A bomb scare near the venue for the Oscars ceremony on Sunday (February 22) proved to be a false alarm though a man was detained by police. Bomb squad investigators cordoned off several storefronts and the front entrance of a hotel after a man who was driving recklessly emerged from his car with a propane canister.

Neil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick Harris will host the Oscars on Sunday night

According to Reuters, the man also had two canisters of nitrous oxide - more commonly known as laughing gas. He was taken into custody while police performed further investigations. Disposal technicians detonated the items as a precaution though no explosives were found.

The incident unfolded around 11am about a block away from the Dolby Theatre complex - the venue for the Academy Awards on Sunday. Police were on the scene for around five hours.

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"There is no bomb threat at Hollywood & Highland," LAPD officials told Deadline.

This weekend's Oscars will welcome some of the biggest movie stars, with the likes of Julianne Moore, Bradley Cooper, Reese Witherspoon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne and Meryl Streep all vying for the acting prizes. 

The evening's biggest award - the Oscar for Best Picture - appears to be a two-horse race between Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman and Richard Linklater's Boyhood. For months, Linklater's coming-of-age tale was the heavy favourite though a slew of recent awards for the Keaton-starrer has seen it rise to the top of the betting.

The 87th Academy Awards  will be hosted by the actor Neil Patrick Harris, better known for helming the Tony Awards ceremony. 

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