\nBy The designer frocks are ready and the glitzy limousines are booked, but one thing on the mind of every star preparing for Sunday\u2019s 83rd Academy Awards is where they will sit at the ceremony.<\/p>\n Fragile egos have been known to be reduced to tears if they\u2019re not happy with their placing \u2014 but another cause of angst is who they are\u00a0 seated near.<\/p>\n Close proximity to rivals and ex-spouses is a\u00a0 no-no \u2014 just imagine what would happen if Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were to be put next to Jennifer Aniston.<\/p>\n Rivals: Seating plans have to be carefully organised to assure ex-spouses are not close to each other and stars’ fragile egos are not damaged by where they sit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As one insider says: \u2018It\u2019s like organising the seating plan for a wedding where some family members have issues with each other. Except you have to quadruple the stress and factor in the massive egos.\u2019 <\/p>\n The late Otto Spoerri devised the protocols that are still used today.\u00a0<\/p>\n From 1980 to 2002, as controller of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Spoerri was responsible for orchestrating the seating arrangements for the 3,100 Oscar attendees.<\/p>\n He had a couple of rules as far as seating went: never place nominees together (\u2018You don\u2019t want to see a sad face next to a happy face\u2019) and to put nominees as close to the aisle as possible so they could dash to the stage to collect their award.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hailee Steinfeld, 14, is this year\u2019s youngest Oscar nominee. She\u2019s up for Best Supporting Actress\u00a0 for True Grit.<\/p>\n Along with Tatum O\u2019Neal, aged ten in 1974, and Anna Paquin, aged 11 in 1994, Hailee is one of\u00a0 the youngest-ever nominees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And in 22 years, he made just one slight slip-up \u2014 seating volatile actress Sean Young close to James Woods, after Woods had just ended their relationship.<\/p>\n People around them said the atmosphere was frigid: \u2018I figured out not to do that any more,\u2019 Spoerri later remarked.\u00a0<\/p>\n He died three years ago, and now the seating is organised by the Academy\u2019s Director of Membership, Kimberly Roush.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, one potential hazard was a possible clash between two ex-spouses, James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, both up for Best Director.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Kimberly says she needn\u2019t have worried \u2014\u2018they kissed and were the best of friends\u2019.<\/p>\n The ceremony lasts for several hours and many of the speeches are interminable, so\u00a0 not every member of the audience has the stamina to sit through everything without needing a break.<\/p>\n As the organisers don\u2019t want empty seats to be shown when the cameras pan across the auditorium, they recruit 100 seat fillers. Their job is to slip into the empty seat until the guest returns. The fee is around \u00a3125, and they have to supply their own tuxedos.\u00a0<\/p>\n Joshua Crouthamel, a 31-year-old travel editor, was hired one year, and recalls the precision with which the job had to be done: \u2018We were given a lecture by a very scary woman. <\/p>\n Extras: The organisers employ around 100 seat fillers to assure that the auditorium does not look empty when people leave their seats for a break during the ceremony<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018There was a lot of shouting and we were told the rules: don\u2019t speak to anyone unless they speak first; no waving at the cameras; do not exude any hint of personality. We had to crouch in the background or fold ourselves into the side curtains so we were out of sight.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Seat fillers were also forbidden to take toilet breaks, but Joshua needed to make a quick dash to the gents: \u2018I found myself next to a man who said he was enjoying his night \u201capart from all the getting up and down\u201d, so I assumed he was a seat-filler, too. I asked him if he had got any good ones so far \u2014 meaning star sit-ins \u2014 and he said yes, one or two.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018I then told him that I\u2019d almost done Nicole Kidman and was waiting to do Orlando Bloom. He looked at me strangely \u2014 and then I realised he was Elijah Wood. He\u2019d been up and down getting Oscars for Lord Of The Rings. I blurted out: \u201cYou\u2019re not a seat-filler \u2014 you\u2019re a Hobbit.\u201d He made his excuses and left.\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s due to be rolled out today. <\/p>\n The carpet stretches for 500ft along Hollywood Boulevard, which has been cordoned off since last Monday.<\/p>\n The nylon carpet is dyed a special shade called cayenne, which looks burgundy up close but shows up a brilliant red on TV. It is treated so that the dye doesn\u2019t rub off on to the stars\u2019 shoes.<\/p>\n The swathe of material is 33ft wide and consists of several sections, each weighing 300lb. A team of 25 spend two days fixing it in place and ironing every seam so that no one trips up.<\/p>\n A layer of clear plastic is then used to cover the carpet until the live broadcast, and any leftover remnants are collected by one of the team of carpet fitters at the end to ensure that no nimble-fingered fans can sell them on eBay. The carpet is changed every two years (this is a new carpet year). <\/p>\n Once the ceremony has finished, the carpet will be returned to a Californian warehouse, where the crew will spend around ten days cleaning it for the following year\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n Dead cert? It would be seen as a big surprise if Colin Firth did not take the Best Actor award on Sunday for his role in The King’s Speech<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The British really are coming this year \u2014 and we\u2019re likely to win. The award for Best Picture may have ten nominees, but it\u2019s a two-horse race. <\/p>\n Until recently, The Social Network was hot favourite as the finest film to have come out of the U.S. for years \u2014 but now the Oscars electorate seems to be preferring the feelgood charm of The King\u2019s Speech, so a British winner is a strong possibility.