36th Annual Razzie Award Nominations AKA The Worst In Film For 2011

We were so busy covering the best in film a few weeks ago, that I almost forgot to bring you the worst in film for 2011.  It's the Golden Raspberry Awards also known as the "Razzies".  Now, they normally hand out the awards the night before the Oscars, but this year, the nominations happened on Oscars Eve and the official award date is April 1st.  Yep, April Fool's Day. With a plethora of bad films to choose from, who had the most nominations?  Oh, if you've been listening to me on Driving with Gass, then you know who I picked on in this piece.  Check out the nominations and my interview with founder, John J. B. Wilson:

3 Tips For Producing a Red Carpet Event

I have been on the red carpet quite a bit this year and I've seen it all from the grandest red carpet to one of the most laid back red carpets.  Even if you are having a small press event, it is important to have a well run red carpet that not only pleases the talent, but also pleases the media. I've given my helpful hints on how talent can shine on the red carpet here and here, but I haven't offered up a few suggestions for producers of red carpet events. Here are my Top 3 tips for running a top notch red carpet.

Press Release:  Ringling Bros PR was great at updating their press release several times before the event.

1.  Press Releases:  This is one of the most important aspects of your event, so make sure to write a compelling press release that will get the media excited about coverage.  It should include the pertinent information about when the event is, expected celebrities, and types of media opportunities. (red carpet, VIP party, Meet and Greet, awards show press room access, interviews with producers, etc.)  Get your press release out about 2-3 weeks in advance.  This gives media outlets time to plan their coverage and line up reporters for the event.  If you put the press release out 3 days before the red carpet happens, you run the risk of having a low media turnout.  This is especially important if your red carpet is happening during summer movie premiere season or during Oscar season, it's hectic...plan accordingly.  Check the Hollywood Calendar or the trades for important awards show and movie premiere dates, you don't want to schedule your big night the same night that the Academy Awards occur.  Finally, if you are announcing nominees for an awards show, have the press release ready to go BEFORE the announcement. (Honestly, this is PR 101.)  Once the announcement is completed, email it out to your media contacts,  place the nominees list on your website, and tweet it out.  If you want the media to cover your event, be prepared, otherwise we grumble (Trust me, we are good at grumbling.) about the lack of preparation and it is noted for next year.

Tip sheet from my Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus red carpet. 

2.  Tip Sheets:  These are imperative to any photographer or reporter's job on the red carpet.  They include a picture of the confirmed celebrity and their latest/most notable credit.  For me, I see so many faces and talk to so many people in any given month.  I may recognize a face, but I forget what show I've watched them on.  Having that tip sheet in hand lets me do quick research on my iPhone as I see them walk down the red carpet.  For up and coming talent, it is great if a publicist is escorting the actor down the carpet with a sheet of paper that includes the correct spelling of the actor's name and their upcoming movie or TV show.  If they are making their debut in the Twilight series or in a new Disney Channel show, chances are I will jump at the chance to interview them.  It's fun to break a new actor to the public before they are wildly famous.

3.  Placement:  A typical red carpet places photographers first, then video crews, and then writers/bloggers at the tail end of the line This is done for a reason.  The photographers grab their shots and then send the talent down the line to be interviewed.  After the video crews grab the interview, the writers will ask more in depth and longer questions so it is okay if the back end of the red carpet crowds up a bit.  Each media outlet is assigned a spot where the bigger the outlet, the better the placement.  You can expect to see E! News, ET, and Access Hollywood up front and the online media outlets closer to the back.  Honestly, it's a fair way to do it and I never hear anyone complaining about this system.  What can be a problem is the amount of space given to each outlet.  A piece of 8x10 paper is placed at your feet to indicate your spot.  The problem is that the next piece of paper is laid down side by side for other media outlets.  Uh....I don't know about you, but my body is not built in 8x10 dimensions.  It can be so frustrating for all of us to jostle for space, keep out of other network's shots, and interview at the same time.  Now, I don't expect a plot of land, but placing each piece of paper even three inches apart would make a huge difference.

I hope these tips help if you are producing your next red carpet event.  Feel free to leave me comments or questions on an area I might have missed.  I am always happy to do a follow-up to this article.

Don't forget to enter to win my Red Carpet Gift Bag.  Enter before July 31st for a chance to win!

Photos from the 2nd Annual Thirst Project Gala

Seth Maxwell, founder of the Thirst Project, addressing the crowd.

Approximately 3 years ago, my fellow Kodak Theatre co-worker, Seth Maxwell talked about a charity he wanted to start to create solutions for the world water crisis.  I kept thinking back to that moment in our break room and just nodding my head.  The plans sounded grand and ambitious.  Now, fast forward to June 28, 2011 as I sit in the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton.  The charity has raised over a million dollars and has created a clean water solution for over 50,000 people.  It makes me so proud to call Seth a friend.

