Call it the Lu Parker effect

When Antonio Villaraigosa got his chance a few minutes ago to do the fake chit-chat thing with Ryan Seacrest on the Oscars red carpet, the mayor and the E! host talked about "Avatar." Villaraigosa listed off the movie's positive messages, leading with "animal welfare." Standing next to him and beaming the whole time was girlfriend Lu Parker, who of course is the top animal welfare advocate at Channel 5.

Oscar nominees
Printable ballot

Parker and Villaraigosa on the red carpet / Jeff Vespa at IMDb.com