A crew member staples the carpet to the ground in preparation for Sunday's 95th Academy Awards, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
By Lindsey Bahr
Many things about the Academy Awards have changed over the years, but for the past six decades there has been at least one constant: The red carpet. The hues have varied over the years, but it has always been some shade of red. Until this year.
On Wednesday outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, workers unspooled a champagne-colored carpet as Jimmy Kimmel, who is hosting the 95th Oscars on Sunday, presided over the occasion.
“I think the decision to go with a champagne carpet over a red carpet shows how confident we are that no blood will be shed," Kimmel said.
Jimmy Kimmel, host of Sunday's 95th Academy Awards, addresses the media before the roll out of the carpet for the show, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The decision to change the color came from creative consultants Lisa Love, a longtime Vogue contributor, and Raúl Àvila, the creative director for the glamourous Met Gala in New York.
This year the carpet will be covered, in part to protect the stars and cameras from the weather, but also to help turn the arrivals into an evening event. For Love, there has always been a disconnect between the elegant black tie dress code and the fact that it’s mid-afternoon when people arrive to be photographed in the daylight. With a covered carpet, they could change that.
“We turned a day event into night,” Love told The Associated Press. “It’s evening, even though it’s still 3:00.”
The Oscars red carpet dates back to 1961, the 33rd Academy Awards held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, when Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” won best picture, Burt Lancaster and Elizabeth Taylor won the lead acting prizes, and there was still a “juvenile award,” which went to Hayley Mills for “Pollyanna.” It was the first televised ceremony, broadcast on ABC and hosted by Bob Hope. The general public wouldn’t see the red carpet in all its glory on television until 1966, when the Oscars were first broadcast in color.
There wasn’t any debate over the change, Love said. They just knew they had the freedom to break from tradition. They tried some other colors too but they seemed too dark with the covered tent. “We chose this beautiful sienna, saffron color that evokes the sunset, because this is the sunset before the golden hour,” Love said.
Instead they went lighter and Academy CEO Bill Kramer approved.
They weren’t especially worried about upsetting Oscars traditionalists either.
“Somebody’s always got a way to find something wrong with something,” Love said. “This is just a lightness and hopefully people like it. It doesn’t mean that it’s always going to be a champagne colored carpet.”
As for what we should call it? Love said “champagne” and “sand” are apt descriptions, but that there’s no reason to not default to “red carpet” either. It’s more metonym for the glamorous arrivals than a literal description of what everyone is walking on.
The 95th Oscars “red carpet” opens Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. The ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ABC.
Bamboo-based toilet paper company Cloud Paper raised $5 million in a recent funding round. Its product is a bamboo-based alternative to traditional toilet paper made from trees, and its mission is to end the deforestation caused by traditional paper products. Cloud Paper says the raise will allow it to make significant investments in its supply chain, product development, and hiring. Ryan Fritsch, a co-founder of Cloud Paper, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Anne Price, president of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, discusses how Black Americans have been adversely impacted by rising home prices and offers tips for wealth building.
Ellen Goodwin, Co-Founder and Chief Solutions Officer of Artifcts, joins ChedHER to discuss how she's creating a platform to preserve the history of your belongings, and her experience succeeding in male-dominated industries.
Keren Sachs, Founder and CEO at The Luupe, joins ChedHER to discuss how her platform bridges the gap between diverse creators and brands, and what the future of the creator economy looks like.
Thelma Ferguson, Managing Director & Northeast Segment Head at JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking, joins ChedHER to discuss the upcoming Women Presidents Organization's "50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies" ranking, and what kind of impact women entrepreneurs have on the overall economy.
On this episode of ChedHER: Artifcts Co-Founder breaks down how she's creating a platform to preserve the history of your belongings; The Luupe CEO explains how her platform bridges the gap between diverse creators and brands; Managing Director & Northeast Segment Head at JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking discusses the upcoming Women Presidents Organization's "50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies" ranking.
While many are excited to watch the final two NFL teams square-off and see which one ultimately takes home the trophy, some, on the other hand, are there for another mian attraction -- the commercials. Companies during this year's game are looking towards the future From electric vehicles, to robots, and crypto-currency, several first-time advertisers are expected to join long-time advertisers like Pepsi, Budweiser and Doritos during the NFL's biggest game. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer at R/GA, joined Cheddar News' Big Game Special to discuss.
