Reporting from Los Angeles, RTÉ's Arts and Media Correspondent Evelyn O'Rourke shares her first impressions from Hollywood ahead of Sunday's 98th Academy Awards, where she will be covering the biggest night in film.
Five days to go until the curtain rises on the 98th Oscars ceremony, which takes place this Sunday. I am in LA to cover the ceremony, and it has already been a busy, eye-opening experience.
This is my first trip to LA, and by the end of day one, I had already encountered a delivery robot called Malia, walked the iconic grand staircase at the Dolby Theatre, the Oscars venue, and taken a selfie at the In-N-Out on Sunset Boulevard, possibly the most famous takeaway in the world.
My day started with a trip into downtown Hollywood to the famous Loews Hotel to collect my accreditation. Having entered the hotel, I headed straight up to the third floor to get my picture snapped for security, and I now have clearance for access to the red carpet and the press room, which is a relief after weeks of endless emails and queries.
I then headed out of the hotel and suddenly saw signs for the famous Dolby Theatre. I had no idea that the Oscars venue at the Dolby Theatre was all in the same complex as the Loews Hotel and that it forms part of a major mall area.
You walk out one door of the Loews Hotel, make your way down an open-air staircase and, within a few metres, you see the Dolby Theatre. Turn your head in another direction, and suddenly you see the iconic staircase made famous by the Oscars, leading down to the street.
Along the way, there are signs with the names of the various movies that have won Best Picture, with the years written in large letters above. As I walked along, I could see empty areas with the years 2067 and 2070 ready for their winner, which felt a bit strange, but you have to admire the confidence.
The street at the end of the staircase is called Hollywood Boulevard and it is currently blocked off because construction teams have taken over the street to build the red carpet and media platforms in preparation for Sunday. This boulevard is also home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so many of the famous celebrity stars are now covered up with delivery trucks and busy building teams. Some stars have, temporarily at least, been sacrificed for the Oscars.
The red carpet will be 900 feet long and seeing the rolls of red carpet being delivered today caused great excitement for passers-by, who had cameras at the ready to capture every shot of the action. The build-up and anticipation around the Dolby Theatre was really lovely to see.
I am here with my lovely cameraman colleague Brian Walsh and we quickly recorded a piece for RTÉ News explaining the layout of the Dolby Theatre venue, which was fun to make. Then we headed down and turned right, walking alongside the construction area on the boulevard, and suddenly we saw the famous Chinese Theatre, which is next to the Dolby Theatre.
Outside the TCL Chinese Theatre you can spot more of your favourite Hollywood stars, who have left handprints and footprints in cement since 1927. I could not resist the chance to put my hands on George Clooney's tile, which sounds ridiculous, but it was a highlight of my day.
Then we moved on down Hollywood Boulevard, just taking in the sights and scenes, and after a few twists and turns, we found ourselves on Sunset Boulevard. I stopped to pay my respects to the In-N-Out Burger drive-thru, which must be one of the most famous takeaways in the world. It has become part of the Oscars tradition for celebrities to go there after the ceremony to snap pictures of themselves eating In-N-Out burgers in their glamorous gowns, tuxedos and jewellery in the back of taxis.
However, while we were staring at the In-N-Out in wonder, I was suddenly distracted by a small delivery robot called Malia, which was making its way down the boulevard. It was the second one I had seen within an hour and it is really bizarre.
Malia was cute, but it was really strange to see it powering along the road, avoiding passers-by and sitting patiently at the red pedestrian lights, waiting for them to turn green before crossing the street.
Be reassured too that Jessie Buckley is everywhere and tonight, as we said goodbye to Sunset Boulevard, we clocked her beaming down from two of the biggest billboards on the famous street, which felt like a very nice omen.
The countdown is on.
