Be sure to check out my latest Discover Los Angeles post about locations from ten Best Picture winners, just in time for Oscar weekend!
The 19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition at FIDM
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the Buckland Auction House from Charmed, this past weekend I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to stalk the 19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition which is currently on display at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum & Galleries in Downtown Los Angeles and which features costumes from twenty of last year’s most celebrated films, including Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, Robin Hood, The Wolfman, Burlesque, Hereafter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, The Last Airbender, Nanny McPhee Returns, Shutter Island, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Tempest, True Grit, and The Young Victoria. I had been dying to stalk the exhibition ever since first reading about it on fave website Seeing Stars a couple of weeks ago and because admission was free, the GC did not pose any objections! Yay!
Upon arrival at the museum, we were given a 24-page booklet detailing the various costumes on display, which are on loan to FIDM for the 12-week exhibition from studio archives, wardrobe departments, and personal collectors. The booklet also featured fascinating interviews with the twenty costume designers who created the varied cinematic looks. Some of the tidbits shared in the pamphlet were the fact that for the movie Clash of the Titans, costume designer Lindy Hemming had to create special closed-toes shoes for the actors to wear during the fight scenes, so as to protect their feet from injury. The tops of the custom-made shoes were painted to look like bare feet so as to appear as if the actors were actually wearing gladiator sandals onscreen. So incredibly cool!
For The Last Airbender, which was filmed on location in Greenland, costume designer Judianna Makovsky created latex gloves resembling bare human hands for the actors to wear during the filming, which often took place in temperatures that dropped to well below zero degrees. She also created special shoes with insulated platform soles for the actors to wear so as to keep their feet as far away from the snow on the ground as possible.
Penny Rose, the costume designer of Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, used such varied tools as a cement mixer and a cheese grater to give her creations the weathered look that the production required.
The filming of Inception’s many zero-gravity scenes posed some challenges for costume designer Jeffrey Kurland. He says, “The clothes in those scenes could not be hanging down because, without gravity, they would be floating. We had to do things like wire shoelaces to make sure they were standing straight out and tack down the men’s ties so they didn’t flop around at random.” Reading the booklet about the exhibition and seeing the actual costumes in person made me realize how much thought, creativity, engineering, problem solving, and detail goes into designing costumes for the big screen – so much more than I ever before realized. It was all absolutely FASCINATING to read about.
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The first costumes on display that really caught my eye were those from the movie Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, which were designed by Chattoune Bourrex and Fabien Esnard-Lascombe, aka Chattoune & Fab. The costumes were incredibly detailed, yet simple and classic, much like Coco Chanel herself.
I loved, loved, loved the white dress pictured above, which was worn by Anna Mouglalis in the flick.
There were several costumes on display from Alice in Wonderland, which was the winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Costume Design. Colleen Atwood, the movie’s designer, says she collaborated quite a bit with actor Johnny Depp when creating the wardrobe for the character of the Mad Hatter. She says, “Every time Johnny and I hooked up, he took it to another place. We kept pushing it. We talked about him having all the tools of his trade apparent, so they aren’t just on a shelf but part of his costume. So he’s got his thimbles and his pincushion ring, the bandoleer of silk thread spools, the fun ribbons. All these things help make the Hatter otherworldly and magical, but still real in a sense.” She also said it was Depp who came up with the idea of the Hatter’s clothing changing color depending on his mood, an effect which was created digitally in post-production. How incredibly cool is it that an actor of his caliber is so deeply involved in the creation of all aspects of his character, including the costumes? Love it!
And while I was quite impressed with the Mad Hatter’s costume, I was not at all impressed with the gown worn by the White Queen (aka Anne Hathaway) in the flick – which I unfortunately do not have a photograph of as pictures were not allowed in the exhibition hall, something the GC and I did not realize until we had already taken the first few photos which appear in this post.
As you can see above, while the White Queen’s gown is quite detailed and appeared magical and ethereal onscreen, in person it was actually a bit disappointing. For lack of a better word, the dress appeared cheap, much like a child’s Halloween costume one would find at a five-and-dime store, which only made me further realize how difficult and complex a costume designer’s job truly is. Costume designers have to be concerned with how their designs come across onscreen, which is apparently quite a bit different than how they come across in real life. I cannot even imagine how much work it must take to determine that and my hat is definitely off to them!
