NOTHING LIKE HOME: They don't have shopping quite like this in Kazakhstan. Sergei Bodrov, the Russian director of "Mongol," Kazakhstan's entry in the Oscars' Best Foreign Language Film category, spent Friday afternoon browsing luxurious swag at the Main Event Red Carpet Lounge and Green Suite at the 9900 Club in Beverly Hills.
Celebrity attendees were invited to fill green gift bags full of such gratis goodies as jewelry from Alyse Ziede and Heather Hyde, bottles of Icelandic Glacial H20, desserts from Nothing Bundt Cakes and watches from Curtis and Co.
There were even some goodies for pampered celebrity pooches and kitties, including accessories and clothes from John Paul Pet, Happy Go Lucky Dogs and K9 Duds.
Non-Oscar-nominated reality TV stars such as Tia Carrere ("Dancing with the Stars"), Joanie "Chyna" Laurer ("The Surreal Life"), Jason Whaler ("The Hills") and Beth Stolarczyk ("Real World/Road Rules Challenge") also showed up for some free stuff.
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TALKING OSCAR: The 80th annual Academy Awards show promises lots of surprises and less than 3 1/2 hours running time, producer Gil Cates said Friday as he, director Louis J. Horvitz and film academy President Sid Ganis took questions from the press about Sunday's show.
Sitting beneath a clear plastic rain tent that shielded the red carpet and its occupants from drizzly skies, Cates promised a dry Oscar day.
"I'm confident the weather is going to be OK Sunday," he said, ignoring a current forecast to the contrary.
"If it rains, it'll be good for the flowers," added Ganis, who sat beside a bucket of yellow roses.
As the trio talked about the rain tent, red-carpet show host Regis Philbin popped in to say hello and to thank Cates for inviting him to "the biggest circus in town."
"I started the red carpet segment for KABC when I worked here in the
'70s and it was a big hit," Philbin said. "We just took a camera down there and the red carpet was there, Army Archerd was in the stands calling out the names of the stars and one by one they came: Richard Burton, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly. ... It was the thrill of my life."
Viewers can also expect a thrill when they tune into the Academy Awards, Cates said, which will reflect Oscar's 80-year history.
Jack Nicholson and Keri Russell have been added to the roster of A-list presenters, he said, and the telecast will open with a 90-second film "that is arguably the most exciting piece of film that has ever opened an Oscar show."
Even though the year's nominated films haven't generated big business at the box office, the three Oscar honchos said they expect fans around the world will tune in to the program
- especially since the Writers Guild of America strike caused the cancellation or retooling of other Hollywood kudo-fests.
"Not only have there not been any awards shows," said Ganis, "but I think there's a good solid buzz about the strike being over (and) everybody back to work."
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IRISH ALLIANCE: After running through his lines on the Kodak Theatre stage Friday morning, Colin Farrell joined a handful of stand-ins and other Oscar workers to watch a rehearsal of "Falling Slowly," the nominated song from the Irish indie film "Once."
Wearing a torn T-shirt topped with a vest and blazer, his shaggy hair tucked under a gray fedora, the Irish actor tapped his toes as the film's stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, played their original ballad.
Hansard, cradling the same beat-up acoustic guitar featured in the film, sat on a stool in front of Irglova's grand piano. The two shared a smile as the full sound of the Oscar orchestra rose up behind them.
When the song ended, Farrell bounded onto the stage to greet Hansard with a hug. Academy Awards producer Gil Cates chatted with the two Dubliners, and Farrell joked that he would "do some accent work tonight" so his Irish lilt would be show-ready.
"By Sunday I'll have the accent down," he said.
