Pencil in Peter O'Toole; hold off on the tux rental for Eminem.
Yes, the R.S.V.P.'s are coming in for the 75th Annual Academy Awards--from presenters, nominees, musical performers and one very reluctant honoree. O'Toole, the very reluctant honoree, is now a "yes" to attend the March 23 ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, it was said Wednesday.
According to show producer Gil Cates, Academy officials convinced the 70-year-old Irish actor that the honorary statuette, presented for career achievement, would not mean he was about to be pushed off on an ice floe, and/or relegated to a lousy table at The Ivy. (We paraphrase.)
Last month, O'Toole penned an open letter to the Academy, noting that while he was "enchanted" by its gesture, he thought of himself as "still in the game."
"Would the Academy please defer the honor until I am 80?," he wrote.
O'Toole and the Oscars are a star-crossed pair. On the plus side, he's been nominated for Best Actor seven times--from LAWRENCE OF ARABIA to MY FAVORITE YEAR. On the minus side, he's never, ever won.
Academy officials had vowed to give him the honorary award, whether or not he showed to accept it.
O'Toole's reps said Thursday they had no further comment on his change of heart.
But just so O'Toole can be assured the Oscar folks weren't pulling his leg, there is historical precedent for an honorary award not signaling the end of a film career and the beginning of a Fixodent endorsement.
In 1986, for example, Paul Newman, then a 61-year-old, seven-time Oscar loser, was presented with his own honorary statuette. The next year, he claimed his first competitive Oscar--a Best Actor win for THE COLOR OF MONEY. He's gone on to nab two more nominations, including the most recent, a Best Supporting Actor nod, for ROAD TO PERDITION.
Joining O'Toole at the Kodak next month will be the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Meg Ryan, reigning Oscar champs Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Jennifer Connelly, and current nominees RenŽe Zellweger, Salma Hayek and Julianne Moore. All are set as presenters.
Cates said that while no musical act is yet a lock, it's likely U2 and Paul Simon will perform their Oscar-nominated songs. In the case of U2, that would be "The Hands that Built America," from GANGS OF NEW YORK. Simon would croon "Father and Daughter," from THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE.
Eminem--make that, the Oscar-nominated Eminem (for penning 8 MILE'S "Lose Yourself")--is another story.
While Cates isn't worried about unleashing the bad-boy rapper and his bad-boy mouth on live TV ("Eminem has an airplay version of that song," Cates told the Associated Press), he doesn't know if the performer's schedule has room for the Oscars.
"We haven't heard," Cates said.
Apparently too hip for the Beverly Hilton, Eminem previously skipped the Golden Globes. He is, however, booked to perform at the Grammys, which take place February 23 in New York.
One thing's for sure, if Eminem avoids the Kodak, he can forget about making an acceptance speech.
While it makes sense that only those in attendances would be able to deliver their thank-yous, Oscar producers have been asked if TV magic would help Roman Polanski get around that conundrum.
Polanski, a double-nominee for directing and producing Best Picture hopeful THE PIANIST, risks arrest on a 1977 statutory rape charge if he sets foot in California, or indeed, the United States. (This would be why he lives in Paris.)
But even if the exiled filmmaker remains a Hollywood favorite, Cates has said the Academy won't hook up a satellite feed to allow Polanski (or anyone else) a window into the awards.
Things were different in 1955. That year, the Oscars worked around Judy Garland's life, dispatching a camera crew to her Los Angeles hospital room (she'd just given birth to her son) in the event she was named Best Actress for A STAR IS BORN. (The crew was quickly un-dispatched when Grace Kelly won instead for THE COUNTRY GIRL.)
Best Supporting Actress nominee Catherine Zeta-Jones isn't taking a pregnant pause to figure out whether she'll attend this year. The CHICAGO hoofer, who should be eight-and-half-months along with her and Michael Douglas' latest joint production come Oscar night, says she plans to be there.
But it's unknown if she'll be in the voice, or in the mood, to croon her film's Oscar-nominated song, "I Move On," with costar Zellweger.
Steve Martin hosts the live ABC telecast, to be broadcast at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT. E! begins its all-day coverage at 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT, with the live, red-carpet action starting at 6 pm ET/3pm PT. (As reported by E! Online)
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