I've never been to the Academy Awards Governors Ball itself, but I have been to the next-best thing—the annual press preview that event producer Sequoia Productions hosts for the media.
The Oscar ceremony is Sunday night, but last week I and a host of other lucky reporters got a glimpse of what the glitterati will enjoy. Think innovative open seating. Picture a 24-foot dessert bar from Wolfgang Puck Catering. Imagine an "Oscar in 3D" dessert—honest—from pastry chef Sherry Yard.
You can see our recap of the preview here.
It's exciting—and a bit unnerving--to be in the room with all the big-boy reporters, such as CNN, "Good Morning America" and the like. If you happen to be standing someplace they want to be standing, they will just move you out of the way. And fast.
And it's amazing to see reporters from all over the world there. I have heard reporters and their camera crews speaking German, Japanese, Chinese, Italian. This year, a gorgeous reporter from a Korean news outlet was prepping one of the Wolfgang Puck catering chefs—who looked to be a second-generation Korean-American—for his on-camera interview. "And can you say a few words in Korean?" she asked him earnestly. He looked a little doubtful. "Just a couple?" she asked.
The whole world comes to see what the special event professionals will create for the Governors Ball. It's always our industry's time to shine.