Mini Vohra Takes On The Oscars & Gives Us An Inside Look ~ You’re in for a Few Surprises

We interviewed London based founder and managing director of the Cornucopia Group, Mini Vohra as he takes on the 2017 Oscars with a fellow Academy Member. He walked us through a first hand experience as he discusses secrets, behind the scene action, Ryan Gosling, and the most memorable mistake in Oscar history.

Christine: Mini, I want to bombard you with so many questions at once as I’m excited to hear all the details, but let me try to contain myself and start out slow. How was the experience for you?

Mini: It is truly an amazing and glamorous event. The Oscars is something that pretty much everyone I know has grown up watching, so it was truly exhilarating to be there.

Mini Vohra

Christine: I don’t think many people realize that unless you are a presenter or nominated- whether you are an actor, producer, or director, it is extremely difficult to attend the Oscars even as a celebrity or member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, let alone someone outside the industry.

Mini: That is correct. Many do not realize that in the Kodak Theatre, now called The Dolby Theatre, there is a maximum capacity of seats of around 2600.  There are over 6000 Academy members, so not even all of them get to attend. Take away the nominees and their family or significant others, the sponsors, the film and stage crew, there are only 1500 available seats. Take away all of these individuals, it is then a public ballot system for those in the industry that want to attend. For example, if Leo was not a presenter this year, he would either have to attend as a guest of an attending member, or he would have to apply in this lottery system. That is how unique it is to attend this event.

I was sitting three rows behind Leo; and he is a joy to see every time I meet him. Great guy.

Christine: Very interesting! It is no wonder that many of them attend an “Oscar Viewing Party” (a seated dinner where attendees can view the Oscars live on a huge screen), or the popular after parties such as the Vanity Fair one in light of them not being able to attend the actual Oscars.

How was it like walking the red carpet?

Mini: The red carpet experience lasts quite a long time. It took me well over an hour {to walk it}. No one wants to rush it. I was accompanying an academy member, so it was a lot of me attending to him. There is a limo line monitored by the LAPD. Once you get your limo pass, it goes by quite efficiently. You then have 20 minutes of a security check. Once you get inside the theatre, there are canapés and hors d’oeuvres, but no one really eats!

Christine: I can imagine- no one ever eats at these things! I’d be too scared to spill something or to have the camera point at me while I scarf down a canapé.

Who did you see and meet on the red carpet?

Mini: My Academy host knows Ryan {Gosling} really well, so I had the pleasure of meeting him in a personal introduction. I saw Charlize {Theron}, Salma {Hayek}, Denzel {Washington}, Justin {Timberlake}, Alicia {Vikander}, Andrew {Garfield}, Meryl {Streep} it was quite surreal to see these individuals who you grew up watching on the screen for many years.

Charlize Theron, Oscars 2017

Andrew Garfield and Fellow Academy Member, Oscars 2017

Meryl Streep, Oscars 2017

Salma Hayek, Oscars 2017

Christine: Wow, Ryan Gosling huh? What’s he like?

Ryan Gosling, Close up, Oscars 2017

Mini: He’s a very nice and polite guy that doesn’t give away much emotion. To me, he still feels that he needs to act seriously in order to be taken seriously, whereas I’m a super playful guy no matter what, as a successful businessman. It’s funny because, when you see celebs on the street, or having lunch, or whatever, when you approach them, they absolutely hate it because to them, you are an outsider and it’s bothering. But when you are at an event like the Oscars, they know you have to be someone influential otherwise you wouldn’t be here. So celebs are very approachable at events like these and they make an effort to get acquainted because they are always looking for opportunities, as all of us would do. They want to know who you are.

Christine: What happens during commercial breaks?

Mini: They have a lot of bars outside the doors. They open the back doors the moment it’s time to break. You need to rush, because if they close the doors- the seat fillers take the empty seats till the next commercial break. It’s not a bad thing {to get stuck outside} You’ll never know who you get stuck with. When I got a drink, I got caught outside with Andrew Garfield- He’s cool

Christine: What did you think of Jimmy Kimmel hosting?

Mini: he is a funny guy! Everything that comes out of his mouth is funny and he has a great ability to captivate his audience.

Christine: What was the most surreal event of the night for you?

Mini: Of course, at the very ending, {when it announced that La La Land won best picture, and they did not actually win Best Picture- Moonlight did}. What you guys saw on TV was heavily edited. The cast of La La Land were literally on stage for almost 4 minutes. We all thought it was a joke. Until one of them actually said it was not a joke.  it was really incomprehensible that someone can allow this to go so long. Everyone was smiling and happy- they must have edited out the sound, but the whole room wasn’t taking it very seriously. The response time was also slightly delayed- being there, versus watching on tv it shows you how heavily they edit the show.

Christine: I can imagine.  And it was so cool to witness something like this that I’m sure will go down in Oscar history. Thank you Mini for taking the time to share with us your Oscar experience.

-GG

Pictures by Mini Vohra For Global Glam