The Oscars are leaving Hollywood
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — The Academy Awards will soon have a new home, one that doesn’t also include an attached shopping center.
In 2029, the Oscars will move from the Dolby Theater in the heart of Hollywood to the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live, a sprawling tourist hub in Downtown Los Angeles, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday.
The Academy said the Peacock Theater, also the site of the Primetime Emmy Awards since 2008, will undergo “comprehensive enhancements” as part of the new deal with sports and entertainment behemoth AEG, which owns L.A. Live.
L.A. Live plaza — whose dining options currently include sports bar restaurant chain Yard House — will be the setting of the iconic Oscars red carpet, the release read.
The venue change will align with the Oscars’ new streaming home on YouTube, also starting in 2029.
Since 2002, the Oscars have been held at the Dolby Theater, formerly the Kodak Theater, on Hollywood Boulevard. It sits next to the famed TCL Theater (formerly the Grauman’s Chinese Theater) and amid the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with clear views of the Hollywood sign if you find yourself in the right spot.
The 3,400-seat theater was built specifically to hold the Academy Awards telecast with design touches that evoke the golden age of Hollywood. Columns that display the names of past best picture winners line the famed steps up to the theater.
While the inside of the theater is a glamorous, bespoke representation of Hollywood in all its glory, the theater sits inside a shopping complex that includes retails stores like Sephora and Lids, a jarring contrast from the black tie-ness of the Oscars.
For those unfamiliar with the landscape, a mall elevator that takes stars from one level to another overlooks a Dave & Busters on their way to the top deck of the Ovation Hollywood complex to attend the Governor’s Ball, the Academy’s official after party.
In many ways, the relocation to L.A. Live has a similar vibe, except instead of retail stores, the Peacock Theater is surrounded by a Lucky Strike Bowling Alley, several smaller theaters and, of course, the Crypto.com Arena, home of the LA Lakers and the Grammy Awards.
The Oscars have been held downtown in years past, having found previous homes at the Shrine Auditorium and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
According to the release, the Oscars will be televised on ABC and held at the Dolby Theater through 2028, the 100th Oscars ceremony, before it’s big move to YouTube and Downtown Los Angeles.
Until then, happy shopping.
The-CNN-Wire
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