It all started last year when I was declared the Grand Prize Winner of the 'Oscars Predict & Win' contest conducted by the Star Movies Channel. More info
here . The prize was a 2 nights & 3 days all expense paid trip to Los Angeles for me and a partner of my choice to attend the 85th Academy Awards on February 24th, 2013. For a cinephile like me, this was the ultimate dream coming true as I waited with bated breath for the big day. During this time I was able to plan and firm up my travel plan in the US which included Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. There was of course the vital and stressful process of getting a US tourist visa which thankfully went all right! Recommendation letter from the leading Television network in India and an invitation by the Academy was more than enough to ensure that there was no hiccup in the visa process. In fact, the US consular officer while granting the visa jokingly said "Have fun and wave for me at the Oscars!".
With regards to my partner for the trip, it was a toss up between my Mom and Dad. It was a difficult choice as Dad is a great connoisseur of world cinema and would love being at the Oscars. On the other hand, this would be Mom's first trip to the US. Thankfully, my non existent love life ensured that there were no additional candidates in the running. Eventually, the three of us agreed that it would be Mom who would accompany me to the trip.
The big day came on February 23rd when we packed our bags and left for Los Angeles on a comfortable but long Emirates flight clocking a total flying time of 21 hours. Flying west, we reached LA on the same day and our excitement got the better off any jet lag we were supposed to have.
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| Transit at Dubai International Airport |
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Emirates totally lives up to all the hype. Friendly and efficient crew, a decent food &
drinks menu to choose from and great in-flight entertainment options set you for
your journey. |
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| Descent to LA |
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| Mr. Obama will smile and welcome you at LAX provided the guys at Homeland Security think you aren't a terrorist. ;-) |
The weather in LA at 16'c / 5 'c was pleasant and similar to Delhi's weather in late Jan/early February. The cold winds from the Pacific made it a little chilly during the evenings. We left for our Hotel, The Hilton in Universal City which is around 45 kms from LAX. The day's agenda was to rest and plan for the big day and the highlight of the trip - The 85th Academy Awards! After a highly overpriced and average buffet dinner at the Hilton we went to sleep.
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| Hilton in Universal City Walk near the Universal Studio |
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| View from our room. |
24th February, 2013: The 85th Annual Academy Awards
We left Hilton early morning for the Dolby Theatre and reached the Hollywood & Vine Station from where we walked down the Hollywood Walk of Fame to reach the venue. The Academy had a dedicated team to look after the fans attending the red carpet. Overall, around 500 lucky fans from around the world had got a lifetime opportunity to attend the bleachers or the 'Oscar Fan Experience' as it is officially called. Here's the deal - one cannot buy these tickets as they're only given out through sweepstakes & contests. It's a money can't buy experience. The day was well planned out with the Academy making provision for breakfast, lunch and drinks to keep us comfortable as we waited for the stars to turn up at the Red Carpet.
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| The accreditation Card for the event. |
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| The hoarding at Hollywood Boulevard. 'Ready Seth Go' a reference to this year's host - Seth Macfarlane |
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| Reaching Dolby Theatre |
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| Mom & I entering the venue |
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| The arch welcoming us to the event |
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| Fan area outside the Dolby Theatre |
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| The El Capitan Theatre across the street |
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| ..and the stars would walk on the Red Carpet soon. |
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| Jennifer Lawrence who picked up the award for the Best Actress for her role in 'Silver Linings Playbook' |
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| Bradley Cooper nominated for 'Silver Linings Playbook' acknowledging the fans. |
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| Charlize Theron walking the Red Carpet |
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| Christopher Plummer who won the Best Supporting Actor last year making him the oldest actor to do so |
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| Tommy Lee Jones: Nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Lincoln |
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| Halle Berry walking the Red Carpet |
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| Christopher Waltz - A well deserved win for him for his incredible performance in 'Django Unchained' |
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| Anne Hathaway nominated for her role in Les Miserables |
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| Bryan Cranston : My favorite actor on television. He makes 'Breaking Bad' the best show on TV. |
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| The talented Amy Adams. |
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| Jennifer Garner |
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| Jennifer Anniston walking the Red Carpet |
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| A super performance by Adele later on. |
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| Q. Wallis - at age 9, the youngest nominee for Best Actress for her role in 'Beasts of a Southern Wild' |
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| The ladies went crazy when he came this close. |
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| The legendary Ang Lee who won Best Director for 'Life of Pi' |
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Doesn't get better than this: Dustin Hoffman. The moment of the
day was when I yelled "Dustin , Dustin" and the great man
looked at me and waved! |
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| Daniel Day Lewis aka Abraham Lincoln! |
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| Richard Gere |
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| Hugh Jackman |
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| Ben Affleck - Gave an amazing speech when 'Argo' was announced as Best Film. |
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| Quentin Tarantino who would later pick up an Oscar for Best Screenplay |
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Jessica Chastain - Best Actress nominee for her role in 'Zero Dark Thirty'. Really wanted her to win.
