Lights, Cameras And Action Abound As Hollywood Prepares For Oscar Night
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jewels and parties. Stars and stand-ins. Rehearsals and news conferences. So much swag even Hollywood canines could rack up free goodies. The city is abuzz with all things Oscar as celebrities flock from all over the world fortTonight's Academy Awards...___
STAR-STUDDED REHEARSAL: On Sunday, the Kodak Theater will be filled with stars. On Saturday, they appeared one at a time.
The eve of the Academy Awards is rehearsal day for celebrity presenters. One by one, in 15-minute increments, Oscar winners and other famous folks come to the Kodak to walk on stage and practice their lines.
An unassuming Alan Arkin started Saturday's star parade. Wearing jeans and a black fleece jacket, he skipped to the microphone at center stage. He read from the teleprompter, then said, ''And the Oscar goes to me!''
''Aw, she's sitting right next to me,'' Ford said with mock annoyance about sitting beside his longtime girlfriend.
''We can fix that,'' stage manager Dency Nelson joked back.
A few academy officials brought their kids and grandkids to the theater Saturday, and just before 11 a.m., it became clear why: Miley Cyrus was coming in to rehearse. Accompanied by her look-alike mom, the gregarious teen star greeted her young fans - and everyone else she came across - with a megawatt grin.
After running through her lines, Cyrus was coached by her mom and publicist. Both urged her to slow down and to smile.
Longtime show writer Bruce Vilanch arrived just as Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson was expected to take the stage.
''Is this 'The Rock?''' a friend joked, pointing to Vilanch.
''I'm the roll,'' the rotund writer replied.
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''I'd rather not go unless I'm nominated,'' she told the AP. ''I've been to enough award shows to know it's not a lot of fun. It's actually stressful. I'd rather be somewhere where I can just chill and not worry.''
However, fellow Women in Film cocktail partygoers Nancy Oliver and Tamara Jenkins definitely intend to endure the festivities at the Kodak Theatre. That's because the two female screenwriters are nominated, respectively, for their Lars and the Real Girl and The Savages scripts.
''I think it'll be like a big theme park ride,'' said Oliver, who's never attended the Oscars.
This year's 43 female Oscar nominees were toasted at the exclusive event. Potential winners mingling at the soiree were easy to spot in the party's cluster of black cocktail dresses and suits: all nominees donned white corsages. Dana Delaney, Judith Light and Sharon Lawrence were among some of the famous faces in the crowd.
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By SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment Writer
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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