Stalking the 2011 Academy Awards

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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.  Winking smile    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.

Me and Pinky

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 backSmile

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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 BeattySo Close - Why didn't I get an autograph???

Warren Beatty;

Annette Bening

Annette Bening;

Louisville Born Jennifer Lawrence of Winter's Bone Jennifer Lawrence and her Boobies - hehehe!

Jennifer Lawrence;

Amanda Peet

Amanda Peet, who is absolutely ADORABLE in person;

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Anthony Mackie;

Terrence Howard P1000804

Terrance Howard;

P1000786 Danny Boyle, Director of Slumdog Millionaire & 127 Hours

director Danny Boyle;

Diego Luna Diego Luna

Diego Luna;

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John Hawkes;

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Sarah Steele from Spanglish;

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Greta Gerwig from Greenberg;

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Samuel L. Jackson;

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Liev Schreiber;

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Aaron Eckhart, who is GORGEOUS in person;

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one of fellow stalker Owen’s favorite actors, Paul Rudd;

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Malin Ackerman;

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Amber Tamblyn Amber Signing Autographs

Amber Tamblyn;

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David Cross;

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Erika Christensen;

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Jane Lynch (YAY!);

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(I absolutely LOVE that the GC managed to snap a picture of Jane making one of her famous Sue Sylvester faces!);

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Eva Mendes;

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Jesse Eisenberg (he did not turn towards the crowd when he arrived, so we only got a picture of the back of his head);

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Jeremy Renner;

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Rainn Wilson (aka Mr. Dwight Schrute!);

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Jamie Foxx;

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Ben Stiller;

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Rosario Dawson;

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Joel McHale (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him!);

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and Nicole Kidman (who is STUNNING in person) and Keith Urban.

Nicole Kidman Freezing as She Enters the Spirit Awards

I LOVE the picture of Nicole above, which my friend Carol snapped.  So cute!

Natalie Portman Spirit Awards 2011-Spirit-Awards-(353-of-389)

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Natalie Portman tried to sneak in behind Nicole and Keith, but thankfully the GC still managed to get some pics of her.  Smile

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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.

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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.

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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.

Ross Mathews E! Oscar Show

As was Ross Mathews, from Chelsea Lately.

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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.  Smile  I have actually never been a fan of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but I will always have a special place in my heart for the series due to the fact that anytime someone encounters my family for the first time, they invariably say, “You guys need your own reality show!  You are funnier than the Kardashians!”  My good friend Nat keeps threatening to secretly videotape us and send the result to the E! channel.  LOL  I guess I can see where people are coming from, though.  Case in point – this past Friday afternoon the GC downloaded and then proceeded to spend a good ten minutes showing me an app in which one, while in a store, can scan the barcode of an item along with its price using the camera on their iPhone and the phone will then subsequently spit back a list of places where you can purchase said item for less money.  Not kidding!  I totally thought he was joking with me, but sadly he wasn’t.  Not only is that app real, but the GC fully expects me to USE it!  Oh, the things I have to put up with!  Winking smile

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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.  Smile  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!  Smile

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!

Academy Awards Red Carpet Entrance

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! 🙂

Oscar Statue Kodak Theatre

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:

Kodak Theatre Entrance Oscar Day

Red Carpet Stairs Leading to the Entrance

Red Carpet Stairs from the Balcony

Workers setting up the Oscar's Red Carpet

Oprah's Press Box on the red carpet

Red Carpet almost done

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.

champagne on the Red Carpet

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! 🙂

Oscar Statuette at the Kodak Theatre

Mr. Oscar looking pretty drab outside the Kodak – notice the blemishes on his arms. LOL

Limo Dropoff area start of red carpet

What they don’t show you on TV! LOL The ugly road closures and chain link fences at the start of the red carpet.

Press Box on the Red Carpet

The massive press bridge built over Hollywood Boulevard

Red Carpet Interview Area

Tented Red Carpet Protected from Rain

Hollwood Blvd shut down for the Oscars

What the red carpet looks like from Hollywood Boulevard.

Spirit Awards Shutters Parking Lot

paparazzi swarming actors as they arrive at shutters

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 Arriving at the Spirit Awards

Rosie Perez

John Hamm and his girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt

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

Elisabeth Rohn from Law and Order – she seemed very sweet. 🙂

Teri Hatcher

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. 🙁

Rainn Wilson Signing Autographs

Rainn Wilson

The Office’s Rainn Wilson

Elisha Dushku

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Elisha Dushku (who you can just barely see in the above pics)

Ron Livingston (aka SATC's Jack Berger)

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!

Leonard Maltin

Film critic Leonard Maltin

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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?

