Miles of smiles
Everyone has been seeing stars now that the awards season is underway. Locals like Kelsey Grammer and Steven Spielberg picked up awards at the Golden Globes and now eyes are on the Oscars. But there’s quite a few red carpet walks to go before Billy Crystal takes center stage at the Kodak Theater on Feb. 26 for the Academy Awards.
The season kicked off right after the New Year with some of Hollywood’s biggest A-listers turning out at the Palm Springs Film Festival. That’s where Malibu’s Charlize Theron received the Indie Impact Award.
Charlize already has one Oscar on the mantel for “Monster” and won rave reviews for her latest role in “Young Adult.”
Previous Palm Springs award winners include locals like Sean Penn and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Malibu’s Gary Oldman received the International Star Award for his role in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
The black tie gala was the perfect red carpet warm-up with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Glenn Close and Michelle Williams also on the honor role.
The Directors Guild Awards are up next. They’ll take place this Saturday and will be hosted by Malibu’s recent globe winner Kelsey Grammer. Screen Actors Guild Awards follow on Sunday and will be broadcast on TNT.
We can’t leave out the Brits. Their BAFTA awards will be handed out at London’s Royal Opera Hall on Feb. 12. The wildly popular black-and-white silent film “The Artist” leads the pack with 12 nods and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” picked up 11, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor nominations for both.
Two weeks later, it’s Oscar time. So set your Tivo or settle in and pull out the popcorn. There are many starry, starry nights of glitz and glam still to come.
Art stars
It’s not just a big moment for the movies. A lot of big shows and expos have been making the rounds. Art-loving local David Arquette helped open the “LA Art Show: Modern and Contemporary” and “The Los Angeles Fine Art Show: Historic and Traditional.”
Famous faces like famed doper-turned-TV star-turned-wannabe-chef Cheech Marin joined in the fun along with pals like Richard Chamberlain, James Franco, Raven Symone and musician-DJ-photog Moby, who seems to be everywhere these days.
They joined a crowd of about 5,000 like-minded folks to check out more than 200,000 square feet of paintings, sculptures and installations from 110 galleries big and small. It’s always a sight to be seen. From classical to cutting edge, you’d find it here.