Oscars 2023: Power Outage Interrupts Show Preparation

As preparations for the Oscars are in effect, the entire block lost power between Highland and Orange Avenues, where the awards show is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theater. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the outage occurred shortly after 1 p.m. It’s a heavily trafficked area. As a result of the outage, crew and awards workers were stuck in elevators, and local shop owners had to shut down businesses early. Heavy rainstorms across LA have been taking place in the days leading up to the outage.

The outage left event production at a standstill, and behind. An insider notes that the Loews Hollywood Hotel on Highland Avenue was out of power for upwards of three hours. The Academy’s credential team, who is responsible for credentialing media professionals attending the event, was been disrupted as the server is down. “Chaos,” the insider noted in the report, adding, “Everything is at a standstill.”

At the time of the outage, rehearsals were in full effect at the Dolby Theatre. It’s unclear if the Dolby’s was able to regain power via use of a generator for the time being. 

By 3:30 p.m. PST, two sources reported that the power had been restored on the block. The Academy notified press that the credentialing process was being extended by several hours due to the outage. 

ABC News’ Oscars pre-show coverage with On The Red Carpet Live: Countdown to Oscars 95 will begin on Sunday, March 12th at 1 p.m. EDT / 10 a.m. PDT. The E! channel will broadcast its own coverage of the Red Carpet in its annual E! Live from the Red Carpet starting at 2 p.m. EDT / 11 a.m. PDT. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. On television, and will be broadcast on ABC.