The costumes that I was most excited about seeing in person – and they did not AT ALL disappoint – were those from Burlesque, all of which were designed by Michael Kaplan. Those costumes included the dress worn by Ali (aka Christina Aguilera) during the movie’s “Show Me How You Burlesque” final dance number. For the costumes worn in that scene, Kaplan came up with the idea of using absolutely no fabric, but rather gold chains that had been linked together. After designing several dresses using real gold links, however, he realized that they did not have enough “give” and did not move on the dancers’ bodies the way he had envisioned. So he opted instead to swap out the gold with rubber washers that he had purchased at a local hardware store and then painted gold. And the effect is nothing short of amazing! Even up close, it is impossible to tell that the links are rubber! Kaplan also used over 250,000 individual Swarovski crystals in the creation of the “Show Me How You Burlesque” costumes, which is absolutely mind-boggling to me! Talk about some serious bling!
The pearl-chained costume that Christina wore during the “Guy What Takes His Time” dance number was also on display. To create the “illusion of nudity” in that and other scenes, Kaplan designed a body-suit that was dyed to match the exact skin color of each individual actor. Of the bodysuit he says, “It let us keep our rating and provided something to anchor the chain.”
Kaplan also designed a skirt made solely out of garter belts for the “E.X.P.R.E.S.S.” dance number. Of the design, he says, “It was a lot of fun to do that one – it was one of my favorites.”
For the dancers’ wardrobe in the “I Am A Good Girl” scene, Kaplan went to the Western Costume Company and found costumes that had been deconstructed and taken apart. “There was something that really attracted me to them, the history or the colors or the silhouettes,” he explains. “I talked to the people at Western Costume and told them that I wanted to take these broken-down costumes and revamp them. I took them apart and then put them all back together again as different costumes. We had all this beautiful, old lace and fishnet and feathers.”
Christina’s outfit for the “I Am A Good Girl” number was also on display at the museum and it was by far my favorite out of the entire collection. The outfit was nothing short of incredible and I must have gone back to look at it at least five different times. I literally could not get enough of it, especially the shoes! Oh, the shoes! They were cream-colored high heels that had been emblazoned with hundreds upon hundreds of different-sized Swarovski crystals. The detail that went into those shoes was ASTONISHING and they were breathtaking to look at! I was absolutely SHOCKED to discover after leaving the museum that Michael Kaplan had not been nominated for an Academy Award. All the creativity, innovation, and beauty that went into those costumes and the guy was not even nominated for an Oscar???? How is that possible?????? You can see some great photographs of the shoes, as well as some of the other Burlesque costumes on the Hollywood Movie Costumes & Props website here.
The other costumes that I was most impressed with were those of Nic (aka Annette Bening) and Jules (aka Julianne Moore) from The Kids Are All Right, which you can take a look at on the FIDM Museum blog here. While the costumes were not especially detailed or unusual, they were extremely realistic – clothing I believed an actual 2010-era couple would be wearing. What struck me the most, though, was the women’s jewelry. While each woman wore strikingly different jewelry, they both had matching red and gold beaded bracelets, which was a touch that I absolutely LOVED. Those bracelets were not mentioned in the movie, but upon seeing them I conjured up a whole back-story in my mind – I could see the women purchasing them while on vacation together in some exotic locale and then wearing them daily as a reminder of that vacation. All that thought and detail put into an accessory that I am sure was not even widely noticed onscreen. It just goes to show how much costume can add to the backstory and history of a character.
I honestly cannot more highly recommend stalking the 19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit at FIDM! It was a fabulous experience for me (although the GC did not enjoy it all that much 
) and I cannot wait to do it again next year!
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: The 19th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition is open through April 30th, excluding the week of April 22nd through 25th, at FIDM’s Museum & Galleries, which is located at 919 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. The exhibit is open each Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free! For more information, you can visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries official website here.
Stalking the 2011 Academy Awards
As I have mentioned countless times before on this blog, Oscar Weekend is, hands down, my favorite weekend of the entire year. Hollywood just seems to come alive during Oscar Weekend and I honestly cannot get enough of it. And this year was no different. My Oscar stalking began early this past Saturday morning and continued on through late Sunday night and I think it is safe to say that the poor Grim Cheaper is absolutely beat. 
Thankfully though, some good friends and fellow stalkers – Beth, Mary, Debbie, and Carol – were in town from Louisville, Kentucky and they let me tag along with them all weekend, so the GC did get somewhat of a reprieve. And while this year was, sadly, not as great as previous years due to the fact that hotels have seriously beefed up their security and many would only let actual guests through their front doors, we still managed to have an absolute BLAST! We started out our 2011 Oscar stalking adventure Saturday morning when we hit up the blue carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards – and yes, the event does actually feature a blue carpet. The Spirit Awards are held in a tent directly next to the beach in Santa Monica and, let me tell you, this year the weather was absolutely FREEZING – and I mean that literally! It actually SNOWED in many parts of Los Angeles this past weekend (not kidding!) and the GC and I witnessed it firsthand at one point, which I am fairly certain he was more excited about than any of the celebs that we encountered.
