Hollywood Takes a Spring Break
The Scene: Saturday’s seventh annual ode to low-IQ dual pop icons (Bill-Ted / Wayne-Garth / Beavis-Butt-head), popcorn cinema and the ironically bemused acceptance speech--the MTV Movie Awards. The ceremony was held in the Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hangar with a convention-sized party in a nearby tent.
Place in the Hollywood Spectrum: “If the Oscars are final exams,” said “Truman Show” producer Adam Schroeder, “then the MTV Awards are spring break.”
Who Was There: Among the 1,500 guests, presenters and nominees were Robert Downey Jr., Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn, Neve Campbell, Ellen DeGeneres, Anne Heche, Jeff Goldblum, Jenna Elfman, Ron Howard, Martin Landau and Matt Dillon.
The Party: A 170-by-100-foot black tent decorated, said designer Chris Goldsmith, “in a Victorian bug planet theme.” The adroit decor included car-sized insect eggs, a pair of 16-foot praying mantises and a robotic caterpillar. “The one thing you don’t want to do,” said Goldsmith, “is bring the bug theme into the food menu.”
Dress Mode: While the Oscars excel in “fossils in black-tie,” MTV has the nouveau riche in Nikes. Two themes dominated women’s fashion. On one side, big cleavage; on the other, plunging backless dresses that verged upon, in one fashion savant’s words, the dreaded “plumber’s butt.”
Fashion Standout: Carmen Electra wore an eye-catching, floor-length Steve Sprouse gown, its most salient feature a seemingly backless, low-cut top. The white satin creation achieved the illusion of defying gravity through the use of a Scotch-tape-like strap. The actress correctly described her gown as looking like “Barbarella’s wedding dress.”
Hollywood Wisdom: A taped award show’s start-stop rhythm can begin to irk the live viewing crowd. Wisely, MTV took measures to avert this. Said Chairman Tom Freston, “The secret of this show is giving free champagne to the audience to lessen their pain.”
* THE WINNERS F6
