5 things you probably didn’t know about the Oscars

You have a firm grip on this year’s Oscar nominees, last year’s winners and what host Jimmy Kimmel will undoubtedly joke about (and the best picture award goes to ... oops).

But there are aspects of Hollywood’s stellar night that may be a surprise. Let’s pull the curtain back a bit on a ceremony that strives for effortless glamour but, like any machine, is made up of nuts and bolts and simple human need.

Besides stars, designer duds and lots of close-ups, here’s what else the 8 p.m. EST Sunday, March 4, telecast on ABC will include:

Cameras never find an empty seat at the Academy Awards, with a troop of seat-fillers at the ready to occupy any chair vacated by a bathroom- or barbound guest. A parade of extras in tuxedoes and gowns arrive hours before the show begins and are ready to swoop in and sit once the cameras start rolling. Getting the gig, like so much in Hollywood, depends on who you know: Seat-fillers are family and friends of movie academy staff and accounting firm. Are there polite tussles to sub for Streep, Hanks or other A-listers, earning bragging rights? We can only hope.

STOMACH PAINS

Oscar guests are often hungry. It may be self-imposed, either because of nominee nerves or a skin-tight gown with no room for error or eating. Attendees do have a chance to nibble during a pre-show cocktail hour that includes hors d’oeuvres trays, but skip that and it’s three hours or more until a post-ceremony dinner at the Governors Ball. Not all are invited, which means some famished guests end up asking their limo driver to head to fast food, fast. Advice from an insider: carry a clutch roomy enough for a ham sandwich and don’t fret that you’ll get busted by security.

STAY IN YOUR LANE

There are two paths on the Oscars red carpet: one for famous people, and one for everyone else.

PHOTO BY CHRIS PIZZELLO — INVISION — AP, FILE Host Jimmy Kimmel speaks as donuts fall onto the audience at the Oscars in Los Angeles. Cameras never find an empty seat at the Academy Awards, with a troop of seat-fillers at the ready to occupy any chair vacated by a bathroom- or bar-bound guest.