“And the winner is . . . ” That oft-repeated phrase at the annual Oscar-fest is inevitably followed by some glamorous presenter fumbling with the red seal and ribbon stuck across the flap of a white envelope that holds the name of an Academy Award winner.. That red seal, embossed with the PricewaterhouseCoopers logo, is put there by the firm’s Lisa Pierozzi, 39, or her Oscar partner Greg Garrison, 47. The Tribune caught up with Pierozz before she started the hand count of the 5,000-plus ballots.
Q–How are the ballot counters chosen?
A–“It’s actually no different than how we staff any other client assignment,” says Pierozzi. “Each year you try to keep continuous people on so they’re familiar with the business. We try to get people who are particularly mature and, obviously, you’re looking for somebody that’s not going to get caught up in the glamor and the star gazing and be tempted to talk about things they shouldn’t.”
Q–Actually, you and Greg are the only ones who know the winners, right?
A “Our administrative assistant prepares two sets of cards with every single nominee. What we do the day before the show is pull the winning card for each nominee and put it in the envelope,” says Pierozzi, noting all the balloting materials and envelopes are kept locked in a safe until Oscar day.
Q–How do you get to the show?
A–“We each get, through the security [team] that does the show, two off-duty L.A.P.D. SWAT team officers. One’s assigned to Greg. One’s assigned to me. They’re our drivers for the day. Greg and I rendezvous at the safe to take the two sets of envelopes out — because they don’t go home with us — and then we separate. It’s back to the cars with the guards, then we go separate routes and we meet again backstage in the green room.”
Q–Once you’re at the show, do you get to kick back and just watch?
A–“We sit in the green room until five minutes before the show begins. We stand [on either side of the stage] and we are there all night. We are the last person to hand an envelope [to a presenter] before they are on camera.”
Q–Don’t you get bored? At times the viewers do.
A–“As much as everybody talks about how long the show is, from a backstage perspective it’s good fun, because it’s all live. Greg happens to be on the side where all the presenters and the winners go off after they’ve won. He gets to see that moment of euphoria when they’re holding their statue and on their way to the press room. I am on the other side where the host is, so we’re getting jokes tried out on us all night long as he or she is reacting to what’s happening in the show. With Whoopi, we got the dirty jokes she couldn’t say in public.”
Q–So things are relaxed?
A–“Everything is professional. . . [but] it’s festive. People are paying attention, yet you don’t feel stressed. My stress is to be sure that in a pitch black setting I am handing the right envelope to the right presenter.”
