EW’s reporters were on the scene inside and all around the Kodak Theater as the Academy Awards were handed out on Sunday evening. Here’s a taste of what we saw and heard at the parties, bars, and, yes, bathrooms on Hollywood’s biggest night. And be sure to check out our EWPopWatch Twitter stream for more. (Reporting by Dave Karger, Ari Karpel, Whitney Pastorek, Nicole Sperling, Sean Smith, and Adam B. Vary)
* The Reader director Stephen Daldry to EW after the show: “Thank God Kate [Winslet] won. The show was brilliant. Ten
times better than usual. And I think Baz [Luhrmann, who choreographed one of the big musical numbers] is a genius.”
* Jerry Lewis, looking really irritated, trying to move through the crowd at the Governors Ball. Screams “Come on!!” At full volume. Oscar in hand.
* Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talking to a bunch of men at the Governors Ball — while sitting next to a bored-looking Heidi Klum!
* Judd Apatow, the man behind the Seth Rogen/James Franco short film, in an e-mail to EW after the show: It seemed to play well, “I am safe!”
* Best Actor presenter Sir Ben Kingsley, overheard after the
show while waiting for his wife to show up to the Governors Ball:
“Everyone got their moment in the spotlight. It was really wonderful.”
* Best Original Score and Best Original Song winner A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) backstage, on why M.I.A. didn’t perform with him tonight: “There’s more important things in her life. She had a baby, and she took care of
her baby.”
DURING THE SHOW…
* Kate Winslet just walked through the lobby with her Oscar and got huge round of applause.
* Baz Luhrmann’s wife just got her train stomped on. “You should never wear a train to the Oscars, but I do every year.”
* Man on Wire’s Philippe Petit says he’ll high-wire in N.Y. this fall. “I am going to walk to a library, I won’t tell where.”
* Brad and Angelina just cut the line at the bar to get a drink. When they realized what happened, they apologized profusely to everyone.
* Sean Penn is at the bar drinking a Coke and talking about Man on Wire with a group of people.
* Philip Seymour Hoffman says he’s in a hat because he’s in a film with “crazy hair.” Says he’d “rather deal with hat jokes” than hair jokes.
* Spotted: Anne Hathaway chatting with Viola Davis. Peter Chernin chatting with Brad Grey.
* Spotted: Heidi Klum and Seal hiding out in a first-aid room, drinking champagne and eating a sandwich.
* All of Penelope Cruz’s entourage have the letter “P” on their heads. They drew them on after she won.
* Mickey Rourke just ran in and out of the bathroom. Hugh Jackman’s schmoozing with the audience during breaks is keeping everyone in their seats.
* Milk’s Dustin Lance Black: “Harvey [Milk] gave me his story and it saved my life. I felt like it was time to pass it on.”
* Stephen Daldry on critical articles about The Reader: “I don’t recognize those. I take criticism but I don’t recognize those articles.”
* Emile Hirsch is wondering if he can bring a drink back to his seat.
* Elton John is totally riveted by Dustin Lance Black’s speech.
* Penelope Cruz’s sister is in the lobby bar getting texts from her sis and reading them to her dates. They posed for a pic and yelled “Viva Penelope!“
ON THE RED CARPET AND BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED…
* David Frost said the last time he was here, The Deer Hunter won. “The red carpet has become much more of a machine.”
* Harvey Weinstein says he hopes all his hard work in promoting The Reader pays off for Kate Winslet: “She’s certainly deserving,” he said
* Slumdog Millionaire’s Christian Coulson and Simon Beaufoy want two things after having been on the red carpet for 1 1/2 hours: a martini and a cigarette.
* Now the kids from Slumdog Millionaire just asked Meryl Streep for her autograph. She hugged them and said, “You are wonderful.”
* Brad Pitt on who took a longer doing their hair tonight, him or Angelina: “Always me.”
* At the end of the red carpet, the Slumdog Millionaire kids just asked Daniel Craig for his autograph.
* Frank Langella on the difference between his performance in Frost/Nixon the play and the movie: In the movie, “I could sit down more.”
