The Oscars 2013 - Part 3: The Ceremony

Our seats were amazing: first row of the first balcony, a place with a view on the entire parterre of stars. One couldn’t ask for more (well… maybe a seat close to Daniel Day Lewis, or directly on his lap, but ok…). The stage was pretty amazing too: an arch of lights, a round big platform in the middle and two others, smaller, on the right and on the left side.
The stars were taking their seats: it was funny to watch and trying to recognize each of them. Everybody was being very polite: it was a question of greetings, kisses and embraces. I was wondering how many of them were sincere, but I guess you had the same percentage in real life at no-matter-what kind of mundane event. 

When the lights got out and a voice announced that the Oscars 2013 night was about to begin, I had one of those stupid thoughts I always have in these occasions. I thought: How is it possible that Zazie from Paris, coming in reality not at all from the French capital but from the most obscure little village of the Pianura Padana, is here at the Oscars night? I held my breath for a second, praying that no beam of light would be pointed directly at me to ask about my incongruous presence... luckily enough, Seth MacFarlane was already on stage, and the big show was about to begin! 

Standing Ovation for Shirley Bassey

I have to make a confession: I was convinced I would have found the ceremony a bit boring. 
I mean: it is long, and there are all those musical breaks, I was really afraid to reach the point of saturation. Well, it wasn’t the case: I was so excited that the almost three hours looked like 30 minutes.

I was particularly lucky, though: the musical breaks were kindly provided by appointment to their majesties Shirley Bassey, Adele and Barbra Streisand, among others. 
The awards started immediately to rain, and the first moment of joy, for me, was the Oscar to the short animation film Paperman by John Kahrs, a super sweet love story involving a lot of paper planes that, to my surprise, started to fly also from the balcony. If you don’t know this movie, you should absolutely see it, here it is:

Paperman - Short Film by John Kahrs par Flixgr
The other Oscar I was incredibly happy about, was the one for Best Documentary, given to the magnificent Searching for Sugar Man by Malik Bendjelloul. When, during his speech, the film maker said that Rodriguez (the singer the documentary is about) didn't come to the ceremony not to steal the scene to him, I really thought how amazing a human being could be. If you missed it, run to see this pure gem:


Have you ever wondered what happened in the theatre during the commercials? I was always curious to know that and I finally had the answer: the people seated on the balconies get out and have a drink at the bar, while the stars get up and talk to each other. The parterre is an ever changing place: actors and actresses are moving around a lot because they can introduce awards or take part into some musical piece. When they have an Oscar they simply disappear... I guess they're stuck in the pictures+interviews machine. 

The stars during the commercials

If you go to the bar for a drink, you have to be very careful: it is essential to be back in the theatre before the commercials are over, otherwise you'll be left outside. I didn't know about this rule, so when I saw my door closing I rushed, but the man in front of it was absolutely inflexible: no, I couldn't go inside. 
I was panicking, because we were almost at the end and I was afraid to miss some important awards. I was complaining about this with Susanna in Italian when a woman approached us: Which beautiful language are you talking in? Italian, we said. Oh, that sounds lovely even when you're unnerved! On a screen placed just outside the door we could see the images but without sound. What's the matter? the woman asked. We explained. Oh, don't worry, there is still time for the big ones. It was like this that we met Doris, a very nice woman who was an Oscar habituée (it was her 15th time at the ceremony!), and with whom we talked and laughed until the end of the commercials.
I wasn't lucky enough to escape the Oscar for Best Foreign Picture to Amour by Michael Haneke, though. As everybody knows, I'm a huge fan of the man. I think he has made the dullest speech ever (surprise, surprise!) and while the others were clapping hands, I remained perfectly still on my seat. Ta gueule! I just wanted to shout at him (but I didn't).

Then, finally, it was time for the one and only Oscar I was really waiting for, the one for Best Actor.

