Oscar Weekend, The Final Chapter

Now that I am back in Sacramento, and trying to clean out my bursting DVR, this post will wrap up my last big weekend, unless I get an unexpected offer to move to Hollywood..and I do mean unexpected. I've already been asked to do a report on a Star Trek special from Fathom Events in April. I'm sure to think of other story ideas by then.

First off, this was an unexpected part of my overnight trip to KABC in Glendale to attend the post-Oscars edition of Good Morning America...



Rodney Allen Rippy, the cute kid from the Jack In The Box ads from the 70s, is now a businessman and mayoral hopeful in Compton. He asked for my business card, and I gave it to him.

When I tried to get a ticket to Jimmy Kimmel Live After the Oscars, I lost out. I even promised I'd kiss Kimmel's star on the Walk of Fame to get a ticket. If nothing else, I know where it is....



It's under the show's sign just outside the studio...



By the way, it's in better shape than Matt Damon's star.



Hollywood High School honored the show, but you'd think they'd get "O"'s that would match the rest of the letters on the sign.

On my way to Hollywood and Highland to get almost at the Red Carpet, I found this on the Walk of Fame...



Hopefully someone will fix this. After all, his name is on a very important Academy Award. Respect must be paid.

Hammer Improv, a comedy group that includes Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh, performed the night before the Oscars. This is a picture that I took. Sadly Sandeep is blocked here...



It was broadcast on Ustream, but it wasn't saved. In case it is, it will be added.



...and more posters from Jimmy Kimmel's Movie: The Movie 2V.

I am hoping that after this trip, there will be more trips to big events that I can cover. That only depends on the future.

Oscar Weekend, Part 2

My last big trip is almost done. Even though I wasn't close to the Oscar Red Carpet this year, at least I have this...



and his wife too...



Getting Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner was worth waiting many hours to get a glimpse of big movie stars. It also makes my decision to blow seven hours at Comic-Con to get a poster autographed by Quentin Tarantino look smart by comparison. I am still stunned Oscar got over its fear of blood and gave Original Screenplay to Django Unchained. I was so sure Amour would upset Zero Dark 30. Gosh!
Anyway, it wasn't too bad standing out at Hollywood and Highland behind a fence for several hours. I got more good photos this year, but I really prefer being in the bleachers. I do remember two women arguing over who belonged at a certain spot and who was there first. Also, I'm surprised I got anything because I was barely able to figure out who was where. Again, I should try this again....and I mean it this time...when I manage to get a spot in the Oscars bleachers. At least you also get a small gift bag afterwards
Anyway, here's my link to the Flickr Oscars 2013 album.

Here are some other highlights:



The building formerly known as the Dolby Theater



Oscar getting some last-minute touch-ups before the actors show up



Tarantino waving to fans.



OK, try to find Daniel Day Lewis' head. (It's under the stylized Oscar sign.)



KTLA's famous transmitter at Sunset Boulevard, with blinking lights!

As far as the Oscars are concerned, I'd like to see them again, saved in my DVR. Seth MacFarlane's humor doesn't fit the Oscars. I know that much. It also had great singing, even though it probably added too much time to the show. I guess no musical numbers next year, unless they sing really fast. At least they got a million more viewers than last year, yet people will be undecided on who they should beg to host next year: Hugh Jackman or Alec Baldwin.
I also want to see the Independent Spirit Awards. Thankfully, I know only two things: Jennifer Lawrence showed a lot of skin, and Matthew McConaughey won something and sang.

The weekend also had a new first: visiting KABC so I can see a special version of Good Morning America live. It was odd being up at 4 AM to see it. I also had to walk for a long time to get there. Thank goodness for all those times on the treadmill. They did treat the audience well with free Starbucks coffee and pastries. The main hosts also looked great, especially Robin Roberts. The GMA set was a basic set, but it was still good. If nothing else, I learned Lara Spencer and Sam Champion are great dancers.

After a quick nap, I went to see Craig Ferguson. The new set is a few doors down from the old closet-sized set. While I was surprised Keith Olbermann didn't discuss politics, what was discussed was still very funny. It did reveal one big surprise: Keith was actually interviewed to possibly replace Pat Sajak?? Not sure about that, but hosting the Late Late Show instead of Tom Snyder? That would work. It means Keith wouldn't be on ESPN or Fox Sports. Think about that.

As usual, I scoured the local thrift stores for eBay bait, getting inspiration from Macklemore. I got some unexpected finds, and I'll get to that later.