A dream of mine ever since I was little was to be an Oscar winning actress. So here I am in California pursuing my acting dream and while being invited to the Oscars is a dream of mine I decided that until that day comes going to the red carpet would be the next best thing. I had just moved back to California in January of 2012 and decided to check the internet to find out how I could go to the red carpet for the Oscars. I quickly learned that the Oscars website held a lottery drawing for the red carpet every fall and that you would get two tickets if you were selected.
I was certainly bummed that I had not thought to check on this sooner but decided to make a note on my calendar to start checking the Oscars website daily in September of 2012 so that I would not miss out on my chance to attend. I was so excited when the sign up page became available and saw that the Academy had posted that the previous year more than 20,000 people submitted for tickets and only around 700 were selected. Now some people might look at those odds and decide not to waste their time submitting for tickets that they were not likely to win. You cannot win unless you enter and they have to pick someone so I submitted to see what would happen.
One day in November 2012 I was checking my email and saw that I had an email informing me that I had been selected to attend the Oscar Fan Experience on the Red Carpet at the 85th Academy Awards and a private viewing party after the arrivals. I remember screaming with excitement and jumping up and down! I was able to bring a plus one and invited my friend Hollie whom I had met during my time as a theatre major in college. When the day finally arrived we drove to Hollywood very early in the morning. In the information email we had been told that check in would begin at 8am and since I know traffic in Los Angeles in unpredictable I did not want to be late.
We checked in, got our credentials, our swag bag which included some great goodies and went off to find our seat. Now you may be thinking 8am? I thought the red carpet arrivals start in the afternoon. Well the arrivals of the stars do not happen until the afternoon but starting early in the morning the press and others come to the red carpet to begin work on making the red carpet an unforgettable experience. Having all of the fans in the bleachers before any of the chaos starts is one less thing for them to worry about. We were provided with plenty of food and water and had enough going on to keep us entertained.
Two men were walking through the bleachers looking for fans to interview and I volunteered which was really fun. I talked about how I had been a fan of the Oscars for a very long time and was thrilled to be at the red carpet. After lunch we were invited to take individual pictures holding a real Oscar which was an incredible moment for me. My dream is that the next Oscar I hold will be one that as my name written on it. Hollie and I took pictures of us with the red carpet in the background and then got situated to get ready for the arrivals of the stars.
One of my favorite moments was getting to pose with an Oscar
I enjoyed getting interviewed about the experience.
Patiently waiting for the stars to arrive at the 2013 Oscars Red Carpet.
Once the stars started arriving I could not contain my excitement! It was hard to believe that I was actually at the red carpet of the Oscars seeing some of my favorite stars. The bleachers that I sat in were close to the entrance of the Dolby theatre and directly across from the entrance to El Capitan. In front of El Capitan on the red carpet was a stage in which a gentleman was interviewing as many stars as possible for the fans which was great for us because it was an interview that we could actually hear. Not all of the stars stopped, some who were presenting needed to make their way inside but most of those stars at least stopped for a moment to wave to the fans. I was able to take wonderful pictures of the most of the stars who stopped on the stage for interviews.
Watching the stars walk the carpet, interact with their fellow actors and costars was incredible. Everywhere I looked I saw famous actors and actresses and as it got closer to show time it the carpet became fuller and much harder to see who all was on the carpet. I won’t say their names but out of all of the stars on the red carpet only two did not pay any attention to the fans in the bleachers. I am so grateful that I was able to be there and that I got to see so many incredible actors, actresses, directors and so many others in this talented industry. Some of my favorite stars that I saw were Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Affleck, Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Aniston. If I were to name all of the stars I saw you would be reading this post for a very long time.
Once it was time for the show to start we were escorted from the bleachers across the red carpet (I am thrilled to be able to say I walked on it) to the El Capitan theatre for a private viewing party with dinner. Unfortunately, we were led across the carpet at an extremely fast pace so I was not able to stop and take a picture of me on the carpet but I did take a picture of the entrance to the carpet as we walked. The viewing party was really fun, we were fed well and El Capitan was an incredible location to watch the show at. I am forever thankful to the Academy for allowing me to be apart of such an amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life! Below the pictures I will provide information that could potentially help you have this same unforgettable experience.
In 2012 all that you had to do to try and go to the red carpet was to fill out an information form on the Oscars website. In fall of 2013 it was announced that for the 2014 show they would be picking their biggest fans on social media. I followed the Academy on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and did as much interaction as I could. Then they had daily contests where you would need to do things like write an acceptance speech for an oscar, etc. This last year I saw nothing mentioned about picking fans from social media and both my mom & I put in for red carpet tickets and were not selected. However I will continue to try because I would love to share the experience with my mom. If you would like to attend I recommend that you start checking the Oscar website daily. If you use social media follow the Academy so that you can stay up to date on any information that they might release about being a fan in the bleachers. It will be a long shot but if it happened to me it could happen to you!
In the fall start checking the Oscars site daily: http://www.oscars.org
Follow The Academy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAcademy
Follow The Academy on Instagram: https://instagram.com/theacademy/
Like the Academy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAcademy?ref=br_tf
Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/lovemichelle89