When we arrived at the Spirit Awards, there was already a HUGE group camped out along the blue carpet, but we still managed to snag a pretty good spot in which to stand. While there, I ran into celebrity stalker extraordinaire Pinky Lovejoy (pictured above), from the Pinky Lovejoy Blog, whom I had met at Alec Baldwin’s Star Ceremony a few weeks back. 
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We had an absolute blast stalking the red carpet and just a few of the stars who were on hand include Jason Isaacs – aka “Lucius Malfoy” from the Harry Potter movies;
Warren Beatty;
Annette Bening;
Jennifer Lawrence;
Amanda Peet, who is absolutely ADORABLE in person;
Anthony Mackie;
Terrance Howard;
director Danny Boyle;
Diego Luna;
John Hawkes;
Sarah Steele from Spanglish;
Greta Gerwig from Greenberg;
Samuel L. Jackson;
Liev Schreiber;
Aaron Eckhart, who is GORGEOUS in person;
one of fellow stalker Owen’s favorite actors, Paul Rudd;
Malin Ackerman;
Amber Tamblyn;
David Cross;
Erika Christensen;
Jane Lynch (YAY!);
(I absolutely LOVE that the GC managed to snap a picture of Jane making one of her famous Sue Sylvester faces!);
Eva Mendes;
Jesse Eisenberg (he did not turn towards the crowd when he arrived, so we only got a picture of the back of his head);
Jeremy Renner;
Rainn Wilson (aka Mr. Dwight Schrute!);
Jamie Foxx;
Ben Stiller;
Rosario Dawson;
Joel McHale (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him!);
and Nicole Kidman (who is STUNNING in person) and Keith Urban.
I LOVE the picture of Nicole above, which my friend Carol snapped. So cute!
Natalie Portman tried to sneak in behind Nicole and Keith, but thankfully the GC still managed to get some pics of her.
After the Spirit Awards arrivals wrapped up, the GC and I headed on over to the Kodak Theatre to do some stalking of the Academy Awards’ red carpet. Sadly though, everything was blocked off this year and we were not allowed to walk on the red carpet or to get very close to any of the set-up, which was incredibly disappointing.
We did spot the above-pictured Oscar statue being hauled from the Renaissance Hotel to the Kodak Theatre, though, which I thought was absolutely hilarious.
We then headed over to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (where the first Academy Awards ceremony was held) to see if anything was going on there. As fate would have it, the E! channel was running rehearsals for their Oscar coverage show in the lobby of the hotel and we were lucky enough to be able to watch. As you can see in the above photographs, Kris Jenner was on site rehearsing for the show.
As was Ross Mathews, from Chelsea Lately.
As luck would have it, Kris wound up leaving the hotel at the exact same time we did and she was nice enough to pose for a photo with me on her way out, which I could NOT have been more excited about.
On Sunday evening, while doing some more hotel stalking, I spotted Doris Roberts, from Everybody Loves Raymond and Christmas Vacation fame. My grandma absolutely LOVES Doris, so I just had to ask her to pose for a photograph with me and thankfully she obliged, which I could NOT have been more excited about. Other celebs that we spotted out and about this weekend, but didn’t get photographs of were Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bai Ling, Frances Fisher, Gary Busey, Ed Asner, Pat Boone, Meat Loaf, Charo, Caroline Herrera (on her way to the Oscars in an absolutely STRIKING dress), Tara Reid, Brenda Strong (aka Mary Alice from Desperate Housewives), Gloria Allred, Noah Wyle, Taylor Armstrong from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Jessica Stroup (aka Silver from 90210), Glee’s Chris Colfer and Matthew Morrison, Jennifer Lopez (who is absolutely STUNNING in person!), Renee Zellweger, Russell Brand, Kirk Kerkorian, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Harvey Weinstein, Chace Crawford, Cate Blanchett, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (who are sooooo tiny in person it was almost unbelievable), Ron Jeremy, Jeffrey Ross, Fred Willard, Sofia Milos, Pierce Morgan, Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey, Jude Law, George Hamilton, Reese Witherspoon, Timothy Olyphant, Elton John, Craig Robinson (aka Darryl from The Office), Joanne Worley, and Antonio Sabato Jr.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: The Oscars are held each year at the Kodak Theatre, which is located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. The Grim Cheaper and I usually drive up and down Sunset Boulevard during Oscar weekend, stopping into various hotels along the way to spot celebs. A few of the hotels we usually stalk include The Mondrian, which is located at 8440 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which is located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, which is located at 1755 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, and the Chateau Marmont, which is located at 8221 West Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Oscar Weekend 2009!
