Admit it: Who wins those golden boys sometimes pales next to the dramas played out off stage.
The biggest buzz for this year’s show centers on the furor surrounding Elia Kazan’s honorary Oscar. Will he be booed? Will there be silence? Tune in Sunday.
Army Archerd, columnist for the Hollywood trade paper, Variety, will be on the red carpet announcing Academy Award arrivals for the 41st time. He tells the Tribune he expects the 89-year-old Kazan won’t travel the red carpet but will arrive at another entrance, a practice followed by many guests in the past, including Barbra Streisand.
(Who actually trots up the carpet is the least of Archerd’s worries. He says that for a bunch of folks who are theoretically the coolest and calmest and least affected by stage fright, “I’ve never shaken wetter hands in my life.”)
If want a bit of drama to go with your popcorn, consider:
– Who will escort Lynn Redgrave, up for Best Supporting Ayctress for “Gods and Monsters”? She is in the midst of a nasty marital battle with hubby John Clark, who claimed Redgrave barred him from the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards.
– Will reclusive Terrence Malick, up for Best Director for “The Thin Red Line,” attend?
– Who’ll be on Best Actor nominee Edward Norton’s arm? His alliances with Cameron Diaz and Courtney Love appear kaput. And who will escort Gwyneth Paltrow now that Ben Affleck appears to be out of the picture?
– How will Sophia Loren look? The glamorous actress, who missed picking up a lifetime achievement honors at last August’s Venice Film Festival because of health problems, is slated as a presenter.
– Roberto Benigni of “Life Is Beautiful” has hoisted humans at Cannes and most every other awards bash he’s attended. “Will he lift me up?” Archerd asks. “I weigh a little more than those he has lifted (so far).”
– Expect the late Stanley Kubrick to be saluted during the show’s memoriam clips. Will the Academy also honor Gene Siskel?
– Will she or won’t she? Monica Lewinsky’s rumored to be attending the glitterati-saturated post-Oscar party held by Vanity Fair at Morton’s. Her escort? Photog Herb Ritts, who snapped those Monica-on-the-beach pics for the mag last year.
Concludes Archerd: “No matter how serious some want to take it, it’s still show business with the accent equally on the show and on the business. . . . I give as many people as possible their moment in the sun. They are all nominees when they go in, but only one winner when they come out.”
