2011 Oscars, Day 3

My day began with my press walk-through over at Hollywood and Highland, so I will know where I am going on Sunday.  While I am trying not to be overwhelmed by the process, it's hard not to sucked into thoughts like, "Oh my God, this is one of my top 5 dreams come true!".  I cannot feel anything but grateful to the people who have helped get me to this week.  I will have to do a whole thank you post next week because, it's a long list.

The exciting thing about my Hollywood & Highland visit, the complex that holds the Kodak Theatre, is that the red carpet is officially down.  It's covered in plastic to protect it from the elements including the pending rain, but it's there.  To understand how the red carpet is laid out, it starts at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland and runs down the middle of the street. Yes, Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth will be jaywalking all over the place on Oscar night.  Photos from the red carpet are not allowed until Thursday, so I have a few shots from the pedestrian point of view from today.

After that, I hopped on over to Paramount Studios for the red carpet for Cinema City International Film Festival where I rubbed Tom Sizemore's head.  Yep, he's back, drug-free, and sporting a mohawk.  I was asking everyone all night about their picks for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress.  If they voted, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, and The King's Speech would win.  However, I have been hearing rumblings all over town that many Academy members are voting for Annette Bening.  Annette has made herself very available to the press, it is her fourth nomination, and conveniently, she is a member of the Board of Governors at the Academy.  If you don't think politics plays a hand in voting, think again.  I am predicting an upset in either Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress category.  Let's see if the rumors turn out to be true.

Here's my video of the day:  I take you to the red carpet set-up and I have a minor problem sprouting.  Ah, reality always keeps you grounded.



Make sure to catch up on Tuesday's uh...interesting Beauty Suite and then see the video:





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2011 Oscars, Day 2

Oscar diet?  What Oscar diet?

Today, was a busy day filled with a beauty suite, Oscar wardrobe pickup, and a final stop to my esthetician so my skin looks good on Sunday.  It takes a village to put me together for an event like this.  I cannot tell you how many people I have to thank next Monday from my chiropractor to my stylist to my makeup artist.  It's not an easy task.

The day started at the L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills at the Style Hollywood Academy Awards Ultimate Beauty Suite.  This event promised the unveiling of an exclusive handbag created in honor of the Oscar nominated film, Black Swan, and the world's most expensive baby cake by Hansen's Cakes and dedicated to Natalie Portman's new baby.  The bag is set to go down the red carpet with an unnamed celeb on Sunday, not Natalie Portman, and then auctioned off to charity with proceeds going to a ballet foundation and a schizophrenia center.  Remember, Natalie's character suffered from multi-personalities, see all of the connections here?  All of this was presented by the designer, Timmy Woods, two ballet school heads, Kristy Swanson, and jeweler, Amyn.  It was a bit chaotic and a little unfocused when it came to the presentation.

The bag was unveiled, not before Kristy and the two ballet heads almost knocked it off of the table, but it was gorgeous.  All of Timmy's designs are handmade using sustainable woods and delicate beadwork all while being assembled in the United States.  You may recognize her Eiffel Tower purse from Sex and the City, the movie.  Immediately after they presented the purse, they revealed the cake.  Now the cake was a beautifully decorated Hansen's Cake, but that was not what made it so expensive.  It was the topper:  a diamond encrusted baby safety pin and charm created for Natalie's upcoming bundle of joy.  This is where it got a bit awkward.  The beautiful jewelry was tiny, so it was hard to photograph.  The jeweler took it off of the cake, frosting and all, so the photographers could get a closer look.  Because the piece was silver, it was even harder to see in his hand.  Kristy Swanson swooped in and saved the day by holding it against a black background, the wrap she was wearing.  She was a total champ because that poor jeweler was flop sweating through the entire press conference.  Everyone then toasted to Natalie's unborn baby and her Oscar nomination in absentia.  Hooray!  Kids, you just can't manufacture moments like this.

Interviewing the super cool, Kristy Swanson.

I'll post the video of our Day 1, Behind the Red Carpet for Mingle Media TV here once it is ready, but I wanted to give you the backstory on the morning.  It will give you even more insight once you see me interview Kristy Swanson who is funny, pretty, and definitely someone with a great sense of humor.

Did you miss all of yesterday's Oscar fun?  Click here.

All photos courtesy of Mingle Media TV.

2011 Oscars, Day 1

The first day of Oscars Week has officially arrived!  After a 3AM return home from Chicago, I spent the morning trying to cover the dark circles under my eyes to bring you my first video of the week.  It is a quick look into my morning ride to the Renaissance Hotel to pick up my press credentials.  I was giddy putting that piece of plastic around my neck and my picture came out okay. I can definitely live with that photo for the next week.  Before I left, I snapped a few photos for you:  in front of my old stomping ground, The Kodak Theatre, the view of LA from the top of Hollywood and Highland, and a bird's eye view of the bleacher seats on Hollywood Boulevard.  The red carpet doesn't go down until Wednesday, so stayed tuned for further insight later in the week.

Tomorrow, I will bring you highlights from my first event of the week.  The event is promising a one of a kind Black Swan handbag that yet to be determined celeb will promote on the red carpet and the most expensive baby cake ever created and dedicated to Natalie Portman's baby boy.  Only in Hollywood, kids....

Photos from Chicago Auto Show 2011

Here are the final photos from a jam-packed 10 days, with a 36-hour jaunt to LA, in Chicago.  We had tons of great guests on Toyota Live, we gave away a 2011 Prius, we announced the official name of the Prius Family (Prii), and I even had time to host the Entune live broadcast on the West Coast.  Now, I begin an exciting and hectic week surrounding the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.  Never mind that I got home at 3AM, I am ready to hit the red carpet!

Hanging with Chicago Bears player, Anthony Adams....

