LOS ANGELES (AP) — What you see on the television broadcast is only part of the story at the Oscars.
There's a whole world of action happening in between commercial breaks, and at the lobby bar in the Dolby Theatre — where nominees and winners convene, commiserate and celebrate.
Here's a chronological recap of things you didn't see happen on TV:
Ready for showtime
Nick Offerman, the Oscars announcer took a moment on stage reminding people to keep their speeches short and pay attention to the countdown. When the play off music started up for him, he feigned incensed: “I’m the announcer, I announce the show. You can’t start the show without me!”
Wickedly supportive co-stars
Sure, everyone in the Dolby was standing after the Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande medley but Jeff Goldblum and Bowen Yang seemed the most excited in the crowd.
A Sandman cameo
A man in a bright turquoise hoodie is escorted into the Dolby, near the stage. It was, of course Adam Sandler, right behind Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who giggled along to Conan O’Brien’s headshot bit.
Soon, the cameras took their place in front of him and he joined the joke too. He high fived dozens of people on his way out of the theater.
Emma Stone cheers Kieran Culkin
Emma Stone was the first to jump, quite literally, out of her seat to applaud Kieran Culkin’s win.
Ten minutes later, Stone ran to the bar after the supporting actor prize with her husband Dave McCary and Jack Antonoff.
Stone, a producer on “A Real Pain,” was celebrating Culkin’s win and regaling Antoff with the story about how he tried to drop out of the film two weeks before shooting.
“I literally got on the plane,” she said about bringing him, his wife and kids to Poland. “Jesse was going to murder him. I’m so proud of him. He’s such a little (expletive.) He’s so crazy. I want to punch him and I’m so proud of him.”
Culkin credited her with “Jedi mind tricking” him to do it.
The Russians go for vodka
Immediately after Culkin won, “Anora” nominee Yura Borisov made his way to the lobby bar with his costar Mark Eydelshteyn.
The bartender reached for a fresh bottle of champagne, but Borisov stopped him.
“Can we drink some shots?” he asked.
He could, he was told.
The order? Vodka, no ice.
Snacking, drinking and schmoozing in the lobby
“I'm Still Here” star Fernanda Torres grabbed some trail mix to eat and chatted with someone in Spanish. Nearby, Miles Teller chose the same snack, along with a beer. He and his wife commandeered a hightop.
Sebastian Stan spoke to Universal chair Donna Langley, while off to the other side “Nickel Boys” stars Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson were rapt watching the Lisa and Doja Cat performance honoring the James Bond franchise.
Ariana Grande applauds Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldaña got a standing ovation when her name was called, naturally, but only Grande jumped up to applaud at the end of her teary speech. Grande then turned to Selena Gomez, sitting behind her, and the two hugged for a moment.
On the floor during the following commercial break, Torres took a phone call, Elle Fanning spoke to Marlee Matlin and Colman Domingo posed for photos. With 25 seconds until the show resumed Stone and Demi Moore wrapped up their chat.
A Kendall Roy Moment?
Jeremy Strong looked a little morose near the lobby bar, standing with his wife who had her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way. His spirits seemed to rise when someone stopped to chat. Elsewhere “Nickel Boys” filmmaker RaMell Ross was holding court.
Starstruck by a rock legend, and a pop star
Colman Domingo was the MOST jazzed about the sight of Mick Jagger.
A few minutes later, Andrew Garfield runs over to Ariana Grande to give her a hug during the commercial break.
Gallows humor from Brady Corbet
“The Brutalist” filmmaker Brady Corbet was deep in conversation with Emily Mortimer. Nearby, Dennis Quaid was happy to find a chilled bottle of water to sip on, and Stone ran to hug Adrien Brody, already laughing with his “Brutalist” brother Alessandro Nivola. Stone then sidled up to Margaret Qualley, while “Wicked” filmmaker Jon M. Chu watched the tribute to Los Angeles firefighters on the screen in the room.
Corbet greeted some people near the bar, shouting with a laugh: “We’re killing it, it’s a sweep! Just ticking them off, ticking them off.” This, notably, happened before they won for cinematography and score.
Back in the theater as the big awards loom
Queen Latifah continued dancing her way off the stage as many in the audience cheer her on, like Domingo.
During the commercial break, Felicity Jones chatted with Garfield and Sandler made his way back into the theater, this time in a tuxedo.
A Complete Mensch
Fresh off his best actor win, Brody made his way right to his fellow nominee Timothée Chalamet. They hugged multiple times and chatted for the entirety of the commercial break, stopping only to pose for a photo with Domingo and Sebastian Stan. Chalamet had a shot at usurping Brody’s youngest best actor winner title.
On to the parties
After the show ended, the stars lingered on the floor. Several went to hug Demi Moore, including Grande and Elle Fanning, after her best actress loss. Chalamet seemed to be wrangling: Chatting with Ethan Slater, hugging co-star Monica Barbaro and putting his arm around his sister, Pauline.
Grande and Slater held hands in the way out of the room as he also tried to helped her with her dress.
Laura Dern and Isabella Rossellini also left together, and Chalamet exited holding his mom’s hand, as they followed Kylie Jenner out of the room.
Someone stopped Chalamet to tell him “you so deserved it.” He thanked her, took a selfie and said, “Have a lovely night.” Then he took Jenner by the waist, from behind, and they kissed a few times.
The show may be over, but the party was just starting.
___
For complete coverage of the Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
