Hanging Out at the Rehearsals for the Golden Globe Awards

Two Saturdays ago, as the Grim Cheaper and I were heading out to Santa Monica to run some errands, I got a text message from fellow stalker Lavonna reminding me that the Golden Globe Awards were being held the following evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.  Lavonna suggested that I stop by the hotel to see if anything exciting was going on and thankfully the GC didn’t object, so we immediately drove right on over there.  And, let me tell you, it could not have been more exciting!  Had I known what was in store for me that day, I never would have been able to sleep the night before!

 

 

 

We arrived at the Hilton to pretty much mass chaos.  Both the hotel’s front and back entrances were completely shut down and production trucks and set workers were absolutely EVERYWHERE!

There were also huge tents set up on the outskirts of the hotel property.  The tent pictured above, which was situated across the street from the hotel in the parking lot of the now-defunct Robinsons-May department store, was for the Fox Searchlight Golden Globes After Party.

  

The Beverly Hilton Hotel is actually closed to the public on both the day before and the day of the Golden Globes ceremony and because security around the hotel was extremely tight, I did not think we would be able to get inside.  The stalking gods were DEFINITELY shining on me when we showed up to stalk the place, though, because miraculously – and thanks to a very big connection my dad has at the hotel – we were allowed in!  I literally could NOT believe it!  The farther we ventured inside, the more often I kept turning back to look at the GC, my mouth hanging open in absolute shock.

Before being allowed inside, I was not sure if there would be all that much to see or if any celebrities would even be on the premises, but, as it turns out, rehearsals for the ceremony were taking place in the hotel’s International Ballroom.  A small section of the Hilton’s lobby had been cordoned off and hotel guests were allowed to stand in that area for meet and greets with all of the celebrities who ventured past.  Well, as you can imagine I just about DIED upon finding that out and parked myself in that area for the next eight hours.  I’m not kidding!    (Pictured above is the back of Carson Daly, who was the first celeb to walk by after I got there.  He was not at all friendly, though, and did not stop for photos or to sign autographs.)

As it turns out, the Hilton offers a very special – and very pricey – Golden Globes Package each year, which, besides the rehearsal-meet-and-greet, also includes a two-night stay at the hotel, a Golden Globes gift bag complete with an autograph book, a sit-down breakfast and box lunch the day of the ceremony, and – are you sitting down for this??? – two VIP bleacher seats on the actual Golden Globes’ red carpet!   Oh, what I wouldn’t give to purchase that package!  Because it costs between $3,000 and $3,900, though, I seriously doubt that is ever going to happen!  Pictured above is the room key that Golden Globes Package guests receive upon check-in.  So incredibly cool!  All of the people situated in the meet-and-greet area were Golden Globe Package guests and I spent the entire day hanging out with them, while the GC parked himself in the hotel’s lobby bar to watch the football game on TV.  I cannot tell you how much fun it was to spend the day waiting around to see stars with like-minded, celebrity-obsessed people.  I had an ABSOLUTE BLAST and met some very cool fellow stalkers in the process!

After Carson Daly, the next celeb to walk by was E! News’ Giuliana Rancic, who was running late for a hair appointment and therefore could not stop to pose for pictures with any of us.  She did seem very friendly, though, and apologized several times for not being able to stop.  After Guiliana, there was a steady stream of celebrities who filtered through the lobby the entire rest of the day.  It was a virtual movie star parade and, as you can imagine, I was in ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!

 

Next up was Kelly Osbourne, who is absolutely ADORABLE in person.  I LOVED the little bow she had tied in her hair.  SO INCREDIBLY CUTE!  Kelly is also VERY thin.  I’m talking TEENY, TEENY TINY!  Far smaller than she appears to be on E!’s Fashion Police.

Kelly stopped to pose and sign autographs with every single person who was there, including me, which I was beyond thrilled about!

The star I was most excited about seeing, though, was Leighton Meester, whom I absolutely ADORE on Gossip Girl.  I had so badly wanted to get a photograph with Leighton back in October of 2009, when I saw Gossip Girl being filmed while on vacation in New York, but that sadly did not happen.  So I was BEYOND excited when she stopped to pose at the Hilton.  YAY!

 

I had read in the January 2011 issue of Allure Magazine, for which Leighton was the cover girl, that the actress was just about as far removed from her Gossip Girl persona Blair Waldorf as one could possibly be.  According to the editors of the beauty mag, not only did Leighton introduce herself to each member of the crew when she arrived for the shoot, but she also thanked each of the crew members individually upon leaving.  And I have to say that my experience with her was much the same.  Leighton was incredibly friendly, warm, personable, and down-to-earth.  She stayed in the lobby a really long time in order to get a photograph with everyone who wanted one.  She was a total and complete sweetheart and, after meeting her, I can honestly say that I love her even more now than I did before.  Some celebrities wind up being a rather large disappointment when you meet or see them in person, but I am very happy to report that that was definitely not the case with Leighton. 

