When Kevin Hart stepped onto the stage at the Dolby Theatre during Oscar rehearsals Saturday morning, he couldn’t resist a joke about the hot-button topic at this year’s Academy Awards: race.
“Where am I sitting?” Hart said, gazing into the audience, where placards with pictures of the stars indicated the seating plan. “All the black people should be in the front row!”
Words like diversity and boycott were commonly used in discussions of this year’s Oscar telecast, including speculation about how host Chris Rock — never known to shy away from controversy — will deal with the issue. But for the producers, presenters, stand-ins and others, there was a show to put on and lots of rehearsal business to take care of.
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Stage managers and crew were in constant motion Saturday during rehearsals at the Dolby Theatre for Sunday’s 88th annual Academy Awards.
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Trophy presenter Elizabeth Chomko, left, holding a faux wooden Oscar, waits for her cue from stage manager John Esposito during the rehearsals.
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Two-time Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett waits in the wings for her cue.
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Actors Margot Robbie and Jared Leto rehearse for the Oscar ceremony.
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Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg rehearses a backstage shot at the Dolby Theatre.
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Trophy presenter Josh Johnson holds a faux wooden Oscar statue backstage as he waits for his next cue.
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Steadicam operator Fred Frederick, right, with camera assistant Randy Pulley work on stage during the rehearsals.
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Oscar-nominated producer-director Reginald Hudlin, left, who is producing the 88th annual Academy Awards telecast with David Hill, talks to two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett backstage at the Dolby Theatre.
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Steadicam operator Fred Frederick, right, and camera assistant Randy Pulley practice walk-offs.
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Actors Abraham Attah, from left, and Jacob Tremblay get direction from stage manager John Esposito before walking on stage.
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Stage manager Gary Natoli, left, and Ron Paul, right, talk with the show director Glenn Weiss on center stage.
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Academy Award-winning actress Patricia Arquette walks off the main stage during rehearsals.
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Techno-Jib operator Jay Kulick works the camera from the balcony.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Hart was one of more than 40 presenters streaming through the Hollywood and Highland Center on Saturday to practice for their roles in Sunday night’s telecast, a list that includes Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Pharrell Williams, Cate Blanchett, Whoopi Goldberg, Emily Blunt, Jennifer Garner, Julianne Moore, Common, Patricia Arquette, Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie, Abraham Attah, Jacob Tremblay, J.J. Abrams, Jason Segal, Chris Evans, Olivia Munn, Chadwick Boseman, Eddie Redmayne, Sofia Vergara, Jared Leto, Kerry Washington, Russell Crowe, Henry Cavill, Quincy Jones, Louis C.K., Morgan Freeman and Olivia Wilde.
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The rehearsals are a chance for the stars to perfect their stage walking and teleprompter reading, while the Oscars show crew finesses its camera moves and set changes.
The goal is to produce a show that looks both spontaneous and smooth, but on Saturday, there were signs that cast and crew alike were still getting their footing.
In a stage move during Hart’s rehearsal, a massive set piece crashed to the floor, breaking several glass lightbulbs and requiring more than a dozen crew members to right it.
“That’s what rehearsals are for,” Hart said. “All right guys, my part was great, though. Piece of ci-za-ke (cake)!”
Some actors had more elaborate tasks to carry out. Talking into camera while walking across the stage through pieces of set, Oscar nominee Cate Blanchett sought help from stage manager Gary Natoli about hitting her marks. “Is it here? Ish? And angled in what fashion?”
After a giant video screen lowered above the stage began to wobble, and Blanchett tried a more leisurely walk at the director’s request, the “Carol” star said, “I don’t know if I can walk any slower than that.”
A voice boomed from the back of the room, “That’s fine.”
Blanchett, who was wearing the set of towering silver heels she plans to wear Sunday night, looked up into the crowd. “You can always recast,” she said. “A couple of drinks, anyone?”
Last year’s supporting actress winner Patricia Arquette negotiated with the teleprompter operator over the font size and went off-script, adding, “who’s also very foxy” to a serious introduction written for a best actor nominee.
Some who were new to the Oscars took the experience in stride, including 9-year-old Jacob Tremblay of “Room” and his co-presenter, 14-year-old Abraham Attah of “Beasts of No Nation.”
“Can you step that high up?” a stage manager asked Tremblay, of a stack of apple boxes held together with electrical tape. The tiny actor nodded.
Handed a water bottle that the crew were using as a pretend Oscar statuette, Attah let out a laugh.
Others used the opportunity to test out their presenting patter.
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Jennifer Lopez backstage at the 87th Academy Awards.
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Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris is shown backstage in nothing but his tighty whities, socks and shoes at the 87th Academy Awards.
