English/Nat
Oscar preparations are in high gear as the countdown begins to Monday's biggest night in Hollywood.
Six twenty-four foot Oscar statues were installed in front of the Shrine providing a dramatic backdrop for the (b)billion viewers watching the televised coverage.
But, it is not enough for the ceremony to be visually stunning, it also has to sound great and the musicians have been busy practising new scores for the big night.
Preparations are getting underway for Monday's seventieth Oscar awards presentation in Los Angeles.
Oscar is literally returning to the Shrine Auditorium for the eighth time.
Six 24 foot gold-painted statues were brought in by crane to be placed by the entrance of the Shrine.
The world famous statues are the face of Oscar and the backdrop for the avalanche of television cameras at the most covered event in Hollywood.
The Shrine's key asset is its size with six -thousand and three hundred seats.
The big show was first held there back in 1947 and then again in 1948, but forty years passed before the Academy moved back to the Shrine again.
Barricades will be put up to prevent bystanders and protesters from crossing the street during celebrity arrivals.
Meanwhile, lucky fans will get bleacher seats along the runway allowing them a glimpse of Leonardo, Kate or Jack Nicholson.
But no Oscar would be complete without an original musical score for the telecast.
At Capitol Records here in the heart of Hollywood, the musical director for this year's Academy telecast is rehearsing the Oscar score.
This is Conti's thirteenth time as musical director for the Academy Awards.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"There is a performance element - it's a live show and musicians usually in Hollywood work in a clinical environment, we work for tape recorders and maybe if the director loves it that's wonderful but we have a few million people watching and if it sounds great and it makes them happy then it makes us happy.
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Conti, Musical Director, Academy Awards Telecast
It is a dramatic score meant to usher in the grandeur of one of the most anticipated events in the entertainment capital.
