Oscars Rambling Reporter: Ryan Gosling’s Kind Act, Jay Z’s New Film Gig, Justin Timberlake’s Early Exit

City of Stars ... And 'Sorry's

One emotion dominated the Oscars afterparty circuit: sympathy. No matter whose side high-ranking industry types were on — best picture winner Moonlight or mistaken winner-turned-loser La La Land — everyone was passing on their condolences. At the Governors Ball, CBS Films' chief Terry Press said she felt sad.

"Moonlight did not get the moment that it should have gotten, and La La Land did not get the moment it should have gotten," said the exec, there to celebrate her own best picture nominee, Hell or High Water. Her boss, CBS' Les Moonves, was still scratching his head: "The accountant has one job: to hand the guy the right envelope. I don't understand how something like that happened."

Hacksaw Ridge's nominated producer David Permut praised La La Land producers Marc Platt, Fred Berger and Jordan Horowitz. "They did an elegant job handling a situation that was unfortunate," he said.

Filmmaker John Singleton used the word "crazy" to describe the entire situation. "It was the best ending ever. Man, you couldn't make this stuff up," he told THR at the Vanity Fair party. Elsewhere at the exclusive gathering, Showtime chief Matt Blank explained that he "really enjoyed the show, but I felt bad for everybody. In the end, it will be good and everyone will be OK, but it's a shame to see that happen."

Agreed, said producer Scott Stuber: "You just feel bad for everyone. To me, it exemplified the real fact that all those people are winners tonight." Well, maybe everyone except for Warren Beatty. During the Spirit Awards on Saturday, hosts Nick Kroll and John Mulaney joked that Beatty looks like he may have borrowed too many joints from Danny DeVito. It was a bit that preceded the Oscars, but Kroll joked to THR that it's a possible explanation for the flub. "It's funny that's how it ended up, because that may have happened," he said.

— Chris Gardner
 

What the Oscar Cameras Didn't Catch

Best actress winner Emma Stone had a front-and-center seat at the Oscars, just shouting distance away from her former boyfriend Andrew Garfield, also nominated on Sunday in the best actor category. Though he lost the prize to Manchester by the Sea star Casey Affleck, he won major points in the manners category. After Stone's emotional acceptance speech, the telecast cut to commercial and Garfield took the opportunity to rush over and hug Stone's Oscar date, her younger brother Spencer. The two shared a tight embrace and a few touching words and Garfield returned to his front row seat.

… Justin Timberlake may have opened the show with his rousing rendition of "Can't Stop the Feeling" but he and wife Jessica Biel didn't feel like staying until the end. The couple exited early during the final commercial break, missing the night's major mishap.

… Someone who didn't miss the moment was Ryan Gosling, but even though he was on the losing end, he didn't act like a loser. The actor was one of the last to leave the Dolby, staying late to take pictures with other ticketed guests before leaving arm in arm with his sister.

After insane best picture mixup, Ryan Gosling proves he's still classy as hell, staying late and taking pics with guests #Oscars pic.twitter.com/APjVe6FNHJ

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 27, 2017

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… Meryl Streep, accompanied by CAA power agent Kevin Huvane, stopped to congratulate best actor winner Casey Affleck, who was joined by WME's Ari Emanuel and rep Mara Buxbaum. Affleck seemed to be enjoying his moment, and so was his director and fellow Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan. When Lonergan returned to his seat, Affleck, Michelle Williams and Buxbaum posed for a pic taken by nominee and Manchester by the Sea actor Lucas Hedges.

After winning #Oscars Kenneth Lonergan hugs @TeamID rep Mara Buxbaum, Michelle Williams, Casey Affleck w/ Lucas Hedges taking group pic pic.twitter.com/6uvr9igly1

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 27, 2017

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… A female bartender at Amazon's viewing party at Delilah appeared to be having too much fun to finish out her shift. Once caught dancing by actor Colin Hanks when he tried to order a drink, she later gushed that she was there hoping to meet Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. As the night goes on, she gets more and more rowdy before eventually disappearing. A source says she had been dismissed due to her behavior. 

… What about those aviator sunglasses that Jennifer Aniston gave away during the show? They weren't cheap. A source tells THR the gold aviator sunglasses are the Del Mar model from Sama Eyewear. Price? $625.