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Julianne Moore is giddy with delight as she displays her lead actress award backstage at last year’s Oscars.
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Presenter Jennifer Lawrence walks offstage with Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey, who won for his role in “Dallas Buyers Club” at the 2014 Academy Awards.
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Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres, left, chats with Lupita Nyong’o backstage minutes after the latter won the supporting actress award at the 2014 Academy Awards.
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Supporting actor winner Jared Leto hugs Anne Hathaway backstage at the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014.
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Charlize Theron, an Oscar winner, awaits her turn onstage as a presenter at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Best director nominee Clint Eastwood watches the show from a monitor backstage at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Adele and Catherine Zeta-Jones backstage at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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After being nominated five times previously, Martin Scorsese clutches his very first directing Oscar, for 2006’s “The Departed, “ which went on to win for top picture as well at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Jennifer Lopez, right, and Cameron Diaz at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in 2012. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Daniel Day-Lewis, winner of the lead actor Oscar for “There Will Be Blood,” and Helen Mirren backstage at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Kate Winslet backstage after her win for lead actress at the 81st Annual Academy Awards in 2009. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Morgan Freeman walks off with supporting actress winner Rachel Weisz at the 78th Annual Academy Awards in 2006. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Kingsley and Adrian Brody backstage at the 81st Annual Academy Awards in 2009. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Presenter Forest Whitaker hugs Marion Cotillard who won the Oscar for lead actress for “La Vie en Rose” at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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George Clooney, left, with Cate Blanchett at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Emmy Rossum backstage at the 77th Annual Academy Awards in 2005. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Martin Scorsese is hugged by Jack Nicholson, as Francis Ford Coppola, left, and Steven Spielberg, right, look on during the 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Presenter Nicole Kidman walks offstage with George Clooney after he won the supporting actor award at the 78th Annual Academy Awards in 2006. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Tim Robbins, left, shares a laugh with Sean Penn backstage at the 76th Annual Academy Awards in 2003. (Brian VanderBrug / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Penelope Cruz prepares to make a presentation at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards in 2010. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Mo’Nique and screenplay writer Geoffrey Fletcher make a toast with their Oscars backstage at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards in 2010. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Halle Berry walks backstage at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards in 2011. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millipied backstage at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards in 2011. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Christian Bale backstage at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards after accepting the Oscar for actor in a supporting role in 2011. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Jake Gyllenhaal, left, and Robert Downey Jr. at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards in 2011. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, center, and Brian Grazer at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in 2012. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Presenter Tom Cruise, left, chats with Brian Grazer backstage at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in 2012. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Robert Downey Jr. backstage at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Host Seth MacFarlane prepares to take the stage at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Seth MacFarlane has lint removed before taking the stage at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Halle Berry, a Bond girl and Oscar winner, introduced a tribute to 007 that included movie clips through the decades at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Helen Bonham Carter, center, and John Travolta backstage at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Catherine Zeta-Jones at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Nicole Kidman backstage at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Quentin Tarantino walks off the stage with the Oscar for original screenplay at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Jennifer Lawrence took home the Oscar for lead actress at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Daniel Day-Lewis, who won for lead actor, and Meryl Streep, who presented the award, backstage at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Hilary Swank walks off with lead actor winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman at the 78th Annual Academy Awards in 2006. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Former Oscar-winner Jared Leto, after delivering a joke a second time, looked out into the audience of stand-ins, saying, “Just a giggle, please?”
Around the stars, the show machinery churned. The smell of wet paint and coffee hung in the air, the stand-in actors delivered pretend acceptance speeches and the stage managers talked into their headsets and glanced at their iPads that listed the show’s rundown.
“Are you Tom Hardy?” a stage manager called out to the stand-ins, preparing to rehearse the best supporting actor category. “Where’s my Stallone? I need a Christian Bale, a Tom Hardy, a Mark Ruffalo, a Mark Rylance and a Sylvester Stallone.”
In the audience, actors’ publicists sized up their clients’ ranks.
“I’m all right with that seat,” one publicist said, realizing her client’s proximity to Leonardo DiCaprio. “He’s gonna be on camera all night.”
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Oscar statues are uncovered on the red carpet as preparations continue for the 88th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood.
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Carpenters Howard Miles, left, and Coconut set Oscar statues into place at the entrance to the Hollywood and Highland Center to set up for Academy Awards festivities.
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A chain curtain serves as the backdrop for an Oscar statue at the Hollywood and Highland Center.
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Gil Bustamonte, right, catches a ride with Geoffrey Doleman to deliver an Oscar statue.
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Gil Bustamonte from the props department delivers an Oscar statue for the red carpet.
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