Old hands hone Oscar patter
2006-03-05 19:52
Los Angeles - Jack Nicholson, wearing his trademark shades, emerged from the wings to rehearse his lines for the 2006 Academy Awards.
He started reading the teleprompter, then stopped.
"Does anybody know where I'm sitting," he asked with a grin.
Nicholson and 30 other celebrities dropped by the theatre on Saturday to practise presenting and walking on the Oscar stage.
Some wore sneakers and sweats, others donned the shoes they planned to wear on Sunday night.
"This makes me so much more nervous," said actress Jessica Alba backstage, looking every centimetre the starlet in a slim black sweater and pleated white skirt. "I'm glad I wore the shoes though."
Alba practised her lines with co-presenter and Munich star Eric Bana. After their walkthrough, she had just one concern.
Making allowance for stilettos
"You might have to slow down a little," she said, teetering on tall black stilettos.
"I'll make time for the shoes," Bana replied with a smile.
Two-time Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman, in jeans, sneakers and a short-sleeved shirt, looked comfortable on the stage.
"First I want to say hello to my fellow actors, who are doing great work here today," he said, addressing an audience of nominee stand-ins. They exploded with applause.
Hoffman presented a pretend award, and two of the stand-ins came on stage to accept the gold-painted wooden Oscar.
"Dustin Hoffman just kissed me," said a thrilled Doreen Remo, who stood in for various nominated sound technicians during Saturday's rehearsal.
Levity was common among the star presenters.
Prison work-release programme
The always-smiling Will Smith, with his white ballcap on sideways, shook hands with stage manager Valdez Flagg, whom he first met 15 years earlier on the American Music Awards.
"Man, do they know you're out?" Flagg asked.
"Yeah, I'm here on the prison work-release programme," Smith joked.
Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep, who were to present an award together, were laughing so much they could hardly get through their lines.
When a screen meant to show film clips didn't descend on time, the actresses looked at each other and shrugged.
"Let's just act them out," Tomlin suggested.
Even first-time Oscar presenter Terrence Howard, nominated for best actor for his role in Hustle & Flow, put nerves aside to have a laugh.
He read the nominees in the category he'll present, then opened the decoy envelope.
"And the Oscar goes to... Terrence Howard," he said, flashing a 100-watt smile as he returned backstage.
"Be still my beating heart," one stand-in said as she passed the handsome actor.
J Lo drops the gum
Some stars were strictly business.
Uma Thurman, striking and statuesque even in street clothes, ran through her lines twice, then asked if she could have her makeup artist at the show.
Jennifer Lopez, who left a waft of perfume in her wake, got rid of her gum before taking to the Oscar stage.
Salma Hayek, wearing jeans and a black blazer, wanted to make sure her eyes were in the right place.
"I don't look at the people, I don't look at the screen, I just look at the cue cards?" she asked, questioning how the presentation would appear on television.
"If I don't like it, I'll spank you next year," she told stage manager Dency Nelson. He didn't look scared.
Nicole Kidman, elegant in a black pantsuit, donned glasses to read her lines off the teleprompter.
Rehearsals wrapped up
The teleprompter letters can be made larger, Nelson offered. But with the font-size maximized, Kidman still struggled.
"OK, I'll be memorising this," she said.
Nelson gave her a reassuring pat on the back.
"See you tomorrow, kiddo," he said.
And with that, rehearsals wrapped and the stars left the building. The next time they would walk the Oscar stage, it would be for real.
- AP