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Opened in 2001 under the name the Kodak Theater, the Dolby Theater is a live performance venue with one of the largest stages in the United States. The theater can seat 3,332 people. You'd think someone would have added a single seat to make it all 3's, 3,333, but I guess not.
Built right smack in the middle of the Hollywood and Highland tourist district, the primary tourist area in Hollywood itsself, the Dolby is best known for hosting the Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, every year since 2002. You know all of those red carpet Oscar shows where everyone talks fashion as actors and celebs walk into the Oscars? That all takes place right in front of this entrance above, as well as on Hollywood Boulevard in front, which is shut down for the Oscars. The rest of the year the theater hosts other live performances, ranging from musical performances to TV shows, such as the live shows for America's Got Talent. It also was the home of the Cirque du Soleil show Iris in 2011-2013.
For the younger people reading this, Eastman Kodak, or just Kodak, was the primary maker of photographic and movie film for decades. Kodak was synonymous with film and movie film, and it made sense for them to buy the naming rights for the theater when it opened, in 2001. What's really weird, is that a Kodak employee invented the first, or one of the first digital cameras, but the company didn't see a future in digital photography. Whoops. Kodak went bankrupt in 2012, and Dolby, known for super high quality sound systems, bought the naming rights for 20 years.
The Dolby Theater is a few doors down from the TCI (formerly Grauman's) Chinese theater, where all the hand prints and foot prints of stars are in the cement. The historic El Capitan Theater is right across the street. Like all of the other theaters and tourist spots in this area, the stars of the Hollywood Walk of Fame run in front of the Dolby, and for several blocks in both directions.
Here's a look behind the scenes of what goes into the red carpet preparations for the Oscars. As a former crew guy who has rolled up and moved a few red carpets for movie premieres (not for the Oscars, though), I can tell you a ton of work goes into events like that before the part you see on TV. This clip, from a few years ago, shows a few shots of the outside and the inside of the Dolby Theater on its biggest day of the year.
Is all the pomp and ceremony of the Academy Awards, and other big events, too much? Is it over the top? Hey, it's Hollywood, and for over 100 years, movies made in Hollywood, and the surrounding area, have been watched by billions of people around the world. The entertainment industry knows how to celebrate. Hollywood has always been known for its glamour and extravagance for big events, and the Dolby Theater hosts the biggest Hollywood event of the year.
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