SkiAdcock
Feb 17, 04, 4:47 pm
I’m not going to do a trip report on the flights to/from London, but will for the BAFTAs (British Oscars) & London Do. I’ll probably break it up into BAFTAs & then London Do cuz I’m not sure all will make it into one post.
BAFTA Awards
The BAFTA Film Awards were held at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on Sunday, February 15th 2004. I’m a voting member of BAFTA, and had already planned to be in London for Presidents Day Weekend. Because the U.S. Oscars were moved forward a month so were the BAFTAs, so for the first time I’d be in London when they occurred.
Normally there’s a ‘lotto’ among the members to attend (restricted primarily by seating at theatre I think), but because I was coming in from Los Angeles I was basically put on the list & didn’t have to go through the lotto bit.
I was staying at 47 Park Street (Marriott), which it turns out was a 90-second walk from where the post awards dinner & party were being held. The concierge at 47 Park Street emailed me a month ago to ask if I needed anything, and I asked him to set up a hair appointment for me the afternoon of the event. I could supply evening gown, fur, etc, but hairdressers are much better than me at doing my hair (could be because I take 5 minutes & they take an hour!). He did so at the Grosvenor House (which is where the dinner/party was being held), and the salon opened up just for me. So I did that, and then walked back/changed for the awards. For the women reading this, I wore a black St. John evening gown and looked fabulous (if I do say so myself!).
I had picked up the tickets the day before at BAFTA headquarters. In there they said the doors opened at 5pm & would close at 6:00pm, and to allow time to get there because there would be a lot of fans etc lining the streets, and no one would be allowed in past 6:00pm. Also, that cars & taxis had to display the enclosed card in order to be allowed into Leicester Square. So I decided better safe than sorry, and decided to arrive at 5:00pm.
Leicester Square was closed off to the general public by fences to hold back all the fans, and allow cars, taxis, & limos to arrive. On the street leading to the side of the square we had to enter by, there were a lot of fans already milling around. The police checked the pass, and then told the taxi to go into the square to the red carpet. There were a LOT of people lined up along the square/part that the cab drove through, and it's a bit strange to have them all staring inside to see if you’re a celeb that’s arriving.
The taxi dropped me off literally at the red carpet, and I walked down it. It was very fun & exciting but also daunting as it’s a lon-g-g red carpet & everyone is staring at you to see if you’re someone famous (alas, no screams of Sharon, Sharon). In addition to fans on both sides, there were a zillion paparrazi and tv crews. There were kleig lights plus lights sparkling over the red carpet.
At the entrance to the theatre you had to show your ticket to get in, and then they showed you to your seat. In its ‘normal’ life, the Odeon is a theatre like you go to to see movies. They shut it down for the event, and the stage now had mirrors, decorations for the show, and a big Barco screen on the stage (there were also 2 Barco screens set up high for those in the balcony). I was in the first balcony 4 rows up & center – good viewing with and without the Barco screens. At each seat where you normally would put your soda you buy at the theatre was a split of Moet Chandon champagne, bottled water, packet of trail mix & packet of gourmet chocolates, and a straw for the champagne. The seats have a leopard print on them.
The downside to actually arriving on time is that you have some time to kill inside the theatre, but they took care of that by actually broadcasting the red carpet & arrivals – so if I had been inside I would have seen myself walking down the red carpet! They had great music playing inside and watching the broadcast of the arrivals was fun. Holly Hunter showed up right after I did, and as time went on the red carpet got quite crowded w/ celebs (Emma Thompson, Alicia Silverstone, Paul Bettany, Scarlett Johansson, Jude Law, Bill Nighy, Naomi Watts, Benicio del Toro, Johnny Depp, Ian McKellen, Renee Zellwegger, Laura Linney, Joely Richardson, Billy Boyd, and a bunch of other ones I’m forgetting).
BTW – they told you up front that the theatre didn’t have a coat check, so I left the fur at the hotel. I was a bit chilly in my St. John, but all the female celebs wore sleeveless silk evening gowns & they were outside on the red carpet for almost an hour being interviewed & getting photos taken – they had to be freezing since it was about 40 degrees (F, not C).
The doors for regular folk probably closed at 6:00pm, but the celebs were outside until 6:30pm. Just before the broadcast someone came out & did ‘housekeeping announcements’ – ie, turn cell phones off, where to go post-show, winners please come on stage for photos post-show, open the champagne before the show starts so that ‘pop’s aren’t heard on the telecast, etc.
