Red Carpet Manners - Third Time's a Charm for Tina & Amy at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards

A good friend loaned me her copy of Amy Poehler's new book, "Yes Please" on DVD. I had never been one to listen to books on tape and I wasn't much of a reader of them either, especially since having kids. Don't get me wrong, I love reading and I'm great at starting books, I just can't seem to finish them. I inevitably get distracted and then they wind up collecting dust and spider webs. Even reading my own book, Beverly Hills Manners: Golden Rules from the World's Most Glamorous Zip Code, proved an arduous endeavor! Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. I was growing bored of listening to the same Sirius XM stations and in need of some good laughs anyway. After sweaty minutes of trying to figure out how in the world to insert the discs into my car radio, I was finally geared up and ready to listen. Amy had me laughing out loud, crying and getting teary eyed, totally inspired and uplifted and reflective all at the same time. I'm only through disc two with five more to go and loving it. My husband presented me with Tina Fey's, "Bossypants" as a gift for my 45th birthday.  Did he know I was a Tina Fey fan or was he secretly trying to send a message that I am a bit of a drill sergeant? I keep it on my nightstand and peruse it time and again in search of brilliant Feyisms and other hysterical, meaningful prose. Admittedly, I have not read it cover to cover, but I often thumb through it and come across a line that gives me a hearty laugh before settling to sleep. Bottom line, these two ladies are awesome in my book!!  Not only are they comediennes at the top of their game, they are also writers, producers, authors, entrepreneurs, mothers and Golden Globe hosts taking on the role for the third year in a row and hitting it out of the park!  Let's take a look at the night's biggest red carpet manners hits and misses.

Colors on the Carpet.  As predicted, red was highlighted in all its glory on the red carpet ranging from Pantone's color of the year Marsala to Maraschino Cherry with celebs from Heidi Klum, Kate Mara, Allison Williams, Allison Janney, Helen Mirren, Lena Dunham, Taylor Schilling, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Viola Davis all donning the most powerful color on the spectrum. White, not an easy color to pull off in winter when we tend to look pasty and may be carrying a little extra holiday weight, was equally hot on the red carpet and looked smashing on slender figures from Kate Hudson and Emily Blunt to Rosamond Pike and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Silver metallic was also wildly popular and found its way on the likes of Julianne Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Sienna Miller, Emma Stone, Diane Kruger and Dakota Johnson.  Our least favorite looks were unfortunately worn by two of our favorite actresses, Ruth Wilson who chose an unflattering green Prada sheathe and Kerry Washington who selected a two-toned A-line gown that was less than eye-catching. Other ladies who missed the mark included: Jennifer Aniston, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lana Del Rey, Zosia Mamet, Laura Prepon and Melissa McCarthy.

Dynamic Duo Does it Again.  The third time was a charm for hosts Tina and Amy who delivered another round of nonstop laughs. As expected, there was the requisite string of jokes aimed at North Korea, but the crowd went wild when comedienne, Margaret Cho, took the stage dressed as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and added her trademark deadpan impressions. Cecil B. DeMille Award winner and eternal good sport, George Clooney, was the recipient of one of the biggest jabs of the night. After reciting a laundry list of achievements his wife Amal had received for her various humanitarian works, the duo joked that tonight 'her husband is getting the lifetime achievement award." We had a hearty laugh-out-loud moment when the girls compared the hours of hairstyling and makeup actor Steve Carell had to endure for his role in "Foxcatcher" with the countless hours they had to endure to prepare just as 'human' women. And, you knew they weren't going to shy away from a good dig at Bill Cosby's rape allegations. With a nod to nominee, "Into the Woods," they mentioned a list of princesses who were rescued by their princes with the exception of Sleeping Beauty who just 'thought she was getting coffee with Bill Cosby."

From the Frontlines: Attending The Weinstein Company/Netflix viewing and after party had us up close and personal with some of the night’s illustrious stars.  After just having watched ‘The Imitation Game’ the night before, I was delighted to find a glowing and pregnant Keira Knightley in the ladies lieu. She was gracious, smiling and chatty while we shared mirror space to re-apply lips and wash hands before departing. As luck would have it, I was heading towards the dance floor only to find heartthrob, Channing Tatum cutting lose with wife Jenna Dewan amongst the happy throngs of spectators who were more than bewitched by his moves. Catching a glimpse of the gorgeous Rosamond Pike saunter through the party in her Vera Wang gown with a trail of handlers had us mesmerized mostly for looking so fabulous just one month after giving birth. Watching Will Arnett ham it up on the couch next to us posing for photographs with his buddy Ricky Gervais kept us amused. On the opposite side, Selma Hayek, was holding court from her couch in a purple gown she had donned especially for the party when Globes winner Maggie Gyllenhaal stopped by to pay her a visit. Upon our departure at almost midnight, we bumped into Robin Wright and her entourage including on again off again beau Ben Foster as they made their way to obtain wristbands to enter.

