Backstage Pass

It's a welcome throwback to the days when music videos had budgets and it even has a happy ending, with Lopez heading out with the boy like Madonna in "Open Your Heart."

Jennifer Lopez, "Do It Well"

So I’m standing on the MTV Video Music Awards red carpet, minding my own business as I try to keep the casts of “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills” straight, when a giant panda bear approaches from behind and puts me in a headlock. (Yes, Stephen Colbert, I know. I watch the “Threatdown.”)

It turns out it’s some VJ from MTV Chi in a panda suit trying to interview god-knows-who from Nickelodeon. He’s using my shoulder for leverage to move his microphone close enough to the “celebrity,” who he chats with live on air with his big paw around my neck. Oh yeah, Backstage Pass is all about the glamour.

Yes, I know red carpet veterans are saying, “Elbow to the ribs.” But do I really want to be known as the guy who assaulted the panda? No. See the dilemma?

After the interview, Mr. Panda backs off and gives me a thankful thump on the shoulder. (Tyrese had the best interview with him, starting off with, “I love Panda Express.”)

As for my interviews, the Taking Back Sunday guys said they were a bit starstruck by the whole experience. Nevertheless, singer Adam Lazzara did still kid around, saying that bassist Matt Rubano ironed all the clothes. And everyone pointed to drummer Mark O’Connell’s hot new Dolce & Gabbana suit. (To the girls I met at the LIFEbeat benefit, Lazzara had to dye his hair back to his natural color for the new video for “Liar.” The platinum blond color he had been rocking all summer was too close to his skin tone to use on the video. You ask. I get answers.)

(More red carpet with Avenged Sevenfold, New Found Glory and Susan Cagle...)

Photo of Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, two of way too many stars who posed for pictures but avoided reporters on the red carpet, by Evan Agostini/Getty Images.

Other VMA stories:
Shockingly normal VMAs: With a return to NYC after two years in Miami, MTV brought out the stars and spread the prizes
The winners
Taking Back Sunday’s stroll on the red carpet
Newsday.com's VMA photo gallery

Continue reading "VMAs From the Red Carpet" »