I can honestly say that sitting on those hard bleacher seats, under the hot sun, waiting for hours and hours was truly brutal. But as the time got closer for the red carpet to open my fellow “Bleacher Fans” and I started to get less annoyed and more revved up.
Excitement was in the air and all the people around me started double-checking (and in some cases – like mine - triple-checking) that their cameras were ready to capture ever star-studded moment. Luckily, as the time got closer the cloud cover increased so the heat under those clear plastic tents wasn’t so bad anymore.
Fifteen minutes before the carpet was supposed to open the reporters on the red carpet all piled behind the press section and we were given a second warning about no standing up in the bleachers once the festivities began – which of course prompted all of us to stand up and get one last good stretch before all the craziness began.
The moment the red carpet opened, everyone turned towards the entrance, with cameras in hand, ready to capture the first few stars to arrive. The first celebrity we spotted was “Law & Order” actress Mariska Hargitay – who looked amazing in a long black, sleeve-less gown. Apparently she wasn’t a big enough a star for the press to care much about so they pretty much ignored her, but the moment she turned and waved at us we cheered with sheer delight!
BTW - the shot I got of her is awesome. I figured that I’d a slew of equally good shots the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The moment all the guests started piling in you could barely spot anyone anymore. It was a complete madhouse!
There were guests everywhere. Some were just standing there looking around to see who they could spot, while others thought they were at a cocktail party and huddled together to schmooze. Trying to spot a celebrity was becoming quite a challenge. Thankfully TMC’s Robert Osborne, who was the official red carpet emcee, was there and it was his job to interview all the big stars that came in just for us to hear over the speaker system. If it weren’t for him we would have never seen anyone.
Now….I’ve really got to get something important off my chest. It has to do with a number of big name celebrities that walked down the red carpet and totally ignored us! This rant is for them so forgive my language….listen here people...you must realize that the fans sitting in those bleachers aren’t screaming their lungs out for their health, right? I know that talking to press is important for your careers, but COME ON PEOPLE!!! What's the big hassle to stop in front of us, a minute or two, to smile and wave? It’s just a common courtesy and it’s part of your fucking job. We fans are the ones that keep you in the limelight. I, for one, will most likely never be your fan again. I’m not kidding.
So who am I referring to exactly??? Well here’s a short list….Tina Fey (at least Sarah Palin – who I can’t stand – waves at her fans biatch), Ed Asner (we know you’re old, but come on buddy…we still think of you as MR GRANT), Matt Damon (you’re not the best actor in the world Matt. You got lucky with "Invictus" buddy. Don’t let it go to your head), James Cameron (come on Jim….with all the money you’ve made with big blockbuster films like "Titanic" & "Avatar" you can’t take a minute to wave to the people that made you all that cash?), “Twilight” hottie Taylor Lautner (you’re young and super hot so we’ll forgive you this one time Taylor), Ryan Reynolds (some poor girl sitting next to me was screaming out your name over and over again and you totally broke her heart. You suck Ryan Reynolds), Antonio Banderas (hey amigo…we know you’re career is pretty much in the toilet but don’t be such an asshole to your fans), Tom Ford (I’ve lusted after you for years Tom, but you suck ass for not waving at us), Quentin Tarantino (I’ve never liked you dude. You can suck it) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (you’re still not the prettiest girl at the prom Maggie, but you’re a star and you should act like one in front of your fans). Ahhhhh. I’m SO glad I got that off my chest. I can’t tell you how upset I was at them that day. UGHHHHHH!