Not all of the stars who present awards at the Golden Globes actually show up for a rehearsal.  A lot of celebrities have stand-ins who rehearse for them, as was the case with Steve Carell whose stand-in is pictured above.  I love that the stand-ins had to wear their celeb’s name-tag around their neck.  Too funny!

 

Other stars who were in attendance that day included Modern Family’s Julie Bowen, who sadly only had time to sign a few autographs as she was running late for a birthday party for one of her son’s friends;

  

Olivia Wilde, aka “Thirteen” from House, M.D., who despite having no make-up on looked absolutely stunning;

  

  

Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, who actually seemed a bit aloof;

 

Home and Away and Star Trek star Chris Hemsworth, whose arms were literally the size of both of my thighs put together – I honestly do not think I have ever seen arms that muscular before in my entire life;

 

Hailee Steinfeld, whom I absolutely LOVE, mostly because she recently spoke out about getting majorly snubbed by super-diva Lea Michele while on the Paramount lot auditioning for True Grit;

TRON: Legacy star Garrett Hedlund, who was INCREDIBLY sweet;

and pop star Justin Bieber, whom I unfortunately did not get a good photograph of because he was ushered out of the lobby at lightning speed by his massive bodyguards.  You can just barely see him in the above picture – he is wearing the white shirt and beaded necklace and is carrying a cell phone in his hand.  Justin was SUPER cute in person, but a lot tinier than I had expected.

At around 6 p.m., most of my fellow stalkers started to pack up to leave as the only star left who was set to rehearse that day was Megan Fox and none of us were really interested in seeing her.  I actually started to pack up my belongings, as well, but then a thought occurred to me – Brian Austin Green just might be accompanying Megan that night as the two of them seem to do just about everything together and if I could have gotten a photograph of him, but didn’t, I would ALWAYS regret it later.  So, while everyone else went back to their rooms, the GC and I stuck around the lobby.  And I am SO glad we did because about fifteen minutes later who should walk in but comedienne Loni Love, whom I absolutely – pardon the pun – LOVE.  Loni is a frequent round-table guest on fave show Chelsea Lately and she is absolutely HILARIOUS!   As soon as I spotted Loni, I gasped and said loudly to the GC, “OH MY GOD, it’s Loni Love!”  Well, Loni heard me say this and looked over and smiled.  I pointed to her and then to myself and mimed taking a picture with my hands and she IMMEDIATELY walked right on over to snap a photo with me!  Loni was so incredibly nice and had a very warm personality and was easily one of my favorite people I met all day.  It was especially exciting because my dad is also a HUGE fan of hers.

I also got a picture with Brad Wollack and Sarah Colonna who are also frequent guests on Chelsea Lately and both of whom were VERY nice.

Then, just as I turned to the GC and said, “I wish Ross Mathews was here!”, who should walk through the lobby doors but Ross himself and I just about had a heart attack!  When Ross saw that we were looking at him, he immediately called us over and spent a good five minutes talking with us about the Golden Globes and which celebs we had seen that day.  Ross is INCREDIBLY down to earth and the whole time we were talking to him, it felt as if we were speaking with an old friend –  a celeb-obsessed old friend, of course.    Ross is also incredibly bubbly and REALLY funny.  I absolutely love, love, LOVE him.  Even more so now than I did before.   And about three hours after we took the above photograph, Ross happened to walk by the GC and me once again and stopped to say hello and asked if we had seen any other celebs since we had spoken to him last.  SUCH an incredibly nice guy.

 

Ross, Sarah, Brad, and Loni were all at the Hilton to rehearse for the LIVE on E! Golden Globes After Show, the set of which is pictured above.

Then, right at 7 p.m., Megan Fox walked through the doors of the lobby, followed by none other than David Silver himself, Brian Austin Green!  And let me tell you, I could NOT have been more excited!

And while I let Megan walk right by, I called out to Brian and asked him to take a photograph with me, which he did.  Brian was REALLY nice and when I told him how much I had loved 90210 he thanked me.  It was literally the perfect end to a perfect day!  Sigh!

After getting my photograph with Brian, the GC and I headed downstairs to the hotel’s legendary Trader Vic’s restaurant – which I will be blogging about later – to grab a bite to eat.   The restaurant was undergoing preparations for the following night’s HBO After Party so I just had to pose celeb-style in front of the backdrop that was being set up. 

 

On our way out the door, after spotting director Oliver Stone whom we did not get a photograph of, I posed for a picture in front of the CNN and Inside Edition portions of the Golden Globes’ red carpet.  You can see how blindingly bright the red carpet lights were in the above photographs.  It was about 9 at night when those pictures were taken!

And I also just had to snap a pic in the back of the hotel, where another red carpet had been set up.  Love it!  All in all, it was a magical day and I can’t wait to do it all again next year!  That is, if I can get past the front door. 

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Lavonna for reminding me about the Golden Globe Awards and suggesting that I stalk the Beverly Hilton that day!   You rock, my friend!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: The Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the Golden Globe Awards are held each year, is located at 9876 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.  You can visit the hotel’s official website here.  For more information about the Golden Globes Package, you can contact the hotel directly.