And the Winner Is--YOU

Academy Award nominees Angelina, Chloe, Hilary and Annette are already booked this weekend. They’ve got the Friday night pre-Oscar parties, the last-minute dress fittings, television interviews, Saturday afternoon pre-Oscar parties, stylist appointments, Saturday evening pre-Oscar parties, hair appointments and more, all before that Sunday afternoon stroll down the red carpet.

But what about rest of us who aren’t lucky enough to be one of the 5,500 people who’ll be watching from their seats inside the Shrine Auditorium? Can regular Angelenos partake in any of the Oscar derby fun? Certainly. Whether you want to see real, live movie stars, Academy Award-nominated documentaries or just watch the big awards with other fun folks, there’s something for almost everyone this weekend.

I Wanna See Stars!

For some movie fans, there’s no substitute for getting bleacher seats alongside the red carpet and watching the ultimate celebrity fashion show in person. This year, in addition to all the nominees, expect to see presenters Gwyneth Paltrow, Jane Fonda, Cameron Diaz, Chow Yun-Fat, Drew Barrymore, Salma Hayek and Keanu Reeves. If you plan on getting a seat in the bleachers outside the Shrine Auditorium, here are some guidelines from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Get to the Shrine as early as possible on Sunday morning because there is a limited amount of space in the bleachers (there’s room for several hundred people although representatives from the academy declined to give a more specific estimate) and admittance is on a first-come, first-admitted basis. The academy discourages camping out in advance, and the Los Angeles Police Department has been strictly enforcing the no-camping policy on Shrine-adjacent property. However, certain items cannot be brought into the bleacher area--sleeping bags, pillows, blankets and ice chests--so if you do plan on flouting the no-camping rules, have a place to stash your stuff. Also banned from the stands: alcoholic beverages, professional camera equipment including tripods, posters, flags or banners, portable televisions, stereos and of course any type of weapon.

You should bring a picture identification card (minors are exempt from this rule but must be accompanied by an adult guardian), a sack lunch and bottled water. Once admitted to the bleacher area, guests cannot leave and come back (the exception being to visit restroom facilities within the specified area) or save seats for friends who have not yet arrived. There will be wheelchair-accessible ramps and platforms, and admittance to this area is also first-come, first-admitted.

Academy security will start letting people into the bleachers on Sunday at 6 a.m. Those who don’t make it into the stands can line Jefferson and Figueroa boulevards, but because most of the celebrities will arrive in limousines with darkened windows, don’t expect tosee too much. The actual awards begin at 5:30 p.m., so celebrity arrivals will be from about 4:30 to 5:25 p.m.

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Whew, so many rules. Don’t worry, there are other less rigid ways to see the stars.

The Independent Spirit Awards of the Independent Feature Project/West, a more loosely structured event, takes place on the beach in Santa Monica the day before the Oscars. This year arrivals start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and you can expect to see many of the same directors and stars who will be at the Academy Awards the next day.

Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Spike Jonze, Kimberly Peirce, Janet McTeer, Chloe Sevigny, Catherine Keener, Holly Hunter, Jennifer Tilly and Kevin Smith are among the stars scheduled to attend. Just look for the big white tent on the beach just south of the Santa Monica Pier and line up behind the barricades. And if you miss arrivals to the Spirit Awards (which will be broadcast live on the Independent Film Channel and its Web site, https://www.ifctvc.com), you can catch stars as they leave (between 3:30 and 4 p.m.) when they head to either the IFC “Boys Don’t Cry” party at Shutters on the Beach Hotel or the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts tea at the Loews hotel.

Another place to watch for movie stars and other random celebrities (remember Monica Lewinsky last year?) is on Melrose Avenue between Robertson and San Vicente boulevards after the Academy Awards. This spot is the junction of two of the most exclusive post-Oscar parties: the Vanity Fair party at Morton’s and the InStyle/Elton John AIDS Foundation party at the former Pagani restaurant, and it makes for great star sighting because there’s a veritable celebrity conga line back and forth between the two parties.

Gimme Cult-cha or Documentaries and Exhibits

OK, not everyone cares about what Gwyneth is going to wear this year or who’s going to escort Madonna to Morton’s. If you’re more interested in cinema culture than celebrity sightings, read on.

Saturday is DocuDay, an all-day marathon of the Academy Award-nominated documentaries, both feature and short form, put on by the International Documentary Assn. and the Directors Guild of America at the DGA Theater. This is the single best day to see the most honored docs of the year and in one of the best venues in the country. It’s also reasonably priced ($7 per program or $30 for an all-day pass for the general public; $5 per program and $20 for an all-day pass for IDA members and students), and each screening program is followed by a discussion with the filmmakers. (For the full schedule and details about how to buy tickets, see the Special Screenings list on Page 36.)

