Showy spread: At-home Oscar party fare can have the flair of Wolfgang Puck's menus

The notion of dinner and a movie can be taken to extravagant heights this weekend.

Publicist Daphne Ortiz (center) with Her Admirers

Adam Hughes, left, and Benny Hardy, right, of Australia's Thunder Down Under, serenade their publicist Daphne Ortiz, originally from Lowell, for a photo at the LaSalle Power Company in Chicago on Monday, June 20, 2011.

OFFBEAT: Lowell grad turned PR maven at next week's Oscars

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

For Ang Lee, all movies are a leap of faith

NEW YORK (AP) — Is there anything Ang Lee can't do?

Two must-see venues in L.A. where the show must go on

When I called my friend Myles to tell him I would be visiting L.A. during the Thanksgiving holiday, he said, "I want to take you to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall." He bragged, "Designed by the great architect Frank Gehry."

Tailor for C.P. shop worked on Oscar-winners' matching tuxes

CROWN POINT | On Sunday, Maurice Hood personally felt the excitement and anticipation of two Oscar nominees hoping their names would be announced as winners.

84th Academy Awards Show

William Joyce, left, and Brandon Oldenburg accept the Oscar for best-animated short film for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. Maurice Hood, the in–house tailor for recently opened Ginger's Spyceware Sewing Center in …

OFFBEAT: Actress-turned-nun Dolores Hart back at Oscars on the red carpet

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

'The Artist' takes top prize at Academy Awards

LOS ANGELES | "The Artist" won five Academy Awards on Sunday including best picture, becoming the first silent film to triumph at Hollywood's highest honors since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago.

Madame Tussauds Hollywood Portrait with Famed Wax Figures

In celebration of this weekend’s 84th annual Academy Awards and the 125th Anniversary of Hollywood, Madame Tussauds Hollywood assembled a collection of Hollywood’s biggest stars in front of the iconic Hollywood sign for a celebratory photo in the Hollywood Hills on Thursday, February 16, 201…

OFFBEAT: Madame Tussauds' wax figures helping celebrate Oscars and Hollywood's anniversary

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

Oscars Kodak

Things start to take shape at the red carpet arrivals area outside the Kodak Theatre in preparation for the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Friday. There’s a melancholy backstory behind the 84th annual Academy Awards. One way or the other, this will likely be the last year the ceremony…

FROM the FARM: Both famous and everyday folk are fond of chili

Phil Potempa's weekly farm column recipe.

OFFBEAT: Oscar nominated 'The Artist' arrives in region, dazzles with Old Hollywood Style

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

84th Annual Oscars Telecast

Winners at the 84th annual Oscars will be announced at a Feb. 26 ceremony aired live on ABC from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

OFFBEAT: Oscar nominations include nods for both old and new talents

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

83rd Annual Academy Awards

Colin Firth accepts the Oscar for best performance by an actor in a leading role for "The King's Speech" at the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.

OFFBEAT: Reader eager for update about Elizabeth Taylor

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

2011 Oscars

Learn more about this year's Oscar nominees.

Award Winners

Actor Gregory Peck (left), actresses Patty Duke and Joan Crawford and actor Ed Begley are shown after accepting Oscars following the April 8, 1963, Academy Awards broadcast.