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.
Dr. Felippe Marcondes, physician and research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses why diabetes is more prevalent in minority communities and the technology being used to manage the disease.
Beatriz Acevedo, CEO of Suma Wealth, discusses the challenges in building financial habits among Hispanic youths and talks about how the company will be prioritizing funds from its recent $2 million raise.
If you haven't heard of the popular father and son dynamic duo now is your time to get into some cuteness overload. Jeff and Jordan of the "CrunchBros" can be found on TikTok and Youtube filling up their bellies with some tasty foods. To spice things up a bit the duo uses an ASMR with a mukbang approach which keeps you glued to the screen. TikTok content creators Jeff and Jordan of the "CrunchBros", joined Cheddar to discuss more.
One graphic designer has now captured the eye of several top brands for her unique and witty redesigns on iconic logos. TikTok content creator Emily Zugay joined Cheddar to discuss more and to share her redesign of Cheddar's own logo.
Many are celebrating Marvel's 'Eternals,' the most diverse film the company has ever made. CAPE has teamed up with other nonprofits to launch the #oneopen campaign, tied to the Eternals, which aims to support and amplify films led by diverse talent. Michelle Sugihara, the Executive Director of CAPE, joined Cheddar to discuss.
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
Yahoo has officially pulled out of China after its two-decade relationship with the mainland. This comes as a result of China's tech crackdown which has been impacting several sectors. As of November 1st, the country has also implemented one of the strictest data privacy laws. Tech Reporter at MarketWatch Jon Swartz joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A recent token called 'SQUID' which was developed after the Netflix series Squid Games has now cost several investors to lose their investments. According to Gizmodo, the developers have now walked off with $3.3 Million thanks to them not allowing buyers to sell any of their coins. The question now is: How can one protect themselves from being caught up in any crypto scams? The Host of the O Show Wendy O, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A CDC advisory committee as unanimously voted to recommend the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. Dr. Amesh Adalja, Infectious Disease Specialist and Senior Scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, joined Cheddar News to discuss.
On this episode of ChedHER: Author of 'JUMP: Dare to Do What Scares You in Business and Life,' breaks down the different types of career 'jumps' out there, and keys to making a career change a success; Head of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs at JPMorgan Chase discusses how she's forging a path forward for the API community; CEO and Founder of Diversability explains how she's building up a global movement to rebrand disability through the power of community.
