The Nominees are Announced

Covering the Oscar nominations announcement is unlike any experience...

This year Andrew Huse and I covered the noms for USC's Trojan Vision Network and San Diego's online newspaper, The Union-Tribune: SignOnSanDiego.com.

View the vid here!

There aren't too many days in the year when you wake up bright and early (like 1am status), get camera ready, head to Beverly Hills with absolutely NO traffic on the 10 freeway and arrive at the Academy headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard. Not to mention that there's always a room full of catered breakfast with everything imaginable, from fluffy eggs, a table full of assorted bagels, a variety of juice and coffee and lots of bacon.

Besides the food, it's the energy in the building that takes my breath away. News network crews huddle at the staircase which leads up to the Samuel Goldwyn Theater (this is where the stage is set and nominees are announced). When the rope is lifted and we're given the green light, that's when all the fun begins.

Once Andrew and I hustled up the stairs, pushed our way through the crowd and set-up our equipment in the best position, I took a second to watch as the clock struck 5:38:30AM. At that very second, the 2011 Oscar Nominations Announcement was telecasted to the world. I felt the anxiety in the room from everyone wondering who's work in film would be recognized this year. I witnessed Nancy O'Dell memorize several lines of content in a matter of minutes and deliver on the spot with no practice. I looked around to see smaller news networks waiting in long lines to have a one-on-one interview with the President of the Academy. I listened to foreign news networks deliver the list of nominees to their audience in several different languages and I watched as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences pieced together a morning of organized chaos. Whether your into award season or not, what goes down during television's "road to the Oscars" is fascinating.

I remember years ago thinking that everything entertainment was all glitz and glam, easy and fluffy news. But I was wrong. The entertainment world has a culture and a depth that is often times misunderstood. Oscar season is always a nice reminder of how much work really goes into making Hollywood look so...Hollywood.

Don't forget to tune into the ABC network on February 27th for the 83rd Academy Awards!

In the meantime, I have about seven Oscar nominated films to catch up on! Here's the list of the 2011 nominees in 6 of the 24 categories:

Best Picture

• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King's Speech
• 127 Hours
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
• Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
• Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
• Natalie Portman, Black Swan
• Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem, Biutiful
• Jeff Bridges, True Grit
• Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
• Colin Firth, The King's Speech
• James Franco, 127 Hours

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams, The Fighter
• Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
• Melissa Leo, The Fighter
• Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
• Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale, The Fighter
• John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
• Jeremy Renner, The Town
• Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
• Geoffrey Rush, The Kings Speech

Directing

• Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky
• The Fighter, David O. Russel
• The King's Speech, Tom Hooper
• The Social Network, David Fincher
• True Grit, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Feel a hug & FIGHT ON, baby!

MT

Living In the Moment

Yesterday marked the last of what has always been a big deal to me -- the first day of school.

And I didn't cry!

I know, I know. Who cries on the first day of school? It's the easiest day of the entire year! I totally understand that, but for some reason throughout my childhood and even into my first two years of high school, I would shed a few tears on the first day of every school year. It seems silly now, but it was fear in not knowing my teachers on a personal level and that I wouldn't "get" the material in the class. It was the idea that I worked so hard and was so conscientious about my grades the semester or year before, that starting all over again seemed dreadful. But yesterday was different.

Yesterday crept up on me after sixteen years of certainty that there will always be a first day of school. There were no tears, only cheers to begin my last semester of college on a clean slate.

As I rode my bike onto campus I felt ready and fully present. I was physically and mentally "there" -- a feeling that often times goes missing while us college students are too busy trying to mold our crafts, network and drive our passion to create a successful career. These things aren't bad, by any means, but I've found that the need to succeed can sometimes suck the life right out of students. I've realized that it's necessary to find the balance between work and play while rewarding your soul with a minute to get in touch with your authentic self.

Yesterday I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it seemed much more apparent than ever before. I rolled out of my comfy twin sized bed and was able to visualize graduation day (4 months from tomorrow!) and could only imagine what it might feel like when finally handed that USC diploma...

I remember putting on my jeans and grabbing my black leather jacket off the hanger, accessorizing my outfit with a nude colored infinity scarf. I recall scuffing my boot on the bike pedal when locking my tire to a tree in front of Annenberg. I remember scanning each classroom when I walked in the door to see if I recognized any familiar faces and pulling out my fresh notepad and perfectly unused pen. My point in recollecting back on yesterday is more about what it felt like to be present and less about it being the last, first day of school.

As busy, exciting and ambiguous life has been in the past two years as a transfer student from San Diego State to USC, it baffles me how time evaporates into thin air. I thought I just graduated from Los Osos High, just moved away to college, and I thought I was just a Pi Beta Phi sorority pledge??? Well SURPRISE! -- it's the last hoorah before transitioning into the Trojan Alumni Network (fight on!)

So I want to make a toast.

Here's to fueling our passions in 2011 and not forgetting to live.in.the.moment!

It's your turn, when's the last time you felt present?

Xo,

MT