Stephen Fry was the host of the awards, and he’s fabulously funny. Great British humor (or should I say humour?), especially on the instructions to the winners – ie, don’t waste time hugging & French-kissing everyone, & sprint up to the stage so that the show could end on time. The first award presented was for Best Visual Effects (which is the area of the industry I work in) & I was quite thrilled when Lord of the Rings: Return of the King won. I’ve listed all the winners below (farther down). In America they just basically announce who the presenters are; Stephen did a funny bio on each before introducing them.
Also, one of his bits was that he didn’t see any of the shows but instead sent his mother & would read ‘her’ report just before he introduced the clips of each movie up for best picture; 'her' evaluations of the movies were quite funny.
Also, differently than the US, besides showing parts of the film (which is what we do here), they also showed some interviews w/ folk (stars, director, etc) as part of the presentation for each film.
Partway through the show, the Barco screen on the stage behind the host/presenters went on the fritz & they actually had to stop the show for 10 minutes to reset it (think that got edited out since BBC broadcast at 9pm & the show ended before then).
After the show ended, you went outside (they had people handing out chocolates in the shape of the BAFTA award) and headed to the busses. There were still a zillion fans & paparazzi outside. It sounds weird, but the bus thing (like you would have on a travel tour, not city busses) worked – they had 20 busses lined up to take 1,800 people to the Grosvenor House for the dinner & party. It was quite efficient & we were probably the best-dressed lot ever riding the busses! There were also fans & paparazzi at the hotel.
Before you were allowed into the hotel you had to show your dinner ticket. Then when you went down to the ballroom you had to show it again. They had waiters w/ champagne & hors d’oeuvres floating around serving. A lot of folk made a beeline for the bathrooms, and in the foyer outside the bathrooms they had make-up artists displaying the latest Lancome stuff.
The tables were beautifully decorated; each table had a different ‘theme’ that tied into the 5 best pictures. I was at a Lord of the Rings table, so the centerpiece was this large topiary type thing that had leaves like in Lothlorian running up it & then candles in a huge ‘ring’ at the top. Also, the plate chargers had different scenes from the movie. The Cold Mountain had a white tree branchy thing that had branches but no leaves and looked frosted. The Lost in Translation had a tree w/ Japanese things hanging from the branches, and so forth. Music was playing & everyone was in a good mood – and hungry since by that time it was close to 10pm.
Here’s the menu that was served (they had a vegetarian option too, but I’m just writing the main one).
Roulade of roast aubergine with crisp parsnip & kumquat served on a salad of lambs lettuce
Peppered rump of lamb with juniper dressing, rosti potato, cherry tomatores, mange tout and patty pan
Cassis parfait encased in a cone of fine white chocolate
Selection of British & Coninental cheeses
Filter coffee & petits four
Wines: Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc & Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon & Highland Spring still/sparkling mineral water
There was also a ‘goody’ bag that was a little light on the goodies but ok nonetheless at each seat. It had a huge program thing in it & a Burberry box. Burberry box had a pair of Burberry sunglasses & also a Burberry eyeglass case (the presenters & winners got a very nice goody bag worth a few thousand more $$).
After dinner, the party started. They had a dance floor w/ DJ, and two bars – one w/ exotic drinks & decorated very cool in a separate room. The other one a regular bar w/ wine, etc.
I did get to meet some of the celebs such as Emma Thompson, Paul Bettany, Joely Richardson & others, but didn’t speak long enough to say we’re best friends! I also had a nice couple from Scotland who now live in London sitting next to me, and now have 2 more people to visit when I’m in London as we got on quite well. I did congratulate Jim Rygiel who I know & who won the BAFTA for Best Visual Effects, and will see him tomorrow evening at the Visual Effects Awards in LA (which also happens to be my birthday!).
Oh yes, here are the winners of the evening:
Best film
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Best British film
(Alexander Korda award for the outstanding British film of the year)
Touching the Void
Best director
(David Lean award for achievement in direction)
Peter Weir - Master and Commander
Best actor in a leading role
Bill Murray - Lost in Translation
Best actress in a leading role
Scarlett Johansson - Lost in Translation
Best actor in a supporting role
Bill Nighy - Love Actually
Best actress in a supporting role
Renee Zellweger - Cold Mountain
Best film not in the English language
In This World
Original screenplay
The Station Agent
Adapted screenplay
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Carl Foreman Award
(for special achievement by a British director/producer/writer in their first feature film)
Emily Young - Kiss of Life
Short animation
Jojo in the Stars
Short film
Brown Paper Bag
Make Up & Hair
Pirates of the Caribbean
Visual Effects
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sound
Master and Commander
Editing
Lost in Translation
Costume design
Master and Commander
Production design
Master and Commander
Cinematography
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Music
(Anthony Asquith award for achievement in film music)
Cold Mountain
The BAFTA Fellowship was presented to John Boorman.
