Notes From The Field: The Red Carpet

March 10, 2014

By Cheryl Katz

Twenty bucks is a small price to pay to watch the Academy Awards at Laura and Arthur’s tony apartment. Not only is the dinner beforehand a catered affair, the dessert—served while the winners are being announced—is a chocolate bombe in the shape of—you guessed it—the golden statuette. And that twenty bucks? It gets you a chance to vote for the night’s big winners in each of the Oscar categories.The lucky guest who gets it right, leaves with the pot. (And even those years when the pot is split two or three ways, given the number of guests—upward of forty—that’s not nothin’.)

As thrilling as the awards ceremony is, at least for us movie junkies, it’s nothing compared to the pre-show, that moment when we see our favorites parade down the red carpet in all their sartorial splendor. At Laura and Arthur’s house, unless there’s a particularly touching or highly political acceptance speech, it’s the only time that conversation comes to a complete halt.

And so it only seems fitting that my blog post this month be an homage to that moment. Herewith, the nominees for the best red carpet. Every one’s a winner.