Palm Pre "Backstage At The Independent Spirit Awards"

[Awake]

I searched for any information at the IFC Independent Spirit Awards where Actress Anne Hathaway was supposedly getting a Palm Pre with a swag giveaway. This is what I found:


By Laura Saltman & Jeremy Blacklow

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Sure, there are those pesky Academy Awards this weekend.

But everyone knows the most fun Oscar weekend takes place Sunday on the beach in Santa Monica at the Independent Spirit Awards, where the dress code is casual and the mood is California chill.

Access Hollywood is exclusive backstage at the On3 Productions celebrity gift lounge, were we're watching celebs to be the first to try out the sexy Palm Pre -- excuse us while our inner geek emerges.

3:30 PM -- It's pretty quiet in here now, but there should be a huge rush after the show. This is it for the real time updates for us, but we'll post a post-show update a bit later on this afternoon!

3:15 PM -- Mickey Rourke just breezed in. Didn't take a single free thing. Just signed the poster. And he signed it... "Loki."

3 PM -- Teri Hatcher is singing something crazy on stage right now. Sandra Oh is zipping through the lounge, in bright fuschia.

2:55 PM -- The Dish just scored a great interview with Alec. He's in a great mood today. He grabs a random woman who's standing nearby to use her as a measure to get the right sizes of jeans for his daughter, Ireland. He whispers to the Blue Notch jeans people later, "My daughter's that same height .... but she's thinner!" Zing!

2:47 PM -- Alec Baldwin is roaming back here now. Right after Jessica leaves the Koolaburra station, Alec walks up and says, "Wait! Do you have anything for guys?!" (Yes, they do Alec!)

2:41 PM -- Jessica Alba is back here now, checking out the Pre! Now Jessica's moved on to the Glowelle Beauty Drink station. The folks there complement her on her flawless skin. She just picked out a pair of Koolaburra boots. At the AMC station, which is giving away passes for 1-year of free movies, Jessica says, "Oh my god! This is the best gift ever!"

2:39 PM -- Mariah's floating around somewhere nearby too!

2:15 PM -- James Franco wins the first award of the day, followed by Dustin Lance Black. Just passed Cameron Diaz , who was headin' into the media tent to get food with our people. Very cool.

1:48 PM -- Celebs are hustling to their seats. The show starts at 2 PM, so we've got a bit of downtime for the next 20 minutes or so!

1:40 PM -- The Dish is interviewing Rachel Lefevre from "Twilight." This is the first awards show that she's ever been to, so she's super excited. She says that she just started training for the wire work stunts in "New Moon"! She says that the cast doesn't learn anything about "the rumors," but that she heard Vanessa Hudgens was, "in... then out... and now maybe back in again." She also tells us that she is doing a special new workout training program, only in Hollywood, called "GST."

1:12 PM -- More sightings: Rosie Perez (old school!), Andie McDowell, Bryan Cranston, Michelle Monaghan , Kerry Washington and Dana Delaney.

1:02 PM -- Bradley Cooper arrives with his girlfriend. The Dish has drool coming out of both sides of her mouth now.

12:55 PM -- Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeld are here -- she was so good in "Grey's Anatomy" the past few weeks. We admit it ... we both cried.

12:50 PM -- Now it's heating up back here. Taraji P. Henson is here. Queenie herself!
12:25 PM -- John Waters is here, looking dapper, as always! He is holding up a pink polka dotted bra -- I'd expect nothing less!

Noon -- The red carpet has just opened and Shaun Robinson is out there for us. The Dish of Salt is backstage. The first to arrive back here is Michael Bolton and he's quick to check out the Palm Pre station. We need to get over there soon ourselves to see it!

