The 20th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party hosted by Sir Elton John and David Furnish raised $5.25 million for the fight against HIV/AIDS. The gala, which took place on Sunday, February 26, at West Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, was co-sponsored by Chopard, Neuro, and Wells Fargo; American Airlines serves as the Foundation’s official sponsoring airline.

Attendees included Academy Award winning Best Actor Jean Dujardin, Steven Tyler, Gwen Stefani, with her band No Doubt, Quincy Jones, Heidi Klum, Katy Perry, Kim &Kourtney Kardashian, Aziz Ansari, Anna Paquin & Stephen Moyer, Neil Patrick Harris, Dave Grohl, Smokey Robinson, Matthew Morrison, Chace Crawford, Ian Somerhalder & Nina Dobrev, Adam Lambert, Marisa Miller, Alessandra Ambrosio, Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Jessica Lowndes, Mischa Barton, Billie Jean King, Brooklyn Decker, Chris Colfer, Colton Haynes, Darren Criss, Dianna Argon & Sebastian Stan, Dita von Teese, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Karolina Kurkova, Kyle MacLachlan, Liam Hemsworth, Lorraine Bracco, Ted Danson & Mary Steenburgen, Mehcad Brooks, Mena Suvari, Michelle Rodriguez, Miley Cyrus, Natasha Henstridge, Natasha Bedingfield, Paul Stanley, Paz Vega, Petra Nemcova, Ryan Kwanten, Joel McHale, Taye Diggs & Idina Menzel, Paul Wesley, Torrey DeVitto, Michael B. Jordan, Rebecca De Costa, Sandra Lee, Kat Graham, Sarah Hyland, Sky Ferreira, Anika Noni Rose, Gina Carano, Kelly Osbourne and Ziyi Zhang.

Guests arrived at the Academy Awards Viewing Party for cocktails followed by a gala dinner and viewing of the 84th Academy Awards® telecast. This year, Chef Cat Cora, the first and only female Iron Chef on The Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” prepared an exquisite 5-course meal for guests that included sesame encrusted lamb meatballs with harissa yogurt, sauteed sea bass with lemon couscous and piquillo pepper saffron sauce, and chocolate budino with whipped cream and fresh berries.

The dinner was followed by a lively auction. Auction items included a tennis lesson with 10 time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal that sold for $190,000 twice; an in-home cooking class for up to ten people with Chef Cat Cora which sold for $100,000 to Steve Tisch, owner of the NFL champion New York Giants;

The opportunity to join Elton John and David Furnish at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party that sold for $230,000and a surprise auction lot – a bite from “Vampire Diaries” stars Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerholder, set visit to the show and lunch with Elton John and David Furnish went for $80,000. Following the auction, Foster the People took the stage to perform several songs including their hits “Pumped Up Kicks”, “Helena Beat” and “Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)” much to the crowd’s delight.

The HIV/AIDS virus was first observed by physicians in American patients 30 years ago and while tremendous strides have been made in our understanding of this terrible disease, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done and many challenges to overcome.

Twenty years ago, Sir Elton John pledged to the Hollywood community that he would hold this event every year until a cure for HIV/AIDS had been found.  Today, the Hollywood community is still standing with Sir Elton John, showing their support for the Foundation and this worthy cause.

Follow the Elton John AIDS Foundation on Facebook:  http://apps.facebook.com/causes/5321. And on Twitter @ejaforg.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/

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Oscar fans in New York City will be the first to see the actual Oscars that will be presented to the Best Actor and Best Actress winners at the 84th Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday, February 26. The statuettes will be part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Meet the Oscars, Grand Central” exhibition at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal.

The exhibition will open on Wednesday, February 22 at 10 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by 2010 Academy Award-winning actress Melissa Leo (‘The Fighter’). Public viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, February 23, through Sunday, February 26. Admission is free.

“Meet the Oscars, Grand Central” will give movie fans the opportunity to have their photo taken holding an actual Oscar statuette. Visitors also will be able to view the Actor in a Leading Role Oscar won by Michael Douglas for “Wall Street” (1987) as well as a display of statuettes in various stages of completion, as manufactured each year by R.S. Owens & Company in Chicago.

On Saturday, February 25, the Oscars designated for this year’s Best Actor and Best Actress winners will make their way back to Hollywood, where they will be reunited with the rest of the statuettes to be presented on Oscar Night.

In related news, Oscar telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have invited Cirque du Soleil to present a wholly unique and exclusive performance for the 84th Academy Awards. The one-time-only event will feature the largest Cirque cast ever assembled for a single act.

The performance will be accompanied by music by Academy Award-nominated composer Danny Elfman, who scored the music for Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS, A Journey through the World of Cinema™. More than 50 international artists from Cirque du Soleil productions around the world will converge in Los Angeles on Oscar Sunday to bring the dynamic showcase to life.

The act marks the second time Cirque du Soleil has performed during an Academy Awards telecast. The troupe’s first appearance, at the 74th Academy Awards, sparked discussions about creating a permanent show at the Kodak Theatre and resulted in the creation of IRIS.

Finally, two-time Academy Award winner Michael Douglas will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony. Douglas won an Oscar for his lead performance in ‘Wall Street’ (1987) and a Best Picture award as a producer of ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1975). His film credits include ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ ‘Solitary Man,’ ‘You, Me and Dupree,’ ‘Traffic,’ ‘Wonder Boys,’ ‘Falling Down,’ ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘The China Syndrome.’

Douglas joins a stellar list of previously announced Oscar presenters, including Halle Berry, Rose Byrne, Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich, Ellie Kemper, Jennifer Lopez, Melissa McCarthy, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Ben Stiller, Emma Stone and Kristen Wiig.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements in 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Image Courtesy of   Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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