The curious case of Frances McDormand's lost and found Oscar, and more post-show party scenes

“That’s my baby boy!” Frances McDormand gushed while clutching her Oscar inside the Governors Ball after her win at the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday.

The actress was talking about her son, Pedro, but McDormand would soon be searching for her newest baby boy — her lead actress Oscar for her performance in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Amid the flowing champagne, towers of seafood and passed plates of Wolfgang Puck cuisine, one of the most bizarre moments following Sunday’s telecast happened at the Governors Ball when a partygoer swiped McDormand’s freshly engraved statue.

A happy Frances McDormand holds her freshly engraved Oscar at the Governors Ball following the Academy Awards, with her son Pedro by her side. Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images

Late in the evening, McDormand was spotted red-faced from laughing and crying after an unidentified man lifted the trophy while she was chatting and darted out of the Ray Dolby Ballroom where the party was being held.

At one point, she turned to L.A. Times photographer Jay Clendenin and said, “I lost my Oscar.” Her handlers quickly rushed over to figure out where the sticky-finger bandit had gone off to.

HOLLYWOOD, CA - March 4, 2018 Frances McDormand and Elvira Lind at the 90th Academy Awards Gover
Elvira Lind consoles Frances McDormand after her Oscar goes missing at the 90th Academy Awards Governors Ball. Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Given the tight security around the Dolby, the thief didn’t make it far. Another photographer intervened and stopped him.

According to whispers around the party, McDormand declined to press any charges against the man. But since a New York Times culture reporter tweeted a photo of a man alleged to be the one who tried to get away with McDormand’s Oscar — or possibly a misidentified bystander — his identity will likely be revealed on social media.

Later at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, a happier McDormand approached the hulking security men guarding the entrance to the Beverly Hills bash and said, “This is my posse.”

Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Frances McDormand tells Tiffany Haddish all about the theft of her Oscar at the entrance to the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 90th Academy Awards. Nina Prommer / EPA-EFE / REX/Shutter

As the guards waved McDormand’s crew into the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, she wanted to let everyone know there was a reason she didn’t have her golden statue with her: “Somebody tried to steal my Oscar at the Governors Ball,” she told producer Jason Blum as she made her way inside, passing an a capella group. “Let me see someone try to pawn that!”

“A lunatic stole it,” a member of McDormand’s crew added.

The 60-year-old actress quickly bypassed the red carpet, rushing by photographers. But when she saw Tiffany Haddish posing for the shutterbugs, she stopped to tell the comedian about her stolen hardware.

“She said somebody stole her Oscar,” Haddish told another party guest, launching a full-blown game of telephone.

McDormand’s statue may have been out of sight for safekeeping, but there were plenty of other Oscars on hand: Gary Oldman, documentary director Bryan Fogel and Allison Janney all carried their trophies into the exclusive event. Moral of the story: Keep your Oscar close, even in rarefied air.

Miniature Oscars and tuna cones

HOLLYWOOD, CA - March 4, 2018 Jordan Peele with wife Chelsea Peretti at the 90th Academy Awards
Jordan Peele with his newly engraved Oscar and wife Chelsea Peretti at the 90th Academy Awards Governors Ball. Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Foiled theft aside, the Governors Ball was an early highlight of post-show festivities (though we’re sure that uber-exclusive Jay-Z party we weren’t invited too was probably the place to be). Decorated with an opulent, classic Hollywood theme, the ballroom was adorned with vintage cameras, metal movie reels referencing best picture nominees and winners throughout Oscar history, sparkling crystal chandeliers and lush floral arrangements.

The food, like the liquor, was seemingly endless: Miniature Oscars made out of salmon, asparagus soup, baked mac and cheese, chicken pot pie, spicy tuna cones, beef tartar, salmon pizza, baked potatoes topped with caviar, vegan pasta, sushi, a stocked seafood station and enough desserts to make even the sweetest tooth ache (not that that stopped anyone, judging from the long line for the crepe station).

Two-time nominee Mary J. Blige arrived to cheers early in the night, the R&B star taking a lap and receiving a parade of well wishes before making a quick exit.

In one corner of the ballroom, “Get Out” breakout Lil Rel Howery was tucked away sharing laughs with “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz.

Supporting actor nominee Woody Harrelson kept a low profile as he noshed on dinner and Jordan Peele made a beeline to get his Oscar for original screenplay engraved, immediately showing off the trophy to his mom who waited nearby with Peele’s wife and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Chelsea Peretti.

When we asked “Icarus” director Bryan Fogel how it felt to be an Oscar winner, his reaction almost took a back seat to his ravenous appetite.

“Gahhhh I don’t know, it’s so surreal,” he beamed while clutching his trophy. “Now where can I find some of that delicious seafood I keep hearing about?”

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