Friday, March 29, 2024

Oscars: Academy Members Can Switch Back to Paper Ballot, Governor’s Ball Gets Glitzy Preview

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You have to like people who are adaptable. Early this evening, the Motion Picture Academy announced that members who signed on for electronic voting online–and didn’t like it– can vote their final ballots on a regular old paper ballot. This will come as a relief to many older voters who struggled with the new system. For the Academy, it was a necessary and good try to move into the 21st century. Next year, people will be more used to it.

“One of our basic goals at the Academy is to increase member engagement.  Despite some challenges, more members voted for this year’s nominations than they have in the past several years,” said Academy Chief Operating Officer Ric Robertson in a statement.  “We are looking forward to a continuation of that trend in the final voting.”

Whew! With that episode over, the Academy introduced a lot of news about one of the best parts of Oscar night, the Governor’s Ball. Keep refreshing here. Details to follow…

Fun Facts About the Oscars Governor’s Ball:

Oscars Governors Ball
Ball Production by Cheryl Cecchetto / Sequoia Productions
Menu Created by Wolfgang Puck with Chef Partner Matt Bencivenga & Executive Pastry Chef Sherry Yard

 1,500 guests
 950 event staff
 350 culinary staff
 12,000 glasses for beverages
 4,000 small plates
 4,500 ramekins and verrines
 6,000 cocktail forks
 4,500 bamboo skewers
 4 different waiter uniforms totaling 344 specialty costumes designed for the ball
 1.78 million beads in the chandelier rings
 .45 miles of rope and tape light in the chandelier
 CNC Router has spent more than 530 hours cutting the curved shapes used on the décor elements including; laminate flooring, partitions, riser walls, stage plugs and the chandelier
 18,000 LED points of light in the chandelier
 More than 100 suspension points to hang the chandelier
 1,000 sheets of 4’ x 8’ of plywood
 28,000 square feet of ceiling fabric
 12,000 square feet of wall fabric
 Approximately 1,500 yards of assorted metallic damask, metallic silk with velvet trim, peau de soi and hand-embroidered confetti organza with metallic threads for table linens and pillows
 423 furniture pieces
 1,935 yards of fabric to recover furniture
 6.072 feet of metal used to fabricate 302 barstools
 60 feet glass creating custom round, square, rectangle and oval tables
 38 gallons of environmentally friendly custom paint
 2,100 man hours
Fun Food Facts
 6,500 wood fired Oscar shaped flat bread
 3,500 miso cones
 250 pounds troll-caught Atlantic bigeye
 17 whole us wild caught yellowtail
 1300 farmed oysters
 5 kilos American farm raised caviar
 600 Maine lobsters
 7,500 individual us shrimp
 250 pounds sticky rice
 30 gallons cocktail sauce
 50 whole yellowtail snapper
 25 gallons spicy mustard
 1,250 stone crab claws
 1,200 yukon gold potatoes
 200 pounds beluga lentils
 300 whole jidori chickens
 6,000 chestnut tortellini
 400 pounds Snake River Farms New York steak
 10 pounds white truffles from Alba, Italy
 10 pounds winter black truffles from Burgundy, France
 3,500 kombu chips (seaweed chips)
 2,500 caprese cones
 2,750 bacon wrapped dates
 4,500 pieces of truffle and parmesan grissini
 20,000 pieces of California grown micro greens
 6,000 pieces housemade mini brioche buns
 5,000 cage-free eggs
 200 quarts heavy cream
 200 quarts milk
 150 pounds organic sugar
 1,000 pounds of L’Etoile du Nord bittersweet chocolate
 30 pounds edible gold dust
 5,000 mini chocolate Oscars
 More than 80 local farmers for fruits and vegetables
 All fish and seafood SeafoodWatch compliant
 540 bottles 2007 Sterling Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
 540 bottles 2009 Sterling Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay
 2,280 Total bottles of Sterling Vineyards wine
 13,680 Total glasses of Sterling Vineyards wine
 1,824,000 – number of premium Sterling grapes to create the spectacular wines for the Oscar celebrations

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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