F-Bomb's and Standing O's. After eight nominations, Kevin Spacey was so overcome with surprise and emotion at his Golden Globe win that he accidentally dropped the F-bomb during the opening line of his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Television Series. Two standing ovations were awarded. One to HFPA President, Theo Kingma, for his important speech on free expression in response to the Paris attacks and Sony leaks and the other to Prince, well for just being the purple man himself who took to the stage in all his glory - shades and cane included - to announce Best Original Song.

Awkward Moments Abound.  While watching her husband, John Legend, accept the award for Best Original Song, an emotional Chrissy Teigen's unusual facial expression set off a firestorm of hilarious social media responses. During Kevin Spacey's acceptance speech, an unknowing Selma Hayek seemed a little spacey herself as she was caught on camera grooming her locks and staring into oblivion. Jeremy Renner said what everyone was thinking when he referenced J. Lo's overflowing cleavage area referring to them as her own set of 'globes." 

Best Acceptance Speech. Billy Bob Thornton not only won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series Drama, but he wins the top award in our book for the best brief acceptance speech. Painfully aware of how the media likes to mince words, he rightfully lectured the A-list audience with these thoughts, "You can say anything in the world and get into trouble. I know this for a fact. So I'm just going to say, thank you!" 

Politics on the Table. The evening took a more serious tone than usual as a number of causes were brought to light beginning with Joanne Froggatt's Golden Globe win for Best Actress on "Downton Abbey" and her sensitive portrayal as a victim of rape. Rapper Common's acceptance speech had everyone in tears as he shared that making the politically driven movie Selma about Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights, "has awakened his humanity." Jill Soloway's personal project and triumphant win for "Transparent" raised acceptance and awareness for the transgender community, and Jared Leto paid homage to the Charlie Hebdo massacre saying "our thoughts, our prayers, our hearts are with you and wearing the slogan Je suis Charlie along with other celebs from George and Amal Clooney to Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson. 

A Nod to my Hairdresser: Finally, I have to give a special shout out to my hairdresser, Tanya Abriol, at the Sally Hershberger Salon, who not only keeps my hair extraordinaire, but tames the tresses of many blonde beauties who presented at this year's Globes including Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Katherine Heigl - all gorgeous gals I am more than happy to keep company with.

Want more Red Carpet Manners? Stay tuned for our Oscar's Red Carpet Manners moments coming February 22nd on Live on ABC!

Red Carpet Manners – Grammy’s 2012 – “A Bittersweet Mix of Music & Memories”

A night that had been building as a celebration and coming out party for the multi-platinum artist, Adele (who had been keeping quiet after a much publicized battle to save her vocal cords), took a tragic turn on the eve of the Grammy’s when the world learned the incredibly heartbreaking news that Whitney Houston had passed at the young age of 48. Yet another life taken before her time following in the footsteps of such amazingly talented artists from Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain to Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse.  The pain and pressure of life in the spotlight apparently too great a burden to bare.

When I was a senior at Sarah Lawrence College I took singing lessons in NYC.  I would take the train from Bronxville and arrive at my instructor’s apartment, take the rickety elevator up to the 7^th floor praying all the way as if that would ensure my safety.  I would then enter the apartment and have to fight off the mice that seemed to scatter about in the beautiful, but old historic building. Finally, I would open my sheet music and my instructor would begin playing and I would do my best to belt out the lyrics.  I remember one of my favorite song’s to rehearse was Whitney Houston’s, “The Greatest Love of All.”  This song brought back memories as I remembered my parents playing the original George Benson version back in the 70’s.  Still nothing compared to the vocals of Ms. Houston as she reached the highest high notes and lowest baritones with such ease. I could only aspire to hold a candle to her incredible voice and her songs will forever be engrained in my mind. 

Grammy night opened powerfully with Bruce Springsteen setting the tone singing the lyrics to his latest hit, “We Take Care of Our Own.” Who knew his words would ring so true as the music community came together to mourn the loss of one of their most treasured members.  After eight years of having no host at the helm, rapper LL Cool J then took the stage and addressed the one thing on everybody’s mind. Going off script, he asked the audience to join him in prayer as he recounted a few words to acknowledge the life and song of their “fallen sister” Whitney Houston. After the somber note, he reminded everyone that life is full of joys and sorrows and that it was time to let the music and memories of the evening do the healing and that is exactly what happened. No one pulls it together better than the music industry and this was evident throughout the telecast as countless planned and unplanned tributes took the forefront providing a therapeutic effect for all.  Here are some of our Red Carpet Manners highlights and a couple of missteps.

