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