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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:

  1. Nicole Kidman
  2. La Toya Jackson – my boyfriend and I kept going back and forth as to whether it was La Toya or Janet. LOL
  3. Mickey Rourke
  4. Robin Wright Penn
  5. Olivia Wilde
  6. Sarah Silverman
  7. Seth Rogan
  8. Dax Shepard
  9. Kristen Bell
  10. Topher Grace
  11. Dennis Leary
  12. Amy Adams
  13. Darren Le Gallo
  14. Jason Bateman
  15. Amanda Anka
  16. Josh Radnor
  17. Lindsay Price
  18. Forest Whitaker
  19. Zach Braff
  20. Kevin Connolly – said hi to me as he walked by 🙂
  21. Molly Sims
  22. Chace Crawford
  23. Deborah Messing – super pretty in person
  24. Amy Poehler
  25. Will Arnett
  26. Tina Fey – sooooo short and tiny
  27. Eric McCormack
  28. Neil Patrick Harris
  29. 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!
  30. Aaron Eckhart
  31. Holly Robinson Peete
  32. Rodney Peete (NFL)
  33. Gwen Stefani – absolutely stunning in person!
  34. Christian Siriano (Project Runway winner)
  35. Elle Macpherson
  36. Nikki Hilton
  37. Christopher Walken
  38. Ben Stiller
  39. Christine Taylor
  40. Laura Dern
  41. Tobey Macguire
  42. Jennifer Meyer
  43. Kimora Lee Simmons
  44. Djimon Hounsou (Kimora Lee Simmon’s baby daddy)
  45. Victor Garber
  46. Kathy Hilton
  47. Jessica Alba – had the coolest red sequin shoes on! and she made my boyfriend practically drool!
  48. Kerry Washington
  49. Leo!!! – I can finally, finally cross Leo off my must-see celebrity list. SIGH! 🙂
  50. Breckin Meyer
  51. Rachel Bilson
  52. Adam Rodriquez
  53. Michael Chiklis
  54. Andy MacDowell
  55. Debra Winger
  56. Sally Field
  57. Ron Livingston (Jack Berger on SATC)
  58. Tim Allen
  59. James Marsden
  60. William Shatner
  61. Eddie Murphy
  62. Kate Bosworth
  63. Anne Hathaway
  64. Christine Ricci
  65. James Caan
  66. Robert De Niro
  67. Bill Maher – with his twelve year old looking girlfriend
  68. Wentworth Miller
  69. Michael Buble (sigh!) – such a cutie in person! I was practically swooning! 🙂
  70. Josh Hartnett
  71. Ellen Pompeo
  72. Ellen Pompeo’s husband Chris Ivery
  73. Jack Black
  74. Tanya Haden (Jack Black’s wife – she’s a model)
  75. Alyssa Milano
  76. Michelle Monaghan (from The Best Man and Eagle Eye)
  77. Chris Pine
  78. Ron Howard
  79. Josh Brolin
  80. Diane Lane
  81. Kathy Najimy
  82. Michael Moore – just as unattractive in person as he appears in his movies
  83. Chris Rock
  84. Jenna Fisher
  85. Heather Locklear
  86. Jennifer Aniston
  87. Josh Duhamel
  88. Bridget Moynahan
  89. Elton John
  90. Steven Spielberg – thanks to a red fedora he looked like a total douchebag! LOL
  91. Kate Capshaw
  92. Hugh Laurie
  93. Cameron Diaz
  94. Brian Grazer
  95. Stacy Keibler
  96. Geoff Stults
  97. Bradley Cooper
  98. Whoopi Goldberg
  99. Shirley MacLaine
  100. Ginnifer Goodwin
  101. Elisha Cuthbert
  102. Fred Savage – looked really old!
  103. Frances Fisher
  104. Richard Jenkins
  105. Melissa Leo
  106. Taraji P. Henson
  107. Claire Danes
  108. Hugh Dancy
  109. Josh Grobin
  110. Prince Frederick von Anhalt (Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ex)
  111. Steven Baldwin
  112. Dule Hill
  113. Kiersten Warren (At least I think it was her!)
  114. Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire star)
  115. Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire star)
  116. Kirk Kerkorkian
  117. Ralph Lauren
  118. Valentino Garavano
  119. Terri Hatcher
  120. Elisabeth Rohn (D.A. from Law and Order)
  121. Rosie Perez
  122. John Hamm
  123. Jennifer Westfeldt (star of Kissing Jessica Stein)
  124. Michael Bolton
  125. Leonard Maltin (movie critic)
  126. Elisha Dushku
  127. Dustin Lance Black (Academy Award and Independent Spirit Award winner for Milk screenplay)
  128. 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.