Filling Space For Oscar

Yesterday marked the culmination of everything entertainment. This was MY SUPERBOWL, The Academy Awards. Instead of spending my Oscar Sunday in typical fashion, (watching from home with Ben and Jerry) I played a “background artist” of sorts all day for E! Entertainment Television.

I was an audience member all day for E! Live From The Red Carpet Countdown Show, and the E! After Party Show. The location was the beautifully transformed Roosevelt Hotel, right next to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The day was long and exhausting but totally worth my time.

7:30am- My call time for the day. I arrived at the hotel for check in, and then was taken into a holding room with all other "space fillers." They served us coffee and tea and told us to hang tight.

8:30am- The live events producers tell us that we will be taken to set in 15 minutes. At this point, I was half asleep since I had been sitting for an hour. Instead of drifting off daydreaming, I decided to listen in on some conversations around me.

8:35am- I find out that the majority of the people here are from a casting agent and are getting paid for the day! Hey heyyyy! Unfair! These “pretty” people were talking about their aspiring acting/modeling careers. I found it interesting how insecure some of these people are about breaking into the industry. No conversation that I was listening in on had determination or gusto. It was more or less, “Well if this doesn’t work out I guess I’ll have to find another job.”

8:50am- They FINALLY took us down to set. We were unable to bring cameras/recording devices down to the stage. The set was dressed to the nines. It was a beautiful canvas for the hours upon hours of live event coverage about to go down.

9:10am- The talent starts rehearsal. The hosts for the show were Ross Mathews (Ross the Intern), Catt Sadler, Kris Jenner, and Holly Madison. The staff told us it would be almost 4 hours of coverage, and I immediately thought about how much content they needed to fill a show like this. The answer is A LOT.

10ish?- The time gets a little fuzzy here since cell phones had to be off and out of sight. The show started, and all I can say is it was a smorgasbord of randomness. Here is a breakdown of most of the segments…There was a segment about animal actors (doggies, chameleons, and an ostrich), crazy diva-licious hair makeovers a la Nicki Minaj, a fairytale princess Oscar dress makeover, a kiddie fashion show, a Victoria Secret underwear fashion show, a bikini runway show, and Burlesque dancers. These were just a few of the things they filled the show with.

1:00pm- The audience handlers told us we had one more hour! Yes, yes YES! My butt was numb from the chairs and my stomach was rumbling from the eight-hour span of not eating.

1:05pm- The last portion was a Fashion Police segment with Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne, and George Kotsiopoulos. This went by very quickly, and we were finally released.

2:05pm- They had a small lunch up in the holding room to thank us for our time. It was clearly geared towards the models and actors…Fruit plates, and teeny-tiny finger foods. I decided to leave, eat a “proper” meal, and take a little break before I had to come back at 6:30pm for the After Party Show.

5:30pm- I was re-primping myself while watching the Oscars opening video. I loved it! I thought it was really funny that James and Anne inserted themselves into the best picture noms. It was very MTV Movie Awards. Gotta get that younger audience in…right Academy?

6:30pm- I was back at the same holding room I was in earlier that day. There was a different crowd of actor/models, and “regular people” like myself waiting to be taken down to set. Everyone seemed more laid back than this morning. The Academy Awards were nearly over and everyone was ready to have fun at the party.

7:30pm- We were all brought down to set in small groups. The show was hosted by Jason Kennedy. It also featured film critic, Ben Lyons, Elle Magazine Creative Director Joe Zee, and some comedians from Chelsea Lately.

8:00pm- Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal. We couldn’t hear anything so I mingled with the people around me and took pictures (We were allowed to bring camera to this show)!

9:00pm- The show finally goes up. Everyone is having a great time! The told us to not look in the camera, and act like we were at a party! This was easy because the set really felt like a cool Hollywood lounge.

9:30pm- I was moved into a lighted area where the producer said I would be in a bunch of shots. I was really excited for my parents to see me back on the east coast. They totally get a kick out of these things! During the taping, my cell phone starts buzzing with text messages from friends back home and my family saying that they can see me on camera! How cool is that?!

10:00pm- We get served the signature cocktail of the night. It was delicious! Moet Chandon, OJ, and Svedka? Whatever- It was really good, and they continued to serve throughout the night to the 21+ crowd.

10:30pm- The show finally wrapped! After I stayed around to mingle and take pics with some of the talent.

11:30pm- Finally back home eating dinner and relaxing. All in all it was a great day. Oscar Sunday- you did me right. Thanks for the memories J