Edited to add: Will do the London Do part of the trip report next.
------------------
Sharon
[This message has been edited by SkiAdcock (edited Feb 17, 2004).]
BAFTA Awards
The BAFTA Film Awards were held at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on Sunday, February 15th 2004. I’m a voting member of BAFTA, and had already planned to be in London for Presidents Day Weekend. Because the U.S. Oscars were moved forward a month so were the BAFTAs, so for the first time I’d be in London when they occurred.
Normally there’s a ‘lotto’ among the members to attend (restricted primarily by seating at theatre I think), but because I was coming in from Los Angeles I was basically put on the list & didn’t have to go through the lotto bit.
I was staying at 47 Park Street (Marriott), which it turns out was a 90-second walk from where the post awards dinner & party were being held. The concierge at 47 Park Street emailed me a month ago to ask if I needed anything, and I asked him to set up a hair appointment for me the afternoon of the event. I could supply evening gown, fur, etc, but hairdressers are much better than me at doing my hair (could be because I take 5 minutes & they take an hour!). He did so at the Grosvenor House (which is where the dinner/party was being held), and the salon opened up just for me. So I did that, and then walked back/changed for the awards. For the women reading this, I wore a black St. John evening gown and looked fabulous (if I do say so myself!).
I had picked up the tickets the day before at BAFTA headquarters. In there they said the doors opened at 5pm & would close at 6:00pm, and to allow time to get there because there would be a lot of fans etc lining the streets, and no one would be allowed in past 6:00pm. Also, that cars & taxis had to display the enclosed card in order to be allowed into Leicester Square. So I decided better safe than sorry, and decided to arrive at 5:00pm.
Leicester Square was closed off to the general public by fences to hold back all the fans, and allow cars, taxis, & limos to arrive. On the street leading to the side of the square we had to enter by, there were a lot of fans already milling around. The police checked the pass, and then told the taxi to go into the square to the red carpet. There were a LOT of people lined up along the square/part that the cab drove through, and it's a bit strange to have them all staring inside to see if you’re a celeb that’s arriving.
The taxi dropped me off literally at the red carpet, and I walked down it. It was very fun & exciting but also daunting as it’s a lon-g-g red carpet & everyone is staring at you to see if you’re someone famous (alas, no screams of Sharon, Sharon). In addition to fans on both sides, there were a zillion paparrazi and tv crews. There were kleig lights plus lights sparkling over the red carpet.
At the entrance to the theatre you had to show your ticket to get in, and then they showed you to your seat. In its ‘normal’ life, the Odeon is a theatre like you go to to see movies. They shut it down for the event, and the stage now had mirrors, decorations for the show, and a big Barco screen on the stage (there were also 2 Barco screens set up high for those in the balcony). I was in the first balcony 4 rows up & center – good viewing with and without the Barco screens. At each seat where you normally would put your soda you buy at the theatre was a split of Moet Chandon champagne, bottled water, packet of trail mix & packet of gourmet chocolates, and a straw for the champagne. The seats have a leopard print on them.
The downside to actually arriving on time is that you have some time to kill inside the theatre, but they took care of that by actually broadcasting the red carpet & arrivals – so if I had been inside I would have seen myself walking down the red carpet! They had great music playing inside and watching the broadcast of the arrivals was fun. Holly Hunter showed up right after I did, and as time went on the red carpet got quite crowded w/ celebs (Emma Thompson, Alicia Silverstone, Paul Bettany, Scarlett Johansson, Jude Law, Bill Nighy, Naomi Watts, Benicio del Toro, Johnny Depp, Ian McKellen, Renee Zellwegger, Laura Linney, Joely Richardson, Billy Boyd, and a bunch of other ones I’m forgetting).
BTW – they told you up front that the theatre didn’t have a coat check, so I left the fur at the hotel. I was a bit chilly in my St. John, but all the female celebs wore sleeveless silk evening gowns & they were outside on the red carpet for almost an hour being interviewed & getting photos taken – they had to be freezing since it was about 40 degrees (F, not C).
The doors for regular folk probably closed at 6:00pm, but the celebs were outside until 6:30pm. Just before the broadcast someone came out & did ‘housekeeping announcements’ – ie, turn cell phones off, where to go post-show, winners please come on stage for photos post-show, open the champagne before the show starts so that ‘pop’s aren’t heard on the telecast, etc.
Stephen Fry was the host of the awards, and he’s fabulously funny. Great British humor (or should I say humour?), especially on the instructions to the winners – ie, don’t waste time hugging & French-kissing everyone, & sprint up to the stage so that the show could end on time. The first award presented was for Best Visual Effects (which is the area of the industry I work in) & I was quite thrilled when Lord of the Rings: Return of the King won. I’ve listed all the winners below (farther down). In America they just basically announce who the presenters are; Stephen did a funny bio on each before introducing them.
