Spotting fashion maven Steven "Cojo" Cojocaru of "Entertainment Tonight" in a silver tux and yellow bow tie, fan Susan Kelleher of Fairfield couldn't contain herself.
"You look fabulous!" she yelled.
"I do. I do look fabulous," he agreed.
Kelleher also lent a big tube of sunscreen to Kelli Zink of CelebTV.com. As Zinc's producer put sunscreen on her back, Kelleher said happily to her friends, "And you didn't want to stop at the Target on the way here!"
Preparing to work the field in more covered-up attire were reporters from the Armed Forces Network, decked out in formal military dress.
U.S. Army Reserves Spc. Abby Cayanan, 25, of Los Angeles, and Lt. Col. Lee Reynolds, 45, of Long Island, N.Y., stood out in the sea of long gowns and black tuxedos.
"We don't ask the regular celebrity questions," Cayanan said. "We ask the stars to say hello to the troops overseas."
Added Reynolds: "Some celebrities protest the war, but when we talk to them here they support the troops. That's why we're out here."
Ashley Sieving, 22, a Louisiana State University student from New Orleans, and her mother, Terri, were taking in the pre-scene scene with matching cameras over their wrists.
Ashley won the chance to sit in the bleachers in a sweepstakes contest. An earlier encounter with Nicole Richie at hot spot Polo Lounge had her geared up to see the stars.
"I was just standing there and I see this tiny thing get out of black Mercedes," Ashley said. When Richie turned around, Ashley said hello and the star waved back, Ashley said.
"Just pretend like we know each other. Fake it until you make it," she said. "I couldn't even breathe."
But early on in the bleachers, she had to content herself with watching the media.
"I wish I were down there interviewing people,"she said.
