Behind The Curtain: Covering the Academy Awards Backstage

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Behind The Curtain: Covering the Academy Awards Backstage by Robert Hanashiro
This Sunday's 87th Academy Awards is my 26th for USA TODAY and my 10th covering the show backstage.

Covering the Oscar show backstage is the most challenging and most pressure-filled assignment that I handle.

I am one of just five news photographers covering the Academy Awards backstage. It is the ultimate fly-on-the-wall entertainment assignment. We have to stay out of sight of the TV cameras covering the show, keep clear of the stagehands and huge set pieces being moved around and make our photographs ... all in near total darkness.

There are two schools of thought when covering the Oscars backstage: Getting the "walk off" --- the winners coming off the stage with the theater in the background OR what I like to capture --- "moments" those scenes that happen behind the curtain that the broadcast doesn't show.

(Or a combination of the two...)

Coverage of the Oscars was started by the LA Times and Anacleto Rapping --- and now carried on by "The King Of Backstage" Al Seib. Al's coverage is outstanding year in and year out.

Here are some of my fave images from backstage.

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Scott Strazzante and 84 others like this.

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Scott Strazzante

Fabulous gallery of images!