BOSTON SPORTS DESK AT THE OSCARS

KEVIN HARRIMAN & TIM GUNN (PROJECT RUNWAY)

BY KEVIN HARRIMAN

Boston Sports Desk Publisher

HOLLYWOOD, CA – It was a crazy night to say the least. ! I didn’t know quite what to expect from the 83rd Oscars event held last night in Hollywood.  But I will say, I would never have imagined the level of excitement that the event generated. From the stars, to the guests, to the employees, everyone was celebrating.

The Boston Sports Desk was given access by The Academy to report from the event last night and I must say, it was an extremely well run event that involved thousands of security personel and Academy employees that made sure this night went off without incident.

Fashion was all around me. While not a big “fashion” person myself, I will admit that observing the sartorial statements being made was impressive. Long gowns and jewelry that dazzled were the norm. Red was the color of the night. The glitz of one celebrity after another was mind-numbing. This sea of who’s-who in the motion picture industry never seemed to cease.

When I arrived (late) for the event on Hollywood Blvd, I was greeted with a crazy visual of armoured assault vehicles and limos making their way to the event. L.A. Swat Teams were in place for the event and security was in high gear.

It was difficult to manuever through the event with your credentials being asked for what seemed like every 100 feet. But it was well worth it. Metal detectors at the entrance to the thearter were set up, but no one seemed to care about the time it took to navigate the maze. Everyone was here for a party. And a party is what they got !

At the risk of sounding too cliche, there were no losers here last night that I saw. This event culminated a year of work by thousands of people -both infront and behind the camera- who all finally exhaled last night in the form of one big-league bash.

I was able to meet and talk to a number of “A” and “B” List celebs last night along with a host of people who made this event shine. Stage designers, art designers, sound production people…they all came together and raised their glasses in celebration last night about mid-nite L.A. time for a job well done.

There were a number of questions raised by people I talked to last night. The biggest one was: “are you really from Boston and what is Mark Wahlberg really like”.  I’ve never met Mr.Wahlberg, but it didn’t matter to them, I was just  one of the media “celebrating” a great year in motion pictures.

Tim Gunn of Project Runway was one of the celebs that stopped by and talked to me. He was gracious and accomadeting. More than that, he was very polite and just laughed and winked when I asked him about my attire: my dad’s old blue blazzer, a pair of comfortable jeans, my polo shirt and BSD press pass.

Greatly under-dressed ? Yes. But did it matter to him? No ! This was just about having a fun night for me. Gunn agreed. “This whole night is just a special event and a special time”, said Gunn. “We’re all here to celebrate and congratulate one another for a job well done.”

I will say it was most interesting sitting next to Gunn and listening to his comments on the outfits being worn last night. His thought process was amazing. Most of it went right over my head, but the crowd around me certainly wanted to hear what he had to say.  The looks I got from the other media members was priceless.

“Who the hell is this guy from Boston Sports Desk and why is Tim Gunn actually hanging out with him ?” Priceless, I tell you.

KEVIN HARRIMAN & SUZANNE WHANG (HGTV, GENERAL HOSPITAL)

I was able to spend some time with Suzanne Whang and her boyfriend last night. The former HGTV Star and current caste member of General Hospital informed me that she is quite the Red Sox fan. Whang spent a number of years living in the Boston area, doing stand up commedy and a number of TV shows. She confided to me that she is in the middle of her second  book and has a number of projects coming up.

“I really enjoyed my time in Boston”, said Whang. “It’s such a great place. The Red Sox, Fenway, the Patriots, I really miss that. The people in the Red Sox front office were very good to me. I need to get back there.”

With any luck, I think I’m coming back to this party next year. This time, maybe I’ll even break down and get a Tux…..then again, maybe not !

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