Oh, how I love the smell of Awards Season in the morning! And let me tell you – this was the Academy Awards Weekend to end all Academy Awards Weekends for me! I had the absolute time of my life!!!!!!!!!!! It was so incredible that I am still pinching myself today. Bright and early Saturday morning I dragged my boyfriend out to Hollywood and Highland Mall to stalk Oscar’s red carpet and we didn’t make it home until after 3am the following morning. AND I still cannot believe this but we saw 128 stars! YES you read that right – ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT MOVIE STARS! There were so many stars out and about that at times I didn’t know which way to look. My boyfriend said he thought my head was about to explode. LOL I almost feel like I should just throw in my stalking towel now as it just doesn’t get any better than this weekend – but don’t worry, I won’t! 🙂
Our first stop on Saturday morning was the Kodak Theatre where we got to check out the most famous carpet in the world. Although I have done this for three years in a row now, I don’t think I will ever get tired of it! For someone who grew up so far away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, to get to be that close to the Academy Awards red carpet is a dream come true. It’s almost surreal. And I LOVE every minute of it! I can’t wait for the day when I am walking down that red carpet for real. 🙂 A few of the pics I took at the Kodak:
Although the Oscar set-up was beautiful, as always, for some reason this year they had the red carpet area blocked off and fans could not walk across it. 🙁 Such a bummer! If you’ll notice in the above pics the carpet is completely tarped in plastic during the set-up, so that the hundreds of crew members traipsing across it don’t ruin it.
I was stoked to see a little champage stand set up alongside the red carpet, since champagne is my favorite drink – and it was my girl Marilyn Monroe’s, too. 🙂 How cool to be able to grab a glass of champagne, while making your way down the red carpet! LOVE IT! 🙂
Mr. Oscar looking pretty drab outside the Kodak – notice the blemishes on his arms. LOL
What they don’t show you on TV! LOL The ugly road closures and chain link fences at the start of the red carpet.
The massive press bridge built over Hollywood Boulevard
What the red carpet looks like from Hollywood Boulevard.
After stalking the red carpet, I dragged my boyfried out to do some stalking of the blue carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica – and, yes, the carpet there really is blue! Much more relaxed than the Oscars, the Spirit Awards are held each year under a plastic tent that is set up in a public parking lot next to the beach in Santa Monica. We showed up just as the awards were ending this year and got to see a whole slew of celebs walking the short half-block from the show to the after-party. And, let me tell you, it was absolute pandemonium! There were about a million paparazzi and fans alike swarming the stars as they made their way to the Shutters Hotel where the afterparty was being held. You can see in the above pics the massive amount of paps that were on the scene. It was insane!!! While there we saw . . .
Rosie Perez
Mad Men star John Hamm and his girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt. They were super nice and stopped to take pictures with every fan who asked!
Elisabeth Rohn from Law and Order – she seemed very sweet. 🙂
A very heavily made up Teri Hatcher – you can just barely see her in the above pic. She is standing behind the guy in the suit. As soon as she drove up, the paps went ABSOLUTELY NUTS and completely surrounded her, so I wasn’t able to get a very good pic. 🙁
The Office’s Rainn Wilson
Elisha Dushku (who you can just barely see in the above pics)
Ron Livingston (aka SATC’s Jack Berger) who looked to have just been in an accident of some sort. Ugh, it broke my heart to see him like that! 🙁 Poor Berger!
Film critic Leonard Maltin
And this guy who the paps and fans went absolutely CRAZY for – like so crazy I thought it might be Brad Pitt pulling up! – but I have no idea who he is!!!! LOL Does anyone recognize him?
And, finally, this actor who I am sad to say I also didn’t recognize. 🙁 Does anyone know who he is?
After stalking the Spirit Awards, I dragged my boyfriend from one end of L.A. to the other, hotel and bar hopping. There were Oscar parties galore going on literally every hundred feet or so and the celebs were out in full force! And I just about died over two celeb run-ins that I had. My personal fave was when my girl Jen Aniston came up and stood about two feet away from me for a good six minutes. Unfortunately we were inside a hotel at the time, and no hotels were allowing any sort of pictures to be taken last night. But even though I didn’t get to snap a pic of her, I was still in heaven. Jen looked A-MA-ZING! I’ve seen Jen in person on two other occasions and I have to say this was the best I’ve ever seen her. She seemed very healthy and happy. Forty years old suits her. 🙂 She is just so freaking adorable I can’t stand it! And she has the best laugh ever – it’s this huge guffaw that fills the whole room. And she was doing a lot of laughing last night. Needless to say I was mesmerized! 🙂
A bit earlier in the evening I just happened to spot Ginnifer Goodwin who stars in my favorite movie as of late He’s Just Not That Into You. She was the only celeb I saw yesterday that I just HAD to go up to. In a situation like yesterday, where there are tons of celebs around and hotels aren’t allowing photographs, I am very content to just sit and observe their comings and goings. Sort of like being in a celebrity zoo. LOL But when Ginnifer Goodwin walked by, I just couldn’t help myself! So I walked up to her and told her how amazing she was in He’s Just Not That Into You and how I absolutely loved the movie. And she was SO SWEET! She thanked me for coming up to her, shook my hand, and introduced herself. I just about died. She is completely adorable in person, too! I mean, does it get any better than that??
