Stars let loose post-Oscar
After-parties mark a welcome end to long awards season for actors
Greta Gerwig screamed with delight and relief as she hugged a group of friends at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. The Lady Bird director and Oscar nominee had just walked down the last red carpet of her long awards season. She quickly pulled up her long flowing gown, kicked off her high heels and put on a pair of sneakers so she could run through the room in comfort. On the surface, Hollywood’s after-Oscar parties are held to celebrate the winners and almost-winners at the Academy Awards. But their real purpose, for many anyway, is to recognize that the entire exhausting epic of the awards season is finally over. Nowhere is this more true than at the Vanity Fair party, where the tables are stacked with junk food made with highbrow flair, and an endless stream of In-N- Out burgers are served in overflowing boxes by the chain’s workers in uniform, all of it telling partiers that the time to starve yourself to fit into tuxes and gowns is over.
In the outdoor patio of the party hosted by Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones, best actress winner and rousing speech-giver Frances McDormand was struggling to get through an In-N-Out Burger because of a steady stream of wellwishers. McDormand, with her husband the director Joel Coen having an easier time of eating nearby, held her burger in her left hand while she hugged and shook hands with her right, posing for pictures with dozens of doting fans. Moments later across the room, Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland by chance bumped into his onscreen aunt and guardian Marisa Tomei, and the two also shared a happy hug.
Sarah Silverman, Donald Glover, Emily Ratajkowski and Kate Upton all chatted with groups of friends over tables stacked with truffled popcorn and buttermilk fried chicken nuggets.
The party’s first phase earlier in the evening was a dinner for a smaller group of invitees, who dined as they watched the show. A similar viewing party was going on in Hollywood at Elton John’s annual AIDS Foundation soiree. Allison Janney’s best supporting actress win for I, Tonya got wild applause, as did McDormand when she called for an “inclusion rider” during her speech celebrating diversity and women storytellers. The Oscars’ official after-party, the Governors Ball, paid tribute to the film academy ’s 90-year history. The ball is where Oscar winners can have their statuettes personalized with their name and category.