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Pre-americana

My Inbox reports:

Media Advisory

Renowned writer/director Nora Ephron will donate objects from the set of her latest Columbia Pictures film “Julie & Julia” to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The motion picture is based in part on famed chef Julia Child’s life and features a reproduction of her kitchen, which is on display at the museum.

Now I certainly hope that Julie & Julia--which opens August 7 and I have not yet seen--attracts large audiences, wins a fistful of awards, and becomes a beloved, or even merely well-remembered, addition to American cinema. But given that it hasn't done any of those things yet, its enshrinement at the Smithsoniam seems more than a touch premature.

--Christopher Orr