Behind the Scenes of the Governors Ball

While I have covered highlights of the Governors Ball the week of the Oscars, this is the first year I was invited to cover the preview that happens in the actual ballroom. The committee sets up about a quarter of the room to give you an idea of what it will look like for celebrities like George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, and Jennifer Lawrence on Oscar night.  The chandelier alone that changes colors from moment to moment to create a really cool atmosphere.  If you saw my photo on Facebook, you know that I looked like I was in Oz. A minute later when we took the photo of my cameraman, AJ, it was orange.

The food by Wolfgang Puck is always delicious from the Kobe Beef Sliders to the Smoky Tuna Tartare, it's just delicious.  However, watch the video below, we catch him wiping his nose.  Ew.



My article and photos from the morning at SheKnows will give you even more insight on the morning and I shared quite a few photos from the room and the decor.
From Dining to Decor: A Sneak Peek at the Governors Ball

Finally, I was lucky enough to make the official cocktail sponsored by Patrón.  It shows that I have no backup plan in my career because I make a terrible bartender.  So, I better keep at this entertainment reporting thing.  I drank wine, champagne, and tequila all before 11am.  It was quite nice.


My article for Starpulse, along with the videos, will be a feature this weekend, so I will update it here later this week.

Look at how excited I am to dive into a cocktail at 10am.  It was delicious!

If you are free tonight, please join me LIVE on Spreecast at 7:30pm PT/10:30pm ET as I interview the nominees from the 2013 Slamdance Awards.  The lucky nominees are in Park City, Utah while I will broadcasting from rainy LA.  RSVP here.

Last chance to enter my Metric CD giveaway!  You have a REALLY good chance to win because I have multiple copies to give away.  Enter here.

Media Mondays

I love finding crazy photos of me on the internet.  This is from the IAWTV Awards where I dragged my former co-host, Matt Troyer, to be my +1.  Photo courtesy of Brenda White.

Are you guys ready for another week?  I sure am because this week I'm checking out the Governors Ball decor and food in the actual ballroom where all the celebs party after the Oscars.  It's the first time I've ever covered this event, so I'm am so excited.  I have done some coverage in the past the week of the Oscars, but it's never in the ballroom since it's too close to showtime. Let me know if you have any questions for Wolfgang Puck, he will be there cooking up some delightful treats.

Also, if hit the home page, you will notice I did a little 2013 makeover for the blog.  Let me know what you think of the layout.  I want to do more with it, but for now I think it gives it a fresher look and it's easier to find old posts if you missed them.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to all of you.  This weekend, I had the highest views ever on my blog since I came online in 2009.  I am so excited to meet new friends (Be sure to say "hi" in the comments below.) and I truly appreciate my friends that have been here since the beginning.  Tell me what you would like to see in 2013 here on Red Carpet Closet because without you, I wouldn't be able to do my job and bring you all the insight from Behind the Red Carpet.

Now, on to Media Mondays:

Hyundai:  I have been fortunate to host their internet shows from locales like New York, LA, and now, Detroit.  It's been such a thrill to work with the Hyundai and CDG team to bring this show to life.  Everything is live, so you never know what will happen.  This time, we did a behind the scenes look of the booth, so it gave viewers at home an idea of how big the Detroit show actually is.  Take a look here or see a photo of the event here.

Spreecast:  My fellow entertainment reporter, Lindsay Hoffman, and I chatted about this week's hottest Hollywood stories.  She's sitting on a big story that breaks on Wednesday while I dished about the rumor that Jessica Simpson is supposedly having a boy.  Check out the archive below if you want the latest scoop on Britney, Lindsay, Rihanna, and Demi....Lovato, not Moore.




Tom Barnard Podcast:  Tom and I agreed this week about Spielberg and his films.  If you are following the Oscars race, you might want to hear our opinions on this one.

Dara on Radio: I occasionally stop by Dara's show throughout the year.  Last week, I chatted about the Golden Globes and the differences between the awards shows.  I will be back on her show January 29th and March 5th, but, in the meantime, you can check out the archived show here.

More photos from IAWTV Awards.  Photo courtesy of Brenda White.

The Radio Dish: Fun highlights from the Golden Globes with the ladies in Kansas City. I come in at the 20-minute mark.  Lots of snark going on this week...lots.

SheKnows:  Here are my 3 favorite articles from last week:
Zoe Saldana and Chris Pine to host the Sci-Tech Awards--Two Trekkies at the Sci-Tech Awards? Perfect!
Will the cast of Les Mis perform at the Oscars?--I hope so!
River Phoenix's last film to be seen 20 years later--He's still missed after all of these years.

