Kodak Bankruptcy Ends An Oscar Era
by Sean Comer
An era of the Oscars ends in just under two weeks.
Following Wednesday's bankruptcy court approval, the Eastman Kodak Co. may now end its sponsorship agreement with the Hollywood theater that annually hosts The Academy Awards, reports Entertainment Weekly. The struggling camera manufacturer entered the $74-million agreement to name the venue the Kodak Theater in 2000, but must now free up every possible penny following a January Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection filing.
Court documents state that attaching the Kodak name to the venue has cost the company more than benefits have been worth. The name removal takes effect immediately - meaning that the rights leading up to this year's Oscars remain up in the air - but Kodak representatives deferred all media questions regarding that matter to venue owners CIM Group and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Neither chose to comment at this time.
The Kodak website's section detailing the theater's history says that its George Eastman Room displays one of nine Oscars awarded to the company in appreciation for its technical contributions and achievements that have benefited the film industry.
Per a debtor-in-possession financing agreement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York - the jurisdiction under which the Rochester, NY company falls - Kodak will continue operating normally while selling off the firm's digital-imaging patents.
Kodak spokesman Christopher Veronda noted that seven of this year's nine Best Picture nominees were shot using Kodak film.