By Rebecca Hopper:

First let me express how thrilled I am to be a part of the CountingDown crew and be able to share my "Once in a lifetime experience" with all of you. This is the 79th Annual Academy Awards and MY FIRST so it occurred to me that that The Esteemed Golden Guy and his prestigious Hollywood event are twice my age plus three years!!! I am completely in awe of the history and splendor of this event and hope you enjoy the experience through my eyes. It finally hit me where I was when I saw the Goodyear blimp circling, its marquee scrolling "WELCOME TO THE 79TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS.... CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL NOMINEES" and I saw a plane come by a few times with a banner that read, "BRING OUR TROOPS HOME." It was definitely a sign of the times.

While I waited for the movie stars to come out, I warmed up with TV personalities like Mary Hart from Entertainment Tonight, who came by and said hi to all of us on the press bleachers and asked if we were having fun. Pat O'Brian with Access Hollywood was behind us on a press balcony where Mary eventually joined him. He came down and said hello to all of us later on. Melissa Rivers dashed by us quickly and did not say hello at all.... No biggie. Ryan Seacrest was closer to the entrance of the red carpet and seemed very little. Not a big surprise actually. I did not witness the most important TV personalty of the evening on the red carpet, but I was the only one to recognize her "Momma"! Ellen's Momma was strolling down the middle of the red carpet just soaking it all in when I spotted her. She seemed so ZEN wearing a black pants suite with a long, flowing sheer black coat with a vibrant colored design around the bottom. I called out loudly "ELLEN'S MOMMA" and she turned with a huge smile on her face and waved at me. She must be so proud of her daughter. Several people around me in the bleachers were saying they didn't even recognize her so I was pretty excited to point her out to them. Speaking of Ellen, her influence seemed to be present in the fashion on the red carpet. Many ladies were wearing tailored suits and pants suits. It was like Katherine Hepburn was being channelled and it was refreshing to see the personal freedom displayed. Jay Manual from America's Next Top Model walked past with his silver spiked crew cut and he is much more handsome and taller in person. Enough of the TV stuff, lets move on to the real goods now.

Wolfgang Puck paraded the red carpet with 24 carat gold dusted organic chocolate and hors d'uvres and told us that his staff included 300 people in three kitchens and 800 waiters. He gave out the mini Chocolate Oscars to all the people around me but I was denied. Bummer... They were cute and I was hungry!

The first Nominee I witnessed on the Red Carpet was Peter Banyan, nominated for Best Screenplay/Story for Pan's Labyrinth. The first actual star I saw was Gael Garcia Bernal, who was a Presenter. He was impish and just a darling little man. He actually smiled and looked right at me in a lovely manner. I couldn't believe how small he was. Actually, most of the male stars seemed small compared to themselves on screen, but the women seemed larger than life, gorgeous and stunning ladies.

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Skarsgard were right in front of us and a make up artist was fixing Maggie's lipstick, which seemed a little odd. I felt she was my kindred spirit since I ran late and actually finished my make up on the press bleachers before the Red Carpet activities began. Maggie seemed a bit out of sorts and was being lead around to the "appropriate press people," and seemed very concerned about her lipstick, which Peter checked to make sure was not on her teeth. I asked her how motherhood was and she didn't respond. Being a mother of a young baby I completely sympathized with her apparent confusion and un-preparedness. Nonetheless, they are a beautiful young couple and seemed quite happy and comfortable together.

Academy Award Winner, Lou Gossett Jr. and his wife came and chatted with reporters directly in front of me and he was quite genuine and interested in the conversation. He was SOLID and stylish in a double breasted platinum suit. When asked who he was routing for he immediately said Forest Whitaker with a big smile.

A now single, tousled brunette (can you say bed head?) and simply stunning Cameron Diaz appeared solo on the red carpet. She has a smile that could light up the coliseum. She was wearing a gorgeous strapless Champagne gown and exquisite emerald earrings. I asked her who her designer was and she replied "Valentino Couture" directly to me with a grin. Oddly enough, not far behind her was Jessica Biel, in a fuchsia colored gown by Oscar de la Renta. I thought a cat fight was in the brewing but fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, their paths did not cross!

