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He has only a former Orc, Lucy Lawless and the offer of a slap-up feed to work with, but Trevor Mallard will still do some pre-Oscar schmoozing at the $140,000 bash he puts on in Hollywood tonight.
With no New Zealanders or films shot here up for littlegold statues on Monday, Mr Mallard has no reflected glory to bask in at the sixth annual Government pre-Oscar dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard.
Lawless, actress Melissa George from the West Auckland-filmed 30 Days of Night and Sala Baker, the Wellington actor who played several Orcs and the dark lord Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, are star attendees.
Rena Owen and Melanie Lynskey will be there, as will ex-Shortland Streeters Chris Hobbs and Dean O'Gorman.
Rachel Hunter, who most recently appeared as a "Hot Mother" in the Rob Schneider film The Benchwarmers, also makes the cut at the event, dubbed a "Celebration of New Zealand Filmmaking and Creative Talent".
Mr Mallard, who as Economic Development Minister also attended last year, is sure to saunter over to James Cameron, director of blockbuster Titanic, who is set to shoot sci-fi thriller Avatar in New Zealand.
Also firmly on Mr Mallard's networking radar will be Carey Granat, of Walden Media, which produced the Chronicles of Narnia series.
Guests will dine on Kiwi delicacies and take home what, by Hollywood standards, is a paltry goody bag containing a bottle of Steinlager, Antipodes facial exfoliator, a Huka Lodge recipe book, New Zealand music CD and the latest Hollywood Reporter, which features New Zealand on the cover.
A spokeswoman for Mr Mallard said the bill would be met by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, with some sponsorship from Air NZ and Morton Estate wines.
The event began in 2002 when Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring was nominated, and has had big years since, particularly 2004 when The Return of the King won 11 awards and Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for Whale Rider.
Temuera Morrison, who will be MC tonight, said the lack of New Zealand nominations would not dull celebrations. "At the end of the day there's a big feed and a hui going on."
