“Who’s got the Oscar?”
Frances McDormand was standing on the patio of the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday nigh, several hours after winning her second Academy Award, and the Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri actress had momentarily lost track of the statuette. McDormand was deservedly in full celebration mode; not only had she won her category, she had also engineered one of the most powerful moments of Sunday’s ceremony, when she asked all of her fellow female nominees to stand up and share her victory.
Confirming that one of her friends was safeguarding her trophy, the actress embarked on an important mission: to find the Olympic gold-medal-winning snowboarder Chloe Kim. McDormand snaked her way into a custom-designed party space behind the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills—only making it a few feet before well wishers Lin-Manuel Miranda and James Corden paused her search. McDormand made a few polite moments’ worth of small talk and then excused herself to find “the snowboarder,” whom she had name-checked in her acceptance speech. She parted partygoers—Drake, Tyler Perry, J.J. Abrams, Emma Watson, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Garner, Miles Teller—in blind pursuit, until she set her eyes on the only thing that could have halted her in her Kim-bound victory lap: a waiter bearing a bucket of Thomas Keller-prepared fried chicken. She would need some sustenance on her search.
“She just stole the whole bucket,” a waiter said, in awe.
McDormand marched on, carrying a glass of tequila like a torch into the Apple Music Lounge—a circular room illuminated by a pixel map lighting system. When a group of girls cheered her, McDormand paused and threw her drink hand up for a rhythmic fist-pump in their direction. Then she cut through the dance floor directly to the deejay and offered him chicken in exchange for some intel.
“She asked me if I had seen Chloe Kim,” the deejay said a moment later. McDormand set her bucket down on his booth—seemingly so that she could take a quick dance break while he considered her question.
A circle of partygoers including Darren Criss formed around McDormand as she got down—offering variations of the robot, the lawnmower, and other incredibly aerobic moves, occasionally pulling innocent bystanders into her spontaneous version of Step Up: Oscar-Winner Sequel. McDormand was both joyous and seemingly aware that she had a place to be, a snowboarder to meet. After a few raucous moments, she picked up her bucket of chicken and moved on, bumping into Three Billboards co-star Sam Rockwell, and offering him a piece. He indulged, directed her to set the bucket down, and then led her back into the center of the dance floor for an impromptu number that was part salsa, part Pulp Fiction. Before the song ended, McDormand was gone. She marched past the photo booth and bumped into Timothée Chalamet—hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. When a nearby photographer asked for a shot, McDormand obliged.
Whether or not McDormand was triumphant in her quest to find Kim remained, alas, a mystery. Chalamet later settled into a corner of the party with Lady Bird co-star Saoirse Ronan, who was indulging in one of the 1,700 In-N-Out burgers that would be served through the night. Chalamet also chatted with Laura Dern, who was, like him, dressed entirely in white.
“It is like seeing two angels in the middle of the party,” a guest observed.
Once Rockwell had danced a number with girlfriend Leslie Bibb, he greeted fellow Oscar winner Gary Oldman. Margot Robbie warmly reunited with her Suicide Squad co-star Jared Leto—the Joker to her Harley Quinn—at the bar. Nearby, Armie Hammer introduced himself to Kendall Jenner while Caitlyn Jenner sidled up to her daughter, whispering into her ear. Rounding out the filial moment were Zoë Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, who danced to Bruno Mars and snapped photos of each other. When Lin Manuel Miranda approached, Bonet dropped to her knees to pay homage—throwing her arms up in an “I’m not worthy” pose.
“We love you, in case that wasn’t clear,” Kravitz told Miranda. Moments later, Kravitz wrapped her arms around Drake and offered him a sip of her tequila. He obliged.
Joan Collins, the 84-year-old author, had an intimate conversation with Ryan Murphy, while a constellation of his FX stars circled around him: Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, and Evan Peters. Paulson’s girlfriend, Holland Taylor, took a breather to expertly reapply her lipliner, sans mirror, while Emily Ratajkowski locked lips with new husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.
Earlier in the evening, Janelle Monáe, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shonda Rhimes, Richard Plepler, Rashida Jones, and Jon Hamm joined Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones for a viewing party of the Academy Awards telecast inside the same space. Guests bet on the night’s big winners while enjoying a decadent dinner by Thomas Keller including avocado louie, slow-poached dover sole, grilled beef calotte, and, for dessert, chocolate gateau. After dinner ended, guests flooded out of the dining room, wielding the miniature, custom-inscribed Oscars they received as party favors. Kathryn Hahn, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, and Amy Adams immediately piled into a photo booth, while Olivia Munn and Ronan Farrow exchanged contact information nearby.
When Halle Berry made her grand entrance into the party, Spike Lee—in full-length Armani velvet jacket, hat, and sneakers—danced his way over to the actress for a reunion—nearly 30 years after collaborating on Jungle Fever. Judd Apatow and wife Leslie Mann sat deep in conversation with Sacha Baron Cohen and wife Isla Fisher, several feet away from Sting—who was wearing a tuxedo jacket with beaded collar, and no shirt underneath. Ava DuVernay, Lena Waithe, and Angela Bassett—who wore a multi-colored tuxedo—chatted while intermittently snapping selfies. Patricia Clarkson crept up behind Megan Mullally, giving her a hug from behind, while Mullally’s husband Nick Offerman laughed with Jon Hamm. Sarah Silverman caught up with Amanda Seyfried indoors while James Corden and Adam Levine talked on the patio.
Guests including Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak_, and Chadwick Boseman posed inside Mark Seliger’s Instagram portrait studio, designed this year as a lush, light-strewn salon. As Best Supporting Actress winner__Allison Janney__ headed out of the studio, exhausted after a long evening that capped a longer awards season, she told a nearby partygoer that she was “overwhelmed” by her win and needed “an isolation chamber to decompress.” When asked where she would put her brand new Oscar, the I, Tonya actress deadpanned, “My bed.”
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