Also, one of his bits was that he didn’t see any of the shows but instead sent his mother & would read ‘her’ report just before he introduced the clips of each movie up for best picture; 'her' evaluations of the movies were quite funny.
Also, differently than the US, besides showing parts of the film (which is what we do here), they also showed some interviews w/ folk (stars, director, etc) as part of the presentation for each film.
Partway through the show, the Barco screen on the stage behind the host/presenters went on the fritz & they actually had to stop the show for 10 minutes to reset it (think that got edited out since BBC broadcast at 9pm & the show ended before then).
After the show ended, you went outside (they had people handing out chocolates in the shape of the BAFTA award) and headed to the busses. There were still a zillion fans & paparazzi outside. It sounds weird, but the bus thing (like you would have on a travel tour, not city busses) worked – they had 20 busses lined up to take 1,800 people to the Grosvenor House for the dinner & party. It was quite efficient & we were probably the best-dressed lot ever riding the busses! There were also fans & paparazzi at the hotel.
Before you were allowed into the hotel you had to show your dinner ticket. Then when you went down to the ballroom you had to show it again. They had waiters w/ champagne & hors d’oeuvres floating around serving. A lot of folk made a beeline for the bathrooms, and in the foyer outside the bathrooms they had make-up artists displaying the latest Lancome stuff.
The tables were beautifully decorated; each table had a different ‘theme’ that tied into the 5 best pictures. I was at a Lord of the Rings table, so the centerpiece was this large topiary type thing that had leaves like in Lothlorian running up it & then candles in a huge ‘ring’ at the top. Also, the plate chargers had different scenes from the movie. The Cold Mountain had a white tree branchy thing that had branches but no leaves and looked frosted. The Lost in Translation had a tree w/ Japanese things hanging from the branches, and so forth. Music was playing & everyone was in a good mood – and hungry since by that time it was close to 10pm.
Here’s the menu that was served (they had a vegetarian option too, but I’m just writing the main one).
Roulade of roast aubergine with crisp parsnip & kumquat served on a salad of lambs lettuce
Peppered rump of lamb with juniper dressing, rosti potato, cherry tomatores, mange tout and patty pan
Cassis parfait encased in a cone of fine white chocolate
Selection of British & Coninental cheeses
Filter coffee & petits four
Wines: Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc & Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon & Highland Spring still/sparkling mineral water
There was also a ‘goody’ bag that was a little light on the goodies but ok nonetheless at each seat. It had a huge program thing in it & a Burberry box. Burberry box had a pair of Burberry sunglasses & also a Burberry eyeglass case (the presenters & winners got a very nice goody bag worth a few thousand more $$).
After dinner, the party started. They had a dance floor w/ DJ, and two bars – one w/ exotic drinks & decorated very cool in a separate room. The other one a regular bar w/ wine, etc.
I did get to meet some of the celebs such as Emma Thompson, Paul Bettany, Joely Richardson & others, but didn’t speak long enough to say we’re best friends! I also had a nice couple from Scotland who now live in London sitting next to me, and now have 2 more people to visit when I’m in London as we got on quite well. I did congratulate Jim Rygiel who I know & who won the BAFTA for Best Visual Effects, and will see him tomorrow evening at the Visual Effects Awards in LA (which also happens to be my birthday!).
Oh yes, here are the winners of the evening:
Best film
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Best British film
(Alexander Korda award for the outstanding British film of the year)
Touching the Void
Best director
(David Lean award for achievement in direction)
Peter Weir - Master and Commander
Best actor in a leading role
Bill Murray - Lost in Translation
Best actress in a leading role
Scarlett Johansson - Lost in Translation
Best actor in a supporting role
Bill Nighy - Love Actually
Best actress in a supporting role
Renee Zellweger - Cold Mountain
Best film not in the English language
In This World
Original screenplay
The Station Agent
Adapted screenplay
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Carl Foreman Award
(for special achievement by a British director/producer/writer in their first feature film)
Emily Young - Kiss of Life
Short animation
Jojo in the Stars
Short film
Brown Paper Bag
Make Up & Hair
Pirates of the Caribbean
Visual Effects
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sound
Master and Commander
Editing
Lost in Translation
Costume design
Master and Commander
Production design
Master and Commander
Cinematography
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Music
(Anthony Asquith award for achievement in film music)
Cold Mountain
The BAFTA Fellowship was presented to John Boorman.
Edited to add: Will do the London Do part of the trip report next.
------------------
Sharon
[This message has been edited by SkiAdcock (edited Feb 17, 2004).]