Host with the Most.  The remarkable LL Cool J handled himself with amazing grace and poise as the night’s emcee.  Under tremendous pressure and scrutiny, he struck the perfect balance able to pay homage to the late Whitney Houston and encourage celebration as each of the night’s performers took to the stage.  His request to lead the audience in prayer was astute and unprecedented giving the musicians the permission to acknowledge their feelings and then move on to a celebration of music and creating memories.

Feel Good Moment.  Bruno Mars got the evening started off right with a performance of his hit “Runaway” from the Doo-Wops & Hooligans album that harkened back to the 60’s, fancy footwork and all. Owning the stage in a gold blazer with his signature hairdo and flashy smile, he was able to instantaneously lighten the mood in the room and get the audience to their feet. A nice change of pace after a reverent and somber introduction.

Best Acceptance Speech. After cleaning up with countless awards for their rock album “Wasting Light,” Dave Grohl, former drummer for Nirvana, felt encouraged to share with the audience how important the human element is to making music.  He was trying to make the well-deserved point that you don’t need fancy equipment and computers to make great music, all that matters is what goes on in your heart and your head.  He went on to say that they recorded their album in his garage with only “some microphones and a tape machine.” What a nice change of pace considering so many acts nowadays are all about grandeur and spectacle.  Nicki Minaj?  

Most Rewarding Comeback. After months of silence and recuperating from vocal cord surgery, British diva Adele was back, and with a vengeance.  She swept every category wining a total of six awards from the evening and then graced the stage with an honest and raw rendering of her hit “Rolling in the Deep.”  Adele is a beautiful woman and we love her eloquent accent, but her demeanor seemed more reminiscent of Eliza Doolittle.  We found her speeches to be slightly brusque and she appeared to be chomping on gum during a couple of them. Upon accepting the final award for Best Album, she mentioned “a bit of snot” that was coming out of her nose then proceeded to thank “all of you lot.” Rewarding yes.  Refined, not so much.

Most Moving Rendition. Not a dry eye was in sight when Jennifer Hudson took the stage.  Called at the eleventh hour to pay tribute to one of her childhood idols, she stepped in stronger than ever.  In a controlled and personal performance with only a piano to support her, Jennifer’s interpretation of Whitney’s hit, “I Will Always Love You” was felt deep and wide. Her absolutely flawless rendition served to solidify her position as one of the strongest performers in today’s music.  Here's the link in the event you did not have the opportunity to view it http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2012/02/jennifer-hudson-tribute-to-whitney-houston-the-must-see-video.html

Insanely Inappropriate Performance.  In contrast to Jennifer Hudson’s completely enveloping and appropriate tribute, Nicki Minaj’s insanely ridiculous and scary performance of what looked like an exorcism was beyond inappropriate, not to mention, horribly distasteful.  That “Exorcist” movie scared the bejeezus out of me and I was not anxious to relive any part of it, especially in song at the typically PG rated, Grammys!  Between the ominous vocals, the body possession and levitation, I was done, done, done!  Somebody must’ve been possessed to give the green light on this one!

Most Satisfying Finale. I was surprised to find that my favorite performance of the evening was the medley of songs from “Abbey Road” provided by Sir Paul McCartney.  I found myself stomping my feet and clapping along enjoying every moment of the music.  Sir Paul’s voice at the ripe age of 69 is as strong as ever and the energy and joy he conveys through his music is contagious.  The guitar collaboration with Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen and Joe Walsh at the end brought the house down and sent the Grammy’s out with a bang. 

So long Whitney, we will always love you!

“Oh Yes It’s Ladies Night” – Red Carpet Manners at the 2011 VMA’s

The ladies stole the show at the 2011 Video Music Awards.  Beginning with the arrivals on the black carpet (apparently the red carpet wasn’t cool enough) and continuing with the first draw dropping performance of the evening right up until the final farewell tribute and award for Best Video of the Year.  It was a fascinating night filled with theatrics and thoughtfulness with some of the biggest female names in the business sweeping most of the awards.  The only lady missing, was one Taylor Swift. Nominated for Best Video with a Message, the 21 year old chanteuse was downtown tending to her own audience of thousands at the Staples Center. 

