How did Hollywood celebrate the Oscars away from Hollywood and Highland?
For those not inside the Dolby Theatre, the top viewing spot was the Elton John Aids Foundation’s 23rd Annual Viewing Party in West Hollywood. After “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” racked up the most Oscars (4 each), and Neil Patrick Harris said goodnight, the party moved to Fox’s joint party at Boa.
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Vanity Fair took over sleepy Beverly Hills, and the party buzz of the weekend was Madonna’s scheduled absence from her own party due her performance on Wednesday at the Brit Awards in London.
Here’s what happened off-camera.
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Vanity Fair took over sleepy Beverly Hills, and the party buzz of the weekend was Madonna’s scheduled absence from her own party due her performance on Wednesday at the Brit Awards in London.
Here’s what happened off-camera.
6:07 p.m.
At Elton John, Beck and Super Bowl champion Patriots owner Robert Kraft score the coveted seats on either side of Sir Elton. Smokey Robinson and Heidi Klum also score head table seating at the round table two-three times larger than the rest.
Mike Myers, who wowed America just last Sunday night on “SNL40” resurrecting “Wayne’s World,” is at David Furnish’s head table a few steps away with Chace Crawford.
6:36 p.m.
E! personality and Fandango “Frontrunners” host Dave Karger is a personal friend of Sir Elton. After wrapping up his on-air duties for E! at 3:45 p.m., he comes to the West Hollywood party for a bit, before returning to the Roosevelt’s for E!’s post show coverage at 8:30 p.m. He’ll make the trek across town again to come back to Elton after he signs off for good.
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6:41 p.m.
Oscars host NPH pops up on screen at Elton John during a commercial break. “My manager booked me for another gig…on Oscar night,” he jokes via a pre-tape. “While I might now be at Hollywood and Highland, my heart is on San Vicente.”
6:47 p.m.
At Elton John’s party, there is no Gordon Ramsey catering for the staff. They are eating In-N-Out Burger. Unless there are two trucks roaming L.A., this mobile grill will move to Vanity Fair later, a base block in their late night food pyramid.
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7:44 p.m.
Miley Cyrus is heading for the door. Minutes later, Alec Baldwin is on his phone, umbrella under his arm and wife Hilaria at his side, heading for the exit as well. Next stop for both: Vanity Fair at their new space in Beverly Hills.
8:02 p.m.
In the commercial break following John Legend and Common’s “Glory” performance, Elton is in deep conversation with Robert Kraft. David Furnish is getting an impromptu shoulder massage from manager Eric Podwall at Furnish’s table. Later, Elton (and his two man security entourage and two person photography perimeter team) will move to Russell Simmons table. Simmons is wearing classic adidas sneakers with his suit.
8:37 p.m.
Graham Moore’s “stay weird” speech is amongst the biggest crowd pleasers of the night at Elton John. Eddie Redmayne and Lady Gaga’s medley were the other two big “pops” in the massive tent in West Hollywood Park. Chopard (who gives a watch to the woman and man who correctly predict the most Oscar winners) and Neuro Drinks returned as long time sponsors, along with Audi.
8:58 p.m.
CAA agent Josh Lieberman notches back to back wins (and gets both shoutouts) as clients Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore win the top acting prizes. Lieberman has been at Redmayne’s side all season. After the Saturday night Governors Awards “way” back on November 8, the two dined with Laura Dern at the Sunset Tower after leaving Hollywood and Highland.
9:10 p.m.
Over at Soho House, Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo ride the elevators up to the Weinstein party. Harvey had chased “Begin Again” to its own TIFF party back in September 2013, buying the film the night of its premiere. Meanwhile downstairs, Rupert Murdoch came early and left early with a small one person entourage at Fox’s joint party at Boa.
9:38 p.m.
Back at Elton John, a man bids $150,000 for two tickets to the simultaneous Vanity Fair party, which comes with the right to walk the carpet. He wins.
Minutes earlier, another donor put up $225,000 to take home a Stephen Somerstein portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. addressing supporters at the end of the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.
10:14 p.m.
Word has already come down from Elton John Aids Foundation executive director Scott Campbell that the night has hauled in $5,800,025. Sir Elton had told the crowd that $15,000 allows a patient to stay in medical care for a year, while $12,000 could result in “full viral suppression” for a patient.
11:25 p.m.
“When we finished the movie.” – 20th Century Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman/CEO Jim Gianopulos, whose studios won 8 Oscars, answering my question, “At what point in the night did you think it was starting to look good for you?”
Presumably, he was talking about “Birdman,” and not “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”
11:49 p.m.
The joy of victory runs over at Boa, as Journey, “Killing Me Softly,” and “Hey Mickey” blasts from DJ Michelle Pesce’s decks. Peanut butter and banana monte cristo triangles float throughout the space, killing all Oscar diets.
11:52 p.m.
At the Fox party, Octavia Spencer tells me she had no idea that host NPH would throw her in to the Oscar spotlight as his Tom Hagen for the night, guardian of his viral moment predictions. Spencer had even attended rehearsals a the Dolby on Saturday to get reps for introducing “John Stephens” and “Lonnie Lynn, Jr.’s” Oscar winning performance of “Glory”.
She admits her publicist had responded to an opaque overture by telling them she “was game”.
11:59 pm.
Fox Searchlight Co-President Steve Gilula, with what looks like an invite in hand, rejects my suggestion that he is late to move on to Vanity Fair. “But these are my people,” he tells me with a topped up lowball glass in hand.
12:28 a.m.
As the patio at Boa remains packed, Michael Keaton stashes himself standing up in a nook by the door at a hightop cocktail table. He is somewhat the Nomar Garciaparra of the 2004 Red Sox, exiled from his own team’s celebration.
12:37 a.m.
A possible entourage debates whether they should try to pile in to Alejandro G. Inarritu’s two car motorcade with his family to ride coat tails in to Vanity Fair. “Do you think we will all get in?” they discuss amongst themselves, before deciding against it.
Minutes earlier, Keaton leaves the party and heads for his car.
“’Mr. Mom’, forever!” a social media company executive yells to him as he slips in to his ride.