As the cameramen do their thing, the reporters have their own conversation. A print guy sounds genuinely interested in a broadcast guy's celebrity puff-piece credentials, then responds with a remark about what a fun and fascinating time he always has in Los Angeles covering the Oscar ceremony. Those of us with lazier deadlines stroll back to the offices with Siegel. Siegel lobs the question to his Oscar account rep, Noreen Prohaska. And yes, she says, the firm once replaced Gene Kelly's Oscar, which was lost in a fire.
Competition sure is a strange and ugly beast.
But he can't come up with a title. Gosh, this is getting painful. Mercifully, Siegel changes the subject. A publicity event. The dope next to me laughs too.