What you missed at the Academy Awards
Some of the best action at the Oscars occurred backstage and off-camera
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:
1. Guests were treated to snack boxes
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 and a promise that a donation was made to the L.A. food bank for each box.
2. Guillermo Rodriguez shared Oscar rules
Before the telecast began, Kimmel’s TV sidekick appeared in a video with rules for accepting an award. Rodriguez’s commands ranged from 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.”
3. Winners had their own cheering sections
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 co-stars 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 throughout the night. Quite the active audience member!
4. 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, like a queen receiving many admirers throughout the evening.
5. And many frequented the bars
Not only can attendees get up, they can also walk out of the show and into the bar. Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann grabbed pink cocktails and watched the show from there. Adam Rippon helped Mirai Nagasu with her train as the two Olympic figure 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.
6. 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. And the audience applauded Eddie Vedder’s In Memoriam performance, even after the show went to commercial.
7. An announcer 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 seatfiller 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.”
8. 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.