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/backstage-at-the-independent-spirit-awards/19170

Additional Info: http://www.accesshollywood.com/giveaways

[Awake]

From Palmaddict:

Palm and the Film Independence Spirit Awards

Palm and Sprint will be backstage tomorrow evening, February 21, at the Film Independence Spirit Awards in the official presenters gifting suite, to showcase the new Palm Pre, which will be available in the first half of 2009. Celebrities scheduled to present at the awards include Alex Baldwin, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Christina Applegate, Cameron Diaz, Rainn Wilson, Thomas Haden Church, Sir Ben Kingsley, Andie MacDowell, Michelle Monaghan and many more. For every celebrity that visits the gift lounge, Palm will make a donation to Project:Involve, Film Independent's filmmaker lab for filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds.

http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2009/02/palm-and-the-film-independence-spirit-awards.html

[Awake]

And this:

Gifting suites — where celebrities go during awards season to load up on freebies — still abound in Los Angeles. At Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards, nominees can hit the backstage lounge to scoop up a Palm Pre, Koolaburra sheepskin boots, a Sakroots bag and a year-long membership to Crunch.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-02-19-swag-suites_N.htm?csp=34

Where are those who said the Pre is NOT ready?! I doubt Sprint and Palm would give a celebrity a device that is not ready.

[d12a60n]

Yes! That's what I've been saying too!! Why the hell would they present a product that's "still being tested" or "oh not approved by FCC yet" or "working out the bugs" to CELEBRITIES!??! - the folks who have immediate access to the media and can spread either good sh*t or bad sh*t about your product. So that answers that. The product is READY. It's coming sooner than we think

[d12a60n]

Oh also found this:

http://twitpic.com/1mkiq

[d12a60n]

And this too:

http://twitpic.com/1mkk2

[Awake]

Oh also found this:

http://twitpic.com/1mkiq

Not to knock the rep who I assume is from Palm, you do not send an average looking person to these type of events. There was a blonde rep from Palm doing a demo, she was absolutely a looker. It's unfortunate, but some people are shallow in that way.

*Edit* The blonde Palm rep is Stephanie Richardson, she is Manager of product and marketing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86YZ4rNvZ4E

[meatpopsicle]

I wonder if USA today got it wrong after reading all this. It sounds like they just have a booth where they are showing it off, not giving it away.

[Awake]

There was a booth displaying the device, however, nominees of an award received the Pre in a gift bag as well. The gift bags are referred to as "swag giveaways".

[Awake]

From engadget:

There seems to be no shortage of chatter about celebrities and their new Palm handsets today. We already knew that stars attending the Independent Spirit Awards would be getting a swag bag containing -- among other things -- a Palm Pre, and based on the coverage we're seeing from the event (held on the 21st), they at least got to handle them. It's actually difficult to say if Palm was giving the device out that night or putting people on a waiting list, but what it does make clear is that the Pre can't be too far from launch if the company felt comfortable enough to throw them into such an uncontrolled setting. Does this mean the release date is nearer than we think, or is Palm just hoping that a little of that star power rubs off on the phone? Either way, we're super jealous of Eliza Dushku.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/23/palm-pre-handled-handed-out-to-celebrities/#comments

[Awake]

It's official, some celebrities indeed received the Pre in their gift bag:

slide show is on the left: http://www.accesshollywood.com/alec-alba-and-more-at-the-independent-spirit-gift-lounge_article_14712

http://www.accesshollywood.com/content/images/86/0x600/86767_gifts-for-stars-from-the-independent-spirit-awards-official-gift-lounge.jpg

[parazitu22]

It's official, some celebrities indeed received the Pre in their gift bag:

slide show is on the left: http://www.accesshollywood.com/alec-alba-and-more-at-the-independent-spirit-gift-lounge_article_14712

http://www.accesshollywood.com/content/images/86/0x600/86767_gifts-for-stars-from-the-independent-spirit-awards-official-gift-lounge.jpg

Gotta love how the Pre is photoshopped on the last image :lol::lol:

Edit: http://www.accesshollywood.com/content/images/86/0x600/86767_gifts-for-stars-from-the-independent-spirit-awards-official-gift-lounge.jpg

This one if people are wondering.

[Park]

The celebrities only got to handle the Pre, they didn't get to take one home.

http://twitter.com/palm_inc/status/1241652667

http://www.precentral.net/celebrities-handle-pre

http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/23/palm-pre-handled-handed-out-to-celebrities/

[Awake]

@parazitu22

Yeah, a major celebrity news source is going to doctor their photo to make it look like the Pre was among the items included in the gift bag.

@Park

You're referencing sources that reference sources which do not mention anything. I believe this source: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-02-19-swag-suites_N.htm

Palm has being doing these giveaways for years, they've done it with the treos.

*Edit* This is from last years Spirit Awards show: http://blog.palm.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/26/evap.jpg

I believe that is the Centro!