French actress Catherine Deneauve graced the red carpet with her presence in a Jean-Paul Gaultier dress with a heart with a sword through it over her heart, trailing a crimson ribbon down to a pool of blood on her hip. She pulled off this extraordinary gown beautifully. Right behind her came FIRST TIME NOMINEE AND ACADEMY AWARD WINNING JENNIFER HUDSON (WOW, congrats Jennifer) in a Copper Oscar de la Renta gown with a bronze ornamenting around her shoulders, that set off her skin tone beautifully. Her "person" said she could not answer many questions because she was performing later on. It was refreshing to see how REAL she was and how thrilled she was to be here. I hope that never changes.

One of the highlights of my evening was getting to tell Melissa Etheridge what an inspiration she was to me and that I loved her. She looked me right in the eye and thanked me sincerely. This was the only time I shed a tear on the Red Carpet. That made the whole experience all the richer.

The closer to 5pm it got the faster the stars went by, many did not have a chance to stop and talk or wave and say hello. The pressure was on. James Taylor came by followed by a speedy and dashing Leonardo De Caprio, and he was followed by an even speedier Jennifer Lopez and Marc Antony, who slipped through the crowd towards the middle of the carpet. I yelled Jennifer as loud as I could and she looked all the way through the crowd and waved at me. Perks of being loud, I guess... Next, wearing a Champagne, lace overlay gown with black designs over the bosom, Anne Hathaway promised to come back and told us she was wearing Valentino. She was followed by Lil' Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin pretty as a princess in a pinkish Cinderella gown, then Kate Winslet who stated her gown was not lime, it was "light green for goodness sake," Naomi Watts channeling classic old Hollywood, Quincy Jones in a black silk jacket with gold oriental symbols, and Peter O'Toole in black and burgundy smoking jacket. Ryan Gosling sped by and Clive Owen actually stopped and said hello and let us have a nice look at him, giving us a nice break from the "race." The newest James Bond came by and not a single person yelled out Daniel Craig. It was all BOND, JAMES BOND! A handsome Mark Wahlberg was followed by the ever so cute Mickey Rooney and his wife and then Mayor Villaragoza and his family. Al and Tipper Gore came by and chatted for quite a while. Marty was walking past and I called out to him that I was routing for him and he smiled and gave me a thumbs up!

Helen Mirren stopped by, looking like royalty in a champagne gown covered with Chopard jewels, disclosing that the yellow diamond on the back of the dress was actually worth the entire budget of Oscar nominated movie "The Queen," for which she is a Best Actress nominee. Frances Ford Coppola came by and I chatted him up, reminding him I met him at Dennis Hopper's fourth wedding reception. He simply said, "OK." OK...

Larger than life, we witnessed back to back beauty when Oscar Nominee Penelope Cruz appeared in a fitted champagne gown by Versace and told us she was losing her voice, Rachel Weisz in Vintage Cartier Jewels, a statuesque Gwyneth Paltrow with long blonde hair, Nicole Kidman vibrant in red and finally, a lovely Beyonce Knowles, sans Jay Z all swept past.

Making the Oscars a family affair, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith and son Jaden showed up and I just couldn't help but smile. Right behind them was John Travolta and Kelly Preston, who worked different sides of the carpet before reuniting to enter the theatre. John spent a great deal of time speaking with the front row of the bleachers and seemed really cool. Speaking of really cool, Robert Downey Jr. and his wife came by but did not stop. He is one of my favorite character actors ever!

I spoke with Mark McGrath, AKA Sugar Ray, who BTW was born the same year as me (1968) and a day after my baby Trinity's birthday (March 14th) while waiting in the security line to get into the press rooms. I told him I loved him and he said it was nice to be loved. I LOVE HIM! He makes me want to dance... anywho, I asked him when he was going to put out a new album and he said he just completed the soundtrack for Sony Picture Animation's new movie "Surf's Up" due out this year.

I overheard a conversation with Djimon Hounsoun. He was asked about his "underwear modeling" and what he was wearing and he said he was wearing Armani but had on his Calvins and then he was asked the ultimate question; boxers or briefs, to which he replied with a sheepish grin, briefs but just for tonight! Gives a girl something to think about.

Speaking of which, this experience will give me something to think about for the rest of my life. It definitely met up to any and all of my expectations. I only hope that I did this affair justice and you all felt you were able to share my enjoyment. Now, I am off to the Wolfgang Puck tables to feast on the free food. Cheers!