Kodak Gets A Circus Act

The Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles will have something in 2010 to fill up the nights between the yearly Academy Awards shows: a Cirque du Soleil production.

Cirque has entered into a 10-year agreement with CIM Group, owner of the Kodak and neighboring Hollywood & Highland center. The production will cost $100 million, have a 75-member cast and perform 368 times a year. Cirque founder Guy Laliberte says the production will focus on Hollywood’s place in the history of cinema.

"Hollywood movies are important in so many ways, artistically, culturally and socially," Laliberte said in a statement. "The city is at the forefront not only of film, but music, architecture and art as well. This is also a kind of homecoming for us."

Cirque began in Los Angeles with a show called "We Reinvent the Circus" that debuted at the L.A. Festival in 1987. Since then, Cirque du Soleil has brought nine touring acts to the area.

The 3,400-capacity theatre, permanent home to the Academy Awards, competes in a market that includes the Live Nation-run Gibson Amphitheatre and AEG’s Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, meaning it is likely a good move to seek a permanent tenant.

The facility will need to be re-purposed for the show, but there is no word if it will be extensive or require a lengthy closure. Cirque and CIM stated that the show will not affect the Academy’s big night.