Bankrupt Kodak asks to pull name from Oscars theater

NEW YORK - Agence France-Presse

Confetti falls at the end of the show at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, in this February 25, 2007 file photo. REUTERS photo

The century-old photography trailblazer Eastman Kodak has filed a request to pull its name from the Los Angeles theater hosting the Oscars as part of bankruptcy proceedings launched last month.

The request filed at a New York bankruptcy court on Wednesday asks for the cancelation of a contract signed in 2001 with developer TrizecHahn Hollywood in which Kodak paid an annual sum to attach its name to the venue.

"The Debtors' rejection of the Contract will represent a significant annual cost savings to the Debtors and their estate," Kodak said in the filing.

"Accordingly, the Debtors submit that rejection of the Contract represents a sound exercise of their business judgment and should therefore be approved." The Kodak Theater, inaugurated in November 2001 with seating for 3,332, has hosted the Academy Awards -- Hollywood's premiere prize gala -- since 2002.

The contract provided for the theater -- currently owned by the CIM group -- to bear Kodak's name for 20 years.

Kodak, an iconic American firm that introduced generations of consumers to mass-market cameras, filed for bankruptcy last month and has a hearing scheduled for February 15.

The company hopes that seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will give it time to reorganize its businesses -- and possibly sell off its valuable patent portfolio -- to avoid being shut down entirely.