Today Show’s Entertainment Editor Richard Wilkins on why the Oscars red carpet is ‘just like yum cha’

TODAY’S Richard ‘Dickie’ Wilkins has reported live from 15 Oscars. Here he spills the beans on his favourite memory, his most awkward moment and the toughest celebrity to interview.

AFTER 15 years reporting live from the Oscars, Richard Wilkins is something of a veteran.

But while we might imagine the Academy Awards is a glamorous affair resplendent with glitz and gowns, but the Today Entertainment Editor says it’s more like a long day on your feet with the hope of a Thai takeaway at the end.

Despite stories of running around town after Russell Crowe’s 2001 win, being snuck into the Governor’s Ball and interviewing any celebrity worth their weight in Oscars gold, reporting from the Los Angeles red carpet is something the 60-year-old never thought he’d do.

More: Watch the video above as Dickie spills on his most awkward Oscars interview

“I remember back in the day watching Kerri-Anne (Kennerley) yelling ‘Nicole, Nicole, Australia Australia,’” he told news.com.au, “and I thought ‘that’s not a very glamorous thing to do, I’d never do that,’ and then of course they asked me to do it and I jumped at it like a shot.

Richard Wilkins and Lisa Wilkinson on the 2014 Oscars red carpet.

“The first couple of times I went there it was like it was all so overwhelming and big and you don’t know the lie of the land and you don’t understand the way it works and the protocol of the whole thing. But it’s one of those gigs that gets easier the more you do it, you get familiar with the publicists, people get to know you.

“Really, every year it’s like a community getting back together for the big moment and the big school dance.”

It might look like it’s straight forward enough but Wilkins says the red carpet is actually a political minefield.

The publicists looking after the stars come down to the red carpet early and scope the media out, figuring out which reporters are where. Knowing who’s looking after the stars is just as important as knowing the stars themselves, he says.

“If the publicists don’t like you then you’re gone. Her clients, his clients won’t go anywhere near you. I was next to Joan Rivers for three years which was a both a blessing and a curse because some stars would flock to her and others would avoid her like the plague. It

was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Wilkins says you see more of the back of his head at the Oscars, than the front.

But in an unusual comparison, he says the whole experience is just like going to a yum cha restaurant.

“There’s a rule of thumb on the red carpet, the bigger the star the later they arrive. You go there and early on the publicist comes to you two hours before showtime and is like ‘Hi, I have Roland Finkelstein here, he’s up for best soundtrack in a foreign film, would you like him’ and you’re like ‘no, no, I’ll pass on him’ and those sorts of people will hang around and try and get as much publicity as they can get so it’s like a yum cha restaurant when all the yucky stuff is going around.

“Then five minutes before show time the prawn gow gee you’ve been waiting all night come along! Brad and Angelina and all the big ones rock in half an hour before it starts and do the photo thing and then they’re gone.”

And it’s all about opportunity, you’ve got to be quick.

“The red carpet is like a giant tsunami of humanity going past you. Reese Witherspoon will wave and say ‘I’ll come back’ and you’re like ‘no you won’t, Reese Witherspoon is gone’. It’s hard work but it’s very rewarding and a lot of fun.”

And we're away .... @thetodayshow live from the #Oscars with RW and @Lisa_Wilkinson #today9 pic.twitter.com/481csTnFNg

— Richard Wilkins (@RichardWilkins) March 2, 2014

Six bonus Oscars fun facts from Dickie:

• There are only 2500 seats at the Oscars and everyone gets a double. “Only 1250 people get invited, and the audience is made up of nominees, presenters, agents, managers, producers, and a few regulars like Jack Nicholson. So it’s a select crowd, it’s the class of 2015,” says Wilkins.

• Most of the publicists carry little cards telling you what their stars are wearing. “It’ll say Vera Wang dress, Harry Winston jewels and Jimmy Choo shoes and they’ll slip in front of you and make sure you see it.”

• The Academy Awards is just one big money-making exercise. “Acting is the most overcongratulated profession in the world, they’re very clever, they purposely build these things up to promote their movies.”

• Winning an Oscar is like a key to the city. “If you win an Oscar, Los Angeles is yours for the night. It's the sort of unofficial gold entry pass to whatever you want to do. If you’ve got one of those puppies with you, bingo. If you haven’t, forget about it.”

A photo of Russell Crowe on Oscars night 2001 in Dickie’s office.

Dickie spent a night out on the town with Russell Crowe after his 2001 Oscars win.

• The most difficult celebrity to interview? “Robert Downey Jnr doesn’t like to play the game. In the last couple of years they’ve had what we call ‘the express lane’, it's the side over near the bleachers where they shoo everyone who’s not going to be interviewed, but down the middle there's a black area which we call the express lane which is there for the Robert Downeys and Johnny Depps who don't really like to be interviews and mumble their way through them and it’s not really that good for anyone.”

• The best celebrity to interview? “George Clooney. I put him up there as one of the best, he’s Mr Hollywood, he knows how to work it and he spends time with the reporters. George is hard to go past, he’s generous and lovely and charming and after all, he’s Mr Clooney. The Aussies are terrific too — Nicole, Keith, Cate, Naomi, Hugh. It helps being built like Shrek, it’s an advantage, they see you and come over although Nicole’s eyesight is a bit dodgy. Hugh Jackman has been taking his George Clooney pills too, he’s fantastic.”

And here’s who Dickie thinks will take out the Oscars, plus the movie he thinks is the overall best of the bunch:

Dickie and Lisa Wilkinson will host a special edition of Today live from the Oscars red carpet on Monday, February 23. Nine will also air a live broadcast of the 87th Academy Awards from 12.30pm, replayed at 8.30pm on Gem.