A sea of famous faces filled the Shrine Exhibition Centre yesterday for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, so the theatre — and the famous faces — spent Saturday getting ready.
A spate of stars, including Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, popped by the Shrine to rehearse their lines for the show, which honours the year's top performances in TV and film.
The Shrine Exhibition Centre, which is basically a giant concrete box, had been transformed into an elegant dining room for the festivities. Crystal chandeliers dangled from the ceiling above tables dressed in black.
Placards saved the stars' seats on Saturday. The nominated cast of Glee spilled out over three tables near the stage. James Franco, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and the stars of The Social Network had front row seats. Behind them were Annette Bening and the nominated cast of The Kids are All Right, plus a few tables for the nominated ensembles of 30 Rock and Mad Men.
Renner read over his lines in the green room — decked out in white leather, black lacquer and orchids — before stepping out onto the ivory-and-silver stage.
Dressed in sneakers, blue jeans and a gray pullover, he practised with a stand-in to present the award for male actor in a TV movie or miniseries. A stage manager explained that if the winner is absent, Renner should accept the award on his behalf.
"I finally won one!" he said as he pretended to claim the trophy.
In less than five minutes, his rehearsal was done.
"Thanks for coming by. Have a good day tomorrow," the stage manager told Renner as he walked away.
But seconds later, the actor returned to the stage. He just wanted to see where he'd be sitting.
In the front row, of course.
"Yeah, it's a good seat," he said with a smile.
Renner was among a star-studded list of presenters that included Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Nicole Kidman, Eva Longoria, Justin Timberlake, Tina Fey, Geoffrey Rush, Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg, Natalie Portman and Betty White.
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