wonderful.
Starting in 1998 Jonathan worked with Nick Harrison on special projects which included The Aliens Resurrection party at BAFTA and a grand event for the Prince of Malaysia on the set of Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace at Leavesden Studios.
Sadly, Nick Harrison passed away at the age of 37 but his legacy lived on.
Jonathan bought the collection and company in 2001 and built it up into a full production company, creating attractions like The Seven Deadly Sins at Thorpe Park and the Chelsea Football Club Centenary Museum at Stamford Bridge. He was invited to help co-ordinate a tie-in at the Monaco Grand Prix between Lucasfilm and Red Bull which included the transportation and installation of full size space crafts, and co-ordination of actors in costumes during the event.
In 2006 Lucasfilm requested that the 30th Anniversary Exhibition be hosted in London and Jonathan was approached by the promoter to host the event which negotiated a short term license to present it at County Hall.
Star Wars The Exhibition opened on May 4th 2007 and was a great success, voted Britain’s No1 family attraction by the Telegraph.
Weird and Wonderful continued to service the film industry with props and set pieces but was falling victim to the CGI technologies which required less physical objects coupled with a diminishing themed events market.
Star Wars closed and moved on in January 2008, and Jonathan set about moving his entire collection into County Hall which opened on February 22nd 2008 following the signing of a 25 year lease on 45,000 sq.ft of the first floor, including the historic Debating Chamber.
history of the london film museum . ii
The then titled Movieum of London opened to a fantastic reception, however the team are determined to constantly improve the offering and create a film museum that is worthy of flying the flag for the Industry and the individuals within it. Everything is done in house from building sets, cabinets, lighting, graphics, and making agreements with 3rd party collectors like the Propstore of London who kindly lent principle material including the original Superman costume and Russell Crowe's Gladiator armour.
In March 2008 Jonathan was introduced to Rick Senat, an ex-senior executive at Warner Bros. and pillar within the British film industry and in March 2009, Rick Senat became Chairman and Jonathan Chief Executive. Rick then formed the Movieum Advisory Panel which included David Robinson (Chaplin’s Biographer and well respected Film Critic), Leslie Hardcastle OBE, (creator of MOMI), Linda Ayton (Fred Zinnerman’s PA) and Ian Christie (Birkbeck University).The first 2 legislations to be passed by the new Advisory Panel was the rebranding to London Film Museum and the approval to create the Chaplin Exhibition.
In January 2010 The Movieum officially changed its name to the London Film Museum and opened the Charlie Chaplin - The Great Londoner exhibition in the same month. The exhibition was completely funded by the Museum.
The Museum has partnerships with the following: Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox, Lucasfilm, Paramount, Pinewood Studios, British Film Institute, Film London, The Propstore of London, Getty Images Gallery, Madame Tussauds, Terry English, The Kubrick Foundation and many more.
The museum has now grown, occupying 27,000 sq. ft of it's original lease, with more space planned to open in the not too distant future.
The Museum’s numbers are also growing with over 150,000 visitors to date and many industry events taking place at the venue. In February 2010 the London Film Museum sponsored the Evening Standard British Film Awards which took place in The Debating Chamber. The response to the changes have been fantastic, making the museum an integral part of promoting film and educating children in Britain.
If you would like to find out more about how you can support or contribute to the Museum, email Mark Best at mark@londonfilmmuseum.com
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What’s Inside
Here at the Film Museum
Here at the London Film Museum we celebrate
all aspects of the British
Film Industry.
Since we started in 2008
we have been collecting
and displaying items
both historical and contemporary from major films.
Exhibitions
20th Century fox 75th anniversary pieces
Fanfare, please! The London Film Museum celebrates 75 years of movie-making magic from Twentieth Century Fox with a special exhibition this summer from July 19 – Sept 30 2010, taking a fascinating look back over its extraordinary studio history
Thank you for the lovely day we had at the London Film Museum. We had a nice time. I enjoyed myself very much.
I liked the dinosaur with a loud roar and the 3D cinema.
I liked all the Daleks and the pirates and the robot on the Ready Brek advert.
I liked looking at the costumes.
From the Skills Challenge 2 Group (Bromley Adult Education College)
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Copyright ©2010 London Film Museum Limited /ECM (London) Limited