Renowned American Artist Ed Ruscha’s Original Poster Design, Inspired by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Tom Cruise’s New Film Digger, Celebrated at LACMA

Ruscha was in attendance with Iñárritu, Cruise and more as the Exclusive Film Poster was Unveiled Sunday

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures’ all new feature film Digger, set for release only in theaters this Friday, October 2, celebrated famed artist Ed Ruscha at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Sunday as he shared an original poster design inspired by the Alejandro G. Iñárritu film starring Tom Cruise.

The event was held during the day at LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries. Esteemed guests included John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons and Ross Hatt from the cast of Digger, alongside its filmmakers, including producer Mary Parent, writer Nicolás Giacobone, casting director Francine Maisler, production designers Dennis Gassner and Richard Johnson and costume designer Jacqueline West, and Warner Bros. executives Pam Abdy, Mike DeLuca, Dana Nussbaum and John Stanford.

Notable attendees also included Benedikt Taschen, Wolfgang Puck, Wendy Guerra, Alejandro Landes, Alex Prager, Bob Ramirez, Francesca Gabbiani, Jonas Wood, Robert Dean, Jerson Hondall, Joe Sola, Jim Evans, Ann Philbin, Leta Grzan, and LACMA CEO and Director Michael Govan.

After explaining that he had been blown away by Ruscha’s whole body of work in his 2024 LACMA exhibition, Iñárritu said, “It’s an extraordinary honor to have Ed Ruscha bring his eye to the film. Ed has this rare ability to create an enormous sense of space with very little, to be funny and profound, precise and mysterious, all at once. You look at his work and somehow your imagination begins to fill in what isn’t there. That has always moved me. So, the idea of seeing Digger through Ed’s eyes felt like a dream. We showed him the film, and what he gave us is something only Ed could have made. Ed, we are deeply grateful. Thank you for this beautiful gift.”

Cruise stated, “When Alejandro told me that Ed was going to do this, I couldn’t believe it. I have grown up admiring your work, Ed, your tremendous ability and insatiable creativity and knowledge…you create at every level. It is inspiring. And I can’t wait for the world to see this. It is a great honor for me to be here with you and to have this, as Alejandro said, part of art and cinema.”

Ruscha summarized his feelings about the experience, offering, “I was invited to a screening of this movie. I knew I had seen an epic production, an epic product from an epic producer. So, I jumped at the idea of doing the poster. I kept thinking about this movie, and it reminded me of a kaleidoscope, it’s got so many round and round ideas. It was kaleidoscopic in its message and its content and its humor, and it’s got something to offer to the world. And Tom did talk like a Texan, man. You’ve got to see this movie just to watch him.”

About Ed Ruscha

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1937 and raised in Oklahoma City, Ed Ruscha moved to Los Angeles in 1956 to study at the Chouinard Art Institute (now CalArts) where he learned to bridge commercial design with fine art. For over six decades, Ruscha has held up a mirror to American society by transforming consumer culture, language, roadside architecture, and the evolving Southern California landscape into the core of his work. Spanning painting, photography, printmaking, drawing, and film, his experimental practice frequently incorporates unconventional materials—such as gunpowder and chocolate—alongside ongoing photographic documentations of Los Angeles streets. His work is held in major institutional collections worldwide and has been the subject of extensive retrospectives, most recently co-organized by MoMA and LACMA in 2023-2024. Ed Ruscha is represented by Gagosian Gallery.

About DIGGER

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu returns with his original film DIGGER, starring Tom Cruise in the title role.

The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything.

Cruise stars alongside Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons.

Iñárritu directed from a screenplay by Iñárritu & Oscar-winners Alexander Dinelaris & Nicolás Giacobone, and Sabina Berman, story by Berman & Iñárritu and Jez Butterworth. The film is produced by Iñárritu, Oscar nominee Mary Parent, Cruise and Michael Sharp, and executive produced by Joshua Grode.

Joining Iñárritu behind the camera are previous collaborators Oscar-winning director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki; editors Conor O’Neill and Oscar winner Stephen Mirrone; Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West; Oscar-winning makeup and hair designer Alessandro Bertolazzi; and Oscar-nominated casting director Francine Maisler; along with Oscar-winning production designer Dennis Gassner and production designer Richard Johnson, Oscar-winning prosthetic makeup designer Kazu Hiro, and composer Cosmo Sheldrake.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A Legendary Pictures Production, An Alejandro G. Iñárritu Film, DIGGER, shot entirely in VistaVision and released in theaters and IMAX^® across North America on October 2, 2026, and internationally beginning 30 September 2026. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

#DiggerMovie
@DiggertheMovie on IG and TikTok
@DiggerMovie on X

About LACMA

Located on the Pacific Rim, LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection of 155,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of artistic expression across the globe. Committed to showcasing a multitude of art histories, LACMA exhibits and interprets works of art from new and unexpected points of view that are informed by the region’s rich cultural heritage and diverse population. LACMA’s spirit of experimentation is reflected in its work with artists, technologists, and thought leaders as well as in its regional, national, and global partnerships to share collections and programs, create pioneering initiatives, and engage new audiences.

Location: 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036. lacma.org