Oscar Buzz Builds; Security High

Even Oscar's not immune to security concerns.

As Sunday night's Academy Awards ceremony nears and anticipation intensifies, the real world is intruding on Tinseltown's showpiece.

All attendees will have to show identification and pass through metal detectors. Even the biggest of the big stars.

The 400 spots in the fan bleachers this year were filled through a strict application procedure - not the campout free-for-alls they'd been in the past.

Because of Sept. 11 terrorism worries and the ceremony's re-location to the new Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, the academy barred sidewalk campers this year and posted online applications instead.

But one fan already in place Saturday was asked by CBS News if she ever thought it would come to this, and she replied, "Never. Never. But it's for our won benefit so we'll do whatever they say."

It also was tougher to get seats inside this time. The 3,100-seat Kodak Theatre has about 900 fewer seats than last year's Shrine Auditorium, and hundreds of seating requests were refused, including a few hundred from academy members.

Bleacher spots this year were awarded to early bird applicants after background checks. Some 5,000 people applied.

"It's been quite a management job," said Ric Robertson, the academy's executive administrator. But keeping fans in the picture was worth the effort, he said.

"They are really an integral part of the red-carpet, Oscar-night experience. They bring a level of energy that is really pretty extraordinary and definitely adds to that whole phenomenon."

The chosen few will begin taking their places outside the theater nearly 11 hours before the ceremony begins.

The heightened security also includes more police officers; extensive street, business and subway stop closures; and a tighter credentialing process for media.

"The Los Angeles Police Department will be all over Hollywood and obviously helping maintain offsite security," said Robertson. The department is working closely with other agencies, including the FBI.

The ceremony is in a denser neighborhood compared to the area surrounding the Shrine Auditorium. People hoping to drive or stroll by for impromptu stargazing will find themselves thwarted by barricades.