0 Dolby takes over Oscars venue name

LOS ANGELES: The Hollywood venue that hosts the annual Oscars show was renamed the Dolby Theatre on Tuesday, after the audio pioneer gained naming rights previously held by bankrupt camera company Kodak.

Kodak pulled out weeks before this year's Academy Awards show in February, and talks have been ongoing to find a new backer for the venue, next to the iconic Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

Britain-founded, California-based audio technology pioneer Dolby announced a deal with the CIM Group, which owns the Hollywood & Highland Center of which the Oscars venue is part, to put its name on the venue for the next 20 years.

"Dolby is a brand recognized around the world for creating the best, most life-like entertainment sound experiences in any environment," said Dolby Laboratories chief Kevin Yeaman.

"This partnership with CIM allows the Dolby Theatre to be not only the world-stage for the Academy Awards, but for Dolby innovations for decades to come," he added.

CIM Group co-founder Shaul Kuba added: "Dolby Laboratories has a long history in Hollywood and has made significant contributions to the entertainment industry. "It is a respected international brand and technology innovator. We are proud to welcome them as our partner on the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center," he said.

A bankruptcy court in February approved Kodak's request to cancel its contract with the until-then Kodak Theatre, ruling that it was "in the best interests of the debtors, their estates, their creditors and other parties."

The contract between Eastman Kodak and theater owner CIM was valued at $72 million -- $3.6 million per year for 20 years.

The theater, inaugurated in November 2001 with seating for 3,332, has hosted the Academy Awards since 2002.

Kodak, an iconic American firm that introduced generations of consumers to mass-market cameras, filed for bankruptcy in January. (AFP)

0 Showbiz is big business as Oscars hits town

HOLLYWOOD: The Oscars are big business for stars and filmmakers - but they also spell big bucks for limo firms, caterers, designers and thousands of others as Hollywood rolls out the red carpet.

In fact, the Academy Awards on Sunday are the climax of the annual awards season which generates fortunes for those behind the scenes in Tinseltown, who keep the champagne flowing, parties buzzing and posh frocks just right.

From the Golden Globes to the Grammys, the Screen Actors Guild ceremony to the Razzies, the awards shows -- and all those pre- and after-parties, keep everyone busy from November to February every year.

You don't have to go far to stumble on a red carpet in Hollywood - even outside awards season, film premieres regularly attract scrums of cameramen, photographers and fans spilling across sidewalks outside key movie theaters.

So a visit to the cinema can sometimes turn into a scramble through a melee created by an arriving celebrity, lensmen's flashlights and shouts of "Angelina, over here!" ricocheting around the cinema lobby.

But Angelinos are used to it, and many depend on it for their livelihoods, as - like the annual harvest elsewhere - the first two months of the year bring huge crops of orders for everything that surrounds the shows.

Tony Adzar, founder & CEO of Red Carpet Systems, is one of those reaping the benefits: in February, he sells twice as much carpet as he does in August, and his is only one of dozens of similar firms.

To get to the parties, people of course need limousines.

The larger companies, which have a fleet of maybe 25 luxury vehicles, are booked to capacity and are able to give their affiliates and subcontractors a lot of business.

ITS works closely with Sequoia Productions, which has organized Hollywood events for 23 years and produces the traditional post-Oscars soiree known as the Governors Ball.

The ball brings together the governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars. On Sunday night, 1,500 people will attend.

For Sunday's ball alone, Sequoia employs 150 technicians, 400 catering staff and a management team of 30. The company unveiled its menu last week, chosen by Austrian celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, also an Oscars veteran.

Red Carpet provider Adzar said awards season is exhausting, but essential for his and many other businesses in Hollywood. (AFP)

0 Oscars foreign film shortlist includes Iran winner

LOS ANGELES: Oscars organizers unveiled Wednesday a shortlist of nine foreign language movies vying for an Academy Award next month, including an Iranian film which won a Golden Globe at the weekend.

The list, which also includes films from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Morocco, Poland and Taiwan, will be reduced to five nominees by next week, when all nominations for the February 26 Oscars show are announced.

"A Separation" by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi won the best foreign language film at the Golden Globe awards on Sunday, beating rivals from China, Spain and Belgium, as well as Angelina Jolie's directorial debut.

The Iranian win was welcomed by Iranians and by authorities in the Islamic republic.

Iran's government initially slapped a ban on the movie as it was being made because Farhadi voiced support for fellow filmmakers labeled by authorities as "anti-regime".

But, following an apology from Farhadi that permitted "A Separation" to be completed, Tehran has come to embrace the movie, strengthening support for it as it picked up award after award in international festivals.

For the Oscars, a committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences screened 63 movies between mid-October and January 13, before deciding on the final five-strong shortlist.

Further committee meetings will be held in Los Angeles and New York over this coming weekend, before the nominations are announced next Tuesday, January 24.

The selected films are:

-Belgium: "Bullhead," directed by Michael R. Roskam.

-Canada: "Monsieur Lazhar," directed by Philippe Falardeau.

-Denmark: "Superclasico," directed by Ole Christian Madsen.

-Germany: "Pina," directed by Wim Wenders.

-Iran: "A Separation," directed by Asghar Farhadi.

-Israel: "Footnote," directed by Joseph Cedar.

-Morocco: "Omar Killed Me," directed by Roschdy Zem.

-Poland: "In Darkness," directed by Agnieszka Holland.

-Taiwan: "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale," directed by Wei Te-sheng. (AFP)