I remembered a day of many months before, probably almost one year, when I saw for the first time a picture of DDL as Lincoln: he was eating something in a cafeteria, dressed in modern clothes, but with the make-up transforming him in the President. I immediately posted the picture on my Facebook page, writing: I can already see an Oscar (the third) in his hands. Well, it wans't difficult to imagine it but, still, I was right. This is the picture:

And this is Daniel Day Lewis receiving his third Oscar at the Dolby Theatre on February 24 (from the hands of Meryl Streep):

And if you want to hear his funny and moving speech:

After Daniel, just two more Oscars were left: the one for Best Director (won by Ang Lee) and the one for best picture (won by Argo). 
Once the ceremony was over, we left our seats but not the theatre: we had in our hands the tickets to go to the Governors Ball... the funniest part of the night was about to start...

The Oscars 2013 - Part 2: Getting There

The car was supposed to pick us up around 2.30 pm. Of course, Susanna (the colleague with whom I was sharing the experience and the hotel room) and I, were late. Everything was a disaster: the pedicure, the make-up, the dresses. Why we didn’t have anybody to help us? The miraculous cream Susanna talked to me about, producing such a nice effect on her, on my face was looking like collapsing wallpaper. Nothing was working the way we wanted, but in the end, somehow, we managed to be presentable and we finally got off the hotel to go into our car. 
Our car was the biggest black limousine ever produced and there was enough space for 10 people, not to mention the nice bar, fully equipped, and our super nice driver, George. 

Once picked up our Boss at his hotel we headed towards the Dolby Theatre, and while I was in the car (for far too long, for my taste) I was just going crazy because I couldn't simply wait any longer for the whole thing to happen. Basta -  I feel like screaming - I want to be at the Oscars NOW! 
After an infinite time, we arrived in Hollywood Boulevard, that was actually partially closed for the event. Only Limousines were allowed to get there. Few meters before the theatre, there was the weirdest demonstration I had ever seen. No, I had actually already seen something like that in an episode of Six Feet Under, many years ago: men and women of all ages were showing us signs where they were basically announcing us that we (meaning actors, film-makers, people involved in the show business in general) were a bunch of fornicators and God despised us so much that we will all end up in hell. Well, guys, if Daniel Day Lewis, Jeremy Irons and Michael Fassbender are going to be there, I just want to be part of that club. Thanks very much.

And then we finally got there:

A big Oscar statue was welcoming us: we had to follow a path that was leading us inside the theatre: 

It was the “check-point”, where you had to show your ticket and your passport. And it was there I realized that, of course, there are two kinds of Red Carpet. One is for the stars, and the other one for the rest of us (why I didn’t have access to the stars one is still a mystery to me…). 
When we arrived, the only two stars available were Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones (not exactly my cup of tea). It was the craziest place on earth: big, warm lights were irradiating the carpet and they were so strong you could barely stand under them. Besides that, the public at the balconies on both sides of the carpet, was screaming so, so much. 
I really thought: Ok, that’s it, I officially am at the Oscar night! 
The only problem with the Red Carpet is that you can’t really stand there. Security people politely ask you to move, to keep going, and you are actually quite happy to do so, because you can’t see anything and the shouting all around is just too loud.

Then you are at the entrance of the theatre: there is a long corridor and monumental stairs that lead you into the place. The corridor was already full of dressed up men and women taking pictures and looking for stars. 

 Of course, I did the same. Actually, since Susanna and my Boss wanted to get inside, I walked around by myself for at least 30 minutes, hoping to see somebody I liked. It was then that I bumped for the first time into an actor that, for some strange reasons, I kept bumping into for the whole night (till the point he was looking at me in an inquisitive way: do I know you???). His name is Jason Clarke, and he has a major role in Zero Dark Thirty by Kathryn Bigelow. Cute guy, actually, and he was by himself too, but I suddenly remembered to have read somewhere that he was from Queensland, Australia, and I simply preferred to miss my chance (sorry, guys, bloggers have their personal issues too):

Anyway, my heart was already broken: Malik Bendjelloul, the director of the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, to whom I was secretly wishing to make a love declaration (both for the wonderful movie and for, let’s say, less artistic reasons), showed up with a stunningly gorgeous girlfriend at his arm, leaving me without any hope. Damn!

And before I had time for more, they announced that the ceremony was about to start and that everybody should get inside. So I rushed into the theatre, looking for a glass of champagne, and for my seat...

... and in case you’re wondering what kind of smiling and happy face I had in the car that was getting me to the Oscar Night, well, dear readers, here it is:

And to give you an idea of the Red Carpet: