The Oscars red carpet is often referred to by the celebrity press as the most powerful catwalk
+
catwalk:
passerella
in the world. It is the gilded
+
gilded:
dorato
stage for which haute couture dresses are made; bright lights fall on film stars dressed by the world’s most accomplished
+
accomplished:
esperti, abili
designers in some of the most expensive items of clothing ever made.
But for many of the nominees, what goes on in the run-up to
+
the run-up to:
periodo precedente
Oscar Sunday involves weeks of hunger, sacrifice and last-minute liposuction. “It is brutal,” British facialist
+
facialist:
visagista
Nichola Joss told The New York Times, of the pressure of the high-definition close-up
+
close-up:
primo piano
on Hollywood actors. “You can see a hair follicle. You can see a pimple
+
pimple:
brufolo
before it is a pimple.”
Hollywood insiders talk of actors who plot
+
to plot:
pianificare
their beauty treatments at different points around Los Angeles in a bid
+
bid:
tentativo
to lose
+
to lose:
perdere
photographers between pedicure appointments and derma-filler treatments. Anti-anxiety pills such as Xanax are said to be widely used by nominees.
“The entire city stops normal activity and the Oscars take over
+
to take over:
prendere il sopravvento
; the atmosphere is surprisingly serious,” says gossip columnist Dean Piper, who is in LA to cover the Oscars. “Most of the A-list
+
A-list:
lista VIP
have been through the Saint-Tropez tanning suite
+
tanning suite:
solarium
at the Four Seasons by now, so their skin colour can settle
+
to settle:
stabilire, assestare
for Sunday. But I’m seeing stylists whooshing
+
to whoosh:
sfrecciare
around town in their Range Rovers, pulling
+
to pull:
tirare fuori
gowns
+
gowns:
tirare fuori
from boutiques where they are being altered, and the nail bars
+
nail bars:
saloni per manicure
are heaving
+
to heave:
sospirare forte
. The actresses I’ve seen at lunch are simply pushing leaves around
+
pushing leaves around:
mescolare foglie (di insalata)
their plate.”
High-definition photography and the prevalence of social media means that actors now face having the minute details of every angle of their body and face appear in hundreds of photos online. As a result, the stakes for red-carpet glamour have never been higher
+
the stakes are high:
la posta in gioco è alta
.
“You know it’s the Oscars because suddenly everyone is on the cayenne and lemon juice diet, and talking about appointments with their facialist, podiatrist, personal trainer, stylist, dietitian, hairdresser and teams from the big fashion houses like Valentino or Dior,” says one well-known Hollywood stylist.
“Hell, darling. That is what is going on in Hollywood right now,” says stylist Cheryl Konteh, who has dressed a number of A-list stars, including Kate Winslet, for awards ceremonies. “Those poor actresses will have been on a diet-and-exercise regime since nomination day, all with the aim of looking perfect in their chosen dress. They have to look their healthiest possible. There is no way around it
+
there is no way around it:
non c’è modo di evitarlo
. Skin has to glow
+
to glow:
brillare
, legs and body must be toned
+
toned:
tonici
.”
Julianne Moore has said that as soon as she learned she had been nominated for a Golden Globe, she had to start “training” fast. “It’s so unfair. The Golden Globes fall just thirteen days after the end of the Christmas holidays. Realistically, you only stop eating and drinking too much on 1 January, and I was certainly no exception,” Moore told the Sunday Times. “I did this juice thing. I’ve never done one before, but I was desperate.”
A small army of plastic surgeons, facialists, personal trainers and cosmetologists, such as New York-based Tracie Martyn, whose signature treatment is called The Red Carpet Facial, will decamp
+
to decamp:
levare le tende
to LA for the Oscars.
A popular surgical treatment actors resort
+
resort:
ricorrere a
to before the red carpet is last-minute liposuction on “problematic” areas of fat, such as the area just under the shoulder blade
+
shoulder blade:
scapola
which may bulge
+
bulge:
sporgere
over the top of a strapless dress
+
strapless dress:
abito senza spalline
. Underarm botox is another extreme-sounding but common trick used to prevent sweating
+
to sweat:
sudare
on the night.
Underpinning
+
to underpin:
sostenere
all this is the sense that there is something more at stake than winning the “best-dressed Oscar star” accolade
+
accolade:
riconoscimento, lode
in a magazine or blog. These preparations often come down to money. “If an actor has a good Oscars red carpet moment, it paves the way
+
to pave the way:
spianare la strada
or lucrative advertising campaigns,” says The Guardian’s beauty columnist Sali Hughes.
And then, of course, they must act like it’s all such effortless fun
+
effortless fun:
divertimento spontaneo
. “They may try to make out otherwise
+
to make out otherwise:
fare diversamente
, but most actors will have chosen their dress over a month ago at the couture shows,” says Konteh. “When you are working with a fashion house you just have to commit, you can’t mess the designers around
+
to mess around:
scherzare
. Often it’s about a working relationship. With a day to go before the Oscars, I would have worked out
+
to work out:
decidere
hair, make-up
+
make-up:
trucco
and jewellery. I would also have a Plan B outfit lined up
+
lined up:
preparare
, plus a possible change of clothes for a post-Oscar event, such as the parties held by Vanity Fair or Elton John.”
In a moment of refreshing honesty, Jennifer Lawrence, who won the Oscar for best actress for her role in Silver Linings Playbook, summed up
+
summed up:
riassumere
her experience of the red carpet as “torture”. “I know that’s a cliche,” she told Vanity Fair, “but it’s uncomfortable having to pose when people are shouting at you and the next day you just get slaughter
+
to slaughter:
massacrare
. You walk out there and go: “Hate me!”
Published in The Guardian on February 22, 2013. Reprinted with permission.