I know that it is obviously a bit late for this year, but I would like to
know if there is a way that a person who is not in the film industry
could attend the Academy Awards as a interested spectator. How would I
be able to do this?  I am aware that a significant amount of money to
pay for this experience would probably be required.  How much would
that be?

I vaguely remember that "fans" could attend the Oscars in the past,
but also recall that attendance by those that were not in the industry
may have been restricted in some manner by the Academy in recent years
that imposed serious consequences for those that sold or gave their
tickets to others who were not "invited guests". 
(Is there information that confirms or refutes this?)

I am not sure how strict this policy is;
however, and I am inquiring here for definitive answers or leads that
would allow me to pursue the goal of attaining entry into the Oscars
as a respectful fan, or give up on the idea altogether.  Thank you for
your interest in this question...I will offer a tip to recognize 
extraordinary effort.

Hi lynx10,

The Answer is at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences site:
http://www.oscars.org/academy/index.html

...at the bottom of this page:
http://www.oscars.org/academyawards/history02.html
..."Attendance at the Annual Academy Awards is by invitation only. No
tickets are put on public sale..."


The bleachers outside is the closest you can get:

The Hype of the Ceremony
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A706781
..."Outside the theatre in which the award ceremony is held (located
alongside the red carpet on which the members of the Academy and the
nominees will pass in their tuxedoed and evening gowned best), there
are now traditionally two groups vying for position. The first is the
world's media, trying to get a word from each of the contenders on
their way into the theatre so that they will have something to show on
their coverage and news programmes to justify the bill for their
evening dress for the evening. Secondly the queue will have formed
days in advance for the seats in the bleachers which are given to the
general public on a first-come basis. These are prestige seats for
anyone who is not a member of the Academy despite the fact that all
they will see is the stars exiting their limousines and processing
along the carpet and into the sanctity of the theatre having
negotiated the media scrum..."


MORE INFO:

The Tradition
http://www.stud.u-szeged.hu/Bagdi.Gabriella/oscar.html
..."The tradition of the Academy Awards dates back 71 years, when the
first talking movies had just begun. Since then, the Academy of Motion
Picture, Arts and Sciences give out Oscars annualy.  The first event,
in 1928, took place in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt
Hotel. It was attended by 250 people and tickets were sold for $10. 
Today, no tickets are available for public sale; attendance is
strictly by invitation only. Being invited is a great honour for every
star of Hollywood..."


In my search, I found a couple non-celebrity type that recieved an
invitation.  In 2000, Junk dealer Willie Fulgear found the
missing/stolen Oscars next to a trash dumpster. Fulgear was rewarded
$50,000, and he received an invitation to the Academy Awards ceremony.

Willie Fulgear
http://www.jsonline.com/enter/gen/mar00/celebg032300.asp 

Jeffrey Wigand
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,6158,00.html
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,6106,00.html

You can by an OLD Invitation and/or program at ebay:
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=%22Academy+Awards+Invitation%22+ebay

Couldn't find anything about celebrities selling or giving away
invitations.  Film companies that break the Academy's rules (ie: use
Oscar's image wrongfully), forfiet as many as 4 out of 20 tickets they
are allotted to give away.  That's the only example of penalties I
could find.

Let me know if you need any clarification.


~~Cynthia


Search terms:
site:www.oscars.org "invitation only"
"Academy Awards" ceremony "invitation only" public tickets
"Academy Awards" ticket scandal
"Academy Awards Invitation" ebay
variations of above using SOLD, "GAVE AWAY/GIVE AWAY"

---

Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 01 Mar 2005 02:05 PST

lynx,

cryptica has an excellent idea below in the Comments, and I found out
how you can persue that idea.  There is no pay, but hey, who cares? 
I'd do it for free, as would you.

In the Seat of the Night ...
http://articles.student.com/article/seatfillers
..."At award shows, not everyone in a dress or tux is up for a prize.
There's an army of regular folks who keep the stars' seats warm..."

Audiences Unlimited
http://www.audiencesunlimited.com/default.htm
FAQ's:  http://www.audiencesunlimited.com/faq.htm
The FAQ page says there may be a charge for some Awards Shows.