But I’d have to say that THE most exciting part of the night for me was when I got recognized! Yes, I got recognized!!!!! While I was eating dinner last night a lady came up to me and asked if I was the “I Am Not A Stalker Girl”! I am not kidding!!!! Someone actually recognized me and I just about died! I think I was more excited about that than the fact that Nicole Kidman was eating just a few tables away. LOL I’m always amazed to hear that people actually read my blog, as most of my loved ones just barely tolerate my stalking addiction. So the fact that there are people that actually care what I have to say is AMAZING! It’s nice to know that there really are other people like me out there. 🙂 My fan (and new best friend! LOL ) introduced me to her friends and one of them asked me how my dad was doing! I was like “Wow, you guys really do read my blog!” LOL They were the NICEST group of ladies, but unfortunately they live in another state – otherwise I think we’d all make a great stalking team! 🙂 When I woke up this morning I really had to think for a minute to be sure that that part of my evening wasn’t just a dream. LOL
Anyway, without further ado, here is the list of stars I saw in and around Hollywood on Saturday:
- Nicole Kidman
- La Toya Jackson – my boyfriend and I kept going back and forth as to whether it was La Toya or Janet. LOL
- Mickey Rourke
- Robin Wright Penn
- Olivia Wilde
- Sarah Silverman
- Seth Rogan
- Dax Shepard
- Kristen Bell
- Topher Grace
- Dennis Leary
- Amy Adams
- Darren Le Gallo
- Jason Bateman
- Amanda Anka
- Josh Radnor
- Lindsay Price
- Forest Whitaker
- Zach Braff
- Kevin Connolly – said hi to me as he walked by 🙂
- Molly Sims
- Chace Crawford
- Deborah Messing – super pretty in person
- Amy Poehler
- Will Arnett
- Tina Fey – sooooo short and tiny
- Eric McCormack
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Kristin Davis – said “Hi” as she walked by and I was floored to see that she walked with a little bounce JUST LIKE Charlotte does on SATC!
- Aaron Eckhart
- Holly Robinson Peete
- Rodney Peete (NFL)
- Gwen Stefani – absolutely stunning in person!
- Christian Siriano (Project Runway winner)
- Elle Macpherson
- Nikki Hilton
- Christopher Walken
- Ben Stiller
- Christine Taylor
- Laura Dern
- Tobey Macguire
- Jennifer Meyer
- Kimora Lee Simmons
- Djimon Hounsou (Kimora Lee Simmon’s baby daddy)
- Victor Garber
- Kathy Hilton
- Jessica Alba – had the coolest red sequin shoes on! and she made my boyfriend practically drool!
- Kerry Washington
- Leo!!! – I can finally, finally cross Leo off my must-see celebrity list. SIGH! 🙂
- Breckin Meyer
- Rachel Bilson
- Adam Rodriquez
- Michael Chiklis
- Andy MacDowell
- Debra Winger
- Sally Field
- Ron Livingston (Jack Berger on SATC)
- Tim Allen
- James Marsden
- William Shatner
- Eddie Murphy
- Kate Bosworth
- Anne Hathaway
- Christine Ricci
- James Caan
- Robert De Niro
- Bill Maher – with his twelve year old looking girlfriend
- Wentworth Miller
- Michael Buble (sigh!) – such a cutie in person! I was practically swooning! 🙂
- Josh Hartnett
- Ellen Pompeo
- Ellen Pompeo’s husband Chris Ivery
- Jack Black
- Tanya Haden (Jack Black’s wife – she’s a model)
- Alyssa Milano
- Michelle Monaghan (from The Best Man and Eagle Eye)
- Chris Pine
- Ron Howard
- Josh Brolin
- Diane Lane
- Kathy Najimy
- Michael Moore – just as unattractive in person as he appears in his movies
- Chris Rock
- Jenna Fisher
- Heather Locklear
- Jennifer Aniston
- Josh Duhamel
- Bridget Moynahan
- Elton John
- Steven Spielberg – thanks to a red fedora he looked like a total douchebag! LOL
- Kate Capshaw
- Hugh Laurie
- Cameron Diaz
- Brian Grazer
- Stacy Keibler
- Geoff Stults
- Bradley Cooper
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Shirley MacLaine
- Ginnifer Goodwin
- Elisha Cuthbert
- Fred Savage – looked really old!
