We had been told that there would be seating and audience “warm-up” by 5:00 am sharp. So it was that at 5:30 the doors opened. Just in case anyone was still unsure of what was about to happen, signs were helpfully posted for all to see as we entered the auditorium.
Once inside, the early hours and long wait were worth it. The entire theater was still set up exactly as it had been for the previous evening’s Oscar telecast, which had gone out live to an estimated audience of three billion.
Above and behind us balconies stretched up to dizzying heights. Somewhere up there a single golden Oscar statue was suspended in space.
Monitors tucked discreetly around he room showed Kelly and Michael, backstage scarfing down In ‘n Out hamburgers. (I later learned these had been sent over by the crew at Good Morning America.)
The Live crewmembers, for their part, were even a bit star-struck, and were taking advantage of any down time to take photos of each other in Oscar’s hallowed sanctuary. We learned at this time that while cameras and video recording devices were strictly prohibited, there was no prohibition on cell phones. I guess with a live broadcast there’s no sense worrying about spoilers.
On stage there was an almost constant shuffle of giant Oscar statues, which became more frantic as airtime approached.
Just as the people around me began wondering if we were to receive our warm up, and if it would be delivered by Live producer Gellman, Gellman himself took the stage. There was a thunderous round of applause for the familiar figure.
