Saturday, September 28

Why did you choose Union Station to celebrate the Oscars in 2021?


The largest station in the American West, with a neo-colonial and art deco style, has already been the scene of films, television series and commercial

¿Por qué eligieron Union Station para celebrar la gala de los Oscar este 2021?
The academy awards will be attended only by 170 guests .

Photo: Chris Pizzelo / Getty Images

Joel Cazorla

The producer of the Oscar , Steven Soderbergh , chose the emblematic angel station Union Station for editing 93 of the awards ceremony . In a year marked by the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, the neocolonial building offers the spaciousness and elegance that the organization was looking for for an atypical and historic gala.

However, it is not the first time that the station built in 1939 is the focus of Hollywood stares. The place has been secondary setting of widely known films as Blade Runner or The Dark Knight Rises ( Batman: The Dark Knight Rises ). And he has also appeared in car commercials or the television series NCIS: Los Angeles .

Your combination of architectural styles colonial, art deco and Mission Revival make the building a perfect location for the cinema to present it not only as a train station but also as a police station, club or airport .

The largest station in the American West and “the last of the great train stations,” as described in its website , has also been “a preferred site for cinematic kidnappings” such as those of movies Nick of Time or To Live and Die in LA , according to Thom Andersen in his documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself .

Union Station recently ended a restoration project that lasted eight years and cost $ 4.1 million dollars , so he will wear his best clothes this Sunday night.

The Academy Awards Ceremony has changed several times of place in their 93 years of history . The first gala was held in 1200 with 270 guests at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. From there, he moved to the Ambassador and Biltmore hotels. Other locations have been Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Shrine Civic Auditorium, Academy’s Melrose Avenue Theater, Pantages Theater, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium or Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Since 2021, the headquarters it has been the Dolby Theater, in Hollywood with Highland and one block from the first location. There will also be activity in this edition 2021, although it will be residual.

“The producers were clear that they were committed to do this in a different way and look for alternative places ”, said to Associated Press David Rockwell, production designer for this edition of the Oscars. “We thought of ways to create the elegance of the first prizes ”, he added. According to him, the station is attractive “on a conceptual and practical level.”

The event will take advantage of the natural light coming through the windows of 40 feet in height of main area before the sun goes down. The lighting on the tables in the room will allow a more intimate tone to a gala that will be attended alone 170 people (nominees with only one guest). At the same time, the spaciousness of the space will allow both them and the technical staff to maintain a safe distance at all times.

The producers of this Oscar gala are more focused on transmitting a more cinematic aesthetic to homes that television, that is narrated as a movie script and in which the location also tell a story .


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