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Friday, November 13, 2015

Oscar Watch: Pre-Award Parties

Every evening, in and around L.A., cocktail parties are now the norm.  'Friends' of those being considered for an Oscar nomination front these informal affairs, of usually from 40-80 guests, so as to tout the efforts for the award contenders - who mill around the crowd, back-slap, glad-hand, answer questions, and remind Guide and Academy members about how good their 'work' was.

Sometimes (if the hosts is well-heeled enough to have a screening room in their home) the cocktail infused guests are provided a presentation of the 'work' , which they may not have seen as yet.

November brings on a tsunami of these 'get-togethers', which number into the hundreds each week and timed so the Academy and Guild guests can zip from one party to the next.

It's not so much that the blockbusters need this kind of 'pitch', it's the smaller, lesser-known movies that need booze and elbow-rubbing to gin-up support.  A veteran awards consultant (who asked to remain anonymous) told CMG, "Voters are people, and they vote with emotion. Events like these where you screen the movie and then let people meet the talent behind it forms a connection with voters.  It makes it personal. And if it's personal, then maybe they'll remember it when they vote."

Ah .... to just have to worry about which party to attend every night for weeks on end.  To be wined and dined, to hobnob with Hollywood's elite - rubbing elbows with 1-percenters (ok, 10-percenters).
Ah .... the good life of entertainment.

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