| HOPEFUL: (From left) Filmmakers Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, and Chris Meledandri from the film Despicable Me 2 pose for a photograph at the 86th Academy Awards animated feature film nominee reception in Hollywood, California. The Oscars will be presented at the Dolby Theater today. |
When Angelina Jolie arrived at Oscar rehearsals last week, she had some wisdom to share with a group of film students clustered backstage at the Dolby Theatre. The actress and director spoke to the students not of the demands of a Hollywood career, however, but of the challenges of its footwear.
“I didn’t fall in the hole,” said Jolie, gesturing to an open spot on the stage and towering over the young adults in a pair of spike heels. “I used to wear flip-flops, but you do this a few times and you learn to wear the shoes you’re going to present in.”
Jolie was on hand to practice for her role in the Academy Awards ceremony tonight, joining 45 other presenters who would stream through the Hollywood and Highland Center over a three-day period before the show, including Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, Bill Murray, Brad Pitt, Sidney Poitier, Channing Tatum and Emma Watson.
On the telecast, it may not always seem well practiced, but the rehearsals are a chance for stars to perfect the highly specific skills of awards show presenting in front of a forgiving audience of crew members and stand-ins. They run through their stage walking, teleprompter reading and pronunciation of the evening’s trickier potential winners’ names Chiwetel Ejiofor, anyone?
It wasn’t just the actors working out their pre-show jitters. As the aroma of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and coffee hung in the air, the Oscars crew practiced their lighting cues, camera moves and set changes. With multiple musical numbers planned for the show, including performances by Idina Menzel, Bette Midler, Karen O, Pink, U2 and Pharrell Williams, an area off stage right was crowded with guitars and drum sets. When a familiar rhythmic jangle rose over the backstage din, it was a roadie for U2 tuning up the Edge’s guitar.
An escort led a decidedly casual Samuel L Jackson through the labyrinthine backstage area to the Architectural Digest greenroom designed by David Rockwell, who designed the Dolby Theatre. There presenters can calm their nerves (or soak up some brand names) in a space outfitted with a bar, contemporary sofas and an art installation made of Samsung TV, phone and tablet screens.
“You know how I am in front of people,” Jackson said sardonically to the young woman charged with delivering him down the hall to the office of Oscar telecast producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan.
“Yeah, you seem really shy,” she said.
In an office a few feet from the stage, Meron and Zadan conferred with their head writer, Kristin Gore, daughter of Al Gore and comedy writer for such TV shows as Saturday Night Live and Futurama. Meron and Zadan have said host Ellen DeGeneres, whose rehearsals are closed to reporters, will set a warm tone for this year’s show. A nameplate for the talk-show host adorns the door of modest dressing room 3, which is outfitted with a mini fridge, microwave and little else.
After Charlize Theron furrowed her brow while delivering a line on stage, a stage manager said, “If you have any questions you can sit with Craig and Neil.”
“No, I’m good,” Theron said. “I’m so good.”
In the wings, stage manager John Esposito trained six film students on how to present the Oscar trophies; last year Meron and Zadan replaced the models who had traditionally performed that role with the aspiring young filmmakers.
Out in the theatre, the seats, marked with placards displaying the faces of the stars who will occupy them, were filled by 31 stand-ins, also known as rehearsal actors, many of whom had researched their “roles” for the week. Most of actors have been performing the union job — for which they just won overtime pay last year — for years. They’re selected for their professionalism, reliability and, sometimes, resemblance to stars’ body types. — By Rebecca Keegan, Los Angeles Times/MCT
Mary-Kate Olsen engaged
Actress-turned-fashion designer Mary-Kate Olsen is reportedly engaged to beau Olivier Sarkozy, a French banker. The 27-year-old began dating Sarkozy in 2012, and they have now taken the next step in their relationship, reports UsMagazine.com. Olsen and her 44-year-old boyfriend were allegedly spotted shopping for engagement rings at the Neil Lane boutique in November 2013. If things go as planned, it will be Olsen’s first wedding. Sarkozy, the half-brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, was previously married to Charlotte Bernard, with whom he has two children. — IANS
Leonardo DiCaprio buys $5.2 mn house
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has purchased the former estate of singer/actress Dinah Shore in the Old Las Palmas neighbourhood of Palm Springs for $5.2mn. The 39-year-old bought the Donald Wexler-designed home that is spread over 1.3 acres and features six bedrooms, a pool, tennis court and detached gym, reports hollywoodreporter.com. The sellers, Ben Lipps and wife Jude, bought the estate for $4.9mn in April 2011. The home was offered for $5.5mn January 16 and was promptly purchased by the actor for $5.2mn. “This is the quintessential mid-century modern home,” said a local architecture expert. — IANS
Patrick Wilson to
feature in Ant-ManActor Patrick Wilson joins the cast of Marvel superhero movie Ant-Man. The Conjuring star will be seen with Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas in the movie, reports deadline.com. The 40-year-old’s role is unspecified in the film, while it is believed Rudd will play Scott Lang, the new incarnation of Ant-Man, and Douglas will play Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, who discovered the scientific technology which affords the hero his powers. Ant-Man will be directed by Edgar Wright, who also co-wrote the script with Joe Cornish, and follows the adventures of a superhero that can shrink himself down to insect size. — IANS
Fast & Furious 7 production to resume in April?
The production of Fast & Furious 7 is reportedly set to resume in April. The filming of the movie was put on hold in November, 2013, after actor Paul Walker died in a fiery car crash in California, but the shooting is said to start in April, reports femalefirst.co.uk. At the time of his death, Walker was more than halfway through filming his scenes as Brian O’Conner and studio bosses at Universal are said to have decided to retire his character so the franchise can continue. Fast & Furious 7, which also stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Dwayne Johnson, is set to hit the theatres in April, 2015. — IANS