* Overheard: Fox gossip guru Roger Friedman to Penelope Cruz: “If it doesn’t work out tonight, don’t blame me.”
* Overheard: Heidi Klum to Dev Patel. “You were a genius but your hair was much bigger.”
* Spotted: CAA partner Bryan Lourd in the third floor lobby. His shirt is studded with diamond cufflinks and studs — a gift from client Brad Pitt.
* Sean Penn shaking hands with Richard Jenkins. Sarah Jessica Parker fawning all over Jenkins and his turn in The Visitor.
* Robert Pattinson on the Oscars compared to Twilight premieres: “It’s more organized. At Twilight premieres, you think you’re going to die.”
* Turns out Zac Efron was waiting for his date, Vanessa Hudgens, who was being photographed. They walked into the Kodak Theatre holding hands.
* Doubt writer John Patrick Shanley says he’s working on an original script next. Will give only one-word hint: “Magic.”
DURING THE SHOW…
* Kate Winslet just walked through the lobby with her Oscar and got huge round of applause.
* Baz Luhrmann’s wife just got her train stomped on. "You should never wear a train to the Oscars, but I do every year."
* Man on Wire’s Philippe Petit says he’ll high-wire in N.Y. this fall. "I am going to walk to a library, I won’t tell where."
* Brad and Angelina just cut the line at the bar to get a drink. When they realized what happened, they apologized profusely to everyone.
* Sean Penn is at the bar drinking a Coke and talking about Man on Wire with a group of people.
* Philip Seymour Hoffman says he’s in a hat because he’s in a film with "crazy hair." Says he’d "rather deal with hat jokes" than hair jokes.
* Spotted: Anne Hathaway chatting with Viola Davis. Peter Chernin chatting with Brad Grey.
* Spotted: Heidi Klum and Seal hiding out in a first-aid room, drinking champagne and eating a sandwich.
* All of Penelope Cruz’s entourage have the letter "P" on their heads. They drew them on after she won.
* Mickey Rourke just ran in and out of the bathroom. Hugh Jackman’s schmoozing with the audience during breaks is keeping everyone in their seats.
* Milk’s Dustin Lance Black: "Harvey [Milk] gave me his story and it saved my life. I felt like it was time to pass it on."
* Stephen Daldry on critical articles about The Reader: "I don’t recognize those. I take criticism but I don’t recognize those articles."
* Emile Hirsch is wondering if he can bring a drink back to his seat.
* Elton John is totally riveted by Dustin Lance Black’s speech.
* Penelope Cruz’s sister is in the lobby bar getting texts from her sis and reading them to her dates. They posed for a pic and yelled "Viva Penelope!"
ON THE RED CARPET AND BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED…
* David Frost said the last time he was here, The Deer Hunter won. "The red carpet has become much more of a machine."
* Harvey Weinstein says he hopes all his hard work in promoting The Reader pays off for Kate Winslet: "She’s certainly deserving," he said
* Slumdog Millionaire’s Christian Coulson and Simon Beaufoy want two things after having been on the red carpet for 1 1/2 hours: a martini and a cigarette.
* Now the kids from Slumdog Millionaire just asked Meryl Streep for her autograph. She hugged them and said, "You are wonderful."
* Brad Pitt on who took a longer doing their hair tonight, him or Angelina: "Always me."
* At the end of the red carpet, the Slumdog Millionaire kids just asked Daniel Craig for his autograph.
* Frank Langella on the difference between his performance in Frost/Nixon the play and the movie: In the movie, "I could sit down more."
* Overheard: Fox gossip guru Roger Friedman to Penelope Cruz: "If it doesn’t work out tonight, don’t blame me."
* Overheard: Heidi Klum to Dev Patel. "You were a genius but your hair was much bigger."
* Spotted: CAA partner Bryan Lourd in the third floor lobby. His shirt is studded with diamond cufflinks and studs — a gift from client Brad Pitt.
* Sean Penn shaking hands with Richard Jenkins. Sarah Jessica Parker fawning all over Jenkins and his turn in The Visitor.
