From the VIP food spread to schmoozing with the stars, MovieWeb was on-hand at the 2024Academy Awardsto soak in all that Oscars gold. The televised portion certainly captured all the show’s highlights, including the big wins and a certain epic musical number. But as we were invited in and saw the ceremony play out in-person,there were a number of highlights that perhaps you didn’t see, including the festivities inside the Dolby Theater beforehand.
Out of all the awards shows this year and even in recent years, it’s safe to say this one was arguably the most entertaining of the bunch. After all, 2023 featured some of the biggest and boldest movies in quite some time, so it makes sense that the corresponding awards would be a blast.Here’s a closer look at some memorable moments we saw at the 96th Academy Awards.
Wolfgang in the House
After you’re welcomed onto the Dolby Theater premises and proceed along the red carpet, you’re right inside the action, with the show stage just next door as the nominees and attendees gather in the lobby.Brendan Fraser, Oscar-winning for his portrayalof Charlie inThe Whale, mingled in the area and conversed withCODAstar Marlee Matlin, including taking a number of photos with their own phones.
A slimmed down Jesse Plemons, finally looking the part of a young 35-year-old, cruised in, holding hands with wife and fellowOscar nominee Kirsten Dunst. They chatted with Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Scheinert — aka one-half of the Daniels, who dominated last year’s Academy Awards withEverything Everywhere All at Once. Josh Hartnett chatted in the lobby with hisOppeneheimerco-star Jack Quaid.Past Livesstar John Magaro was also mingling, having kept busy in recent years after starring in Kelly Reichardt’sFirst Cow; he was inShowing Uplast year as well, and stars in the upcoming neo-noir comedy,Laroy, Texas.
Famed chef Wolfgang Puck was also among the crowd, which certainly makes sense, considering he was the one responsible for all the delicious food being served to the attendees. MovieWeb was offered the VIP platter (pictured above) that was only being served to a select few in attendance. The finished product was reliably superb and offered a neat little variety.
Chatting to the Stars of Oscar-Winning Films
Other stars mingling before the actual ceremony wereAmerican Fictionstar Erika AlexanderandThe Holdoversstar Dominic Sessa, both of whom chatted with MovieWeb about their now-Oscar-winning projects. “This year is 40 years for me in the business, 30 years for my most recognizable role as Maxine Shaw inLiving Single,” Alexander told us. She added:
“And as a person who started 40 years ago, I do not take this for granted. I also recognize that many people alongside me in this cast, Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, have worked a long time, and they’ve worked at the highest level, and they’re really turned out fantastic performances. And they are here, too, as newbies. So here we are, veterans here as newbies, which I think is fascinating.”
Sessa, meanwhile, seemed over the moon to be in attendance for his career launchpad that isThe Holdovers.“for me, just making the movie was crazy. It’s my first movie, so just being a part of something like that is insane in itself,” explained Sessa. “All I was hoping for was that it would actually come out and people would see it, you know. Whatever happened after that — I didn’t even care if people hated it, I wanted it to be out there and for people to see it. So the fact that people are liking it and that it’s brought us here, it’s crazy, man, it’s insane. Like, no words.
Related:Michael Keaton’s Batman Gets Hilarious Oscar Roasting from Schwarzenegger and DeVito
The Eruptions in Cheers Were Louder In-Person
Once the ceremony was about to begin, none other than a gray-bearded David Alan Grier stepped onto the stage as the show’s “announcer.” He cracked a few jokes about the industry and, before Jimmy Kimmel took the stage, capped off his intro by telling us in the audience, “Don’t f*** this up.” It was the first of many unpredictable and funny moments throughout the night.
On that note, it was that much more rewarding to watch the renowned Academy Awards ceremony in-person, if only to hear just how much louder the thunderous cheering sounded up close. This trend really kicked into high gear when Cord Jefferson gave an uplifting acceptance speech for hisAmerican Fictionadapted screenplay.
Then, beforeRyan Gosling took the stageto belt out the most thrilling musical number of the night (even though the trophy ultimately went to Billie Elish and Finneas for “What Was I Made For?"),Barbieco-star Simu Liu appeared on-screen inside the auditorium to instruct the audience to sing along with Gosling for the second half of “I’m Just Ken.” We certainly obliged, making for a relentlessly entertaining concert piece that will most likely go down in the Oscar history books. Plus, audience members were just dying of laughter during the song in general.
Overall, the general consensus of those exiting the theater afterward was that the 2024 Academy Awards was a resounding success. Sure, there were some groans throughout the room when Al Pacino botched the reveal ofOppenheimeras the Best Picture winner, but little hiccups like this were overshadowed by a genuinely fun-to-watch event. It was arguably the best Oscars ceremony in years, andMovieWeb was there to see it just like last year’s awards. We’ll see you next year.
