Sunday, February 25, 2007

Honorary Oscar - Ennio Morricone















It's Oscars day ! I've been up since 4:30am. I couldn't sleep. It's now 7am and I've spent the last few hours looking through several tapes of the weekend so far. There are already some great images and footage from interviews, and the big night has yet to start. Ennio Morricone (pictured) will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award tonight for his extensive work in film and becomes only the second composer to win such an award. He is most recognised for the Spaghetti Western classics like The Good The Bad and The Ugly and composed the music for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies.

The helicopters are circling over the hotel where I am at the moment and the sun is casting some nice shadows over the otherwise garish Egyptian facade of the Hollywood and Highland centre which encompasses the Kodak Theatre and the Renaissance Hotel. The red carpet area has around 50 stands paid for by film companies broadcasting live and their extensive preparations have been going all weekend. The stage manager was kind enough to allow me to film one of my interviews on one of them.

The entrance where the limousines arrive has been constantly mobbed in the run up, and this is expected to be where the most crowds will be tonight. There are several other exclusive outlets around the hotel and the pool area which have a great vantage point, however these have been closed of for security purposes.

So, it's an anything can happen kind of day. Guerilla filmmaking in action. I already have enough footage for "Making It In Hollywood", to tell the story I wanted to tell, but it would be nice to get a bit of footage of the Brits like Helen Mirren, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Peter O'Toole or young James McEvoy.

Enjoy the Oscars tonight wherever you are. It's been a fantastic weekend and I'm coming home tomorrow delighted that I made the journey over here. The people I've met have been incredibly helpful and supportive of the filming I've been doing, and I have a significant story to create on film on my return. Not one that will be over and done with at the end of the Oscars, but one that will provide actors, directors, presenters, press and movie lovers some great moments which will be watched online for many years.

"Making It In Hollywood".......(part 1?)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Douglas,

Have great fun there. It's a "Once In A Lifetime" event for everyone.

Hey, you are covering HOLLYWOOD at the OSCARS!

Please accept my humble compliments!

William