Column: My Oscars Love Letter to the Dolby Theatre

Editor James A. Molnar reflects on the Dolby Theatre and the Oscars’ future as the ceremony prepares to move to L.A. LIVE in 2029.

For many, the Dolby Theatre is simply where the Oscars are held. For me, it is where the Oscars became real.

The Dolby Theatre, once the Kodak, was built for the Oscars. For more than two decades, it has not just hosted Hollywood’s biggest night. It has helped define it.

Set along Hollywood Boulevard, steps from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel where the first Academy Awards were held, and near the TCL Chinese Theatre, there is a poetry to its location. The Red Carpet stretches across the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The grand staircase welcomes nominees and dreamers alike. The archways feature every Best Picture winner.

It is not perfect. Yes, it lives within a shopping complex. But it still feels like Hollywood.

And for me, it means everything.

This is my love letter to a place that shaped my connection to the Oscars in ways I will always carry with me.

I remember standing in the bleachers, not once but twice, among more than 700 fans lucky enough to be part of the Red Carpet energy. That access, that proximity, that feeling that the Oscars belonged not just to the industry but to all of us. That mattered.

It was one of those nights that changed everything.

Being interviewed as a fan on the Red Carpet by Regis Philbin during the 80th Academy Awards in 2008 did more than give me a great story (watch the video above). It sparked something. It turned a passion into something louder and more real.

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Years later, I returned as a journalist, credentials in hand, covering the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011. Those setup credentials offered a behind-the-scenes look at a production of incredible scale. To witness that transformation, to be part of that rhythm, even in a small way, was unforgettable.

James with Kristyn Burtt in 2013.

And then, like so many things, it changed.

The bleachers disappeared. The setup credentials were retired. Access became more limited, shaped by security needs and a changing world. Those changes make sense. They are necessary. But they also marked the end of something that once made the Oscars feel just a little more within reach.

Still, that does not take anything away from what those moments mean. If anything, it makes them more meaningful.

I have been fortunate to be inside the Dolby Theatre a handful of times, most memorably for the “Live with Kelly” After the Oscars shows (2015 pictured above). Inside the space, you can feel the intention behind it. The swirling, glamorous design by David Rockwell. The way it is crafted not just as a venue, but as a stage worthy of cinema’s biggest night.

The Oscars belong to the Dolby Theatre. And the Dolby Theatre belongs to the Oscars.

That kind of singular identity is rare, which is why this next chapter feels different.

As The Academy prepares to move to L.A. Live and a new venue in 2029, one that will undoubtedly be upgraded and reimagined for the future, it is hard not to notice the contrast. A space shared by many events. A setting removed from Hollywood Boulevard. A different kind of energy.

It may be better in many ways. It may offer new possibilities. And to be fair, I have not experienced it yet. But it will not be this.

It will not be the walk up Hollywood Boulevard. It will not be the Red Carpet laid across the stars. It will not be the staircase, the archways, or the feeling of being in the heart of where movies have always lived.

And that is okay because the Oscars have never stood still.

From the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to the Pantages. From the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to the Shrine Auditorium. And then, to the Dolby.

Each era reflects its time.

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Now, as The Academy heads toward its second century, alongside its impressive museum and new global platform with YouTube, this shift feels less like an ending and more like a continuation.

There is excitement for what comes next, and there is gratitude for what has been. Because for so many of us, the Dolby Theatre is not just where the Oscars are held. It is where they come alive.

And for two more years, we are there with it.

So here’s to the Dolby Theatre. Thank you for being home.