— Chris Gardner and Brian Porreca

Lost … and Found!

Following the roller-coaster close, the crowd inside the Dolby Theatre continued to clear out when nominee Naomie Harris reentered the auditorium, pacing a few steps behind two female Oscar staffers. Clutching the back of her white Calvin Klein dress, the Moonlight star zeroed in on the area she had been sitting looking for a lost item. After a search didn't turn up anything, the actress exited stage left. THR checked in with Harris' rep who said that she had misplaced her clutch but that her mother had picked it up for her when she was onstage with the Moonlight crew during the best picture fiasco.

After winning best picture #Oscars @moonlightmov star Naomie Harris comes back to theater with staff. Appears she's lost something pic.twitter.com/ScUKTZX0aV

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 27, 2017

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Harvey Weinstein Intros Jay Z Hire at Oscar Party

When Harvey Weinstein revealed from the stage on Feb. 25 at his annual pre-Oscars gala that Jay Z (present with pregnant wife Beyonce) had joined as a producer on an upcoming film version of In the Heights  — it was also seemingly news to the film's producer, Scott Sanders. "Did he just say Jay Z was co-producing?" Sanders was overheard asking another guest at the event inside the Montage Beverly Hills' Marchesa Ballroom. "I didn't know that," he joked, but enthusiastically added, it was "great" the hip-hop mogul is on board. Sanders' company produced the Broadway hit The Color Purple and has upcoming theater projects based on Coal Miner’s Daughter and Tootsie. Sources said that the newest version of the In the Heights script has just been turned in and the casting has not yet begun.

Selected songs from the show were performed at Weinstein's party — presented in partnership with Grey Goose, Bulgari and NetJets — by Color Purple star Cynthia Erivo with Chris Jackson and Corbin Bleu. But the program started before Jay Z and Beyonce had arrived, so once they did show up, Weinstein requested that the entire program be restarted so the couple could get experience it in full. 

The redo seemed worth it too. Jay Z and Beyonce gave the musical interlude a standing ovation as Jay Z sipped a glass of champagne and a Grey Goose espresso martini. The evening also featured Nicole Scherzinger and Lion composers Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka. 

Other guests in attendance included John Brierley, Saroo Brierley, Sue Brierley, Priyanka Bose, Iain Canning, Georgina Chapman, Luke Davies, Garth Davis, Angie Fielder, David Foster, Greig Frasier, Kelsey Grammer, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Morrison, Petra Nemcova, Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Zac Posen, Edgar Ramirez, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Roy, Alicia Rountree, Emile Sherman, and Daria Strokous.

— Chris Gardner

Vanity Fair Oscar Party Livestream Snags 3.7 Million Viewers on Twitter

Vanity Fair's annual Oscar party is known to be an exclusive, star-filled affair but this year, the mag let in 3.7 million additional guests. Online, that is. 

For the first time ever, Vanity Fair set up a live-stream from inside the event — held in a custom Basil Walter-designed space next to the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts in Beverly Hills — as part of a partnership with Twitter. VF just released the digital download following the Feb. 26 party with approximately 3.7 million tuning in on Twitter. Of those who scored a front row seat live from the comforts of home (even if they likely would have preferred rubbing shoulders with Jennifer Aniston or Matt Damon over their own sofas), 77% of viewers were under the age of 35. 

Dom Perignon sponsored the VF.com livestream while Genesis USA sponsored a feed on Facebook Live. The Vanity Fair Oscar party, hosted by Graydon Carter,

The stream included color commentary on everything from red carpet fashions, the night's big winners and, of course, the best picture debacle with appearances by Little Gold Men podcast hosts Mike Hogan (Vanity Fair digital director) and Katey Rich; comedians Phoebe Robinson and Michelle Collins; In the Limelight co-hosts Josh Duboff and Julie Miller; Vanity Fair’s executive west coast editor Krista Smith; fashion director Michael Carl; VF Hollywood insiders Rebecca Keegan and Julie Miller; and special guests ranging from Jon Hamm to Judd Apatow.

