It comes as no surprise that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (otherwise known as the Oscars) chose Christian de Portzamparc to design their new eight acre museum in the heart of Hollywood. After all, the Frenchman won the Pritzker Prize, architecture's equivalent of the Oscar, back in 1994. And his best known work in the US celebrates the glitz and glamour of Louis Vuitton and Moet- Hennessey with their midtown Manhattan headquarters. Unlike with his last high profile US commission - a new home for the New York City Opera scrapped when the $350 million price tag proved too steep - he should have no trouble tapping the deep pockets of the Academy.