While stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett are sure to be front and center for this Sunday’s 79th Annual Academy Awards, those without their own billboards and $10 million paydays may find themselves stationed in front of the television.
However, some 600 lucky fans will get a much better taste of film’s biggest night a little earlier and a lot more close up ““ from the coveted bleacher seats at the Los Angeles Kodak Theatre.
UCLA alumna Stevie Lee Lundgren will join this group bright and early Sunday morning, as part of her job with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lundgren, a 2005 graduate with a degree in sociology and American Indian studies, has been helping to coordinate the Oscar bleachers through her position in the Academy’s marketing department.
Lundgren credits her time at UCLA as a major factor in her burgeoning professional success.
“I tried to be as involved as I could,” she said. “It’s helped prepare me for this.”
After attending Boston University to receive her graduate degree in marketing, Lundgren was hired by the Academy to help coordinate as well as prepare the lucky attendees for this momentous occasion.
“I never would have imagined that I could be here working on something like this,” Lundgren said. “It was an opportunity for me to really see what I could do. (It’s been) the most incredible experience.”
At first this job may seem like a breeze: pick the winners, shoot over an e-mail or two, and hope for the best. But when it comes to the Academy Awards, everything is on a much larger scale.
Before moving to the Kodak Theatre in 2002, hopeful bleacher fans simply had to camp outside the Shrine Auditorium for long days and even longer nights just to get a chance to sit on the red carpet.
However, with film geeks and celebrity fanatics all over the world vying for a spot, picking the guests has become an intricate process. While a little over half of the bleacher spots are awarded to various contest winners, the other 300 comes from a pool of over 15,000 applicants who apply online in the fall to win a spot for themselves and up to three of their family and friends. The 300 participants are randomly picked by an independent company and notified by early October.
“I think the show itself and the red carpet experience attracts people because it’s fun,” said Academy Associate Executive Administrator Mikel Gordon. “You get to go down and be with people who love the same things you do and scream and have fun like you’re a kid.”
While such a task may seem overwhelming, Lundgren only uses this word to describe her feelings about taking on this prestigious position. “It’s a combination of feelings; it’s exciting, overwhelming … it’s made me really want to go into this industry,” Lundgren said.
Lundgren isn’t the only fortunate one; bleacher fans are exclusively seated right on the red carpet, in addition to getting many other perks.
Every year, fans receive gift bags which include both necessities such as water and sunscreen as well as extra goodies from sponsors, including past gifts such as Kodak disposable cameras and Revlon cosmetics.
“The bleachers are right in the middle of where the show is being produced. (We) want to make sure it’s comfortable for everyone,” Gordon said.
After a long morning, fans finally get a chance to see their favorite A-listers up close and personal as they walk the red carpet to show off their attire and speak with the press. As the last celebrity dashes inside, these 600 people are then escorted across the street to the famous El Capitan Theatre to watch the ceremony live, an event organized by local station KABC.
One longtime bleacher attendee, 83-year-old L.A. resident Sarah Golden, has been a mainstay on the red carpet since 1986.
“The first time I went it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I had been laid off from my job and I figured, well, what have I got to lose,” Golden said. “It was very exciting to see everyone there.”
Golden is one of a select few who automatically receive tickets every year because of their long history as bleacher fans before this lottery system was inducted in 2002. She and other annual bleacher fans even formed an Oscar chat group so that they could keep in touch after the ceremony and coordinate outfits for their front-row spots. On Oscar day, they wear yellow.
During her years on the sidelines, Golden has gotten more than her handful of celebrity encounters including Chevy Case, Warren Beauty and Annette Benning, Will Smith, and last year’s Best Supporting Actor winner George Clooney.
“Everybody gets excited,” said Golden, who will be sharing this year’s festivities with both of her daughters. “I’m in the front row and I still take binoculars. It’s like wall to wall stars so you gotta look close.”
Because the bleachers have grown into such a highly touted privilege, bleacher fans get a small dose of the VIP lifestyle equal to their nominated counterparts. “You meet all kinds of people from this country and all over the world. They take pictures of us and the next morning it’s on TV,” Golden said.
The bleacher seats are beneficial to both these lucky celebrity on-lookers and the stars themselves. “Fans are a very important part of the energy of the show and provide a very celebratory feel for the red carpet,” Gordon said.
Though the red carpet is only the beginning of the Oscar festivities, it is in itself one of the most famous events of the evening.
“In the end, it will be great to see what I think will be a wonderful night,” Lundgren said.