| NEWS 02.23.09 12:17 PM |
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What the Press Said About the Oscar Ceremony: Different Is Good
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The press is decidedly divided about what worked and what didn’t at last night’s rejiggered Academy Awards ceremony, but everyone seems unanimous in the assessment that it was different. And any departure for a show that saw its lowest recorded ratings just last year seems to be a welcome one.
- The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley posited that the night’s best move was the selection of Hugh Jackman as host. “Mr. Jackman was high-spirited, not mean-spirited," she wrote. “He spoke with sass, but unlike more satirical predecessors like Chris Rock and Jon Stewart, there were no smirks; he came to the task with Broadway sizzle, not a stand-up routine.” [NYT]
- Whether the production numbers were effective or not doesn’t seem to matter to most. The fact that there was such a dramatic change to the format was enough for The Hollywood Reporter to note that the franchise is "undeniably the better for it.” [Hollywood Reporter]
- Variety’s Timothy M. Gray—who was actually inside the Kodak Theatre—wrote an overwhelmingly positive review, praising the set design and, particularly, the incorporation of music. “The best decision was to move the orchestra onstage, which made a closer physical connection between audience and performers, helping break down that best-behavior attitude; the looser mood was contagious even to the balconies.” [Variety]
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Oscars, Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.23.09 11:22 AM |
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Oscar Governors Ball Chooses Zen-Inspired Understatement Over Splashy Opulence
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FROM LOS ANGELES
When an economy of unprecedented lousiness met one of the the most traditionally lavish parties of the year last night, the result was a Zen-looking Academy Awards Governors Ball marked by restraint, compared with the drama of past years. The party took over the grand ballroom at Hollywood & Highland following the awards at the Kodak Theatre in the same complex.
The classic elements of air, fire, wood, and earth inspired this year's event, which Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions produced with ball chair Cheryl Boone Isaacs. This was Boone Isaacs' seventh year as chair, and Cecchetto has worked on the event for more than two decades. "In this economy, we wanted to go with a pared-down look, but keep it elegant and beautiful," said Cecchetto, who drew some of her inspiration from a teahouse in Beijing. She characterized the look and feel as a "marriage of simplicity and beauty." Boone Isaacs added that the use of organic elements in the design was "like a breath of fresh air," and something "totally different"—an important difference from past years, you might say, in light of the glum atmosphere in the world outside the ballroom.
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Award Season, Oscars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sterling Vineyards, Patron, Ultimat Vodka, Moët & Chandon, Governors Ball |
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| NEWS 02.16.09 1:53 PM |
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Economy Is Coloring Oscar Week—But Events Are On and Telecast May Be Musical, Upbeat
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FROM LOS ANGELES
Will the economy cast a pall over Oscar week? The short answer is yes and no.
In a year when an upbeat movie, Slumdog Millionaire, is expected by some to sweep top honors, the overall tone of the show might be upbeat as well. With new producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, who are behind the movie Dreamgirls, the award ceremony may have a reimagined format—although no one is disclosing too many details yet. Hugh Jackman is the program's host—despite the fact that that spot is typically reserved for a comedian. So some expect to see a music-focused show, according to Reuters, which also pointed out that, earlier in the month, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis promised the show's producers "are going to take some risks, many risks, some bold."
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Oscars, Award Season, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Budgets, Gift Suites, Hugh Jackman, Vanity Fair, Governors Ball |
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| NEWS 02.04.09 11:39 AM |
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In the News: Wells Fargo Nixes Vegas Meetings, Karl Largerfeld Sacrifices V.I.P. Section
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Here are a few stories on our radar this week:
No Vegas Meetings for Wells Fargo: Government bank bailout beneficiary Wells Fargo came under fire when the AP published a story about two employee events scheduled at expensive Las Vegas hotels. In response to the negative press, Wells Fargo canceled a conference for mortgage officials and an insurance employee meeting later in February. A spokesperson confirmed there were no plans for other such events for the rest of the year. [Reuters]
Lagerfeld Shuns Elitism at Paris Show: New York fashion week is just a few days off, and many looked to last week's couture shows in Paris for ideas of how the economy might affect the coming round of ready-to-wear presentations. A lot of designers continued to embrace opulence on the runway and at after-parties, but Karl Lagerfeld was not among them. He cut the V.I.P. section to create "equality in an unfair world." [WSJ]
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Wells Fargo, Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Phelps, Oscars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Live Nation, Ticketmaster |
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| NEWS 01.26.09 4:31 PM |
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Oscar Governors Ball Preview: Bamboo, Sushi, Bonsai Trees
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 | A Governors Ball tabletop
Photo: BizBash |
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FROM LOS ANGELES
In a year marked by tough economic times, an over-the-top, glittery, sequined Oscar ball might not seem like the most appropriate choice. That's one reason you can expect to see a Zen-looking party space inspired by the elements of water, air, fire, wood, and earth for the academy's annual Governors Ball following this year's Academy Awards on February 22.
Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions will again produce the party—which will take to the grand ballroom at Hollywood & Highland following the awards at the Kodak Theatre in the same complex—with ball chair Cheryl Boone Isaacs. It's Boone Isaacs' seventh year as chair, and Cecchetto has worked on the event for more than two decades. "I've always wanted to work with an East-meets-West Asian theme," said Cecchetto at a press preview of the decor earlier today. "In this economy, we wanted to go with a pared-down look, but still elegant and beautiful."
Boone Isaacs added, "One of our things is that we want to make each year completely different from the last. [The use of the organic] elements is kind of like a breath of fresh air—totally different."
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Oscars, Award Season, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sterling Vineyards, Moët & Chandon, Patron |
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| NEWS 01.22.09 12:18 PM |
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Academy Stages Brightly Colored Press Conference to Announce Oscar Noms
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 | The academy's colorful press conference
Photo: Richard Harbaugh/©A.M.P.A.S. |
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FROM LOS ANGELES
This morning, while most Angelenos were still sleeping, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for the 81st Academy Awards, which will be doled out at the Kodak on February 22. Academy president Sid Ganis and Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker announced the nominees beginning at 5:38 a.m. local time at a live news conference attended by 400 international media members at the academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Staging featured bold lighting in saturated hues that changed throughout the program and a collage of five flat-screens that showed the nominated films in each category. Two giant Oscar statuettes flanked the stage amid the hail of flashbulbs. After the conference, lists of the nominees were then distributed and posted online.
Official screenings of all of the nominated films will begin for academy members this weekend at the Goldwyn Theater. Screenings also will be held at the Academy's Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood and in London, New York, and San Francisco. —Alesandra Dubin
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Milk, Focus Features, Oscars, Award Season, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
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| NEWS 02.25.08 3:10 PM |
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Before Awards, Academy Takes Oscars on Tour of New York
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 | The Oscar statues toured the city.
Photo: Kevin MacDonald/A.M.P.A.S. |
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Every year, a couple of days before the big event, the New York chapter of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences delivers two oversize Oscar statues to the location of its annual viewing dinner, and the media are invited to watch. This year, in a playful stunt designed to build public excitement for the awards, the Academy gave the eight-foot-tall pieces a little more exposure by taking them out on a tour of the city.
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Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Award Season, Oscars |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.25.08 1:54 PM |
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Best Picture Nominees Inspire Menus at New York Oscar Parties
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 | The academy's themed meal
Photo: Courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
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Despite the last-minute scramble to pull together the events thanks to the uncertainty surrounding the Los Angeles award show, both New York magazine and the New York chapter of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted their annual Oscar viewing parties last night. (Entertainment Weekly, however, canceled its annual bash at Elaine's.) While the decor at both is always fairly simple, the events made some subtle references to the Best Picture nominees through food and drinks.
Up at the Carlyle, the Academy served a five-course meal created by the hotel's executive chef, James Sakatos, to reference the five nominated films. The menu included a black-ink risotto with black trumpet mushrooms, braised cuttlefish, and blood-orange foam to suggest There Will Be Blood's oil wells and a dry-aged New York strip steak and braised short rib with heirloom carrots and creamy grits in Bordelaise jus representing the Texas setting from No Country for Old Men. The Academy's New York program director, Patrick Harrison, planned the event, which drew Jerry Stiller, Celia Weston, and Erica Jong.
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Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, New York Magazine, Award Season, Oscars |
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| NEWS 02.22.08 3:14 PM |
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Oscar Event Update: What's Really On (It's a Lot)
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 | Silver Spoon's suite at the Kress
Photo: BizBash |
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FROM LOS ANGELES
You may have heard something about the matter of a certain labor dispute that was threatening Oscar events in Los Angeles. With some hugely significant exceptions, though—Vanity Fair's A-list-only bash, plus Ed Limato's pre-awards soiree, and some less heady others—many of the major events around town are going on as planned now that the strike has ended. Here's the rundown.
Silver Spoon is putting on a two-day gift suite, which began yesterday, at the strikingly revamped historic venue the Kress. Entertainment Fusion Group is handling PR. Guests traveling to the suite along Hollywood Boulevard from the west have to detour around the Oscar red-carpet setup, already being placed in front of the Kodak a few blocks away.
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Oscars, Award Season, Writers' Strike, Elton John AIDS Foundation, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Diamond Information Center, Night of 100 Stars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Gift Suites, Motion Picture & Television Fund, WGA Strike Fund, Billboard, Children Uniting Nations, Variety, Lexus, Essence Magazine, Target, AOL, Night Before |
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