Chicago Sun-Times

Check out what cameras didn’t catch at Oscars

- Carly Mallenbaum

Snacks, personal cheering sections, a lot of mingling and a nearby wet bar are just a few things TV didn’t show.

If you watched the Oscars at home, you saw The Shape of Water win best picture, Frances McDormand salute women in film and host Jimmy Kimmel enlist celebritie­s to bring snacks to nearby moviegoers.

But there’s plenty at the Dolby Theatre ceremony that’s not captured by the Academy Awards cameras.

Here’s what you didn’t see on TV:

Guests treated to lunchboxes

What a host! Kimmel signed a note to every attendee that said, “It wouldn’t be right to make you sit through this without snacks. Please don’t throw them at me.” There were chips and gummies, plus a promise that a donation had been made to the L. A. food bank for each box.

Guillermo Rodriguez shared Oscar rules with audience

Before the telecast began, Kimmel’s TV sidekick appeared in a video with rules for accepting an award. Rodriguez’s commands ranged from the very informativ­e — such as, “If you win, go to the same microphone from where the presenter announced your name”— to the sillier: “Have fun. Don’t drink too much.”

Winners had their own cheering sections on hand

When Jordan Peele won for best original screenplay, Get Out actor Bradley Whitford threw his arms in the air and yelled, “Jordan! Jordan!” When James Ivory won for adapted screenplay, Call Me By Your Name costars Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer hugged each other and cheered. When Guillermo del Toro won for best director, fellow nominee Greta Gerwig was the first to give him a standing ovation. When Rita Moreno took the stage, Viola Davis led the clapping. Actually, Davis led several applause moments during the night.

Stars mingled during commercial breaks

Oscar- goers are free to get out of their seats as stagehands prepare for the next act. So, during commercial­s, Mary J. Blige went over to talk to Davis. Allison Janney got out of her seat to chat with Octavia Spencer. A young girl sat on Jennifer Lawrence’s lap and stayed there for part of the show. But Meryl Streep stayed in the front row all evening, like a queen receiving many admirers.

And many frequented the bars

Attendees can also walk out of the show and into the bar. Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann grabbed pink cocktails and watched from there. Adam Rippon helped Mirai Nagasu with her train as the Olympic skaters moved about the lounge area. Janney hung out with her Oscar at the VIP bar and joked about taking the masculine trophy to the private men’s room.

Celebratio­ns continued after the cameras stopped rolling

Del Toro paraded around the orchestra level with his best- director Oscar and held it up for guests in the balcony to see. Costume designer Mark Bridges, who won a Jet Ski for his shortest Academy Award acceptance speech, kept on waving from atop the green Kawasaki vehicle even after the show was over. Andthe audience applauded Eddie Vedder’s In Memoriam performanc­e, even after the show went to commercial.

An announcer very politely asked for applause

During breaks, an announcer counted down the time left until the show returned. Indeed, missing that deadline to get seated meant missing the next act of the show( while a seat-filler took your spot). But for those who made it back, they were commanded to do one thing: Applaud. But the request tended to be polite, as in: “A little applause, please.”

There was a charging station

New this year, guests were invited to drop off their phones, turn them on airplane mode and let them charge at a table. The charging station was right next to a snack table that offered popcorn and cookies.

 ??  ??
 ?? PHOTOS BY ROBERT DEUTSCH/ USA TODAY NETWORK ?? Guillermo del Toro shows off the first of his two Oscars won at Sunday’s Academy Awards.
PHOTOS BY ROBERT DEUTSCH/ USA TODAY NETWORK Guillermo del Toro shows off the first of his two Oscars won at Sunday’s Academy Awards.
 ??  ?? Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” cast went bonkers when he won the Academy Award for best original screenplay.
Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” cast went bonkers when he won the Academy Award for best original screenplay.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States