It's likely that as a "new" seat filler, you'd have to work up the
ranks to become elegible to fill a seat at the Academy Awards, but
it's worth exploring.

~~Cynthia

---

Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 01 Mar 2005 02:21 PST

These links are too good to pass up:

The Oscar ticket goes to...
http://www.suntimes.com/output/travel/tra-news-oscartravel06.html
..."(Another way in has been as a seat filler, a person who
temporarily takes the seat of stars on bathroom or cigarette breaks or
who are presenting so that cameras don't pan empty seats. But now
network employees and academy members are charged with that task.)

"It is difficult -- or probably impossible -- unless they go through a
secondary source," Schwartz said.

The transaction might be a little dicey, because those invitations are
nontransferable. The academy didn't invite you. The academy doesn't
want you there, she said.

"It's illegal to sell them. That makes it a very difficult situation
for most people," Schwartz said.

Even invited guests have to pay for their tickets, with the money
going to a foundation. The face value of a balcony seat might be about
$500.

If a studio worker finds himself with a ticket the boss has already
paid for, that ticket might find its way to a broker...."

What's Happening In Our Neighborhood
http://domni.com/Oscar/Oscar.htm
Pictures of the bleachers...." VJ has attended the Academy Awards
twice in the past when they were held at the Shrine Auditorium in
downtown Los Angeles, but she was snubbed this year and couldn't
attend. (Okay, so she was only a volunteer seat-filler.  But that
meant she sat in the first 18 rows during the show, amongst all the
big stars -- woohoo!)..."

Article
http://povonline.com/cols/COL136.htm
..."The job of a Seat Filler is to fill a seat.  In the middle of the
show, when they're presenting the statuette for the best catering of
prune danish on the set of a documentary shot in Guam on a Tuesday,
the big stars are all out in the lobby, shmoozing and talking deals. 
So that you don't see a lot of empty seats when the camera shoots the
audience, especially in front where they place the biggies, a Seat
Filler is sent down to sit there and politely applaud.

The Seat Fillers are mostly outta-work actors and actresses and it's
not a bad job.  You get paid to see the Oscars ? usually from the best
seats ? and you get to go home and tell everyone how you sat next to
Barbra or Arnold or Sly.  The only real requirement for the job is to
have your own tuxedo..."

The Seat Filler (2004) (A FILM)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379487/

GOOD LUCK!!!  If you start NOW, make a plan, you JUST MIGHT MAKE IT!!

~~Cynthia

Cynthia, thanks for your research. The "seat-filler" option is
probably the only practical way a mere mortal could attend the Oscars
these days, but I'm inclined to pursue it just for the fun of it. 
Thank you for your research and follow-up!

Here's an idea... do some research on some of the lesser known
technical categories.  When you know who is likely to be a nominee,
lobby them to take you as their date.  I noticed that some of them had
family members there, so perhaps they get to invite a guest or two. 
Since they seemed a bit put out about not getting the credit they
deserve, they might be flattered by a "fan."

Why not try for a job?

They must need Security Staff, etc.

You don't even need to get a job.  You can volunteer to be a "Seat Filler."

Those are the people who run down the aisles, dressed in Black Tie or
Evening gowns and fill in empty seats so that when the cameras pan the
theater, it looks full.   

Seat fillers often get to sit next to the stars, since the celebs are always coming
and going during the show.

You contact the producer of whatever awards show you want to be a seat filler on.

Oh dear Cryptica ... What have you done?

Next year, there will be so many Seat Fillers running down the aisles
that the show will become an even bigger fiasco than ever.

Please try to be more cryptic in future.

Possibly 256-bit?

lynx10,

THANKS so much for the 5 stars, the kind words, and the generous tip! 
Keep us posted on your progress !!!

~~Cynthia

Lynx 

Cynthia's provided a great service with all those links.  'Cause guess what?
The New York Times reports today that the "Academy" was NOT happy
this year with the seat fillers!  They did not do their job well enough and
TV viewers saw many, many empty seats during the awards -- a big no no.

They NEED you!    

Probono -- Maybe the answer is for everyone at Google Answers to sign up to be
seat fillers and have a secret "sign". . . like pulling on your ear
(like Annette Bening
does now and what Carol Burnett started years ago). . . then viewers would know
that THIS seat filler is one of the elite!