Red Carpet

I'm checking the mail every day, waiting for a gorgeous ivory envelope of considerable heft to fall out of the mailbox. And there, in perfect script, will be my invitation to the Academy Awards. I deserve it. As someone who papered her childhood room with pictures of movie stars, and who more recently has plunked down unconscionable admission prices to see movies of questionable merit, I think it's payback time. So I stand ready to take my seat at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.

SPECIAL THE OSCARS. The Grammys. The Emmys. The VMAs. The Geek Awards? You're reading right. Local geeks - as in nerds, dweebs, dorks and brainiacs - walk the red carpet and take home engraved plaques tonight at the first Philly Geek Awards. The sold-out event takes place, not surprisingly, at the Academy of Natural Sciences. It was dreamed up by the guys behind Geekadelphia, a local blog for - you guessed it - geeks. Blog co-founder Eric Smith noticed his fellow, um, technophiles getting cred nationally for their tweets, podcasts, viral videos, science festivals, etc., and asked himself, "Why was no one honoring our local comic artists, video-game developers, Web designers . . . ?"

Gowns in sparkling nudes and vibrant shades were the major red-carpet trends Saturday evening at the 155th Academy of Music Anniversary Concert and Ball. Off-the-shoulder gowns seemed just as popular as strapless ones. And A-line silhouettes were preferred to ball gowns. In fact, Philadelphia's doyennes stepped up the glamour quotient to such heights that some of the dresses were dead ringers for gowns worn by celebrities on red carpets past. For example, first lady Lisa Nutter was particularly radiant sailing up the Academy of Music steps in a deep purple Nicole Miller gown.

The police escort swept into little Marston Street in North Philadelphia, bringing the limousines carrying Philadelphia's distinguished, esteemed and famished guests. It was almost 4 p.m. and the representatives of Philadelphia's new "sister city," Douala, in the West African nation of Cameroon, had been on the go since 9 a.m. They were tired and hungry. Mostly hungry. They were in the middle of a tightly scheduled, event-filled, three-day visit, during which it might have seemed to them that the city had not only rolled out the red carpet but also was using it to flail them.

WAS IT JUST us or was the Oscars red carpet a little dull this year? Nobody brought the crazy. Instead, we got a parade of underfed actresses in very light colors ( Jessica Chastain , Charlize Theron , Anne Hathaway , Jennifer Lawrence , Amy Adams , etc.). Or if they weren't in light colors, they seemed to be in armor ( Halle Berry , Naomi Watts , Stacy Keibler ). The men? One boring tuxedo after another. The Oscar red-carpet pre-shows are such a big part of the festivities now that the performers are getting a little cautious - as if Joan Rivers and E!

As the Hollywood glitterati gather Sunday night in Tinseltown to honor the movie industry's best, L. Di Caprio will be among those walking the red carpet. In Malvern. No, not the hunky actor - he doesn't spell his name with a space before the "C. " Starring at Malvern's Oscar Night festivities will be one Lisa Di Caprio and her business partner, Darci Henry. Owners of Kiss and Makeup cosmetics boutique on King Street, the pair have organized a black-tie Academy Awards bash with help from nearby Restaurant Alba.

Philly's first red-carpet movie premiere in some time will bring a gaggle of singing and dancing teens to the Prince Music Theater in Center City at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Standing Ovation , a feel-good flick about kids entering a music-video contest, opens Friday in 1,100 theaters nationwide. It was shot at the Shore last year. "The idea about making a movie for kids with kids is just fantastic," said James Brolin , an executive producer drafted by friend Stewart Raffill , whose wife, Diane Kirman , and local surgeon William Lewis got the project going.

The image of the perfect fairy-tale bride is in the midst of a makeover. And fashion has everything to do with it. The shift may be slow, but it's far from subtle: Lacy bracelet-length sleeves are popping up within a dress market once dominated by strapless styles. Sparkling tiaras paired with fingertip-length veils mean baby's breath and cathedral-length headpieces have some competition. Slimmer A-line bias cuts are featured alongside the pretty poufiness essential in the early millennium.

   Can someone please tell me what happened to E! Entertainment's red-carpet coverage Sunday night? Not only was Ryan Seacrest's hair too high, he all but disappeared during the last 45 minutes of red-carpet time. We were left with a photo montage of celebrities with much information missing, like who designed their dresses. Poor purple-haired Kelly Osbourne, diva has-been Kimora Lee Simmons, and the likable Giuliana Rancic were left filling the dead air with not much to go on. Maybe Seacrest got in trouble?

For several years now, the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards have served as the link between the fashion and beauty industry and the rest of us. Remember Angelina Jolie's sleek white Dolce & Gabbana pantsuit? Jennifer Lopez's barely there green Versace gown? America Ferrera's cute and classy Brian Reyes debut? Now that Sunday's ceremony is a news conference and the fate of the 2008 Academy Awards, slated for Feb. 24, is in limbo, that connection has been temporarily severed.

