Featured Image Credit: Eric McCandless via Getty Images
Topics: Oscars, Entertainment, Celebrity, Life, Real Life, TV And Film
Madison Burgess
Topics: Oscars, Entertainment, Celebrity, Life, Real Life, TV And Film
The 98th Academy Awards are well underway, with the best of Hollywood's entertainment legends all gathered together in one room.
As usual, the Oscars are being held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles tonight (15 March).
American TV show host and comedian Conan O'Brien, 62, is hosting the awards for his second consecutive year, after getting a slew of good reviews the first time around.
And there are some huge names in the audience - Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B. Jordan, and Emma Stone, to name just a few.
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But did you know that a lot of the seats aren't filled with celebrities at all, but seat fillers - a lucky group of everyday people who spend the evening sitting in the chairs of A-listers.
They're supposed to remain anonymous, and their job is simple: to sit and enjoy the ceremony so that when TV cameras show audience shots, there are no empty chairs.
However, they do have to follow a strict set of rules.
While you might be spending the evening with billionaires, unfortunately, you still have to pay for your own travel and accommodation, as per PEOPLE Magazine.
The publication spoke with Arjun Manjunath, 22, from Pittsburgh, who got to be a seat filler at the Grammy Awards in February and shared the rules you might not realise are in place for a major awards show.
The influencer explained that because the job is entirely voluntary, you don't get paid to do it, which means nothing gets expensed either.
You also might find your stomach rumbling during the evening, as apparently, any food or drink is off the cards.
Manjunath claims that he wasn't allowed to eat any food or drink anything, aside from water.
And ceremonies like the Grammys and Oscars are long, so this is a tough ask.
He told the outlet: "They give you a warning. They’re like, ‘Load up on breakfast.’"
Allegedly, this was especially true for those seat fillers who travel down to the floor of the arena, where some of the biggest celebrity names are seated.
"They tell you that it’s very strict that you’re not allowed to eat any of the food, anything that’s on the table," he added.
If you're now thinking you want to be a seat filler so you can share selfies with the biggest names in Hollywood, sadly, you're going to be disappointed.
As per the social media star, you're actually not allowed to have your phone on you during the ceremony, which means no filming or photos.
Manjunath told PEOPLE that when the seat fillers for the Grammys arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center in the afternoon ahead of the ceremony, they had to give up their phones and were told they wouldn't be getting them back until it was over.
Again, if you had dreams of chatting with Jacob Elordi or Demi Moore, sorry to be the one to break the bad news, but it's very unlikely.
The influencer explained that 'you can't talk to them unless they talk to you first - only organic interactions,' adding that 'it was very dystopian. Very Hunger Games vibes'.
And finally, as you can imagine, there's a very strict dress code that seat fillers must adhere to.
The influencer said, "They were very, very specific in instructions. They’re like, 'We’ve had this happen in the past - please don’t do this.'"
He explained that for women at the Grammys, the dress code was dresses that are 'formal but not overdone' in dark colors or a formal pantsuit.
And as for men, they had to wear 'a black or dark blue suit or tuxedo with a jacket and tie'.
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