Oscars 2012: Gate-crashing Hollywood for the day

By Celebrity editor Lucy Mapstone

As MSN's Celebrity editor and roving reporter I had the chance to hang around Los Angeles on the big day to see what the buzz was like in Hollywood as The Oscars happened. A hop, skip and a jump (well, cab ride – it's LA, not London) from my hotel and I was on Hollywood Boulevard to see what was occurring.

I don’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps a very distant view of the red carpet at the Kodak Theatre. Maybe some blurry, zoomed-in images on my camera of the back of some pretty A-list dresses. The reality couldn’t have been further from this.

For starters, Hollywood was pretty much shut right down; tourists were wandering around not sure what to do. The Hollywood Boulevard branch of American Apparel looked so sad and lonely behind the police barriers –  I couldn't help but wonder how I'd purchase a neon hoodie? I was feeling pretty chilly, even in the LA sun.

The famous star-lined street was cordoned off at least 15 blocks either way from where the Oscars hubbub was happening. The best I could see was the occasional Hummer or limousine driving towards the venue. I might have even seen Angelina and Brad’s car… or maybe some boring movie exec that nobody cares about. I’ll opt for Brad and Ange. Yes, I saw their car. It was definitely them. (I could make out Angelina’s super-famous right leg through the blacked-out window.)

Mooching around Hollywood, trying to get some sighting of a celebrity in action or a dash of showbiz glamour, it was a quick realisation that we weren’t going to be seeing an A-lister. Not in the flesh anyway. I did spot a woman raiding a bin (sorry, trash can) for recyclable tin and glass, though.

And I did stumble into a scary group of anti-Oscars protesters who clearly could smell out that I was a member of the press. I had to run away pretty quickly before I ended up with an angry billboard in my neck.

However, I did spot sexy model and actor Jon Kortajarena – the attractive James Dean-esque guy from A Single Man who hits on Colin Firth’s character in a parking lot – enjoying a burger and fries at an In-And-Out Burger just off Hollywood Boulevard. He was almost too pretty to be enjoying a $1.90 meal.

I also tried, in vain, to blag my way in to some Oscars parties. After tweeting Piers Morgan and asking him if he’d let me accompany him to the Vanity Fair party, he cut me off pretty quickly.

“No, but nice try…” he tweeted. Damn.

I also happened to wander, somewhat accidently, right into The Weinstein Company party at the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. Perhaps I was trying to crash the Vanity Fair bash, held right next door... I wanted to give Piers Morgan a piece of my mind! Turn me down? Pah.

So, here I am now, in my perfectly pleasant Los Angeles hotel, unable to blag my way into any of the high society post-Oscars parties (I was contemplating pretending I was Jessie J so people would let me in) and watching the rich, fabulous and glossy stars enjoy themselves at the Oscars and all the sickeningly wonderful after-parties.

However, I’m currently only one mile – a nice 15 minute walk away – from the Vanity Fair party, where the likes of David Beckham, Jason Segel and Tom Cruise are enjoying themselves. I could easily take a little wander, hang around outside… see what happens.

I’ll let you know how that pans out.