* Robert Pattinson on the Oscars compared to Twilight premieres: "It’s more organized. At Twilight premieres, you think you’re going to die."
* Turns out Zac Efron was waiting for his date, Vanessa Hudgens, who was being photographed. They walked into the Kodak Theatre holding hands.
* Doubt writer John Patrick Shanley says he’s working on an original script next. Will give only one-word hint: "Magic."
Comments (1-18) of 18 Add your comment
Hahaha, Robert Pattinson’s comment for the win
Congratulations to Queen Latifah on her great job singing “I’ll Be Seeing You” for the Memorial Tribute to all of the entertainer who past on last year. Beautiful!!!!!
I am sorry to say that Meryl Streep’s performance was better than Winslet’s -despite this being good, and that Viola Davis performance was also superior to that of Penelope Cruz.
Kate Winslet just walked through the lobby with her Oscar and got huge round of applause.
Yes, and she is COMPLETELY deserving. I’m so happy she won!
I agree with Shar… and Robert too.
I can’t Believe Rob pattinson was at the Oscars . I should have watched it.
I loved the production and new presentation of the big awards. It never dragged, I only checked the time once after two hours. A great show, and showcase.
MIckey Rourke is the only reason I watched the Oscars because I saw The Wrestler and love him. I wanted Mickey Rourke to win best actor. Instead we all had to watch Mr. Penn American hater give his political gay speech. Go away Sean Penn and live with Chavez.
What does Meryl Streep have to do to get an Oscar? I don’t care that she was nominated 15 times. Everyone is always wanting to meet her, they revere her and yet I think the Academy thinks that Meryl has gotten rewarded enough or another likihood is that Streep sets the bar so high we take her for granted….please give me a break…Kate Winslet is a good and maybe someday a great actress…Meryl Streep was so much better than her in her Doubt performance. I am beginning to doubt that Hollywood really cares anymore about older actresses who give outstanding performances.
Confused in Illinois
Congrats to all of this year’s winners and I loved Hugh Jackman. Thanks for the great coverage. EW wins the “Where’s Bryan?” award! My favorite game every year.
nopenn, you’re a repugnant excuse for a human being. He was refering to your disgusting cohorts who picketed the Kodak Theater with their anti-gay religion-based hate signs. Clearly you agree with them so do us all a favor and take a long walk off a short pier.
Meryl was good, but Viola was better.
Doubt the play was waaayy better than the movie. Cherry Jones (played the head nun in the play) and believe it or not, was better than Meryl Streep.
I bet it was a close race between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke. Everyone I talked to knew it was between the two of them, but didn’t know which. My husband thought Penn deserved it. He was really great in MILK. But Mickey was so good in WRESTLER. That was probablay thee hardest vote.
Robert Pattinson looking as shy and befuddled on the Red Carpet but his hair is looking dashing in time for shooting of New Moon. Pics and video here http://www.squidoo.com/oscars-winners-best-picture and http://www.squidoo.com/new-moon-casting
Pattison can´t even speak properly without looking as a piece of stick
And I thought it´s just acting he has problems with 
I loved Hugh Jackman before, I love him 100 times more now! More of him next year, please!
Penelope Cruz got the Oscar? Did she deserved it? Maybe because that she is under the ‘wing’ of producers Bob and Harry Wenshtein(?). Kate Winslet didnt play for Oscar perfomance in Reader this year(becasue of it, the British didn likeit, like she said herself, because they know mroe than American not mature audiency and critics). Lets will be honest.
‘Reader’ itself didn deserve a nomination, ask your critiks.But again: it was Bob`s and Harry`s ‘movie’; where is they there is always Oscar. Brad Pitt is nominated just for make-up or perfomance? This year like previous ones are very poor movies, boring,full of silly politic propaganda. Where is real American wonderful guys and ladies-artists? There are not Artisits, but are only Celebrities.
I don’t care that she was nominated 15 times. Everyone is always wanting to meet her, they revere her and yet I think the Academy thinks that Meryl has gotten rewarded enough or another likihood is that Streep sets the bar so high we take her for granted.. http://publik.yoll.net/omnmo.html island
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