Without a host (or hostess, remember Chelsea Handler last year?) to make fun and point fingers at the performers in the audience, the artists behaved pretty well.  There was no single event that turned sour (a la Kayné West circa 2009).  Just the typical amount of gross humor, especially when the girls (I can’t call them ladies) from “The Jersey Shore” took the stage.  For the most part, however, it was pretty uneventful show.  Instead of the usual MTV debauchery, we mainly saw support and encouragement from the artists, at least on camera. Collaborators sat together, friends patted one another on the back, fans stood and sang their favorite songs. Seemed like a good night was had by all.  Here are some of our red carpet manners hits and misses.

Outrageous Outfits. Never ones to disappoint, both Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry donned costumes that sparked many a conversation.  We’re not quite sure what look Miss Nicki was going for this evening. Her outfit apparently made of stuffed animals along with her surgical mask and ice cream cone necklace had us confused. Was she going to a children’s hospital or a children’s birthday party?  Not one of our favorites.  Neither was Miss Katy’s outfit changes.  Tonight she missed her mark, especially with the yellow colored block of cheese that somehow appeared on her head just in time to accept her award for Best Video of the Year. What in the world was the inspiration for that hat?  I was so distracted, I couldn’t even focus on her speech! Did she remember to thank her husband? 

Triple Threats. Two of the greatest female entertainers of our generation, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé pulled out all the stops singing, dancing and acting their way into our hearts providing us with two incredibly meaningful performances.  Who would’ve thought Lady Gaga could top last year’s meat-themed outfit, but she did. Dressed as her alter ego, Joe Calderone, Gaga took to the stage cigarette in hand and recited a monologue before launching into her latest gut wrenching anthem entitled “You and I.”  An hour and a half later, Beyoncé appeared complete with glittering costumes and blowing hair to deliver her new upbeat tune, “Love on Top.” Smiling from ear to ear, she could not contain her excitement over the news that she and hubby Jay Z were expecting. As if to confirm the good news, at the end of the song, she unbuttoned her blazer and revealed her bulging belly for all the world to see.  

Tributes.  Looking better than she has in years, Britney Spears, was back in full force to accept the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.  Rather than resort to old tricks, thankfully she avoided the lip lock with Gaga.  Although her acceptance speech sounded rehearsed, she kept it short and sweet and made it through virtually unscathed.  When it came time for the Amy Winehouse tribute, Russell Brand began with a sober note (no pun intended) on the dangers of addiction that hopefully many of the young people took to heart.  He then introduced Tony Bennett who praised Miss Amy's jazz singing abilities and showed footage of her performance with him on his Duets 2 album. Following Tony Bennett, Bruno Mars offered a lively rendition of her hit single “Valerie” that solidified her reputation as one of the great talents whose important contribution to music will be sorely missed.

Hostess with the Mostess?  Was it just me or did Miss Selena seem a bit out of her element.  She is one talented young lady, but perhaps the VMA’s are not her thing. I felt her straining and feigning enjoyment.  Her interview with real life beau, Justin Beiber, was particularly awkward. After trying to maintain her professionalism and distance, he looked at her and gave her a giant kiss on the cheek that completely broke her composure.  She rarely smiled and rushed through her lines. Sorry Selena.

A Few Honorable Mentions for the Boys Team. We have to give credit where credit is due. Well-known bad boys, Kayné West and Chris Brown, behaved themselves tonight. Kayné appeared pumped and excited about his latest collaboration with best bud Jay Z.  Although I could barely understand a word they were singing, the two seemed to enjoy performing their latest single “Otis” together. Chris Brown also kept himself in check (probably because he was too exhausted from rehearsing all of those aerial acrobatics) and outshined everyone with his effortless dancing skills.  Finally, we really enjoyed the straightforward delivery from the new indie band Young the Giant. That lead singer, Sameer Gadhia, is one talented fellow and had us captivated.

Tonight’s complete list of winners.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Katy Perry - "Firework"

BEST NEW ARTIST: Tyler, The Creator - "Yonkers"

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO: Nicki Minaj - "Super Bass”

BEST MALE VIDEO: Justin Bieber - "U Smile"

BEST FEMALE VIDEO: Lady Gaga - "Born This Way"

BEST POP VIDEO: Britney Spears - “Till the World Ends”

BEST ROCK VIDEO: Foo Fighters - "Walk"

BEST COLLABORATION: Katy Perry Featuring Kanye West - "E.T.”

BEST ART DIRECTION: Adele - "Rolling In The Deep" 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Beyoncé - "Run The World (Girls)" 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Adele - "Rolling In The Deep"

BEST DIRECTION: Adele - "Rolling In The Deep" 

BEST EDITING: Adele - "Rolling In The Deep" 

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS: Katy Perry featuring Kanye West - "E.T." 

BEST VIDEO WITH A MESSAGE: Lady Gaga - "Born This Way"