Adrien Brody has a note. The two-time Oscar winner is currently running through his presentation at the 98th Academy Awards ceremony, which will presumably carry on tradition of the Best Actor and Actress winner of years past playing a role in awarding this year’s winner. (A theory supported by Mikey Madison’s presence in the house as well.) But the timing of the bit Brody’s trying to pull off isn’t quite there yet.

This was the scene inside the over-air conditioned Dolby Theater on an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon in Hollywood, where dozens of crew hands bustled around and a handful of Brody’s A-list peers drifted in and out to rehearse for this year’s Oscars telecast. As easy as the finished product looks on-screen, it should come as no surprise that perfectionists like Brody are on hand days before to get their various contributions just right, even if it’s just the script for presenting. That’s part of the Oscars’ appeal, isn’t it? Famous people being charming and funny, with bits that will validate that long runtime.

The snapshots I witnessed promise a strong show indeed, especially on the reunion front. Observing the Hollywood elite mill around on this stage not dressed in tuxes and ball gowns kind of gives off the same sensation as a plainclothes cop, but any regularity is stamped out the minute you watch, say, Maya Rudolph do her thing. Rudolph is presenting as part of a Bridesmaids reunion that sees her alongside Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Ellie Kemper and Best Actress nominee Rose Byrne, in honor of the seminal comedy’s 15 year anniversary. The ladies had a room scattered with publicists and Academy officials cracking up, with a gag that’ll probably go down as a highlight when tomorrow night is said and done.

Bill and Lewis Pullman rehearse for the 98th Academy Awards.AMPAS