- Frances Fisher
- Richard Jenkins
- Melissa Leo
- Taraji P. Henson
- Claire Danes
- Hugh Dancy
- Josh Grobin
- Prince Frederick von Anhalt (Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ex)
- Steven Baldwin
- Dule Hill
- Kiersten Warren (At least I think it was her!)
- Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire star)
- Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire star)
- Kirk Kerkorkian
- Ralph Lauren
- Valentino Garavano
- Terri Hatcher
- Elisabeth Rohn (D.A. from Law and Order)
- Rosie Perez
- John Hamm
- Jennifer Westfeldt (star of Kissing Jessica Stein)
- Michael Bolton
- Leonard Maltin (movie critic)
- Elisha Dushku
- Dustin Lance Black (Academy Award and Independent Spirit Award winner for Milk screenplay)
- Rainn Wilson
There were just so many that I am sure I forgot some of them somewhere along the way! LOL All in all an absolutely AMAZING DAY! And I can’t wait to do it again next year!
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: I stalked so many hotels and bars this Oscar Weekend, that there are far too many to list here. For a detailed list of places to go to see movie stars, check out this blog post. The Spirit Awards are held the Saturday before the Oscars each year on the beach in Santa Monica just South of Shutters Hotel.
Rain, Rain, Go Away!!
I am sad to say that I had a lot more luck last year stalking the 79th Annual Academy Awards than I did this year at the 80th Annual Academy Awards. 🙁 We did have some fun, though! Yesterday morning, bright and early, my boyfriend and I headed to the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood and Highland Center to check out the preparation for tonight’s big ceremony. The red carpet was as beautiful and awe-inspiring as ever, albeit covered in a huge see-through tarp to keep the rain at bay.
While stalking the red carpet, we saw Regis Philbin shooting some pre-Oscar footage. Reg was tiny in person – I am guessing about 5’4″ – and extremely tan! He seemed very friendly, though, chatting and goofing off with the Oscar crew members. After he finished filming a few Oscar segments, Regis walked right through the crowds on Hollywood Boulevard to check out his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 🙂 If you’re curious, Regis’ star is located almost directly in front of Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store.
More red carpet pics:
The rain tarp!
Soaking up the rain from the red carpet!
Oscar’s humble beginnings!
After Hollywood and Highland, we headed to the Sunset Strip to scope out the many hotels favored by celebs during Oscar weekend. I don’t know if it was the rain, or just some bad luck, but it seemed like no celebs were out and about in Hollywood yesterday. 🙁 We did run into Spike Lee (again!) in the gift shop of the Mondrian Hotel buying some newspapers. Apparently the Mondrian is Spike’s home away from home while he is on the West Coast. As always, the Mondrian Hotel’s staff was extremely friendly and welcoming! I so love that place! We didn’t have any luck at any of the other Strip hotels, though.
The biggest bummer of all came when we arrived at the Beverly Hills Hotel and were informed that they were not allowing anyone without a reservation into the hotel! Due to the rain, the “Night Before” party had to be moved inside, at which point they shut down the hotel to non-guests and non-reservation holders! 🙁 New 2008 Oscar Tip: Make dinner reservations at the Polo Lounge before arriving!! Anyway, a good stalker cannot be deterred – so after being turned away at the BH Hotel, we instead headed to Santa Monica, site of the Independent Spirit Awards. We were way too late to witness the Spirit Awards “blue” carpet, but I had read that the after party was being held at Shutters on the Beach Hotel, so (in the pouring rain) we headed there for a drink. Let me just say, they are called “independent” films for a reason – I had no idea who anyone was! lol We did see Juno director Jason Reitman walking around, but that was about it. There were a few people holding Spirit awards mingling in the hotel, but I had no idea who they were. 🙁 Perhaps I need to brush up on my indy films!!
Even though I didn’t have the greatest of luck at the Academy Awards of 2008, there’s always next year! I am already looking forward to the 2009 awards season! 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: The Spirit Awards are held on the beach in Santa Monica each year. Shutters On The Beach Hotel is located at 1 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica and is a great place to sit and have a drink and appetizers. Shutters is a beautiful beachfront hotel, and if you are planning a trip to LA, I would definitely recommend staying there. Their rooms run about $475 a night and up, though, so it’s definitely going to cost ya to stay there. Shutters’ Restaurant, One Pico, is supposed to be amazing and Jen Aniston just happens to be a regular. 🙂
Big Mistake! Big! Huge!