My incredible red carpet producer, Leilani Gushiken

He inspired me to donate money to help build a well in Niger where children regularly drink dirty and contaminated water by their school.  It's hard to imagine, especially since I have a cat who drinks filtered water.  Does that seem fair?  Clean water is a right and if you are moved to donate, feel free to visit the Thirst Project page.

You will find the footage from the red carpet below.  It truly was an honor to host the live stream of the red carpet.

The Pioneering Spirit honoree, Michael Welch from the Twilight Saga.  He gave an incredibly moving speech.

 A few of my Glee pals presenting an award.  Josh Sussman is my favorite.  Shhhh, don't tell anyone.

My hot date, Byron Bryson.  Okay, we both came alone, but he kindly agreed to be my date after we were seated next to each other.  Isn't he cute?

The Thirst Project Gala

Tonight, I am honored to be hosting the red carpet portion of the live stream for the 2nd Annual Thirst Project Gala.  I hope you all have an opportunity to join me and the incredible celebrity hosts of the evening, Chyler Leigh of Grey's Anatomy and JR Bourne of Teen Wolf as The Thirst Project brings awareness to the plight of close to 1 billion people not having access to clean, safe drinking water.  Here are some of the stats:

1 in 8: The number of people who do not have access to clean drinking water

4500:  The number of children who die every day from diseases caused by contaminated water. (Approximately 1 child every 15 seconds.)

3.75 Miles:  The average distance a woman walks to collect water.  This task often falls upon young girls leaving them no time or energy for an education.

So, join me on this important evening as we honor Michael Welch from The Twilight Saga for his time, energy, and dedication to such a wonderful cause.

Live Stream Begins at 5PM PT/8PM ET on UStream.

You are welcome to tweet me questions for any of the celebs expected to attend (lots of Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Teen Wolf, and American Idol peeps are on the list.) on Twitter or leave a question in the comments below.


Chyler Leigh and JR Bourne host the 2nd Annual Thirst Gala from The Thirst Project on Vimeo.

Monthly Wrap-Up

Happy Friday!  I am going to do a weekly and monthly wrap-up all in one for this Labor Day Weekend. Let's get started so all of you can enjoy your long weekend sooner versus later.  Here we go!

For those of you who are Twilight fans, here's a blast from the past with BooBoo Stewart who plays, Seth Clearwater, in the series.  I worked on an adorable series with him called Blue Dolphin Kids back in 2006-2007.  BooBoo and his sister, Fivel, were so charming in this series about discovering the fun of Hawaii.  I narrated and they hosted.  Check out this one minute clip with all of us and see how little BooBoo looks.  Cute!

Yesterday, I was shooting on location in San Diego at Streamlight Video for one of my regular clients, LawInfo.  Here's a great look behind the scenes of what it is really like on set.  The clothes don't fit? Call in your instant tailor:  the clothespin!

The reality is much less glamorous than the illusion.....

If you are in the LA area, here are two great charity events that I will be participating in.

September 10th:  Fashion's Night Out:

September 22nd: Web TV Prom:

For the September 10th event, I will be covering it for Mingle Media TV and the September 22nd event, I will be hosting the Live Stream for This Week In, so for those of you who live outside of LA, you can watch it live from your computer.  They are both great events to support some terrific charitable causes.  I hope to see you there!

Last but not least, here are the Top 5 posts you were reading in the month of August.  If you missed them, this long weekend is the perfect time to catch up:

1.  I guess you are just like me, you love your Bad TV.  A lot of you were searching for Jeff Lewis of Bravo TV's Flipping Out, so thanks for coming to me as your source.

2.  It's no secret that I do a lot of work in the Web TV community, so it is fitting that my round-up of Web TV news made it to the Top 5 last month.

3.  The Coach Poppy Project has brought a lot of you here.  The winners were announced the other day. Were you one of the winners?  I wasn't.  Boo!

4.  Every month, this post makes the Top 5.  You all want to get into Disneyland's secret Club 33.  Oh, you didn't know Disneyland had a private club?  Well, I got in!  Take a look.

5.  Anytime there is a big awards show, this post resurrects itself.  I am glad it is useful to those of you sashaying down the red carpet.  Here's my perspective on some Dos and Don'ts on the red carpet.

Okay, I call that a week!  Have a great long weekend.  Let me know what you are doing to celebrate Labor Day in the comments and remember, you have three more days to enter the Emmys Event Weekend gift basket.