And the Oscar goes to... (Kodak Theatre (Los Angeles))

Member Name: katygriff

Product:	Kodak Theatre (Los Angeles)
Date:	29/10/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean and Chilled Building

Disadvantages: Not What I Expected

When in Los Angeles you have to go and see the biggest sights so when in Hollywood you like to go and tread the same paths that all of the celebrities have been on. The Kodak theatre is one of those sights that is always shown on the tours of LA and it is smack bang in the middle of Hollywood. Here I will tell you why it is fun to go and see but not that amazing.

So the Kodak theatre is located in the middle of Hollywood and it is right in the middle of the walk of fame and right by Graumans Chinese theatre which is where all of the LA film premieres are shown. To be honest though it does not stand out from the street and you wouldn't be forgiven for missing it. There are no signs to it and it isn't an amazing tourist filled spot and I think the only reason we saw it because it was pointed out on our LA tour and we were staying in Hollywood so had plenty of time to look around.

When you walk by the Kodak theatre you will see it as it is a huge building with Kodak theatre written at the top in film star writing like you would expect. The reason the Kodak theatre is on the tours and is famous is because it is the home of the Oscars. From looking at it though like everything in Hollywood you wouldn't think it and you really have to use your imagination. As our tour guide kept telling us, everything in Hollywood is an illusion.

Now when you walk up the stairs at the Kodak theatre you expect to go into a very extravagant place but you don't and you actually walk into a small shopping mall. The mall is lovely and has some great shops and eating places. We found a fantastic Italian restaurant which cost about $50 for the 2 of us for a meal and it was yummy. Then there are some great Hollywood souvenir shops.

Still not what you expect. At the bottom there is some pretty cool fountains which spray up every now and again. At night everything is lit up very nicely though and this is when you can imagine that the celebrities come and would be happy here as it looks very extravagant. Still though not what you expect.

So where are the Oscars held. Well to the left of the Kodak theatre there are stairs and here you can tell it is nice as there is a suspended piano sculpture just on the stairs which looks amazing. Now the Kodak theatre you cannot just walk in there which you expect but as they show performances and all sorts there so you can go to the box office which is huge and the staff are very mindful of people and by this I mean they keep a good eye on you. It made me feel really uncomfortable.

Now to go to the actual theatre where the Oscars are held you can go on a guided tour for just $15 each. Now this I would have loved to have done but the person at the box office told us they couldn't sell us tickets till midday (it was 9am when we were there). We went back just after lunch and got told we couldn't buy any tickets as there were no tours on but if we came back the next day then we could go on one.

So when you buy a tour ticket you get to actually see an Oscar and they are a lot bigger then you would expect. You get to go to the hall which is a magnificent red hall and reminds me of the cinema room at Graumans theatre. It is huge but again you will have to use your imagination to think of all of the celebrities that have been there.

There are images all around the Kodak theatre of celebrities that have been there which is quite interesting to see and of course you can go to the handprints and footprints that are practically next door. The tour lasts around half hour and you get to find out some pretty interesting stuff about why the Kodak theatre was chosen for the Oscars.

For me though I do not think it is as comprehensive as the Graumans Chinese theatre tour but still worth going on. I will only give it four stars though purely because you would not even know you can go on tours unless you asked as it is not well advertised in my opinion. I can't tell you much more as it is quite a simple tour but the Chinese theatre has a lot of interesting artefacts but this is just one big room.

The Kodak theatre is huge and you really have to think what it would be like with red carpets and flashing lights. Hollywood itself has a real buzz about it but the Kodak theatre is quite chilled which you don't expect. We were there quite a few times and it never really seemed very busy which is good in a way as there are just so many people about in Hollywood.

Thanks for reading.

xxx

Summary: It was Ok.