The 93rd Academy Awards have already been a historically unconventional affair. The timeframe for voting and the ceremony were pushed back two months effectively and streaming films (without a theatrical release) have qualified for the first time. That being said, did you have the main location for the telecast being Los Angeles’ historic Union Station on your 2021 bingo card? Needless to say, this awards season just continues to surprise.
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The Academy had already leaked that multiple venues were in the works as the Dolby Theater was seen as unfeasible even with COVID cases rapidly dropping in LA County. In the weeks since rumors have been spreading that Union Station may serve as a prime location. Deadline spilled the beans today that this is, in fact, the venue the Academy and ABC prefer at the moment. The trade reports the hope is to have “a crowd and nominees” on hand. By crowd, we’ll assume a gallery to view nominees on the red carpet.
Producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Steven Soderberg have a difficult challenge ahead of them, but as a longtime Angelino, we’re somewhat perplexed why they would choose an active train station over venues such as the Hollywood Bowl or Paramount or Sony Pictures lots that could allow for even more space? The Bowl is an iconic venue with incredible acoustics providing numerous benefits while the lots would allow for an insane amount of stage or performance options (it also wouldn’t hurt that both Paramount and Sony have no skin in the game this year).
Additionally, it appears The Academy considered using smaller club-style venues in Los Angeles, New York, and London, before pivoting to the Union Station scenario.
The Academy has also not determined who or if there will be a main host for the telecast at this time.
The nominations for the 93rd Oscars will be announced on Monday, March 19. The telecast is scheduled for April 25 at 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET on ABC.