Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Oscar Preparation Has High Price

Aired March 21, 2002 - 05:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about the Academy Awards now. They will be handed out Sunday night. In the days leading up to the Oscars, the schedules for many celebrities are jam packed. They have to get primped for prime time and hey, that ain't cheap.

CNN's Janine Sharell adds up the costs for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICOLE KIDMAN: I believe you were expecting me.

JANINE SHARELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nicole Kidman cracked a rib while filming "Moulin Rouge" and Renee Zellweger had to pack on the pounds to star in "Bridget Jones's Diary." Seems almost a small price to pay, though, compared to what it costs to sparkle on the red carpet.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Everything is free.

SHARELL: Not quite. While Academy Award nominees do score many perks, gifts, loans and freebies, they will pick up some of the tab, while studios foot a major percentage of the total package. As for some numbers...

VERA KANTOR, OWNER, VERABELLA SPA: This facial called champagne wishes and the caviar creams.

SHARELL: Verabella Spa owner Vera Kantor dubbed this facial, which uses real champagne and caviar extracts, the Academy Award winning facial. Her client and best actor nominee Will Smith hopes so.

KANTOR: I think for the price of $150, it's really an amazing facial.

DR. ANDREW BERMAN, PLASTIC SURGEON: I take care of a lot of people you see on TV or in the movies every week.

SHARELL: Many a celebrity walks through the door of Dr. Andrew Berman's Beverly Hills office for a quick fix. Collagen injections run about $300 and botox...

BERMAN: Botox runs $600 on average, but we do have botox Thursdays. I'm serious -- which it's $400. RISPY ALEXANIAN, MANICURIST: People come with such disastrous feet.

SHARELL: From head to toe, stars want to shine.

ALEXANIAN: The top price for a pedicure will be $75.

SHARELL: And, of course, celebs have to be well coiffed.

ETIENNE TAENAKA, VIDAL SASSOON, BEVERLY HILLS: I have certain clients who just require a really simple blow dry, you know, it'll be a couple hundred dollars.

NICOLE DAVENPORT, STYLIST, FREDERIC FEKKAI: If you do come in for a haircut and coloring and blow dry, that can range between $250 to $500.

SHARELL (on camera): If those prices sound steep, consider this. Many people attending the Oscars don't have time to run from salon to salon and instead require house calls.

TAENAKA: A house call generally runs triple the amount of the salon service.

ALEXANIAN: That will be the same thing except it's double. BERMAN: It's an additional $500.

SHARELL: Putting your best face forward can be pricey, says Bruce Grayson, head makeup artist for the Academy Awards.

BRUCE GRAYSON, OSCAR MAKEUP ARTIST: You can spend up to $2,500, $3,000 for a makeup artist.

JESSICA PASTER (ph): I style people, which is I dress people.

SHARELL: Stylist Jessica Paster has Marsha Gay Hardin, Naomi Watts and nominee Helen Mirren on her slate this year. Her rate?

PASTER: It's between $15 to $5,000 a day.

SHARELL: Once primed, primped and pampered, it's all about making a grand entrance and not hassling with parking. At Avalon Limousines, there's a 10 hour minimum.

JEFF BRUSH, OWNER, AVALON LIMOUSINES: It starts at about $900 and then some of the larger vehicles are $10,000. Your limousine might run about $1,200 for the night. And that big bus will run about $2,000. Plus gratuity, 20 percent. Got to keep the drivers, you know, got to keep them in some money.

SHARELL: The grand total for everything on our list, about $15,000, tip not included.

Janine Sharell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Wow. Aren't you glad you're not a Hollywood star.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com