Those of you planning to stalk the “Night Before the Night Before” party taking place at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel tomorrow night, might also want to check out another famous location just down the street. A few blocks away from the Regent is a little shop that might look familiar to Pretty Woman fans. It is the very same store where Julia Roberts, hoping to purchase a cocktail dress, gets snubbed by a group of snooty saleswomen. Later in the movie, Julia gets her revenge when she returns to the store, laden with shopping bags, and utters her famous line, “You guys work on commission, right? Big mistake! Big! Huge! I have to go shopping now!” In real life the shop is called Boulmiche and it looks pretty much the same as it did in Pretty Woman. If you would like to venture inside the store to do a little shopping yourself, don’t be scared – in real life, the salespeople are very friendly. 🙂 Boulmiche has become something of a celeb magnet as of late – attracting the likes of Jessica Simpson, Halle Berry and Eva Mendes, just to name a few.
As I mentioned in my last post, the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel is famous in and of itself – also from the movie Pretty Woman. It is the hotel where Julia Roberts and Richard Gere spend their six days together. Sadly, though, only the exterior of the Regent was used for filming; the interiors existed only on a Disney sound-stage. While the inside of the hotel is very beautiful and luxurious, I was disappointed when I visited it for the first time. I was really hoping that all of my Hollywood tour books were wrong and that at least part of the lobby had been used in the movie, but sadly that was not the case. Even the elevators were different. Even so, I would highly recommend visiting the Regent, tomorrow night or any other night, as it is truly a beautiful hotel. And you never know who might be hanging around. Last time I was there I saw Jake Gyllenhaal. 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel is located at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The “Night Before the Night Before Party” is taking place at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant Cut, located inside the hotel. While Cut will most likely be closed off to the general public tomorrow night, you can always grab a drink in the bar right off the hotel lobby and hope for a star sighting. Boulmiche Boutique is located at 9501 Santa Monica Boulevard, at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard.
Oscar Weekend Stalking – Part II
On Oscar Weekend, after stalking the red carpet, I recommend hotel-hopping your way through Hollywood and Beverly Hills for optimal star viewing! The Chateau Marmont, the Mondrian, the Sunset Tower Hotel, the Regent Beverly Wilshire, and the Beverly Hills Hotel are all prime celebrity viewing locations – and most have extremely friendly staff – except for the Chateau Marmont. The Chateau is a notorious celebrity hangout and was home to Lindsay Lohan for a few years, but the staff there seems to go out of their way to make non-famous guests feel unwelcome. That’s probably why celebs like the place so much. 🙂
The Mondrian, on the other hand, is a great place to star gaze. Last year, while driving on Sunset Boulevard the day before the Oscars, we noticed a huge crowd of paparazzi standing outside the Philippe Starck designed hotel. It turns out Posh Spice was having lunch inside! We went in and, sure enough, there was Victoria Beckham, much taller than I expected and a whole lot better looking. She didn’t have that robotic look in person that she usually has in all her paparazzi photos. She seemed really friendly and was giggling with a friend and hotel security over the pandemonium she had caused outside. We also saw Spike Lee, who is a frequent guest of the Mondrian’s Asia de Cuba restaurant. The Mondrian staff could not have been nicer – the gift shop attendant told us a really long story about Britney Spears, who had just recently shaved her head and had shown up at the hotel in her infamous pink wig, sans credit card, cash or an ID, demanding a room and a free bathing suit! Ah, Britney!
The final stop on your Oscar tour must be the Beverly Hills Hotel, as every Saturday night before the Oscars, the famous “Night Before” party is held by the hotel’s pool. Without a room, the hotel staff will not allow you to hang out in the lobby when the stars start arriving for the big shindig, but don’t worry – most of them venture into the hotel’s Polo Lounge for a drink beforehand. So just park yourself on a bar-stool and you’re virtually guaranteed a star sighting! Last year, dining among us were Paris Hilton, Reese Witherspoon, Russell Simmons, Elle Macpherson and billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, owner of the MGM Grand Hotel.
A Few Oscar Weekend Stalking Tips:
1. Book your hotels early! Anyone who is anyone will be in town for Oscar Weekend, so hotels book up quickly. I would suggest staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel or the Mondrian. The staff at both are extremely friendly, the restaurants and bars are exceptional, and both hotels are beautiful. If you can’t stay at these hotels, or don’t want to spend the money, be sure to at least visit both on your stalking adventures!
