The Oscars and why we tune in

MANILA, Philippines - Just two weeks since Lady Gaga graced the red carpet in an egg and Cee Lo Green performed as some kind of sultan peacock, we start the      week with another feast of gluttonous celebrity offerings. Have your faux busy face and safety tab-switching window ready come Monday morning, when the first work day of the week trades in its drabness for the bandwidth-eating Internet streaming of the 83rd Academy Awards.

Of course, if you have better alternatives to putting your professional life on the line, do opt for them. I mean, theorizing over Christopher Nolan’s absence in the list of Best Director nominees is bad enough. You don’t want to have your boss catch you in the act of slowing down everyone else’s Internet connection. Besides, the Oscars is meant to be enjoyed. It is, after all, the most anticipated entertainment-related award-giving ceremony every year.

Modeled by Kim Chiu Photo by Miguel Miranda Styling by PATRICK GALANG Makeup by LILIAN YEUNG Hair by APRIEL SEGUIN

The Oscar red carpet itself is a sport—like, “What did Julia Roberts wear when she won? That was so classic!” or, “Mariah Carey looked like a cow last year.” You can make an impression without winning, as Michelle Williams did the year she lost her Oscar nod for Brokeback Mountain, sashaying down the red carpet in striking canary yellow with Heath Ledger on her arm.

The host also determines how much fun you’ll have at the Oscars this year. Did you notice that the difference between Steve Martin and Chris Rock is that Martin pauses then smiles for you to laugh, and Rock accelerates in words per minute for you to laugh? And both succeed—which adds to the fun. It’s more challenging and perhaps, also difficult for viewers when tandems do the hosting: for their sake and yours, you hope they’ve got chemistry and any scripted silences are anything but awkward.

Of course, surprises like Adrien Brody making out with presenter Halle Berry, on the way to accepting his Oscar, or Halle’s own tearful speech the year prior, give us another reason to watch.

Modeled by BEA ALONZO Photo by NICCOLO COSME Styling by RCXY BAUTISTA Makeup by JAKE GALVEZ Hair by BUERN RODRIGUEZ

And yet, it still all comes down to the main event, that Moment everyone’s been waiting for. We watch the Oscars because we want to find out which of the previous year’s movies the Academy liked best. It’s a game of favorites. You pick a horse, root for it, bet your Twitter reputation on it, and hope it wins.

Velvet channel’s “The Best of Hollywood: A Tribute Exhibit” at the Power Plant Mall’s Archaeology wing captures this. The one-of-a-kind exhibit challenged 15 creative teams to present their interpretations of Hollywood films to produce fashion editorial-like photos. Velvet gathered top photographers and assigned to each of them a Hollywood movie that has made an impact in fashion and style. These experts behind the shutters chose their team of stylists and make-up artists and hair stylists. Their creative collaboration transformed celebrities like Bea Alonzo, Heart Evangelista, Diego Mapa, Kim Chiu, Mia Ayesa, Erik Cua, Megan Young, John Lloyd Cruz into Hollywood icons. “The Best of Hollywood: A Tribute Exhibit” can be viewed by the public at the Archaeology wing of the Power Plant Mall until March 3. These exhibit photos will be published in the April 2011 issue of Metro magazine. You can catch the 83rd Academy Awards live on Velvet 9:30 a.m. on February 28 and the prime time telecast at 9:30 p.m.

Modeled by DANIEL MATSUNAGA, FABIO IDE, HIDEO MURAOKA, & DENY BARROS Photo by WESLEY VILLARICA Styling by ALYANNA MARTINEZ Makeup by OMAR ERMITA

As much as it is for the film industry, the Oscars is for us movie fans and film buffs: those who care enough for the art of film to look out for the best there is, all the frou-frou and the outrageous carpet attire; the big names, the politics, and the gossip. It’s for that shining moment everything aligns and the perfect girl in the perfect dress and the perfect movie win.James Franco hosting really is only the icing on the cake, believe it or not.