Don't forget to enter my Metric CD giveaway here.

Tonight is #RadioBurtt night at 6:35pm PT/9:35pm ET on KWSS.org on the Driving with Gass show.  I'll kick off your week with the latest in entertainment news. See you there!

What's In My HBO Emmys Gift Bag?

You might have seen some of my photos from Emmys weekend which included an invite to the HBO after party.  I have written about the gifting strategy with celebrities quite a bit. (In fact, here's my recent article about the Presenters Lounge backstage at the Emmys for Starpulse.)  However, I haven't written much about the gift bags celebrities receive on the way out of big events and parties.  So, I thought it might be fun to take a peek at the gift bag I received from HBO.  If I were a guy, I might be disappointed, but for me, it was a happy day when I saw what was inside:

 An HBO cookie prepared by Wolfgang Puck.  I'm Gluten Free, so I didn't take a bite, however, my friend who was the lucky recipient of this cookie said it was "delicious".

A reusable HBO bag, Dry Bar shower cap, a gift certificate for a free scalp massage at Dry Bar, Peter Thomas Roth Instant Firm Eye (temporary eye tightener), Deborah Lippman nail polish in Purple Rain. 

If you live in a city with a Dry Bar, you know this was the greatest gift created by the hair gods.  For $35, you get a wash and blow out that's perfect for events, weddings, or that hot date when you just want your hair to look good.  Copycat blowout bars are popping up everywhere, so look for one in your city.  Trust me, it's so worth it.  (At the HBO party, Dry Bar was offering hair touch ups after a long Emmys night. Awesome!)

This might have been my favorite part of the gift bag, Stila Cosmetics.  Like Dry Bar, they are offering free touch ups at the party, so I was excited to see a few free gifts in my bag:  the Foliage Lip Glaze Trio in Delicate, Loganberry, and Fawn, Forever Your Curl Mascara, and the Smudge Crayon eye shadow and liner in Pink Violet plus a 20% off coupon and a makeup bag.  Score!  

If you haven't tried Stila Cosmetics before, it truly is a great brand with quality pigments and brushes.  It is pricier than a drugstore brand, but it is a good one to use when you are saving up for a splurge.  In fact, I used to represent the brand on QVC.  See my appearance on my host reel at the 2:41 mark.  

What do you think of my beauty haul?  Do you have any favorite products in the lot? Let me know in the comments below.

Dancing with the Stars fans, I will be co-hosting the after show tonight on AfterBuzz TV beginning at 7pm PST/10pm EST.  I hope you watch along with us live as we will have members of the cast each and every week!  It's going to be fun.

Oscars Week: Day 4

This is one of my favorite events of the week:  the Governor's Ball Food and Beverage Preview with Wolfgang Puck.  I always come hungry and ready to taste Wolfgang Puck's delicious food that he plans to serve to all of the nominees and winners after the big show on Sunday night.  This year was rather interesting since the tent where the event was happening was hot and the reporters were rather cranky.  Watch the video to get the inside scoop on what happened, it's pretty hilarious.



Also, it is great to be in such great company with all of my entertainment reporters.  I have met so many incredible friends from this experience over the last two years.  It is even sweeter when friends from other parts of the country get to enjoy this unbelievable journey with me.  So, any moment spent with James Molnar of The Gold Knight Blog and Jordan Carson of WOTV in Grand Rapids is such a thrill for me to share fun memories on the red carpet with them.

James interviewing me about Sunday's show.

Hanging with my pal, Jordan, on before the Food and Beverage Preview.

Link-A-Palooza

It has been quite an exhausting week, so I am going to take a little bit of a break today from Red Carpet Closet and share a few links with you.  I will be back tomorrow with a few great finds from the gifting suites during Oscars Week.

The Academy Award winning designs by Rick Baker for The Wolfman.

1. Starpulse:  Check out my article on the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium that was held at The Academy last week.  All of the nominees in the Makeup category were there including famed Makeup Designer Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, Thriller).  See how they are competing with CGI in their field and how Anthony Hopkins "helped" the makeup artists on the set of The Wolfman.

2. Cathy Baron:  She's a talented actress and rising jewelry designer with an amazing Steampunk line.  I've worn her pieces on the red carpet here and she is featured on another great blog called Stuff She Likes. The photos of Cathy's pieces on this site will have your credit card flipping in your wallet.

3. LonsTV:  Lon Harris was a guest on my show, The Web Files, back in December of 2009. I was thrilled that he mentioned my show in one of his recent episodes.  Thanks, Lon.  I hope to bring The Web Files back sometime this year.



Three Random Photos to Ponder:

Shhhh, don't tell Wolfgang Puck, but my chocolate Oscar was stale.

