Oscar.

I'm back from sunny LA after attending the Academy Awards on behalf of Kathy Hill and Close Up Film. This is the year 'Slumdog Millionaire' swept the board earning Danny Boyle and his team a well deserved Oscar - hurrah! Access to the red carpet area was approved just as the big one was being set-up. Monitors, screens, robot cameras and even a stand-in (or six) sat, chatted or helped themselves to all the cigarettes they dared smoke while waiting for their call. Overcast with occasional showers and of course, warm, red carpets tend to run in the rain (remember the BAFTA's?) and that stayed covered to protect it from the inevitable. This is me looking around, wearing shades (du jour even in the rain), waiting for a famous face (none that day-TV only) and gagging for a Starbucks. I found two, the best one right beside Bob Hope!