HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA—The Twin Cities Daily Planet has been assigned the Red Carpet Press Bleachers and Backstage Interview Room at the 82nd Academy Awards, to be televised Sunday from the Kodak Theater. I’ll be in the Interview Room, where award-winners go immediately upon leaving the stage with their statuettes, and my daughter Lindsay Teed will be reporting from the Red Carpet Press Section.
I recently received my B.A. in media studies from New School University in New York. Lindsay graduated from Kennedy High School in Bloomington and currently resides in New York City, where she works as an actress. Together, we’ve been attending Oscar-week events in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. “It’s a dream come true to be learning what goes into making everything happen at the Academy Awards,” says Lindsay.
We were present at Thursday’s Governors Ball Food and Beverage Preview, which is held for the media to see what the stars will be eating and drinking. The Governors Ball is the celebration immediately following the Awards show.
1,500 guests will be attending the event, which will have 900 staff and 250 culinary staff. There are 10,000 pieces of cutlery and 1,200 bottles of champagne. Julia Fitzroy of Moët & Chandon champagne introduced the Golden Glamour, a beverage being served at the Ball.
Music will be by performed by an 18-piece all-female orchestra. The cocktail waitresses’ dresses, waiters’ uniforms, and musicians’ dresses were all specially designed for the Ball.
It takes 1,700 man-hours to install the décor. 10,000 flowers are used, with hydrangeas from New Zealand, orchids from Thailand, lisianthus from Holland, and organically grown roses from a certified farm in Ecuador.
The Governors Ball considers itself “Environmentally Intelligent” and uses cage-free eggs, organic chicken, and organic sugar. All meat, poultry, and dairy goods are raised without hormones and antibiotics. Unused food will be donated to a food bank. The Ball will use energy efficient LEDs for event lighting and will recycle plastics, metals, glass, paper and cardboard. All the floral arrangements will be composted. But this enviro-friendliness doesn’t preclude a little good old-fashioned Hollywood excess: the event will feature 15 pounds of edible gold dust and 4,000 miniature chocolate Oscars.
For the first time, Academy Award winners will be able to have their Oscar statuette personalized with engraved nameplates at the Governors Ball.
Above: At the Governors Ball Preview, champagne was sampled by guests and media.
Lindsay Teed samples champagne and looks at wait staff uniforms at the Academy Awards Governors Ball Preview.
Above: Table setting for the stars at the Governors Ball. Floral arrangements will be composted after the Awards.
A server is kept busy pouring champagne samples at the 82nd Academy Awards Governor’s Ball Food and Beverage Preview Thursday.
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