BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. -- The likes to think of itself as the party of the year, but instead of a debauched, champagne-fuelled romp, it can sometimes feel more like a strange high school reunion for the extremely famous.
Some are catching up with old friends and co-stars, some are kissing their dates in plain sight and some fawn over the cool kids they haven鈥檛 yet met. Sometimes it happens on camera, as with 鈥淧oor Things鈥� director Yorgos Lanthimos swooning over his proximity to a personal idol, Bruce Springsteen, but most of the time those interactions are saved for when the cameras are off 鈥� though Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner clearly didn鈥檛 get the memo that there were still live cameras even during the commercial breaks.
You鈥檇 never know that the from several scandal-plagued years inside the same ballroom where they鈥檝e been held for years. The chatter was about how fun it felt to be back, whether or not Travis Kelce would show with Taylor Swift (he didn鈥檛) and who was going to get the Oscar boost out of it. Some grumbled about the last-minute seating assignments for high-profile attendees who weren鈥檛 told who their tablemates would be until late Saturday afternoon.
THE RUSH BEFORE SHOWTIME
It鈥檚 always a flurry of excitement in the moments before the show begins, as the biggest stars to make the opening monologue. Jennifer Lawrence, a noted appreciator of 鈥渓ukewarm chardonnay,鈥� walked in with minutes to go, martini in hand and purpose in her eyes. Right behind her was Oprah Winfrey, seemingly the only A-lister in the room with a full security detail clearing the way for her and Gayle King.
Many of the most famous faces were seated on the stage level where Harrison Ford took his seat early, at a table with Selena Gomez who was excited about the Nobu sushi being served. Attendees were largely thrilled with the upgraded food choice after years of chicken and fish and root vegetables that were usually long gone by the time everyone took their seats.
Soon Martin Short joined Gomez, in a place clearly marked 鈥淢eryl Streep.鈥� Short quickly got up to speak with Ford who gestured to him to stay seated. Short ignored, and both were soon in stitches laughing. Later Ford made his way over to his 鈥淚ndiana Jones鈥� director Steven Spielberg and old co-star Kate Capshaw to catch up.
As they talked Ben Affleck made a beeline to studio exec Tom Rothman, who chatted and laughed before Affleck left to take his seat next to his pal Matt Damon. Kristin Wiig also made sure to stop Paul Giamatti to congratulate him for
In a different part of the room, Gary Oldman gave his 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� director Christopher Nolan a kiss on the cheek as they passed one another and the voice over the loudspeaker urged everyone to get to their seats as soon as possible.
Elsewhere 鈥� looked starry eyed along her way to her seat, while a waiter gushed to Quinta Brunson how gorgeous she looked.
CHOICE SEATS, SNAPS AND CONVERSATIONS
Unlike in years past the TV tables were just as big as an attraction as the movie ones, with 鈥淭he Bear鈥� cast seated in a high-traffic area that only got more crowded with their subsequent wins. and Jeremy Allen White stayed close most of the night, while Edebiri snapped photos of her co-star Matty Nathanson with a digital camera she brought.
鈥淏eau is Afraid鈥� star Joaquin Phoenix stayed close to his director Ari Aster as well, while behind them Emily Blunt and John Krasinski greeted Martin Scorsese with a hug and Katharine McPhee took a shot of the room with her phone.
Jo Koy鈥檚 awkward monologue sent many in search of another drink early in the show. The Globes smartly tucked the bar, the dessert table and some sushi extras in a separate room in the back of the ballroom which over the course of the night filled up with the likes of Florence Pugh, Helen Mirren, Shameik Moore, Barry Keoghan and Christina Ricci.
Back in the room, Ali Wong had a meaningful chat with 鈥淎ll of Us Strangers鈥� star Andrew Scott about his heart-breaking film.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what it was about" before seeing it, Wong said. 鈥淚t broke me.鈥�
Scott also had an animated chat with Pedro Pascal, while Allison Williams took a picture with her old 鈥淕irls鈥� boyfriend and current cast member of 鈥淭he Bear鈥� Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
鈥淭he Bear鈥� cast was seated right next to 鈥淭he Crown鈥� table, Elizabeth Debicki was one of many who鈥檇 make her way over to talk and laugh with White and Edebiri. Robert Downey Jr. opted for the shouting-across-the-room method. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 up BEAR,鈥� he shouted, blowing kisses at them.
His 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� co-star , who stayed close to pal Zoe Lister-Jones all night, also made her way to congratulate Ebediri but was quickly pulled away by Gillian Anderson who promptly took a selfie with her friend.
Pugh and Lister-Jones were on their way to the bar for some sushi and a drink. 鈥淚鈥檓 hungry!鈥� Pugh exclaimed. Everywhere you looked there were fun conversations happening, like Riley Keogh laughing with or talking to Barry Keoghan (hopefully about prosthetics).
NEAR THE END
The night started getting long about two hours in, where many took a break in the restroom. It was there that Natasha Lyonne spotted Elizabeth Olsen and gushed about her dress, and where a few other Marvel stars laughed to find themselves both at the sink at the same time.
鈥淚 want to change,鈥� Pom Klementieff said to her 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy鈥� co-star Karen Gillan.
Gillan agreed and Klementieff sighed, 鈥淟et鈥檚 go back, back to hell.鈥�
After the show in the lobby, a shoeless Brie Larson hopped over to Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach in the lobby outside shouting 鈥淕ret-A, Gret-A!鈥� before jumping up to hug .
They were just some of the many A-listers walking through the lobby on to various studio and agency parties happening around Los Angeles, where many will be analyzing what the night鈥檚 results mean for the Oscars. Is 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� now the solid frontrunner? Can 鈥淢aestro鈥� and 鈥淢ay December鈥� make a comeback? Why did 鈥淏arbie鈥� win ONLY two awards?
Or perhaps it鈥檒l stay light and fun. Because at those parties, the cameras really are off.