<\/p>\n And the other British winners? It would be a surprise if Colin Firth (pictured) did not win Best Actor \u2014 partly for The King\u2019s Speech and partly because he was widely regarded as an unlucky runner-up for the award last year when he was nominated for A Single Man. <\/p>\n Welsh-born Christian Bale is favoured to win Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Fighter \u2014 although there appears to be a late surge in support for Aussie Geoffrey Rush. If he wins Best Supporting Actor, it will be a sign that The King\u2019s Speech is going to win Best Picture. <\/p>\n Helena Bonham Carter has a better than outside chance of winning Best Supporting Actress for The King\u2019s Speech. However, the U.S. vote is likely to go to either Melissa Leo for The Fighter or young Hailee Steinfeld, for True Grit. <\/p>\n Natalie Portman is a near-certainty to win Best Actress for Black Swan, though Annette Bening will give her a close run for The Kids Are All Right.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a possibility that a Brit will win Best Documentary Feature. The favourite must be Charles Ferguson\u2019s masterly analysis of the global economic crisis, Inside Job. But our very own Banksy has his admirers for Exit Through The Gift Shop and I have a feeling that Lucy Walker\u2019s Waste Land will appeal to many with its celebration of the Brazilian poor. <\/p>\n As The King\u2019s Speech may be about to prove, the Academy Awards electorate love a movie that makes them feel warm inside. America has fallen head over heels in love with a monarch conquering his stammer.<\/p>\n When actors Anne Hathaway and James Franco (pictured left) were announced as the hosts of this year\u2019s Oscars, the main response was: why?\u00a0<\/p>\n Well, last year\u2019s experiment to feature two hosts (Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin)\u00a0 went down so well that the Academy has\u00a0 opted to do the same this year.<\/p>\n Hard act to follow: James Franco and Anne Hathaway will co-present the ceremony, following the two host experiment that went down well last year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And as two of the youngest ever hosts (Hathaway is 28, Franco 32), the organisers are hopeful they will introduce the Oscars to a much-needed younger audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n Well received: Whoopi Goldberg was seen to delivery a good performance when she presented the show <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Usually the gig is handed to comedians such as Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Chris Rock or Whoopi Goldberg (pictured right), who have tended to do well as hosts (Billy Crystal presented the awards ceremony eight times). Steve Martin is also an old hand with the Oscar crowd. His best gag was: \u2018Hosting the Oscars is like making love to a beautiful woman \u2014 it\u2019s something I only get to do when Billy Crystal\u2019s out of town.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Talk show host David Letterman presented the Oscars in 1995 and is still trying to live it down.\u00a0<\/p>\n Joking about the unusual first names of Uma Thurman and Oprah Winfrey, Letterman\u2019s gag where he introduced the two women to each other (\u2018Uma \u2014 Oprah! Oprah \u2014 Uma!\u2019) baffled the audience into silence. <\/p>\n And Whoopi Goldberg, who hosted the Oscars in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002, commented: \u2018Hosting the show is a no-win.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Hathaway and Franco certainly have a hard act to follow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Behind every witty speech and topical one-liner, there\u2019s a team of writers. Between them, Hal Kanter, 92, and Buz Kohan, 77, have helped create more than 50 Oscar ceremony scripts and worked with hosts including Bob Hope, Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal.<\/p>\n Buz says: \u2018The host generally has his own staff of people who are responsible for his material, including the opening monologues.\u2019 There is another team of writers who are then responsible for the rest of the show.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Buz says: \u2018Some actors are not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. They don\u2019t know what words such as \u201cindoctrinate\u201d mean and some want to pre-record their segments. Occasionally, presenters have turned up drunk.\u2019 <\/p>\n On one occasion, an Oscar-winning director and a stunning, dark-eyed actress were due to present an award together and showed up at the rehearsal to go through their lines.<\/p>\n \u2018She was happy with her lines, but he wasn\u2019t and so he asked for a private room so that they could alter the script. They came out three hours later with the script only slightly changed,\u2019 says Buz. What had they been doing for three hours? \u2018I have no idea.\u2019<\/p>\n Every year, the Academy publishes a list of films from which the 5,755 voting members select their top five choices in each category. <\/p>\n You can only vote in your category (actors can only vote in acting categories; cinematographers vote for cinematography) but everyone gets to vote for Best Picture.<\/p>\n The Academy introduced a big change to last year\u2019s Oscars by increasing the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten. <\/p>\n Until the winners\u2019 envelopes are opened on live TV, only two men know the results: accountants Rick Rosas and Brad Oltmanns, who count the votes. \u2018We are given an armed security guard,\u2019 says Rick. \u2018It\u2019s great fun \u2014 how many other accountants get to walk down a red carpet and to cheers?\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
\nLina Das<\/a>
Last updated at 11:40 PM on 24th February 2011<\/p>\nWho sits where<\/h2>\n
OSCAR OUT TAKE<\/span>
<\/h3>\nThe sit-ins!<\/h2>\n
![\"Extras:](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/4b830075162_468x329.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHollywood’s Magic Carpet<\/h2>\n
Chris Tookey’s predictions<\/h2>\n
![\"Dead](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/e130cb72294_233x456.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMaking Whoopi!<\/h2>\n
![\"Hard](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/b0d62f75470_468x739.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Well](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/1018a93f713_235x353.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe star jokers<\/h2>\n
Bean Counters
<\/h2>\nExplore more:<\/h3>\n
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