2. Drive around Hollywood and Beverly Hills as much as you can and keep your eyes peeled for paparazzi. If you notice a large group of people standing outside the entrance to a hotel or restaurant, stop and go in! There is most definitely a celeb inside! Paparazzi, on the whole, are not very nice people, but if you smile, they will usually tell you who they are waiting around for.
3. Get your hair or nails done at a ritzy Beverly Hills salon – but be prepared to drop some coins! Everyone gets gussied up for Oscar Weekend, so if you are lucky, you just might be getting your French Manicure next to Jennifer Aniston.
4. Whatever you do, don’t forget your camera!! This is one occasion where you will NOT want to miss out on taking pictures! You just never know who you are going to run into! 🙂
5. Don’t be afraid to ask hotel staff and security about celebs. Most are extremely friendly and love to share their stories.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: While hotel-hopping, be sure to hit up Chateau Marmont (8221 Sunset Blvd.), Sunset Tower Hotel (8358 Sunset Blvd.), The Mondrian Hotel (8440 Sunset Blvd.) and The Beverly Hills Hotel (9641 Sunset Blvd.) – the site of the annual “Night Before” party. This year the “Night Before The Night Before” party is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 22nd, at Wolfgang Puck’s eatery Cut, located inside the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel – the very same hotel where Richard Gere wooed Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. The Regent Beverly Wilshire is located at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
On the Red Carpet – Oscar Weekend Stalking, Part I
If you have only one weekend a year to go star stalking in LA, then Oscar Weekend is it! Los Angeles comes alive during the few days before Hollywood’s Golden Boy is given out, and you are virtually guaranteed a star sighting – that is, if you know where to look. So, it’s a good thing you’ve found me. 🙂
Last February, on the Saturday before the Oscars, I dragged my boyfriend to the famed Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood and Highland Center, which is home to the awards ceremony to end all awards ceremonies. The nondescript Hollywood and Highland Mall turns into a virtual sea of red and gold the day before the Oscars – and anyone is allowed to walk right up and witness it all first hand! Although, unfortunately, most of the red carpet is roped off to the general public, there is a small area where the celeb obsessed are allowed to walk right on it. Even though it was covered in plastic at the time, I got goose bumps while standing on it all the same! It was pretty unbelievable to be standing there on the most famous carpet in the world!
Being the stalker that I am, I even found a part of the carpet where a piece of the plastic had been peeled back, so I just had to step on it. 🙂
After my stroll down the red carpet, we made our way to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where media crews were filming Oscar press junkets. While walking around the conference room area of the hotel – hoping for a star sighting – we ran into Jay Manuel from America’s Next Top Model ! Jay was extremely nice, shook my hand, and even posed for a picture.
Stay tuned for Oscar Weekend Stalking – Part II tomorrow! 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: For Oscar weekend stalking, your first stop should definitely be the Hollywood and Highland Center in downtown Hollywood. The red carpet starts right at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. From Highland, you can make your way down Hollywood Boulevard to the entrance of the Kodak Theatre for more great behind-the-scenes Oscar viewing. After your red carpet adventure, visit the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (7000 Hollywood Blvd.) and the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel (1755 N. Highland Ave. – also accessible via the third floor of the Hollywood and Highland Center), which both hold star studded press junkets and media events the day before the Oscars.
"I’d Like to Thank the Academy . . ."
This weekend, while hanging out at the Hollywood & Highland Center on Hollywood Blvd., my boyfriend and I stumbled upon the new “Meet the Oscars” exhibit. In honor of the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony, Hollywood & Highland Center – which is home to the Kodak Theatre, official host of the Oscars – has opened a free Oscar exhibit to the public – where you can hold an actual Oscar statuette!!
Also on display are the actual Oscars that will be presented at this year’s Academy Awards Ceremony on February 24th. You can view case after case of real Academy Awards up close and personal while walking through the showing. At the end of the exhibition, you can actually hold a real Oscar! Being an actress, it was pretty incredible to be able to hold an actual Oscar in my hands! It is MUCH heavier than I expected – even though according to one of the information cards on display, each statue weighs in at only 8.5 pounds.
If you are in the area in the next few weeks, I highly recommend checking out the exhibit. There are tons of pictures on display, a wealth of Oscar trivia and history, and even an Oscar game to play.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: “Meet the Oscars” will be on display at the Hollywood & Highland Center from February 1st through the 23rd on the fourth floor. Sunday through Thursday the exhibit is open from 12pm until 7pm and on Friday and Saturday it is open from 12pm until 8pm. The exhibit is free to the public! The Hollywood and Highland Center is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd, on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.