Talkhouse Film contributor Julia Pott is attending the Academy Awards on Sunday as a voice actor in Don Hertzfeldt's excellent World of Tomorrow, which is nominated for Best Animated Short. Julia will be taking over the Talkhouse's Instagram account for the day of the Oscars, so you can get an inside look at the wonders of attending the world's glitziest awards show. Below, she gives an insight into the pointers her mom has been giving her as she gets ready for the big day.
1. My mom calls me the day the Oscar nominations are announced and we both freak out. Her first question is, of course, about what I am going to wear. I tell her I will probably just wear the same dress I wore when I met Shari Lewis’ daughter, because I love Lamb Chop. She informs me that I can’t wear a dress I already own to the Oscars and that I should treat myself to a new one. This from the woman who puts a decorative brooch on a Nike sweatshirt for formal occasions. Thanks for keeping me classy, Mom.
2. My mother calls me up to ask if she can be my stylist. “I have good ideas,” she says. She then asks if I’ve considered wearing a backpack. Her reasons for this are threefold:
1) I will be doing a lot of networking and should keep my hands free to greet people.
2) If there is someone tall in front of me at the ceremony I can sit on it for height.
3) Where else am I going to put my sweater?
When I tell her I am not bringing a sweater to the Oscars, she tells me that’s my first mistake.
She follows up the next day with a persuasive text:
For those of you who have not read the same book on ‘text speak’ as my mother, she has written “Stylish Bakpaks R so Cool & roomy!” Which I think will become the name of my memoirs.
3. After the backpack suggestion, I of course officially hire my mother as my stylist. Her second suggestion: “Why don’t you walk down the red carpet with helium balloons with your name written on them in Sharpie? It’ll be like an homage to the movie Up, because you’re in the animation category.” I tell her they might not let me in with helium balloons and she says to sneak them through in my backpack.
4. My mother has been looking at past Oscar red carpet photographs to get some ideas of what I should wear. She tells me that Helen Mirren wore a dress designed for older ladies that covered up her aging arms. I ask my mother what she is getting at and she just says I might want to consider that route. That’s all she’s saying.
5. Now that I am officially styled in a long-sleeved dress, backpack and helium balloons, my mom and I can cut loose with some real talk about the upcoming event.
Mom: "If you see Harrison Ford..."
Me: "...I know – say hi from you"
Mom: "No, fuck hi – just touch him, I just want you to touch him."
I’m going to touch him for you, Mother. It’s the least I can do.
