The Hal Ashby Collection arrived at the Academy Film Archive in 1991, and consists of approximately 700 film, video, and audio elements including dailies, screen tests, and production materials for Ashby’s films, including “The Landlord” (1970), “Harold and Maude” (1971), “Bound for Glory” (1976), “Coming Home” (1978), and “Being There” (1979). Ashby won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for “In the Heat of the Night” (1967) and was nominated by the Academy in the categories of Best Film Editing for “The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming” (1966) and Best Directing for “Coming Home” (1978). Known for creating different versions of his films, Ashby kept multiple edits of his released films, making the collection a unique snapshot of the filmmaker’s creative process.
The material at the Academy Film Archive is also complimented by material in the Hal Ashby papers at the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library.