This dress looked terrible on camera, but it was stunning in person and NO ONE else could have worn it but Cate Blanchett.

His movies are twisted, but I have a secret crush on Darren Aronofsky--porn 'stache and all. 

All Photos are Property of Red Carpet Closet.  May not be published without permission.

2011 Oscars, Day 5

Hanging on the red carpet with members of the US Military at Cinema City Film Festival

Yesterday was a tough one.  I think my Oscars Week madness officially took its toll, I was dragging my tail all day.  After a good night's sleep though, I am rarin' to go!  I want to kick off today with answering the big question of my week:  "Where can we see you on Oscar Sunday?"  Great question!  Now hear are all of the answers:

     1. Before, During, and After the Oscars:  I will be giving live updates via Twitter from getting ready to the last party of the night.  You do not have to sign up for Twitter to follow my updates, my page is public.  Just click on this link.
  
    2. During the Oscars: Once the show begins, I will be backstage in the interview room as the winners come through to talk about their big win.  I will continue to post pictures and videos from the red carpet and I will be live blogging throughout the night right here at Red Carpet Closet!

I hope you will all join me.  Feel free to ask questions either via Twitter or in the comments section below.  I will do my best to answer them throughout the event.

 Interviewing Cheryl Cecchetto about the Governor's Ball design.

Wolfgang Puck cooks and he talks....a lot!  

As for yesterday's coverage, I filmed my daily video on my couch at the end of the day which really was the perfect way to end a rainy day in LA.  There's lots of fun news in it and a preview of some of the jewelry I tried on for my dress, so be sure to check it out:




I am also catching you up on a few photos and videos from the past week from the Cinema City International Film Festival to my fun day eating with Wolfgang Puck and the rest of the creative team for the Governor's Ball.  Let me take you Behind the Red Carpet:

At Cinema City International Film Festival where I ask:  Who is your favorite Oscar pick this year?



And at the Food and Beverage Preview with Wolfgang Puck:

 I liked that Silver Screen Punch a little too much.

Tom Sizemore is back and healthy.  I hope we see him acting versus acting out on Celebrity Rehab. He was a very fun interview.  Stay healthy, Tom!

All photos courtesy of Mingle Media TV.

2011 Oscars, Day 4

Ah, what a day!  It started out with the Food and Beverage preview with Wolfgang Puck and ended with a run up and down the red carpet.  Yes, they are still setting it up, but it looks more and more like it does at the big event on Sunday.  The most hysterical part of the day was watching Lara Spencer of The Insider and Nancy O'Dell of ET doing a full dress rehearsal in 55 degree weather.  Yep, they had hair, makeup, and gowns at 9:45 AM.  I wish I had grabbed a photo, but I was racing to the preview at the other end of the red carpet.  Needless to say, they looked gorgeous, but miserably cold.

 The amazing Kobe Beef Slider.....heaven in one bite!

The Food and Beverage Preview was a delicious potpourri of Kobe Beef Sliders, Salmon and Cavier atop an Oscar-shaped flatbread, and Black Truffle Pizza.  My mouth was watering at the mere sight of Wolfgang's food.  To read a full rundown of the event, head over to my article at Starpulse for more details. (When you read the section about Katie Lee, remember, this girl was married to Billy Joel a few years ago.  She is SO young and Billy Joel? Well, he's not.) The one thing I made sure to take a picture of was the sketches of the Governor's Ball staff's wardrobe.  It is incredibly detailed and it captures the entire Copacabana feel for the evening.  Afterwards, my romp through the red carpet was fun. I hope to have some more news to deliver tomorrow, but I will say this has been an incredible ride so far.  The only real stressful item of the week has been the credentials.  It is important for me to wear them at all times for security purposes, but we are not allowed to photograph them in any way. For the on-camera hosts, this presents a lot of challenges throughout the day.  You need to have it on, but not in view of the camera.  It always has to be the forefront thing on my brain before each shot and photograph.

Finally, come join me on my quick video on the red carpet.  You get a real inside look at how it feels to be in the middle of the chaos, construction and all.  I want to thank you all for your support and well wishes so far.  It means a lot to me since this is my Olympics and Super Bowl all wrapped into one.  I was also happy to make some time for my New Media friends tonight and reconnect since it has been ages since I have seen them all in one room.  Enjoy the video and I will see you tomorrow...only 2 more days!

Ironic sign given the fact that we are headed to the Food and Beverage Preview.

The sketches for the band members' wardrobe.

The men's costumes:  they are going for a Tito Puente feel.

How classic is this? The orchestra tuxes.

Did you miss yesterday's updates?  Click right here.