Oscars 2012: Animated Feature Symposium

Waiting my turn to speak with Javier Mariscal who nominated for Chico and Rita.

I know my posts are all out of order now, but I can't keep anything straight and my producer/editor, JD, is working his fingers off to edit all of the pieces as fast and furious as humanly possible.  We were able to attend the Animated Feature Symposium which honored the work of the five nominees in this category.  Not all of the nominees were in attendance, but we were able to speak with the nominees from Kung Fu Panda 2, Chico and Rita, and A Cat in Paris.  The diversity of the nominees speaks volumes about the sophistication of animation in this decade and we certainly do not see a Pixar nominee in the bunch this year.  They normally dominate this category, but Cars 2 did not make the final list.  Check out our two minute highlight video of the evening:

Making good use of the interior mirrored doors at The Academy.

A Hidden Gem

 Not bad, Steve Jobs, not bad....this photo was taken on my iPhone 4.

Would you believe this place exists amidst all of the chaos of Hollywood Boulevard? Hidden behind the famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine is the new restaurant, Wood and Vine.  It's a great place to sit back with a speciality cocktail like my very girly, Accomplice:  Rain Organic vodka, lemon juice, strawberry syrup, and champagne or something a little more manly for those of you into the dark booze drinks.  Head to the back to their cozy garden area with a fire pit, heat lamps, a cocktail, a taste of their chicken and waffles and the most divine thing on the menu:  Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Salted Caramel Ice Cream.  It's housed in the historic Taft Building which housed the original offices of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The Oscar nerd in me just squealed!) and Charlie Chaplin.

Wood and Vine:  6280 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

A view from the couch in the garden area of Wood and Vine--the LA sky encompassed by a historic building.