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An Oscar Kind of Day

My synagogue, Kol Ami  is less than a mile from the red carpet of the Oscars.  On Oscar Sunday today the limos are already lined up.  There are no parking signs outside the synagogue and the traffic is a snarl as Hollywood Boulevard is closed off to keep the Kodak Theatre and the stars and starlets and industry types in their own little world of glamour and ego!

West Hollywood and much of Los Angeles revolves around this night.  Restaurants close for private parties.All the hotel ballrooms have parties. Tents are erected for the post parties. And if you wanted or needed to rent a limo for a few hours-forget about it. There isn’t one to be had on Oscar Day.

Designers solicit the actresses months in advance so they can wear their clothes.  Same with high-end Jewelers.  Dressers and stylists and hairdressers have their biggest day of the year preparing the men and women who will attend!

The Oscars are the culmination of award season: The Golden Globes, the SAG awards, the Writer Guild and Director’s Guild hand out awards. Even the NAACP Image awards take place during this season! The golden Oscar statue  however is the epitome of making it in Hollywood.  

This town comes to a stand-still as everyone whether in the entertainment industry or not becomes a Vegas handicapper. Who will win best actress? What will be best picture?  Will this year’s Golden Globe winners also take the Oscar? 

This year there are some changes to the Oscars–no longer are there just five nominees in each category-but there are multiple films that got an Oscar nomination.  Seems to me another commercial ploy by the industry so that more films can advertise “Oscar nominated”. 

The Jewish community is waiting with bated breath to see if Quentin Tarantino’s fanciful film about an alternative version of World War II, “Inglorious Basterds” wins any of the categories nominated.  It has been nominated for 8 categories. This is Tarantino’s highest grossing film ever.

So stay tuned in for the festivities tonight on ABC. And somebody tell me who won.  I’ll be on a plane and attending the opening banquet of the Central Conference of American Rabbis conference.  I guess it is all just too close to home!