Backstage at the Oscars: 2020
Oscar weathers the storm. Okay, so where am I? I’ve said it for nine straight year including eight in this space—there’s little more electrifying that when hit that plush Oscars burgundy carpet. Dreams are created here. Some are realized. Others are energized. It’s a throwback to old Hollywood. There’s nothing that can stop it. Not […]
Oscars Week 2020: My Picks
2019 Oscar winner Mahershala Ali during Saturday rehearsals. I wasn’t able to get the Las Vegas this year to double down on my incredible streak of picking Oscar winners. In sports gambling, they say if you pick sixty per cent winners, you’ll be rich. My success rate of picking winners? How about 57 out of […]
AD OF THE WEEK/MONTH/WHATEVER: Heinz Oscars Snub
Heinz ketchup has joined the growing list of stars who are frustrated with being snubbed at the Oscars. I’m not kidding here. After hundreds of appearances in movies, Kraft Heinz Canada has propelled a humorous campaign into social media and it left me wondering why I didn’t come up with this myself. With the Oscars […]
Mamba Mentality: The Random Cruelty of Losing Kobe Bryant
Sad and angry and thankful. That’s how I feel. First, the sad part: Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other souls perished in a helicopter crash yesterday. Kobe was only 41. I only met him twice—at an Academy Awards symposium and then backstage in the winners room when he subsequently won an Oscar for his […]
Oscars Week 2019: My Picks
This year I sent a little dinero to Las Vegas to bet on some of my Oscars picks. Why would I risk money here, you ask? Well, since you did, since I started covering the Oscars eight years ago, I have correctly selected 51 out of 61 in the major categories. At 83.6%, that practically […]
Managing Creatives
Okay, so where am I? I’m still recovering from the red carpet at the Oscars. Every year, for seven straight years, the photographers pit takes a little more from me. This year I may have brought back the flu bug from either the hundred or so camera clickers or the one of the beautiful people […]
Backstage at the Oscars: 2018
Okay, so where am I? I’ve been a little fidgety because the Oscars seem so late this year. I mean I can’t recall the last time the show was as late at March 4th. But today is where my dreams soar while I settle into my spot on the red carpet (which as you all […]
Reigning Queen of the National Beauty Scene
Sit down for this….it’s been over four years, since we spoke with Lola, aka Loni, aka the Reigning Queen of the National Beauty scene. Regular readers fondly recall the Brooklyn girl with enough positive energy to runneth your cup over many times. Now she’s back for another round… BACK STORY In 2009, I was on […]
Sky Zoos: Turkeys and Doggies and Pigs, Oh My!
Before we get into the AD OF THE WEEK/MONTH/WHATEVER, I want to note my quick disclaimer: I like dogs and animals. As a former pro bono contributor to the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) and a former dog and cat owner for thirty years, I like our domesticated four-legged creatures. But enough is enough… […]
Backstage at the Oscars: 2017
Okay, so where am I? It’s the last Sunday in February which can only mean that I’m walking the Academy Red Carpet (which is actually a burgundy shade) of the Academy Awards®, snapping pictures with my new Canon 70D and trolling backstage looking for juicy quotes and pictures for this annual report. Before I go […]