[parazitu22]

@parazitu22

Yeah, a major celebrity news source is going to doctor their photo to make it look like the Pre was among the items included in the gift bag.

@Park

You're referencing sources that reference sources which do not mention anything. I believe this source: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-02-19-swag-suites_N.htm

Palm has being doing these giveaways for years, they've done it with the treos.

*Edit* This is from last years Spirit Awards show: http://blog.palm.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/26/evap.jpg

I believe that is the Centro!

Awake,

Come on man, zoom in a little and you can easily see that is it shopped. Look at the shadows, the pre shadows are in different directions then the rest of the shoot. And is the Pre just magically standing on its own?

And you really trust :cough:Access Hollywood:cough:?

[Awake]

Awake,

Come on man, zoom in a little and you can easily see that is it shopped. Look at the shadows, the pre shadows are in different directions then the rest of the shoot. And is the Pre just magically standing on its own?

And you really trust :cough:Access Hollywood:cough:?

Shopped and doctored are not the same thing, poster "Park" is implying someone else shopped the accesshollywood photo. Obviously accesshollywood did not have an actual photo of the Pre alongside the other gift items. Don't you think by now Palm would have requested accesshollywood to take the photo down? I also provided an image from last years Spirit Awards, this is nothin new to Palm. USAToday has an article as well.

Yes I trust accesshollywood, they were there, engadget and precentral were not! IF, the photo is proved to be a fake, I will come back and acknowledge it.

[Park]

@parazitu22

Yeah, a major celebrity news source is going to doctor their photo to make it look like the Pre was among the items included in the gift bag.

@Park

You're referencing sources that reference sources which do not mention anything. I believe this source: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-02-19-swag-suites_N.htm

Palm has being doing these giveaways for years, they've done it with the treos.

*Edit* This is from last years Spirit Awards show: http://blog.palm.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/26/evap.jpg

I believe that is the Centro!

Come on man, you're obviously enthusiastic regarding the Pre and spend countless hours searching the internet for any mention of it, but are you really that dense? Unless you have concrete proof, it's stupid to believe that Palm would be handing out Pres to celebrities when they haven't even announced the launch date for the phone.

The USA Today article does say that the celebs could "scoop up" a Palm Pre, but Donna Freydkin (the author) was probably just misinformed. Using that sentence to say that the celebs got free Pres is not too bright.

And are you kidding me? You say I'm "referencing sources that reference sources which do not mention anything," but one of the sources I referenced was the EXACT same source (Engadget) you quoted in this post above: http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2067137&postcount=10. Take a look at the FULL article and notice at the bottom where there's an update stating that according to a tweet from Palm Inc., the Pres were only played with by the celebs, not given to them. And snap! Palm's tweet was one of the other sources I referenced. Personally, I'll believe Engadget and Palm's Twitter updates WAY before I'll rely on USA Today and a joke like Access Hollywood.

You're joking with your post of someone receiving a Centro last year, right? I would like to know how you think that proves anything regarding whether celebrities were actually given Pres this year, or whether they were simply allowed to handle them.

Oh, and anyone that can't see that the Pre was photoshopped into this (http://www.accesshollywood.com/content/images/86/0x600/86767_gifts-for-stars-from-the-independent-spirit-awards-official-gift-lounge.jpg) image is blind.

[Park]

Shopped and doctored are not the same thing, poster "Park" is implying someone else shopped the accesshollywood photo. Obviously accesshollywood did not have an actual photo of the Pre alongside the other gift items. Don't you think by now Palm would have requested accesshollywood to take the photo down? I also provided an image from last years Spirit Awards, this is nothin new to Palm. USAToday has an article as well.

Yes I trust accesshollywood, they were there, engadget and precentral were not! IF, the photo is proved to be a fake, I will come back and acknowledge it.

Woah, hold on there buddy. You're not to big on details are you. Poster "Park" (yeah, that's me) never even mentioned anything regarding the photo until AFTER your post that I just quoted. And for the purpose of talking about a photo that has been modified, shopped/doctored/photoshopped are all synonymous. You're right that "obviously accesshollywood did not have an actual photo of the Pre alongside the other gift items," that's because it was not given out as a gift.

