The LA Times has a few new details on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences plan to turn land on Vine Street that they originally bought for a movie museum into an outdoor screening space, as Curbed first reported in May. The 17,000 square foot space will include a raised grassy area with room for about 300 people (who will bring their own blankets and chairs), a 10,000 square foot patio for special events, and "two rows of palm trees called Palm Walk behind the amphitheater to give it a closed-in feel," as explained by museum project administrator Heather Cochran. The LAT wonders if the area needs another old movie venue, with the Egyptian Theatre and Hollywood Forever so close, but as anyone who's attempted to go to a Hollywood Forever screening recently can tell you, there's definitely plenty of demand. The AMPAS screening space is expected to open in May.
Meanwhile, Academy President Tom Sherak says the Academy isn't selling the site because they don't want to take a loss (they bought it in 2005 for $50 million) and because things could still fall through with their current plan to house the movie museum in LACMA's old May Company building. They'll have to raise $200 million to make the LACMA museum happen, but if they don't, "the academy could again consider the Hollywood property as a location for the museum."
· Academy Has Big Plans for Hollywood Parcels, But No Museum Yet [Curbed LA]
· Academy's Outdoor Screening Site in Hollywood Should Be Ready Early Next Year [Curbed LA]
· Oscars academy to build outdoor theater in Hollywood [LAT]
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