The 90th Academy Awards went off without a hitch. One year after a headline-making best picture mix-up, Hollywood’s biggest names returned to the Dolby Theatre to cheer on The Shape of Water, Dunkirk, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and all of the other nominated films.
But not every moment made it into the telecast (and, boy, was it a long one). Luckily, Us Weekly was there to catch all of the fun, behind-the-scenes action that wasn’t shown on TV.
3:07 p.m. PT: Allison Williams enters the lobby and looks really confused. She’s asking for directions from attendants and seems lost while talking to someone on the phone.
3:15: Williams starts talking to Tom Holland. He tells her, “You were so good in [Get Out]” and she responds, “Thank you, thank you.” A few more people join them as they huddle in a small circle by the staircase. Williams explains what it’s like being at the Oscars, telling Holland, “The experience that you have, it’s wild.”
3:22: Williams shuffles through the Oscars program. A fan comes up to Holland and says, “I just love you so much” and someone takes a photo of them.
3:24: Williams continues talking to Holland about her previous Oscars experiences. She recalled her first show and seeing Rihanna and Beyoncé, adding that she had a major dress malfunction and arrived late.
4:08: Wendi McLendon-Covey beelines toward the bar while trying to flatten out her hair.
4:13: Elisabeth Moss poses on the stairs as an older man takes photos of her. She then switches and takes photos of him. Finally, they pose together for a selfie.
4:24: The Bachelor alum Olivia Caridi walks in with a guy directly behind her in a gray suit. She says, “This is kinda weird. I’m so confused,” and they try to look for the entrance into their section.
4:25: Zendaya walks directly to the elevator with her eyes glued to her phone. A little girl sees her and looks so in awe, and Zendaya waves and says hello.
4:30: Sofia Carson lingers by the phone charging station.
4:39: Ansel Elgort and his girlfriend, Violetta Komyshan, head up the stairs and hold hands. He leads the way and poses for a selfie with a fan.
4:41: Steven Spielberg walks by the snacks area with his arm wrapped around his wife, Kate Capshaw. An attendant escorts them through the lobby and guides them to their seats.
4:44: Get Out star Betty Gabriel fixes her dress in the bathroom.
5:21: Moss walks into the lobby and heads toward the bar. She gets a glass of champagne and does a toast with three other people. Moss says, “Thank you to you guys for bringing me. Thanks for casting me. Thank you to my mother and father for having me. Thank you to my agents and all of my teachers.”
5:23: Jennifer Lawrence hands her earrings to someone and says, “Keep these safe. They’re only $2,000!”
5:26: Lawrence returns to the bar to grab a handful of Hershey’s Kisses.
5:30: Judd Apatow takes out his iPhone to take a picture of Lawrence and Emma Stone. Stone looks at the picture after and says, “That’s not a good photo and we should delete that!”
5:39: Allison Janney sips a vodka tonic and talks to a woman about I, Tonya. The woman asks Janney if she has taken a vacation yet with everything going on. She responds, “Not yet, I want to. We have to wait until April 6.” The woman then asks Janney if she’s going to a lot of afterparties, and she says, “Definitely.”
5:41: Janney walks over to Margot Robbie and shows off her diamond ring. Margo says, “That’s insane.”
5:42: Stone and Lawrence sip white wine. Someone whispers near Jennifer and she playfully yells, “I can tell you’re talking about me!”
5:44: Sally Hawkins asks Octavia Spencer if she wants a Diet Coke. Spencer says no and Hawkins walks over to the bar to get one for herself.
5:44: Janney looks down at her dress and says, “It’s wrinkled. I wish I had a steamer.”
5:45: Stone stops Hawkins on her way to the bar. Stone hugs her and says, “You looks so beautiful.” Lawrence walks up to them, shakes Hawkins’ hand and tells her, “I just wanted to say I love your film. You look pretty.” Hawkins replies, “I was just going to say the same thing about you. I love your outfit.”
5:45: Robbie takes a mini sewing kit from someone and begins to start a thread. “Honestly, it’s so easy,” she says while looking at the back strap of her dress. When she looks up at the screen and realizes she’s missing Mary J. Blige’s performance, Robbie says, “Damn it.”
5:48: Timothée Chalamet walks by Hawkins. She says, “I love you, I love you! You’re the man.” They squeeze each other’s hands while walking by but don’t stop to talk.
5:50: Saoirse Ronan hugs Robbie and leans her head on Robbie’s shoulder. Ronan asks Robbie about her dress and Robbie says, “We literally had to sew it on.”
5:52: Robbie gives Ronan a high-five. They talk about their plans for after the show and Robbie says, “I’m gonna go back to Chateau, change and then go to Vanity Fair.” They agree to meet up at Madonna’s party and then Ronan heads back inside for the show.
5:52: Lawrence stares at a woman’s necklace and says, “I love diamonds so much. Don’t mind me.”