To watch a recap of the stream, click here. To read a recap of the action, including THR's own minute-by-minute recount of what its like to party next to guests like at the Graydon Carter-hosted party, click here. 

— Chris Gardner

Elsewhere During Oscar Week

Russell Simmons' second annual All Def Movie Awards — an event created in the wake of last year's #OscarSoWhite controversy in an effort to showcase diversity in Hollywood — aired opposite the Oscar telecast on cable network Fusion. But Simmons, the mastermind of the ADMAs, wasn't home to watch. Instead, he tells THR that he RSVP'd for the 25th anniversary of the Elton John AIDS Foundation Viewing Party at West Hollywood Park before heading over to Vanity Fair's Oscar party and capping off the night at Guy Oseary's house for his annual late-night bash with Madonna.

But he was present at the Belasco Theatre on Feb. 22 during the filming of the Mike Epps-hosted ADMAs, also a pretty good party (judging by the smell of weed smoke and tequila inside the venue) and one that saw a slew of new categories introduced this year including Best Latino Not in a Service Industry Role, Best Performance by an Asian Not Asked to Use an Accent and Most Out of Place White Person in a Movie. Awards aside, Simmons' All Def Movie Awards might hold the distinction of being the only Hollywood awards show with bottle service for each individual table. Served inside the Belasco — complete with mixers including soda water and orange juice — was Santoyo Grand Leyenda Organic Tequila, which retails for $49 per bottle. When THR inquired about the bottle service to one table inside the Belasco Theatre, one female reveler shot back, "That's organic tequila, bitch!"

… At the SMASH Global Pre-Oscars fight night Feb. 23 in Hollywood, the crowd booed at the mention of Meryl Streep, whom organizers say they had invited after her Golden Globes dis of mixed martial arts. The night's honoree Steven Seagal said: "Meryl Streep is a very good actress. That's all I can say about her that's good. When you … start spouting off your political feelings, … it's low class."  

… Mel Gibson had a relatively quiet Oscar weekend, but he did get out to celebrate his best director nomination for Hacksaw Ridge. In addition to Sunday’s big show, he hit the town on Feb. 24 to attend a private party presented by Brent Hocking and Drake’s Virginia Black whiskey in the Hollywood Hills to celebrate the birthdays of director Ariel Vromen and producer Tommy Alastra. Also there: Leonardo DiCaprio, Adrien Brody, French Montana, Russell Simmons and Kourtney Kardashian.

— Chris Gardner

Aisha Tyler's Spirit Awards Spat

At the Spirit Awards on Feb. 25, The Talk co-host Aisha Tyler had a not-so-pleasant encounter with security after returning from a bathroom break.

Tyler missed the cut to get back to her seat once the commercial break was over and argued with the security guard who wouldn't let her in. Once the Moonlight cast got a standing ovation for the Robert Altman Award, she pressed her luck by requesting to be let back in. "Everybody's standing up now — we can walk in," she insisted. But the security guard wouldn't budge, so she called him "inappropriate."

Tyler urged the others to charge past the security guard with her, arguing "strength in numbers." After the stress from the altercation, she made her way back in and grabbed a champagne bottle from the table next to her, holding it up in the air signaling victory. Lesson learned: THR didn't spot Tyler taking any more bathroom breaks for the rest of the show.

— Brian Porreca

Elsewhere During Oscar Week

At the SMASH Global Pre-Oscars fight night Feb. 23 in Hollywood, the crowd booed at the mention of Meryl Streep, whom organizers say they had invited after her Golden Globes dis of mixed martial arts. The night's honoree Steven Seagal said: "Meryl Streep is a very good actress. That's all I can say about her that's good. When you … start spouting off your political feelings … it's low class."  

Russell Simmons' second All Def Movie Awards — created in the wake of 2016's #OscarsSoWhite — filmed Feb. 22 at the Belasco Theater. Weed smoke and tequila were omnipresent and new categories introduced, such as Best Latino Not in a Service Industry Role, Best Performance by an Asian Not Asked to Use an Accent and Most Out-of-Place White Person in a Movie. Simmons' ADMAs hold the distinction of being the only Hollywood awards show with bottle service. When THR inquired about one table's order, a female reveler shot back: "That's organic tequila, bitch!"

— Brian Porreca