Oscars: Stars and stand-ins rehearse for the big show

It is decidedly casual inside the Dolby Theatre the day before the Oscars.

Most people, celebrities included, are wearing jeans and sneakers, and in Brie Larson's case, a backpack, to practice presenting awards Saturday. Walking out with Javier Bardem, Angela Bassett looked comfortable in a matching blue Adidas tracksuit and baseball hat to top it off. But look down at her feet and you might be a little surprised to see glittery silver high heels.

Yes, the atmosphere is relaxed, but for the female presenters, show-day footwear — or at least something that's a similar height — is recommended to get the camera shot locked in. And perhaps it's not a bad thing to get in a little practice striding across that long stage to the microphone before millions of people are watching Sunday night.

Mike Myers, left, and Dana Carvey appear during rehearsals for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

Stars turned out throughout Saturday to run through their categories to get a feel of what it will be like on show day. There's music, lights, nominee reels, an announcer and even an envelope with a winner, and a stand-in assigned to be said winner who walks up to the stage, from where that star will actually be sitting, and gives a full acceptance speech.

"Crazy Rich Asians" star Constance Wu seemed nervous to read off of the card inside the envelope.

"Do I say it?" Wu asked.

James McAvoy appears during rehearsals for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

A voice of god responded: "For this rehearsal only."

And as if to make certain that she wasn't accidentally announcing the winner of her category, Wu said "for this rehearsal only, the Oscar goes to ..."

Most celebrity presenters are in and out in one take — Daniel Craig and Charlize Theron, Larson and her "Captain Marvel" co-star Samuel L. Jackson and Basset and Bardem among them. But some want a second-go, like Dana Carvey, Mike Meyers and Serena Williams, all of whom are introducing various best picture contenders.

Serena Williams appears during rehearsals for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

Williams had a special guest with her on Saturday too: her daughter, Alexis Olympia, who held her mother's hand to waddle across the grand stage. For the actual rehearsal, the exceedingly well-behaved one-year-old was held in the wings while Williams read her lines from the teleprompter.

And some had more fun with it than others, like Awkwafina (also in Adidas track pants) and John Mulaney.

"Um, we're going to go," Mulaney said after his second run-through and Awkwafina waved to a friendly face in the crowd.

Maya Rudolph, left, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler appear during rehearsals for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

James McAvoy was particularly animated, gesturing wildly and even teasing the winners walking up to the stage by putting the two Oscars up to his chest and saying, "Come and get it boys." Others had feedback. Pharrell Williams said he wished they'd go back to the white envelopes instead of the red ones.

Elsewhere in the theater, Keegan Michael-Key could be spotted getting rigged up for a stunt.

Even competing for attention with some of the biggest stars in showbiz, the stand-ins were sometimes the highlight of rehearsals, giving surprisingly wonderful (and well-researched) acceptance speeches for everything from best actor to best sound mixing.

Mike Myers, left, and Dana Carvey appear during rehearsals for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

One woman was especially excited to accept a certain award from the "dream team" of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph, who had the busy production staff in stiches running through their bit. They all bowed to her as she came up to accept the plastic Oscar statuette.

Another man played Barry Jenkins and Chadwick Boseman at different points during the afternoon. But the stand-ins can be a tough crowd, too. When one started out his speech for best animated feature with, "What an incredible surprise," his fellow stand-ins ribbed him from the front row. "I know," he said, shaking his head.

Show big wigs came in and out throughout the afternoon — film academy President John Bailey could be seen chatting with set designer David Korins (who also designed the look of "Hamilton"). Director Kimberly Pierce sat in for portions as did academy CEO Dawn Hudson. Show director and producer Glenn Weiss and his co-producer Donna Gigliotti seemed to be getting their steps in for the day.

Daniel Craig and Charlize Theron appear during rehearsals for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

The production crew will have one last dress rehearsal Saturday night, when the musical acts from Queen to Lady Gaga will come back to run through the numbers one more time before the cameras go live to the world for the 91st Oscars Sunday at 8 P.M. EST.

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

Angela Bassett and Javier Bardem appears during rehearsals for the 91st Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Photo by Charles SykesInvisionAP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)