5:53: Emily Blunt squeezes Stone’s butt, causing Stone to bump into a security guard. She apologizes and explains, “I’m sorry. She touched me!”
5:54: Robbie introduces Lawrence to her mom. They chat and share a few laughs.
5:57: Stone walks over and compliments Robbie’s dress. They do some funny poses together while someone snaps candid pictures of them. They continue making small talk and realize they have a mutual friend, who Stone says is “so cool.”
6:00: Ronan slyly grabs popcorn from a table after leaving the bathroom and then puts it down a second after tasting it. “I don’t really like those,” she says. “I’m gonna just leave those here.”
6:02: Robbie introduces Stone to her mom. Emma shakes her hand and says, “It is such a pleasure to meet you.”
6:04: Gina Rodriguez poses for a photo with four fans. She and her boyfriend, Joe LoCicero, sip champagne as they walk toward a quiet area.
6:05: Ronan gets a drink by the bar and takes photo with a fan.
6:06: Rodriguez and LoCicero stand really close to each other. She puts her glass of champagne on a serving plate on a table. A waiter asks if he can take her drink and she says, “Oh, yeah. I put it on this bootleg table right here. I’m all about the bootleg table right now.” LoCicero then hands her his full glass and she sips it. She’s also holding onto a bag of cookies, which she puts in her clutch. They link arms and walk into another viewing room. Rodriguez leans her head on LoCicero’s shoulder as he kisses her forehead.
6:07: Greta Gerwig sees Ronan and talks to her for a while near the entrance. She tells Ronan that she loves her dress and new bob cut.
6:19: Maya Rudolph takes a selfie and then kisses someone on the cheek by the bar.
6:20: Someone in Ronan’s group shows her a funny photo of her and her Lady Bird costar Beanie Feldstein making a funny pose in a hotel lobby earlier in the day. Ronan laughs super hard after looking at the photo.
6:21: An attendant escorts Matthew McConaughey up a ramp toward the entrance before he presents Best Film Editing. He starts making humming noises, almost like he’s doing vocal exercises.
6:22: Rudolph pulls out a bag of cookies from her purse and asks an attendant, “Are you taking me to my seat?” She munches on the cookies while following the attendant from the bar to the main room.
6:39: Olympians Adam Rippon and Mirai Nagasu chat with a male attendee. Nagasu says, “I’m actually honored to be here, for everyone to see me out as a Japanese-American woman. It’s our nation’s history.” The man asks the pair whether the night has lived up to their exceptions so far. Rippon says, “This has been such a funny and fun experience. It’s surreal. To come from the Olympics to here right after is a great way to unwind. It’s been so fantastic to walk the red carpet.” Nagasu chimes in and says it’s good that people usually don’t recognize athletes.
6:44: Taraji P. Henson, holding an orange drink, does a funny dance move and says, “If I was staying, then I’d pretend to dance, but I have to catch a flight. The reason to go to the Oscars is to go to the afterparties and I can’t even go to the afterparties.”
6:51: Willem Dafoe walks around with a smile. He grabs a bag of popcorn and then gives someone a high-five.
6:53: A woman comes up to Dafoe and asks if he can take a photo with her because her son “will be so impressed.” Dafoe asks the woman how old her son is and takes a serious interest.
7:00: Rippon and Nagasu sip champagne and take photos with fans. They laugh and thank everyone who approaches them with compliments.
7:01: Rippon wraps his arm around Nagasu’s waist as he guides her back up the ramp.
7:07: A couple come over to Helen Mirren and ask if she’ll say hi to their son Tyler, who they’re FaceTiming. Mirren smiles and says, “I love you, Tyler!” and talks to the little boy for a few minutes.
7:32: Hawkins gets a drink at the bar. She lifts up her dress so her heels are showing and giggles as she side-steps away.
7:39: Dafoe and his wife, screenwriter Giada Colagrande, hold hands and hurry back inside the theater.
7.38: Hawkins sips a Diet Coke and chats with waiters near the snack bar. She laughs as she grabs a pack of trail mix.
7:42: Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani laugh while chatting with Dafoe. She throws her head back laughing at one point.
7:47: Elizabeth Chambers and Armie Hammer whisper something to his Call Me by Your Name costar Chalamet. Chambers bends down for her purse and hands Chalamet what appears to be a mint.
7:55: Gordon and Nanjiani scroll through Instagram during a commercial break.
8:36: Gordon is the first to stand up during Frances McDormand’s acceptance speech for best actress. Gordon laughs and looks super happy. After she sits down, Nanjiani kisses her on the cheek before they kiss on the lips.
8:55: Viola Davis has a trench coat wrapped around herself as she waits outside with her husband, Julius Tennon, by the limo pick up. He takes her hand and she leans her head on his shoulders as they walk off the red carpet and hang out by a heated area with couches. Davis gets a coffee before sitting down.
With reporting by Emily Marcus and Carly Sloane.