Two Academy Award-related exhibits are on view--and they’re both free.

“Between Takes: Images From the Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers” features more than 100 photographs from the sets of dozens of films including “The English Patient,” “Braveheart,” “The Truman Show” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The academy gallery (8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends from noon to 6 p.m. (although the academy will be closed Sunday, due to the Academy Awards).

If graphics is your game, you may want to check out the exhibit of nine Academy Awards posters (designed by Arnold Schwartzman and the late Saul Bass) and other Oscar memorabilia in the Blue Rotunda of the Pacific Design Center. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and parking is available on site.

Sunset Boulevard

The folks from the Hollywood Stock Exchange, the Web site that lets you “trade” movie and celebrity stock for points and prizes, is hosting O2K (Oscar 2000), a street party on the Sunset Strip between Olive and the Videotron Cafe (Friday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m.). The street fair is free and open to the public and will feature lots of live musical performances (the Tories, Jude, Bachelor Number One among others), interactive games, a psychic cigar lounge, free henna tattoos, food and drinks and lots of free goodies.

Moby, and Earth, Wind & Fire will perform at the second annual HSX Oscar night party at the House of Blues, and although the actual party is by invitation only, you can watch the virtual party on https://www.hsx.com.

Viewing Parties

To quote a character from an Oscar-laden movie, “There’s no place like home”--when it comes to Oscar viewing parties. Ask anyone who has ever attended the actual awards and, unless you’re talking to Steven Spielberg or Tom Hanks, who always get great seats, they’ll tell you that the best place to watch the show is from your very own couch.

But, if you insist on going out, here are a few suggestions.

The chi-chi-est party that’s actually open to the public, albeit at a cost of $750 a plate, is the Martin Scorsese Film Foundation and Norby Walters’ Night of 100 Stars Gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s a formal, sit-down affair and guests will watch the awards on several big screens.

Good Neighbor Pharmacy is hosting a giant Academy Awards viewing party at the AMC 30 at the Block in Orange. This dress-up event begins at 4 p.m. with a catered pre-party that includes a celebrity look-alike contest. And if you plan to attend, make sure to look your best because guests will be interviewed on the red carpet (yes, there’s a red carpet) by students from Chapman University’s school of film and television. The actual viewing of the telecast will take place in two of the complex’s stadium-style movie theaters, and after the awards guests can either move to Cafe Tu Tu Tango for a dessert reception or stay at the theater and watch a screening of one of the best picture nominees.

The private party for the Oscar nominated doc “Buena Vista Social Club” will be held at the popular nightclub the Conga Room (Jimmy Smits and Jennifer Lopez are co-owners), but the downstairs restaurant, La Boca del Conga Room, will be open to the public for an awards screening party complete with empanadas and ceviche bars.

Historical Oscar

If you want to check out the sites of both Oscar past and future, head over to Hollywood Boulevard. First stop would be the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the first Academy Awards on May 16, 1929. You can grab a cocktail at the Cinegrill or a cup of joe in the Grand Central Coffee Shop, both located on the hotel’s ground level, and there’s a small museum on the mezzanine level.

Cross the street and see a movie at Mann’s Chinese Theatre, where the Academy Awards were held from 1944 to 1946, when it was known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Or make like a tourist and put your hands and feet into famous handprints in the courtyard.

If you walk east on Hollywood Boulevard toward Highland Avenue, you’ll see the future home of Oscar--a 3,300-seat theater--which is under construction. The yet-to-be-named venue is part of a larger entertainment complex. The awards will move to the new site in 2002.

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Oscar Surprises: * Susan King revisits some of the biggest surprises in the history of the Academy Awards. Page 12.

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On the Town With Oscar

Shrine Auditorium, 665 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles.

Morton’s, 8764 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (310) 276-5205.

Site of former Pagani restaurant, 8800 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.

Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. DocuDay information, (310) 284-8422, Ext. 24; tickets, (213) 480-3232.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 247-3000. Web sites: https://www.oscar.org and https://www.oscar.com.

Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.

Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills. Night of 100 Stars tickets, (818) 995-8036.

AMC 30 at the Block, the City Drive, Orange, (714) 769-4AMC. Tickets for Oscar viewing party, (714) 997-6783.

La Boca del Conga Room, 5370 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile area, (323) 938-1696.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-7000.

Mann’s Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-8186.

Independent Spirit Award online viewing: https://www.ifctvc.com.

Hollywood Stock Exchange: https://www.hsx.com/o2k.