Oscars: Inside This Year’s Los Angeles-Themed Greenroom
If you’re among the high-wattage group fortunate to score entry into this year’s Oscars greenroom, take a moment to closely examine the brightly hued mosaics adorning the space: Details have been handcrafted by artisans from one of the world’s most celebrated watch brands.
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Rolex has been hosting the Academy Awards greenroom since 2016 and each year produces a custom design for this VIP space backstage at L.A.’s Dolby Theatre. Only presenters and nominees are admitted to this exclusive enclave — a spot to seek a moment of escape from the frenzy of attention.
In addition to groupings of plush seating and bar spaces in the wood-paneled room, this year’s design honors the Los Angeles skyline via a pair of murals. Scenes depicted range from the Hollywood Hills and their iconic sign and the Santa Monica pier to silhouettes of buildings and landmarks, including the Renzo Piano-designed dome of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (Rolex is a sponsor of the museum, which opened in November 2021).
Artisans from Rolex’s design department crafted the murals’ individual pieces in metal and leather, incorporating imagery of gears, hour markers, and other timepiece elements as inspiration. The spokes of the Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier take their cue from the hands of a watch, for example, while the wheel is meant to evoke thoughts of Rolex’s signature fluted bezel.
Rolex
If the rounded shape of the lighting fixtures throughout the room looks familiar to Rolex wearers, that’s because it’s meant to resemble the look of the date window and its magnified lens — known as the Cyclops in the watchmaker’s parlance — that resides at a Rolex’s 3 o’clock position. One watch is on display in the greenroom as well, a new-for-2021 Rolex Datejust 36 with a golden-hued fluted-motif dial design in yellow Rolesor.
Rolex
The watchmaker’s history with cinema extends beyond the greenroom, of course. Rolex has partnered with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences since 2017 and has produced testimonials with filmmakers including James Cameron and Martin Scorsese. The brand also was the exclusive sponsor at the Academy’s Governors Awards, which took place on Friday, March 25, and also supports film and other artistic disciplines in its Rolex Mentor and Proteges program, launched in 2002. It will also debut a new film-themed television commercial during the telecast on Sunday.
But it’s the craft within a Rolex watch case that will enjoy the spotlight alongside stars on Sunday night. “The meticulous care that goes into the making of a Rolex watch, the attention we pay to the tiniest detail and our constant pursuit of excellence are all present in the greenroom,” Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex’s communication and image director, said in a statement. “They mirror the subtlety, the precision and the magic of film.”
Rolex