Today’s fifth annual n’Oscars event at Oscar’s Delicatessen, 159 Main St., hosted by the Westport Cinema Initiative (WCI), featured Susan Granger (with mike), WestportNow film critic, assisted by (l-r)  state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, WCI president, actor Scott Bryce of Westport, and Sandra Lefkowitz, WCI executive director. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

It was a standing room only crowd today for the fifth annual n’Oscars event at Oscar’s Delicatessen, 159 Main St. The two hours of Oscar triivia and talk was sponsored by the Westport Cinema Initiative, which seek to bring a movie theater back to downtown Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Scenes from today’s n’Oscars event sponsored by the Westport Cinema Initiative at Oscar’s Delicatessen, 159 Main St. Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Westport will again roll out the red carpet Sunday for the Oscars—actually more correctly at Oscar’s at 159 Main St.

Westporter Susan Granger (r), WestportNow film critic, presides at last year’s n’Oscars event. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The occasion is the fifth annual n’Oscars event from 1 to 3 p.m. hosted by the Westport Cinema Initiative hours before Hollywood hands out its annual Oscars.

The emcees will be Susan Granger, WestportNow film critic, and Douglas Tirola, an award-winning Westport filmmaker. (See Granger’s Ocar predictions here.)

No Oscars are handed out at the annual event, hence the name n’Oscars, short for No Oscars.

By James Lomuscio

The race is on to save the White Barn Theatre.

Actress, producer and theater impresario Lucille Lortel founded the White Barn Theatre in 1947.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Preservationists and theater lovers are set to converge at Norwalk City Hall on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. to plead with the Norwalk Historic Commission to save the iconic theater from the wrecking ball.

The experimental theater was established in 1947 by the late, legendary actress, director and producer Lucile Lortel on her husband Waldo Mayo’s 18-acre estate straddling Norwalk and Westport.

Now, New Canaan developer Jim Fieber, who bought the property more than a decade ago, plans to build between 10 to 15 large homes on the property’s remaining 15 acres.

Famed actor Estelle Parsons (l) unites tonight with Westporter Irma Schachter in the Green Room following the work in progress playreading of “Out of the Mouths of Babes” at the Westport Country Playhouse. Parsons and Schachter graduated from Connecticut College for Women class of 1949, where they began a lifetime friendship. Schachter said they last got together in 2009 at the class’s 50th reunion in New London. The play begins previews at the Cherry Lane Theatre, New York on June 7 and will run through July 17. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Author Eric Burns tells a Westport Library audience tonight about his latest book, “The Golden Lad: The Haunting Story of Quentin and Theodore Roosevelt.” Among the anecdotes he told about Quentin, Roosevelt’s youngest son, was the time he brought snakes into a White House meeting the president was having with his attorney general. While Roosevelt’s cabinet minister recoiled with fright from the sight, Roosevelt calmy told his son he should take his snakes to an outer room where a bunch of congressmen were waiting to meet with him. Burns, a longtime Westporter now living in Ridgefield, also recounted pillow fights Roosevelt had with his children at Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s Long Island home. “Pillow fights to the Roosevelts of Sagamore Hill were what touch football was to the Kennedys at Hyannisport,” Burns said.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

The Westport Country Playhouse’s New Works Initiative, a program to develop new plays and musicals through workshop and reading opportunities, will present a public reading of a new play, “Out of the Mouths of Babes,” by award-winning playwright Israel Horowitz on Thursday at 7 p.m. Pictured are cast members (front row, l-r) Judith Ivey, Angelina Fiordellisi, Estelle Parsons and Francesca Choy-Kee. (back row) Barnet Kellman, director, Israel Horowitz, playwright and Mark Lamos, Country Playhouse artistic director. All tickets are $10.  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Susan Granger

The red carpet is ready as the 6,200 Oscar voters choose among the 305 films that qualified for the 88th Academy Awards. To be eligible, a film must run more than 40 minutes and open by Dec. 31, 2015, for a minimum of seven-days at a theater in Los Angeles.

When Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs read off the 20 acting nominations back in January, she said she was heartbroken and frustrated by the lack of diversity. That ignited many protests.

Yet, in the past, the Academy has honored Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman,  Jamie Foxx, Terence Howard, Forest Whitaker, Eddie Murphy, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong’o and Don Cheadle – to name only a few. “12 Years a Slave” won three Oscars in 2014; “Selma” was nominated for Best Picture in 2015.

This year, the primary contenders generated by African-Americans were “Concussion,” “Creed,” and “Straight Outta Compton.”  Although I gave CREED a 10-out-of-10, Warner Bros., unfortunately, marketed it to black audiences, not mainstream.  Although I would love to have seen young writer/director Ryan Coogler nominated, Sylvester Stallone did get a Best Supporting Actor nod.

The next pop up exhibit by the Westport Artists’ Collective will be held Thursday, March 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Westport Arts Center, it was announced today.

The 15 artists who exhibited at the September 2015 pop up exhibition have selected the 15 participating artists.

The latest exhibit will include works by Jeanine Esposito, Susan Fehlinger, MaryEllen Hendricks, Jana Irejio, Michael Kozlowski, Arpad Krizsan, Liz Leggett, Toby Michaels, Nancy Moore, Susan Newbold, Melissa Newman, Guy Philips, Marlene Siff, Lee Walther, and Florence Zolan

Founding members of the Westport Artists’ Collective include Nina Bentley, Tammy Winser, Jahmane West, Duvian Montoya, Miggs Burroughs, and Helen Klisser During, Westport Arts Center’s artistic director emeritus.