The set for Entune and a part of my 36-hour whirlwind tour back to LA.

"This is Toyota Live!"

Up on the jumbo LED wall at the Chicago Auto Show!

And the winner is.....Prii!  When you see two hybrid vehicles, you say, "I just saw two Prii."

There's two of me!

Hanging with Katelin, our amazing NASCAR race girl and Toyota Live M&M snack provider.

Chicago to LA and back........

Life couldn't be any more hectic right now.  I am in the midst of hosting Toyota Live at the Chicago Auto Show all while having to fly back to LA for 36 hours to host Live Connect for Toyota and their new Entune launch.  To add to the excitement, I had a bit of Oscar dress drama since Inside Edition scooped up two of my planned outfits for their hosts.  Remember I talked about that red carpet hierarchy?  Oh yeah, it exists and I experienced it. Everything was ironed out though and I appreciate all of the dresses that have been loaned to me for Oscar events.  So, I am off to set for the Live Connect show and then back to the airport to finish my gig in Chicago, but of course, home in time for Oscars Week on Monday. Phew!

Many thanks to Web Series Network for the feature on Mingle Media Network and our red carpet coverage.  I like the photo they chose because I look like a bad ass and it is from our last awards show outing, Emmys Week!

Article below:

JD Piche & Kristyn Burtt of Mingle Media TV To Cover 83rd Annual Academy Awards Red Carpet Ceremony February 27th

Mingle Media TV Network celebrated their 1st year anniversary on February 8th 2011 and over the past 12 months has covered industry events from the Daytime Emmy's (where one of their LIVE web show hosts won her 3rd National Emmy) to numerous film festivals, award shows, celebrity fundraisers, web series launches and gifting suites.

This year MMTVN was granted credentials for the Oscars and has started covering the event from the nominee announcement on January 25th. The MMTVN crew consist of Kristyn Burtt, well-known for her show 'The Web Files' and producer/videographer JD Piche.

Here's their first event video with Kristyn doing her standup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw0qJdTOxGs

Here's Kristyn and JD behind the scene's at the Nomination's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTzrH7PIXE8

Kristyn's blog - the Red Carpet Closet was even featured on the Oscar's Facebook Page for her awesome coverage of the Nominee Luncheon!! http://redcarpetcloset.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-would-like-to-thank-a...

Kristyn and JD are being treated like celebrities and are also getting outfitted by designers for the Big Day! Kristyn is being outfitted by Chagoury Couture where A-listers go for red carpet dresses (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HQP7K2mVXs) and JD is getting fitted for a Tuxedo by a locally owned formal wear outfitter: Elite Tuxedo in Westwood.

Next week, Kristyn and JD will be covering events during the week such as the preview of the Governor's Ball, The Food and Beverage Preview, Gifting Suites, Director's Award Show, Makeup Symposium and MTVu Oscar Correspondent competition all leading up to the big day on Sunday the 27th of February.

Look for updates on coverage on the Mingle Media TV site www.minglemediatv.com and Kristyn's blog RedCarpetCloset.TV.

Flying By......

My posts may be a bit light this week because next week I will be posting up a storm--OSCAR WEEK!  I am headed back to LA today after finishing up my shows for another Connect Live internet broadcast with Toyota.....and then back to Chicago for the final weekend of shows......and then back to LA for Oscar coverage.  Whoa, that's a lot of frequent flyer miles.  In the meantime, here's a few candid photos from Chicago and a treat for my musical theatre geeks:  Idina Menzel and her recent inspiring concert at Lincoln Center with the NY Philharmonic and Marvin Hamlisch.

I love to change the wallpaper of my friends' iPhones when they leave them unattended.  Moral of the story?  Use a passcode:

While Israel Idonije of the Chicago Bears greeted our guests at the Toyota Live stage, I must have felt the need to steal the spotlight.  Maybe I didn't get enough attention as a child?

Finally, Idina Menzel singing one of my favorite songs from Rent.  Her banter with Marvin before the song is worth the price of admission alone.  Enjoy!

Opening Weekend at the Chicago Auto Show

I have no idea what is going on in this photo, but I love unusual action shots.  This definitely qualifies.

 I know what you are thinking, "Wait, there's no red carpet post about the Grammys!".  Yep, you are correct.  I watch the Grammys from a distance:  I love Barbra Streisand and oh, her prom dress from 1988, I caught a glimpse or two of Eminem's performance, and when they announced Album of the Year, I thought, "Who is that?".  My obsession with the red carpet circles around movies, glamour, and Hollywood.  I am not sure I can wrap my brain around Lady Gaga and her egg.  I need my couture, unless that was a couture egg?

This weekend, I was running around on stage at the Chicago Auto show for our annual visit.  The weekend was packed with guests who are sponsored by or in partnership with Toyota, so it was fun working with radio personalities, soccer players, and snakes.  Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

Hanging with country music radio personality, Ramblin' Ray from US 99.5.  He's a big fan of the Tundra and always a lively guest.

Partners for Clean Air brought a superhero, "Breathe Easy Man"!  I haven't stood next to a man in tights since my dancing days.....












The Shedd Aquarium has also been a repeat visitor to the Toyota Live stage, but this year, they brought animals!  The photos aren't great, but he's holding a snake.  The snake was really cute and I learned that snakes utilize their sense of smell via their tongues.  His tongue was going crazy that day.  I sure hope I smelled good because donning a baseball cap in that outfit sure didn't make it look like I know how to dress.

In the photo below, I am peering at a painted turtle.  He kept swimming with his little legs in the air.  I really wanted to take him home, but I was afraid my kitty would eat the turtle for lunch.

The ladies with the Chicago Fire players, Kwame Watson-Siriboe and Sean Johnson:

One final action shot with the Chicago Fire: