Blake at the Oscars - Days 3 & 4

I’m sorry it has taken me so long to write something about our last two days at the Oscars. Things have obviously been rather crazy! 

Before I go any further, let me say that if you’re intrigued by the photo of Michelle Williams above, there are many more like it to come. David took some incredible pictures and I will post the link once they’re all online. 

Saturday morning was the official announcement of the winners of the competition. My dear friend Dennis Byrd picked me up from the hotel at 7 o’clock that morning and took me to breakfast in Hollywood, just what I needed to take my mind off things. Around 10 am, all three finalist teams were joined by Academy president Tom Sherak on the steps of the Kodak Theater.

This was it.

They replayed our videos, and before we knew it Tom was announcing that Luz and Phil were the winners of the competition. I felt nothing — maybe it hadn’t sunken in yet. We had a break after the announcement before our next event, so I went to my room to have some lunch and process things. I suddenly felt the disappointment I had expected before and was saddened that I had come so far only to receive this unfavorable news. But then something occurred to me: this was an incredible opportunity for Luz and Phil. I should be excited for them! And I’d already had a great experience, and I was certainly only in for more fun. Furthermore, I’m not a news person; I’m a film person. While I would love interviewing on the carpet because I love the awards, Luz would be able to build her reel with this footage to get better jobs and internships in the future. It makes sense that it should be her — I just needed a second to realize that fact. 

We reconvened and rode together to the Academy headquarters for the hair and makeup symposium. We watched clips from Barney’s Version, The Way Back, and The Wolfman, the three Oscars nominated films for makeup, and heard about the techniques used on them. Afterwards, we interviewed the nominees at a reception. After this bit of action, I was starting to feel better about things. When we returned to the hotel, we got a final glimpse of the Governor’s Ball setup and got to walk around at a dinner event that was going on there.

At the end of the evening, the 6 finalists all walked to a neat restaurant in Hollywood to eat and have drinks and talk. This is such a great group and I so enjoyed getting to know the others. After spending time together there’s no way I could see them as competition. 

On Sunday morning we got up early, I put on my tux, and I went down to the carpet to take pictures and shoot some footage. The tarps had been removed, the tents were down, and the red carpet finally looked like… well… a red carpet! Tim Gunn was down there rehearsing; international media and press were swarming; fans were already in the bleachers preparing for the evening. It was insane! We took some great pictures, and I truly enjoyed getting to be down there on the big day: Oscar day!

They kicked us off the carpet at 11, so we went back to eat lunch, change, and we returned in a couple hours to take our place in the cheering section on the red carpet. 

Once we got seated, David quickly realized that we were right behind Robin Roberts and ABC’s setup on the carpet. It was looking like we were going to be on TV after all! Turns out, we were right. Our friends and family were able to see us over Robin’s shoulder throughout the night! How neat!

Now, let’s talk about the carpet. Things started out slow, a few stars trickled in one by one. Melissa Leo, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Hudson… the BAM! Everyone started coming at once. It. Was. Insane. Within under an hour, we watched the likes of Cate Blanchett, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Steven Spielberg, Celine Dion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Penelope Cruz, Justin Timberlake, Annette Bening, Mark Wahlberg, and Natalie Portman walk the carpet, just to name a few. I feel like I saw everyone who’s anyone in Hollywood walk just feet in front of me! It was absolutely crazy. The crowd would ignite every time someone huge walked by. Things would quiet down, then all of a sudden you would hear, “SANDRA, SAN-DRA, WOOOOO!!!!!” Such an exciting, electric environment. We were right across from Luz and Phil’s MTVu station, so we watched as they snatched stars off the carpet to interview. So exciting! 

When the carpet quieted down and everyone went inside to the awards, we were ushered across the street to the El Capitan theater to watch the awards projected on the movie screen there. I snatched some peanut M&Ms and a Diet Coke and watched the awards unfold on ABC just like the rest of the nation. I just happened to be watching them in a theater right across the street from where they were actually happening. Surreal. 

This morning on the way to the airport I heard all of Luz’s phenomenal stories from last night. Besides interviewing, she and Phil got to be in the press room backstage and ask the winners questions along with the rest of the media. At the Governor’s Ball, she talked to Jeff Bridges, Anne Hathaway, Jessie Eisenberg, and Colin Firth, among others. She even called me to ask what she should talk to Annette Bening about, then took my question and used it after she hung up the phone. Such a sweat heart! I loved that she let me be a part of the night in that way. 

Overall, the experience was truly unbelievable, and I can’t imagine it being better, even if I had won. I will remember this journey to the Oscars for the rest of my life, even if I am lucky enough to go again one day.

Living my dream and chasing it every day,

Blake