Filed at 7:28 a.m. ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Whether it's the recession, the age of Obama or the
fact a hopeful movie is favored to win best film, it's clear that change has
come to Hollywood as Oscar week kicks off on Monday.
Movie fans and critics have escaped the gloomy economy by seeking out Academy
Award front-runner "Slumdog Millionaire," a rags-to-riches romance about a poor,
young Indian man on an odds-defying quest on a television game show.
"Slumdog" follows two straight years of dark crime dramas -- "No Country for
Old Men" and "The Departed" -- winning the world's top film honor, the Oscar,
for best motion picture.
Party planners and caterers say plans for Oscar festivities have slowed ahead
of Sunday's Oscar show. Celebrity gift-getting suites are open for business but
organizers say giving back seems to be more of a priority among the stars.
"Obama asked us for a day of service and we're asking for a night to make a
difference," celebrity talk show hostess Leeza Gibbons said.
Gibbons and singer Olivia
Newton-John's are hosting an Oscar night benefit for Gibbons' Memory
Foundation and Newton-John's Cancer and Wellness Center.
"A lot of the glamour associated with the Oscars is still there but it's
tempered by the economic times," Gibbons said.
Vanity Fair, which once ruled the roost of Oscar parties, will renew its
annual gala but the affair will be toned down compared to previous years due, in
part, to the recession.
Elton
John and David Furnish are hosting their annual charity event but gone are
last year's competing private affairs held by pop stars Madonna and Prince. In their place, Hollywood's elite may be rolling over to a
Mercedes-Benz-sponsored party.
GLOOM BUT NO DOOM
Budgets have been reduced for many of these lavish pre-Oscar and Oscar night
events. "Some haven't cut 1 percent; others have cut 75 percent," said Michael
Gapinsky, vice president at caterer Along Came Mary.
The posh hotel suites where fashion designers, jewelry makers and cosmetic
companies pamper the stars, remain a stop on Oscar week lists. But charity also
will be emphasized in the give-away suites with guests given the option of
donating products or money to others, said Gavin Keilly, founder of gift suite
organizer GBK Productions.
Oscar organizers also promise a new look to the gala awards ceremony on
Sunday night. Earlier this month Sid Ganis, president of the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the awards, said the
show's producers "are going to take some risks, many risks, some bold."
He did not detail the risks and producers Bill
Condon and Laurence Mark -- who backed movie musical "Dreamgirls" -- also
are being tight-lipped. Australian song-and-dance man Hugh
Jackman is the host, a spot usually reserved for a comedian, so many
observers expect a music-oriented type of stage show.
What is known is that "Slumdog," with a cast of mostly unknown Indian actors,
is clearly favored to win best movie after sweeping up awards from Hollywood
producers, directors and writers, many of whom also belong to the Academy. The
movie's British director, Danny
Boyle, is the front-runner for the directing prize.
The other nominees are "Milk," about slain gay activist Harvey
Milk; "Frost/Nixon," recounting TV interviews of former U.S. President Richard
Nixon by British TV host David Frost; "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,"
starring Brad
Pitt as a man who ages backwards; and the Holocaust drama "The Reader."
A close race is expected in the best actor category between Sean
Penn as Harvey Milk and Mickey
Rourke playing a faded sports star in "The Wrestler." Frank
Langella as Nixon is a dark horse nominee who could break through.
Kate
Winslet playing a woman with a secret past in "The Reader" and Meryl
Streep as Catholic nun out to stop sexual abuse in "Doubt" are in a pitched
battle for best actress.
The late Heath
Ledger is widely expected to pick up best supporting actor as villain The
Joker in Batman movie "The Dark Knight" and Penelope
Cruz is picked by many to win best supporting actress as an artist in "Vicky
Cristina Barcelona."