An Oscar tradition continues -- sort of

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- As part of a stepped-up, post-Sept. 11 security program for the 74th Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided that movie fans may camp out on Los Angeles sidewalks in hope of snagging coveted bleacher seats along the red carpet for the upcoming Oscars -- but they'll have to jump through some hoops to get there.

For the first time, the academy will pre-assign bleacher seats by advance reservation only. Fans who want bleacher seats will first need to fill out an application and provide two forms of identification.

The new order is, in part, a response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger said it is primarily motivated by logistics. This year's awards are being presented for the first time at the Oscars' new permanent home, the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

"The academy has been extraordinarily security-conscious for some time," said Unger. "Everybody is even more security-conscious now than they have been. But the change in bleachers policy has more to do with change of venue, and making the process of filling bleachers with fans more effective and efficient."

Although there had been some speculation in Hollywood that the academy planned to do away with bleacher seats for this year's Oscars, Unger said academy planners never entertained the idea. She said the gathering of movie fans to see their favorite stars during the ritual walk down the red carpet is an integral part of the event.

"They (the fans) contribute a tremendous amount of energy and excitement to the arrival of our guests," said Unger. "They serve a sort of additional function as the group of people there that represents movie fans all over the world."

Besides, the stars themselves would likely miss the presence of fans in the bleachers if the academy ever did away with that part of the event.

"I think there's enough anecdotal evidence that the fans cheering and excitement are part of what makes walking down the red carpet at the Academy Awards a unique experience," said Unger.

The move to the Kodak Theatre takes the academy into somewhat uncharted territory, and the first Academy Awards telecast will serve as something of a shakedown cruise for the new facility. Unger said academy officials have been planning the move for long enough that they expect to be ready for just about anything.

"We've been involved with the developer for four years as the project was being built," she said, "and trying to make sure that we could present our event in a way that is appropriate and in a way that we want to present it."

Unger said that, even at the Shrine Auditorium and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion -- where most of the modern-day Oscar shows have been staged -- familiarity with the venue did not prevent unexpected problems from cropping up, so no one expects the inaugural show at the Kodak will be 100 percent trouble free.

"It's likely that there are things that will happen, or not, in ways that we couldn't have predicted," she said. "I expect that those will be relatively minor things."

Whatever happens, Unger said academy officials and telecast producers are trying to maintain a balanced perspective about the project.

"Your experience does two things," she said. "It tells you how to plan and it tells you how to adjust your plans when you need to."

The application for bleacher seats will be available at the academy's Web site (oscars.org) beginning Wednesday, Feb. 6. It will also be available by e-mail ([email protected]) or by telephone (310-247-3000, ext. 140).

Applicants will need to send the paperwork to the academy by March 1 -- providing not only name, address and phone number but also a recent passport-size photo. The photo will be used to make an ID badge. The academy will assign bleacher seat reservations on a first-come, first-served basis -- and no one will get a seat without going through a security screening that will include passing through a metal detector.

In the past, first come, first-served meant camping out in sleeping bags and tents outside the bleacher site for up to four days prior to the Oscars. The Kodak Theatre is located at Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave. -- in the heart of the Hollywood business district -- and local merchants made it clear to city officials and the academy that they don't want hundreds of people sleeping on the sidewalks in front of their stores for days before the Academy Awards.

Academy officials expect the number of applications to far outnumber the 400 bleacher seats that will be set up outside the Kodak Theatre.