Las Vegas Weekly

March 5, 2010 · 10:28 AM

Photos: Behind the scenes, on the red carpet, in the front row with Oscar.com

By Robin Leach

Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin are hosting the 2010 Academy Awards on ABC on Sunday, March 7.

Photo: Bob D'Amico/ABC TV

If Hollywood’s top executives pull it off, you will have not only “a front-row seat at the Oscars” on Sunday, but you also will be “walking the red carpet” with all your favorite stars. It’s all thanks to modern technology and the ability of the Internet to be so interactive.

Master magician and Monte Carlo headliner Lance Burton, Harrah’s headliner Mac King and other Las Vegas stars will have their own red carpet at the Variety Children’s Club charity fundraiser simultaneously here at The M Resort. Steve Martin returns as host for the Hollywood ceremony along with Alec Baldwin making his Oscar debut.

With Hollywood’s most celebrated night just two days away, Oscars.com, the official site for the 82nd Academy Awards, will provide movie fans with an interactive red carpet experience through Facebook Connect. On Sunday from 3-5 p.m. PT, Oscar.com will offer a live streaming event from the Oscars’ red carpet, giving fans an opportunity to connect with nominees, presenters and performers as they make their way into the awards.

During the two-hour event, fans can submit questions and comments in real time to be shared with the stars live via Oscar.com’s Facebook Connect application. Viewers also will be able to see what fans are saying about the festivities and share their comments on Facebook. The streaming red carpet event will be hosted by Lisa Guerrero and Brett Chukerman, along with Modern Family star Rico Rodriguez, who will be reporting from the red carpet bleachers.

Oscar.com throughout Sunday evening also will feature special backstage coverage, including exclusive video footage from the backstage cam; the thank you cam, which allows Oscar winners an extended opportunity to thank their supporters after they’ve left the stage; and the press room cam, featuring winners in the press area after they leave the stage.

Visitors to Oscar.com will be able to participate in the game Oscars Play Along that offers fans a chance to test their Oscar prediction skills, choosing category winners ahead of the opening of the envelopes and answering trivia questions. The game will provide leader board updates and up-to-the-second opinion polls.

Additionally, the site has rolled out the original Webisode series Road to the Oscars. Hosted by Chris Harrison of The Bachelor, the online series covers the special events leading up to the Academy Awards, as well as features news updates, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.

Photo: Wayne Bernath

Lance Burton.

The Academy Awards will be presented from Hollywood’s Kodak Theater and televised live by ABC in more than 200 countries. The pre-show focuses on the red carpet arrivals, interviews and fashions. The View co-host Sherri Shepherd teams with Entertainment Weekly Managing Editor Jess Cagle and supermodel Kathy Ireland as hosts for the pre-show.

Vegas DeLuxe will have photos from Hollywood and our Las Vegas Oscar event, and then the movie industry picks up en masse and heads for the Paris and Bally’s here next week for ShoWest, the largest annual convention for movie theater owners worldwide. Many stars from the celluloid center of the universe will attend ShoWest for awards and first-time screenings of movies that will be released this year -- all hoping for Oscar recognition 12 months from now!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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