Workers rolled out the famous Oscars red carpet in front of the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday (February 22), ahead of the biggest event in the global entertainment calendar, the 89th Academy Awards.
Joe Lewis, head of production for the Oscars red carpet, said he and his workers were focusing on the possibility of rain as celebrities arrive for the ceremony on Sunday (February 26).
“The most difficult part is mother nature and the weather. That’s always the wild card. You know, we don’t really know what’s going to happen. Today, we shift from the guest experience focus to the broadcast focus. But now also today, weather seems to be ever-present on Sunday. So that’s what we’re really focusing on now,” he said.
Romantic musical “La La Land” is the one to beat on Sunday after earning 14 nominations in a diverse list of nominees that silenced the #OscarsSoWhite controversy of the last two years.
With nods that included best picture, actor, actress, director, score and screenplay, the musical about a struggling actress and her jazz pianist boyfriend equaled the record set by the 1997 blockbuster “Titanic” and the 1950 film “All About Eve.”
“La La Land” also became the first original musical to win a best picture Oscar nomination since “All That Jazz” in 1979.
The 6,600 member Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars, has a history of responding well to movies about show business, including past best picture winners “Birdman” and “The Artist.”
(REUTERS)