Posted by Randy Barnett:
Oscars Flashback:
With the Academy Awards on Sunday, I keep thinking back to sitting on
the Red Carpet at last year's show and The Night Before Party that I
attended with my wife. I thought some might enjoy my reposting this VC
post from February 29th, 2004:
THE NIGHT BEFORE: So while in LA for the Southern California leg of
my book tour, my wife and I attended the Second Annual "Night
Before Party" at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It was an amazing scene,
and hard to believe that so many A-list celebrities ever attended
the same event. The pool had been covered up, and a tent erected
over it. Reebok was giving guests their choice of shoes, and Krispy
Creme served donuts covered with ice cream or topped with
strawberries and whipped cream. Cell phones and cameras were not
permitted, but security only stopped you from bringing in
cameras--or camera phones. I did not hear a single cell phone go
off the whole night, and only noticed a few people furtively using
theirs. The celebrities dressed casually with a noteworthy lack of
affectation--except of course for Elton John who sat surrounded by
younger men. No one wore sun glasses at this evening event. All the
celebs were gone by midnight.
It turns out I am very bad at recognizing even very famous actors
in a crowd, but fortunately my wife is excellent at spotting them.
Were it not for her, I would have missed most of the following
(don't write me about misspelling their names): Sylvester Stalone
(a little waxy looking), Tim Robbins & Susan Sarandon, Martin
Short, David Spade, Ben Kingsley, Ben Stiller, Courtney Cox & David
Arquette, Steven Speilberg, Will Smith (with body guards), Rene
Zellweger, Christian Slater, Angelina Jolie, Patricia Clarkson
("Pieces of April," Aunt Sarah on "6 Feet Under"), Michael Chiklis
(The Shield, The Commish), Kristen Davis (Charlotte on "Sex and the
City"), Bonnie Hunt, Antonio Banderas & Melanie Griffith, Luke
Wilson, Tom Arnold, Roma Downey ("Touched by an Angel") who touted
her lates made-for-TV flick to us, John Spencer ("The West Wing,"
"LA Law"), Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Pierce Brosnan, Clint
Eastwood, Kevin Spacey, Bruce Dern, standing nearby his daughter
Laura Dern, Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson (the only one we noticed
smoking), Kevin Spacey (in a Kangol-style cap), Jill Hennessee (Law
& Order), Camryn Manheim ("The Practice"), Ted Turner and Donald
Trump (hair looking a little more like normal hair in person). It
was very crowded, especially at the beginning, and we must have
missed a lot more who were there. We know Tom Cruise left just
before we arrived, and we somehow managed not to see Michael
Douglas with Katherine Zeta-Jones though we were told they had
stood in the same spot for nearly an hour.
Most of the males actors are much smaller, not just shorter, than
you expect--especially Banderas--except DiCaprio who you'd expect
to be small, but is really normal size and height. Alex Baldwin is
a bit bulky of course, and Pierce Brosnan is a remarkably big guy,
who is not shy about wearing gray stubble. The tallest was probably
Tim Robbins, but taller than you'd expect were Tom Hanks and Kevin
Spacey. Not surprisingly on the tall side were Ted Turner, Donald
Trump, Will Smith, Bruce Dern, and Clint Eastwood.
I asked Eastwood if he was a libertarian, and he replied that he
agreed with the libertarian philosophy, but had not changed his
registration from Republican, though his wife had. Besides, he
noted, that used to be the philosophy of the Republicans. Though it
seemed like he was warming to the subject, I did not get to ask him
what made him think so because Jeffrey Katzenberg of Dreamworks and
one of the hosts of the party (and another little guy), just then
interrupted to thank Eastwood for coming, so we moved on.
It was a pretty awesome to see in one night, in one place, and very
informally, more prominent actors and actresses than we will ever
see in our whole lives--except for on the Red Carpet later today at
the Oscars. But that's another story.
In this report, I neglected to mention that, after Katzenberg
interrupted our conversation with Eastwood and we started to move on,
Eastwood turned away from Katzenberg and said to my wife, "It was very
nice to meet you" (just the way Clint Eastwood would say that). In the
context of the crowd scene at that spot, it was a very classy move.
At the party, the actors were really expert at not making eye contact,
as you might imagine. The only two I recall making eye contact with me
as I walked by were Courtney Cox (two different times for so long that
I smiled back--I must have looked like someone she knew) and, yes,
Elton John. 'Nuf said about that.
The next day we sat on the red carpet in the bleachers. After the
attendees exit their cars, they must have their credentials checked
before they can walk the red carpet (which all attendees except for
presenters are required to walk). We sat on the shorter stretch of red
carpet closest to the street and before the big security tent that all
attendees must enter before walking the longer portion of the red
carpet that you see on TV.
From this vantage point we could see the attendees drive up and leave
their cars. Lots of people you would not recognize drove their own
cars (which were valet parked), most arrived in limos (with a few
driving up in chauffeur-driven Toyota Prisms). More limos in one place
than you could possibly imagine. Eventually, SIX SOLID LANES OF LIMOS
as far as we could see. We were told that they bring limos in from Las
Vegas just for this one night.
For a long time attendees drifted in slowly but as show time
approached, a pretty huge crowd forms waiting to have their IDs
checked before they can get into the line on the red carpet to enter
the security tent. We then discovered that the A list matters here
too. When Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones arrived, for
example, security somehow manages to spot them as the exited their
limo. They were then escorted through the crowd of academy members,
past the ID table, and to the end of the line on the red carpet before
the security tent; they did have to wait in THIS line on the red
carpet itself.
While in the line all the stars smiled and waived to the bleachers and
were applauded in return. No one ignored the stands if their name was
shouted out. Unlike the previous night which felt like a real party
where we all were dressed casually while standing around side-by-side
and queing together for drinks, food, and free Reeboks, this felt
like, well, a movie in which they played the waiving movie stars and
we played the cheering fans.
Of course, we could not recognize most of the attendees. But I
remember one time when three attractive young women were walking in
(before the line formed) one of the women started pointing to her
friend and shouting to the stands who she was or what movie she was
in. Not being recognized by the fans, while others standing next to
you are being wildly applauded, must feel humiliating for some of the
actors in a very status conscious business. I'll bet some really hate
the red carpet.
I know that, after our experience last year, watching the Oscars on TV
will never be the same for us.
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