   Can someone please tell me what happened to E! Entertainment's red-carpet coverage Sunday night? Not only was Ryan Seacrest's hair too high, he all but disappeared during the last 45 minutes of red-carpet time. We were left with a photo montage of celebrities with much information missing, like who designed their dresses. Poor purple-haired Kelly Osbourne, diva has-been Kimora Lee Simmons, and the likable Giuliana Rancic were left filling the dead air with not much to go on. Maybe Seacrest got in trouble?

The Oscar red carpet was awash with sparkling nudes. And that, my fashion friends, was a blah way to end an awards season popping with color. But even though starlets erred on the side of blah this year, the fashions were impeccably classy, and a few even electrified. The carpet popped with the latest runway trends, from Charlize Theron's snow-white peplum gown to Naomi Watts' asymmetrical swirling neckline. Talk about a blaze of sequins. Among our favorite looks was Amy Adams' feathered Oscar de la Renta, Kerry Washington's crystal-bodiced Miu Miu, and Jennifer Lawrence's Dior Haute Couture.

WAS IT JUST us or was the Oscars red carpet a little dull this year? Nobody brought the crazy. Instead, we got a parade of underfed actresses in very light colors ( Jessica Chastain , Charlize Theron , Anne Hathaway , Jennifer Lawrence , Amy Adams , etc.). Or if they weren't in light colors, they seemed to be in armor ( Halle Berry , Naomi Watts , Stacy Keibler ). The men? One boring tuxedo after another. The Oscar red-carpet pre-shows are such a big part of the festivities now that the performers are getting a little cautious - as if Joan Rivers and E!

FORGET THE Dolby Theatre, in Hollywood. Cawley's Irish Pub, in Upper Darby, had its own red carpet for the Oscars - and its own Bradley Cooper. OK, so it was a life-sized cardboard cutout of Cooper . . . and the red carpet was more like a wide strip of industrial-strength paper towel material taped to the tile floor . . . and it was definitely smokier than the Dolby Theatre. But, make no mistake, the pub on West Chester Pike was still the best place for "Silver Linings Playbook" fans to watch the Oscars Sunday night.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Out-of-town visitors generally don't need an excuse to gawk at Grand Central Terminal, the magnificent, 50-acre railroad station - traditionally teeming with travelers - that Travel & Leisure recently rated as the world's sixth most popular tourist attraction. But if they did, then Grand Central's grand centennial, which starts next weekend, would be it, presenting an opportunity to both celebrate the landmark of 42d Street's 100th birthday and marvel anew at the glory of its creation.

In fiery red, sparkling blush, and silken floral dresses, stars attending Sunday night's 70th Annual Golden Globes exposed a deep amount of cleavage and a whole lotta leg. But there wasn't much spillage to be seen - except by Sofia Vergara in a strapless gown by Filipino designer Michael Cinco. That's because most of the celebrities - including the post-pregnant mamas - were tiny and toned. All the deep Vs and thigh-high splits revealed was the flat and the bony. There was nothing left to our imaginations because there was nothing to see. Blame it on Pilates.

The entertainment machine can rob you of your dedication to your art, says actor Jamie Foxx . "Somehow you have to pull yourself away from media, not be so shiny in the next 10 years, because it hurts the art," Foxx tells Men's Health. Foxx, 44, who plays a cowboy in the western Django Unchained (opening Dec. 25), says he tries to find a balance between staying true to his craft and being a crafty media presence who can do the talk shows. "That's the tricky part now. How do you navigate through the world you live in and still be an artist?"

LOS ANGELES - Each year, the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony presents a steamy challenge for the red carpet's most fashionable, since September is typically L.A.'s hottest month. Sunday should be no exception. The mercury is expected to soar into the 80s midday, when nominees parade inside the Nokia Theatre. Add hundreds of spotlights and a dose of nerves, and maintaining a cool, camera-ready appearance can be a challenge. But the stars have strategies. Emmy-winning animator Kevin Shinick, for example, has a powerful plan.

Bradley Cooper, Brian Klugman, and Lee Sternthal were on Chestnut Street Monday night, navigating the red carpet that had been rolled out in front of the Prince Music Theater. The fans were squealing - well, they were squealing for Cooper - but inside their heads, these three Philly boys were squealing a little, too. The Words , an elaborate, old-style romantic melodrama that Cooper stars in (and executive-produced), and that Klugman and Sternthal wrote and directed, was having its premiere.

"HOLY MOTHER HARRY LOOKS FIT. " So Lady Gaga tweets. ( Fit ? Sexual slang for "hot," "sexy. ") The Lady was talking about Prince "Helicopter" Harry 's naked frame, which was caught on camera during a recent game of strip billiards in Las Vegas. The photos were widely admired around the globe. We think they'll spark renewed interest in the royal family. Buckingham Palace, however, is not amused. An unnamed Harry pal tells Us Weekly "this was not the type of fun he was supposed to be having.