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| Posing with the Oscar statue after the event. |
The above pictures do only little justice to the experience that was the 85th Academy Awards. I was in awe of the legends who walked on Red Carpet one after the other. Not photographed but also seen at the Red Carpet were Steven Spielberg, Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas and the legendary Robert De Niro among others.
In the last 6 years, I have never missed watching the Academy Awards live on
television, getting up early on a Monday morning and reporting late to
college / office that day. Before the awards, the aim is to see maximum
number of nominated films and back my favorite films and performances.
But this day was different. I was seated right along the red
carpet and saw all the legends walk in flesh & blood from a couple of meters away. As the Oscars ended and I made my way back to the Hotel, I knew that I had knocked off the ultimate item on my bucket list!
Los Angeles: The City of Angels
Los Angeles is the mecca of showbiz. As I walked the streets of LA, I could feel the glitz & glamour the city is known for. Touring the US for the first time, my perspective of the
cities was based on their depiction in the movies. The spirit and beauty
of Los Angeles is well captured in films like Double Indemnity, Sunset
Boulevard, Pulp Fiction and LA Confidential and I could see various scenes from these films playing in the reel of my mind.
I had two days to explore LA. We shifted our base to a Hotel in Sunset Boulevard near Hollywood Walk of Fame as it got us closer to the hustle and bustle. We took the guided '
A Day in LA' tour which covers the length and breadth of LA. Major city attractions covered by the tour include Santa Monica & Venice Beaches, the best of Hollywood star homes, Hollywood Sign, Griffith park, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills.
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| Santa Monica Beach |
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| At Venice Beach |
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| Venice Beach Graffiti |
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| Hollywood Hills: Home of the Stars |
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| Tom Hanks' House |
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| Hillary Swank's House |
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| Ocean Drive |
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| Barbara Streisand's House |
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| Where the stars shop: Rodeo Drive |
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| Beverly Hills |
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| Outside the CBS Studios |
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| The Hollywood Sign |
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| Hollywood Boulevard |
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| Shop shutter art at Hollywood Boulevard |
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| Here's looking at you kid. |
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| Shop shutter art at Hollywood Boulevard |
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The last day in LA involved choices. Which studio tour to take? Should I go to downtown LA? Eventually, I decided to go to the world renowned Universal Studios. Notwithstanding the paucity of time on the last day, the trip to the Universal Studios was worth it. The Guided Movie Tour and the rides - Mummy Returns, Transformers and Jurassic Park were superb. It was like going back to the carefree days of childhood. All sorts of characters in the park made for some great photo-ops.
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| Universal Studio Entrance |
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| With Megatron ;-) |
I bid adieu to the city of Angels very content. I had seen the major parts of the city and done all the touristy things. Had I had more time on my hands, I would have preferred to unwind at the Venice Beach and visit some of the raved about restaurants. But then there's always a next time...
San Francisco and New York City were calling over the next 6 days. My excitement levels had not dipped one bit. More about my visit to these two cities in the next post.
