Oscar weekend, day 2

I will never go to Hollywood during Oscar weekend again unless I have a ticket to the bleachers in my hand well before the event. Of course, getting such a ticket is tougher to get than a winning Super Lotto Plus Ticket worth $5 million. I'll stick to the local Oscar Night America event because at least I can get the program.

How tight was security? The cops stopped people in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard since dawn, and there was a big fence keeping people away, which gave me this view of the event.....



So while my pictures may not have been the best, they were OK considering I had to shove the lens through the fence links. We also had E! use us as the background to one of their pre-game stories...



Then again, I shouldn't complain about traveling 400 miles to not get anywhere near the Oscars. Check out these guys from Finland and Wales who came so far to see a glimpse of Brangelina, if they're lucky...





However, people should know it takes a lot of work to get a Red Carpet read for celebrities and those who are just lucky to get a ticket. Check out these carpet installers, and a guy who is vacuuming the carpet...





Despite all of this, I managed to get two decent pictures. In this one, I sort of get Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the way far left....



The grey edge is from the part of the fence I tried to shoot around. I was much luckier getting Jennifer Lopez....



Now a few words about the event: Billy Crystal made a good comeback as a host, but the Oscars should prepare for the future. Steve Martin, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway should be on the eternal short list. Maybe add Meryl Streep, too, because she has been a hoot for years, and ought to try hosting one of these suckers.
While I picked the big awards, I screwed up again on the minor awards, especially documentary, shorts and a couple of tech nominations. I knew Hugo would clean up in the tech awards, but not as much as it did. If nothing else, it'll be good news for its DVD sales starting Tuesday. I didn't see Sasha Baron Cohen as Aladeen, but I saw what happened thanks to YouTube. That has got to be the best thing ever according to those who has had enough of Seacrest. Cohen did appear in one of the short films about movies. While he has played weird characters, acting as a guy who's like himself should be tried once in a while. I still can't wait to see him in Les Miserables, though.

Now some commentary through film....
Kodak is taking its name off the theater which has been the home for Oscar for a decade, yet what did we see at Hollywood and Highland?



It's a nice ad for Kodak...ten years ago. Now it's headed for bankruptcy while filmmakers, big and small, are switching to digital in droves. Just an interesting image.

The Goodyear Blimp was flying above the show, just like it's doing overhead overage at the Super Bowl. I managed to make some surreal pictures, like this one that combines Goodyear with the Golden Arches....



and this one near the big Oscar ad...



So, it wasn't too bad, but I really prefer being in the bleachers, if not inside. Next year, I stay home.