Oscar Sunday Is One Week Away: What Makes The Academy Awards Special & Street Closures List

Seven days from today, every Oscar nominee from A-list stars to the best filmmakers in the business will walk the Red Carpet on their way to the 86th Academy Awards presentation at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.

Achievements in up to 24 regular categories will be honored on March 2, 2014.

The fan bleachers are going up and the red carpet pre-show stages are being set for Oscar Sunday, so if you’re catching all the sights in Tinseltown, here’s a list of street closures you may want to be aware of.

Between Sunday, February 23, and Oscar Sunday, March 2, additional streets and sidewalks will be closed for varying periods.

Click HERE for the entire rundown.

7 Days Prior to Show (SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2014):

1. Close south sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard from Orange Drive to Highland Avenue from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM Tuesday, March 4, 2014, except 8-foot pedestrian access.
2. Close all lanes of Hollywood Boulevard from the southeast corner of Orange Drive to Highland Avenue from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM Tuesday, March 4, 2014.
3. Close north sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Dolby Theatre portal from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM Tuesday, March 4, 2014. This is a complete sidewalk closure in front of the entrance to Awards Walk. Pedestrian traffic re-routed and emergency access available.
4. Close balance of north sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive allowing 8-foot pedestrian access from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM Tuesday, March 4, 2014.
5. Close the pedestrian crosswalk, mid-block on Hollywood Boulevard between Orange Drive and Highland Avenue, from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM on Tuesday, March 4, 2014.
6. Close south curb lane of Hawthorn Avenue from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM Tuesday, March 4, 2014.
7. Close Hawthorn Alley behind El Capitan Theatre from 300 feet east of Orange Drive east to the “T” alley from 10:00 PM. to 6:00 AM on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. The remainder of Hawthorn Alley to remain open from the “T” east to Highland Avenue.

6 Days Prior to Show (SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2014):

1. Close Hawthorn Alley on the east side of the El Capitan Theatre from Hollywood Boulevard south 210 feet to “T” of east/west alley from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM Tuesday, March 4, 2014.

Details of the closures and maps of affected areas are also available at www.navigatehollywood.com.

Since the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Blossom Room, 2,900 statuettes have been presented.

It stands today, as it has since 1929, without peer, on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history.

Each January, additional new golden statuettes are cast, molded, polished and buffed by R.S. Owens & Company, the Chicago-based awards specialty company retained by the Academy since 1982. The Oscar statuette is the most recognized award in the world. Its success as a symbol of achievement in filmmaking would doubtless amaze those who attended that dinner more than 80 years ago, as well as its designer, Cedric Gibbons.

Watch and listen as movie professionals, actors and officials from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences talk about what makes the Academy Awards so special and the Grandfather of all award shows.

When the first Academy Awards were handed out in 1929, movies were beginning the transition from silent pictures to talkies. The attendance was 270 and guest tickets cost $5. Since the earliest years, interest in the Academy Awards has always run high and continues to be the next day’s water cooler talk.

40 years ago, host Jack Lemmon opened the 36th Academy Awards and viewers were greeted by movie star Rock Hudson. The ceremony was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Monday, April 13, 1964. The Oscar for Best Picture went to TOM JONES with Sidney Poitier becoming the first African American to win Best Actor for LILIES OF THE FIELD.

As you make preparations for the year’s big event, here are a few tips to make your  Oscar Party extra special.

Hand out this printable ballot for your guests and then head over to the official Oscar website for a list of the Governors Ball scrumptious recipes to serve at your Academy Awards soiree. http://oscar.go.com/blogs/party/

The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.

Official Oscars Website
http://oscar.go.com/ 

Oscar Party Blog on Oscar.com 
http://oscar.go.com/blogs/party

Official Oscars App/Second Live Streaming Show
http://abc.go.com/watchabc-overview  (featuring “The Oscars Backstage”)

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