Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

AP Photos / Matt Sayles
Viola Davis of Central Falls, R.I., nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for her work in Doubt, arrives with her husband, actor Julius Tennon, for the 81st Academy Awards.

Viola Davis looked lovely in a gold lame gown, looped around the neck with open shoulders. Fabric was cinched beneath her breasts by a silver clasp, which matched her silver earrings and bracelets.

Beside her was her husband Julius Tennon, also an actor, wearing a traditional tuxedo, and looking dapper. They have two children and live in Los Angeles.

The red carpet is rolled out at the Federal Reserve in downtown Providence tonight. the formal affair involves tuxedos and gowns, and a fair share of local dignitaries. There's a martini bar, a silent auction, hors d'oeuvres and anticipation.

Who will win the Oscars?

Well, dozens of people will win an Academy Award tonight. But at the Federal Reserve the interest is for two in particular people: Richard Jenkins and Viola Davis, both Rhode Islanders, from Cumberland and Central Falls respectively, vying for best actor and best supporting actress.

"I think both of their performances were serious, profound and really great," said Mayor David Cicilline, who wore a tux.

Cicilline says if Jenkins and/or Davis win, so does Rhode Island.

"We have been promoting Providence as a place for film and TV production. If actors from Rhode Island win, it would enhance that."

Steven Feinberg, the executive director of the state's Film & Television Office, is also attending the party, which is one of 52 nationwide officially sanctioned by the Academy Awards. Proceeds from the Providence event, $75 per person, go to the American Diabetes Association, the host.

Watching the Oscars, he says, is a big event, and just a little bit bigger this year.

"There's just an added hunger to see one of our own win."

No one's going hungry. The event features a buffet of food from a dozen different vendors: Bluefin Grille, Waterman Grille, Capital Grille and Hemenway's, among others.

There's also a silent auction with items of local interest, such as a baseball signed by the Pawtucket Red Sox and script for Dumb and Dumber signed by its creators, Rhode Island's own Peter and Bobby Farrelly.

About 250 people are expected to attend the event, which last year drew 150. The bump may be because of increased awareness and cachet for the event, or its recession reduced price, $25 less than last year.

Many came for the cause (diabetes) and the occasion (Oscars).

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung says his sister has diabetes, and he's also "a movie buff. it was the only thing I could do during the campaign to get away from the rigors of the campaign."

As far as the the chances for the Rhode Islanders go, Fung says "It will be a little harder for Richard (Jenkins). My gut tells me Sean Penn. Viola, I think, has a good shot."

Arlene Violet, a former radio host and the state's former Attorney General, and a self-proclaimed "movie junkie" has seen all the major movies up for Oscars this year. She says she's rooting for Jenkins and Davis, "who are both Oscar worthy." And she's also rooting for Doubt, the movie that focused on sexual abuse in the church.

"I'm rooting for Doubt because of my background."

Violet is also a former nun.

Follow more updates here on Viola Davis, who went from poverty in Central Falls to Hollywood fame, and Richard Jenkins, a hard-working Rhode Island character actor who also is a nominee.

Read more on the special coverage of the Oscars, including video and clips of both Jenkins' and Davis' Oscar-nominated performances, which you can rate yourself and take other surveys, at projo.com.

More from Projo.com's Oscars blog

 Tags  Oscars Viola Davis

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