[Awake]

Come on man, you're obviously enthusiastic regarding the Pre and spend countless hours searching the internet for any mention of it, but are you really that dense? Unless you have concrete proof, it's stupid to believe that Palm would be handing out Pres to celebrities when they haven't even announced the launch date for the phone.

The USA Today article does say that the celebs could "scoop up" a Palm Pre, but Donna Freydkin (the author) was probably just misinformed. Using that sentence to say that the celebs got free Pres is not too bright.

And are you kidding me? You say I'm "referencing sources that reference sources which do not mention anything," but one of the sources I referenced was the EXACT same source (Engadget) you quoted in this post above: http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2067137&postcount=10. Take a look at the FULL article and notice at the bottom where there's an update stating that according to a tweet from Palm Inc., the Pres were only played with by the celebs, not given to them. And snap! Palm's tweet was one of the other sources I referenced. Personally, I'll believe Engadget and Palm's Twitter updates WAY before I'll rely on USA Today and a joke like Access Hollywood.

You're joking with your post of someone receiving a Centro last year, right? I would like to know how you think that proves anything regarding whether celebrities were actually given Pres this year, or whether they were simply allowed to handle them.

Oh, and anyone that can't see that the Pre was photoshopped into this (http://www.accesshollywood.com/content/images/86/0x600/86767_gifts-for-stars-from-the-independent-spirit-awards-official-gift-lounge.jpg) image is blind.

I am hardly enthusiastic about a phone. The author from USAToday has been updating his article, I have yet to any mention of celebrities NOT getting the Pre. Yeah I quoted an article, what's your point? That engadget article DID NOT say celebrities only got to touch the Pre and DID NOT get a Pre as a gift. For the record, Palm did give the Centro away last year, Palm was at the same awards show this year with a new device, can you prove they DID NOT giveaway a Pre? You're confusing shopped with doctored. I never said the photo wasn't shopped.

[Park]

I am hardly enthusiastic about a phone. The author from USAToday has been updating his article, I have yet to any mention of celebrities NOT getting the Pre. Yeah I quoted an article, what's your point? That engadget article DID NOT say celebrities only got to touch the Pre and DID NOT get a Pre as a gift. For the record, Palm did give the Centro away last year, Palm was at the same awards show this year with a new device, can you prove they DID NOT giveaway a Pre? You're confusing shopped with doctored. I never said the photo wasn't shopped.

Hardly enthusiastic? Take a look at your posts.

You're not going to hear a news report on how celebrities DIDN'T get Palm Pres in their gift bags. That doesn't even make any sense. Should there be reports on how celebrities DIDN'T get other item's too? No.

I'm sorry you missed my point about how you quoted the article, so I'll try to simplify it for you: You criticized the sources I referenced, but you yourself referenced one of the exact same sources. And while we're talking about the Engadget article, you REALLY need to read it again. Here's a tip, look for this statement at the end:

"Update: According to a Tweet from Palm (which links this post -- meta!), these were just there to be played with, not handed out."

You started a thread about how celebrities got Palm Pres, so you have the burden of backing up that claim. You haven't done that, so it's not really up to others to prove that you're wrong. However, I will once again post the link to Palm Inc.'s Twitter post stating that the celebrities only got to play with the Pre: http://twitter.com/palm_inc/status/1241652667

[Park]

You're confusing shopped with doctored. I never said the photo wasn't shopped.

Oh, and please tell me how you think I'm confusing shopped and doctored with regard to the gift bag photo.

[Park]

Alright, here's the proof:

Palm's direct tweet to me with a link to the Palm blog:

http://twitter.com/palm_inc/status/1243116111

And confirmation from Palm's blog that celebs did NOT get Pres at the Spriit Awards:

http://blog.palm.com/palm/2009/02/the-new-musthave-phone-for-independent-spirits-.html

Here's a quote, in case you don't want to read the whole blog post: "Other celebrities who will be getting a Palm Pre when available include Jessica Alba, Mena Suvari and Michael Bolton."

[Awake]

Well... If it's from Palm, then I submit, it's nice to know the Pre has a voice recorder. :hug:

[parazitu22]

Well... If it's from Palm, then I submit, it's nice to know the Pre has a voice recorder. :hug:

I think all of us are eagerly awaiting the release of this phone and any news is good news :lol: hope it comes out soon!

[d12a60n]

Deleted original post...Park already posted what I also found on the PALM_INC twitter site