Stars that DID go out of their way to stop and wave were...Mo’Nique (she came up and screamed “I love you guys”), Jennifer Lopez (she signed some autographs), Sarah Jessica Parker (she waved, but her hubby Matthew Broderick didn’t…jerk), Robert Downey Jr, Kathy Bates (stopped right in the middle of the crowd and waved at us for a good five minutes), Chris Pine, Zac Efron (he passed us twice and stopped both times to wave), Jeremy Renner, Kathryn Bigelow, Zoe Saldana, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Lenny Kravitz (gave us a peace sign wave), Sandra Bullock, Jake Gyllenhaal (signaled for the crowd to cheer louder), George Clooney (came over and shook hands with people), Melanie Griffith (she smiled and waved, but her face looks like a plastic surgery nightmare…scary), Cameron Diaz (waved while she ran past us), Jeff Bridges (gave us a wave and sly smile), Charlize Theron (stopped several times to wave), Morgan Freeman (waved the entire time), “Precious” star Gabourey Sidibe (she’s a BIG girl…but very sweet for stopping and blowing kisses at us) and the elegantly dressed Sigourney Weaver (by the way, she's SUPER tall. You could see her head high above everyone's else in the crowd).
However, the winner for being the best star to acknowledge the fans on the red carpet goes to Meryl Streep!!!! That woman is SO classy. She totally avoided the press line, on the other side of the carpet, and slowly walked the entire length of the bleacher section, waving and smiling the whole way. Take note Hollywood. THAT’S THE WAY A TRUE STAR BEHAVES ON THE RED CARPET. Treat your fans with a little kindness and they’ll love you even more than they already do.
So now that my little rant is done, here are a couple of my observations from the red carpet. We saw Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves hugging and chatting for a few minutes in the crowd. Demi Moore is stunning in real life. By the way she came alone. I wonder where Ashton was. Mickey Rooney has GOT to be a thousand years old but like a “true” star he managed to walk the entire red carpet, on his own, with a smile. George Clooney is even more handsome in person than he is on screen. Cameron Diaz arrived late and ran down the red carpet waving. Sam Worthington told Robert Osborne over the microphone “This is fucking amazing!” everyone in the bleachers laughed and cheered at that. It started pouring rain the moment we saw Zac Efron - by the way he got the loudest cheers from the crowd. Mariah Carey looked SO out of place…and a bit plump too. Poor thing.
In short, it was a day I’ll never forget. Would I do it again? Absolutely not! It was uncomfortable, hot, crowded, boring, annoying and just plain exhausting. I mean…we sat there from 8am until 5:30pm! That’s a LONG FRIGGIN TIME! Thankfully, after the red carpet arrivals had ended they arranged for us to go into the El Capitan Theater, across the street from the Kodak, to eat some dinner and watch the award ceremony on the big screen - in comfy, padded seats. Ahhhhh…what a relief. LOL
Do I think you should do it next year? Absolutely! Even though I’d much rather be sitting on my couch, at home, watching the red carpet arrivals on TV I don’t regret doing it at all. It truly was an amazing thing to experience in person and from now on I can tell my friends that I sat on the red carpet for the Oscars. Not a lot of people can say that. Plus, I accomplished one of Hollywood goals…to see Meryl Streep in the flesh! That alone made it all worth it.
Hooray for Hollywood! J
Mario Lopez was wearing TONS of makeup, but he's still a hottie
Mary Hart is a wax figure of herself. Scary!
The first celebrity on the red carpet..Mariska Hargitay
A fuzzy photo of Zac Efron as he passed us
Ed Asner didn't wave at us. Boo!!!!
Mickey Rooney has to a thousand years old
Love you Kathy Bates!!!!
Mo'Nique is on the red carpet! "Hey girlfriend!"
Vera Farmiga and her crazy dress
Sigourney Weaver waves at us!
Lenny Kravitz gives us a peace sign wave
The classy Morgan Freeman waving
Charlize Theron stops and waves
Jake Gyllenhaal motions for us to yell louder
Demi Moore is simply stunning
Sarah Jessica Parker smiles while her hubby Matthew Broderick ignores us. Annoying!
Robert Downey Jr gives us a thumbs up
Jeff Bridges gives us a sly smile
MERYL STREEP WAVED AT ME!!!!! I can die happy now :)
Labels: Academy Awards, Demi Moore, Jeff Bridges, Kathy Bates, Kodak Theater, Mario Lopez, Mariska Hargitay, Meryl Streep, Oscar, Red Carpet, Robert Downey Jr, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Miros