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the red carpet izaga leihun   A bronze figure painted in gold is the protagonist of a TV show, where they reward the best in the film industry that year. This takes place in a theatre whose centre stage is the red carpet where every one shows off what they have. Three thousand people are invited to the ceremony, ranging from actors to technicians. At two in the afternoon they are all dressed in their best clothes. One thousand five hundred journalist and publicists are also “dressed to the nines”, with their accreditation on their neck.

For nearly three months Los Angeles has been preparing for this special night. The hype begins around Christmas time and finishes on the night of the Oscars. The shop windows are decorated with a “Red Carpet” and little “Golden Statue”, the streets around the “Kodak Theatre” are all cut off a month ahead of the great night. On the long awaited day one can only enter the red carpet in a limo and with the appropriate accreditation.

Once you’re on the red carpet cameramen and journalists surround you, and behind each “starlet” they have their own publicist who tells their client where to stop, and who to they should talk to and how long for. The famous all dress in “Haute Couture” and jewellery off immoral prices, which is all leant to them for this special occasion. The more famous and popular one is, the more they are wanted for an interview or photo, in these cases their publicists must be very selective of who can interview them, and with who they take photos with. The more unknown the nominee is the harder the publicists must work in selling their merchandise to the journalist, who have no idea who they are talking to.

The ceremony has finally commenced; every one who is invited is seated on the red chairs of the “Kodak Theatre”. All the publicist and journalists stay back stage, watching the ceremony on huge television screens, drinking and eating and then running to the pressroom after each important prize is given, to capture the first reaction of the winner. When the winner goes on stage, the majority of them ignore Tom Hanks advice, which is sent to each one of them through a DVD, in which he asks them to be brief, original and they should give a memorable speech. And they should not thank God, their family, nor the director, producer or agent, “think of the forty million viewers who are watching you at home”, says Hanks “they want to listen to something funny, they are not interested in your family tree”.

It’s the end of the show televised on TV. All the famous people go off to have dinner at the “Governors Ball” the Academies official dinner party. Then comes the hardship of having more photos taken in each one of the parties, which takes place that night. The entire journalists make the same route, as to not loose anything interesting which might take place that night. Who changes their outfit, who says “hello” to who, who celebrates with who. After the great show has come to an end, some even find the strength to go and have a drink at a “real party”, with out any cameras around, to capture “the real moments”.