As far as the Academy Awards are concerned, the home of the Oscars is now the Theater Formerly Known as Kodak.
AMPAS confirmed to TheWrap that the show, the pre-show and any additional advance promotion will now refer to the Oscars as taking place at "the Hollywood & Highland Center," the mall where the theater is located.
The change was made in Wednesday's press release announcing that Meryl Streep would serve as a presenter at the show. Where previous releases have described Sunday's show as taking place "at the Kodak Theater at Hollywood & Highland Center," the new release reads "Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented … from the Hollywood & Highland Center."
Also read: 2012 Oscars: Complete List of Nominees
Last week, against the wishes of Hollywood & Highland owner CIM, a bankruptcy court granted Kodak the right to take its name off the theater and end its nearly $4 million-a-year payments to CIM for the naming rights to the theater.
CIM is looking for a new naming sponsor, and an Academy source confirmed that the company asked AMPAS to refer to the location of the Oscars by the name of the center.
Also read: Kodak Can Remove Name From Oscar Theater, Judge Rules
The Academy is currently in negotiations with CIM to renew its deal to stage the Oscars at the theater, which was built expressly for the show and which opened 10 years ago.
After exercising an escape clause in the 20-year contract, the Academy has the right to find a new home for the show. But Sherak told TheWrap that no negotiations have taken place with any venue other than Hollywood & Highland, and he hopes to keep the show there, albeit under a contract that offers the Academy more favorable terms.