Oscar says ‘bring own sandwiches’

20/02/2009

Credit crunches, lay-offs, economic downturn, and deep recessions are all themes that Hollywood will happily embrace as part of a plot line – but not one that sits easily on the night of the annual Oscar-awards. Consequently, the advice has gone out to would-be party-givers and hosts to cut back and not be seen as having too much expensive fun.



Quite what this means for this year’s celebrity Goody Bags, themselves notorious for largesse and excess, is yet to be seen. The Academy Awards happen this coming Sunday evening in Los Angeles.

"You want to celebrate nominations but at the same time be respectful of the fact that a lot of people have lost jobs, and it's a bad economic climate," said one studio exec involved with event planning, and quoted by trade mag Variety. "You want to have an appropriate level of celebration without being ostentatious."

There are plenty of signs that event producers are genuinely cutting back. The Motion Picture & Television Fund bash on Saturday night at the Beverly Hills Hotel has already said ‘no gift bags’.

There are also reports that the number of parties are down, or are much more modest affairs. Oscar night itself still has four core ‘triple AAA’ events (The Governors Ball, Vanity Fair’s party, the Elton John annual AIDS fund-raiser, and a bash hosted by Madonna and Demi Moore). Vanity Fair says it has cut its guest list considerably, as have Madonna & Demi Moore. Elton John has cancelled his post-awards party, says Variety.