Oscars 2014: Vanity Fair party delivers in giddy fashion
While the location of Graydon Carter’s famous Vanity Fair Oscar party changed Sunday for the first time in five years, the abundance of A-list celebrities attending the bash did not.
Winners from nearly every category, including Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o and Alfonso Cuarón could be found in high spirits, most clutching tightly onto their Oscars.
The exclusive party, in past years held at the Sunset Tower, moved to a parking lot on the south side of West Hollywood’s Sunset Plaza, the main tent offering sweeping views of the city from one side and a wall lined with portraits of past Oscar winners on another side.
FULL COVERAGE: Oscars 2014 | Complete list of winners
Still feeling giddy from his win for best supporting actor, Leto gave bear hugs to any familiar faces he came across, including Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres, who gripped tightly onto Leto’s arms as she complimented his work and his performance.
Both DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, stopped by the exclusive event for just a few minutes. But before heading out, the two made sure to share a few words with Barkhad Abdi.
“You are the captain now!” they said to Abdi, who broke out in laughter.
As waiters carrying trays of macaroons, dark chocolate and In-N-Out burgers rushed past the guests, producer Harvey Weinstein told his wife, Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, to grab a burger.
“Darling, we’ve been together for 10 years and in that time I have not eaten meat,” Chapman said to her husband.
For many, the night was about letting loose and seeing old friends. Exes Amy Poehler and Will Arnett shared laughs; sporting a leather jacket over her elegant gown, Pink (in true Pink fashion) started a dance party in the middle of the tent; Seth Rogen’s signature laugh echoed throughout the room.
“This is fun!” Rogen told a friend. “I’m out!”
Meanwhile, Leto simply did not want the night to end.
“Let’s all go to my place and hang out,” he told a large group of friends and acquaintances. “Who needs a ride?”
But for others, exhaustion from the day began to catch up with them.
After unsuccessfully struggling to ward off photographers, Leonardo DiCaprio abruptly told a persistent photographer, “Please, no more.”
Meanwhile Bradley Cooper, whose arm was tightly snug around girlfriend Suki Waterhouse’s waist, was calm, collected and unfazed by the barrage of camera flashes.
“This guy’s a pro,” DiCaprio said, pointing to Cooper.
Some of Hollywood’s younger stars provided tips and industry advice to one another. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael B. Jordan expressed frustration in not yet being able to work with many of the actors they admire.
“Scheduling is the hardest part, harder than money,” Gordon-Levitt revealed to Jordan.
But the night’s best spontaneous moment went to Bill Murray and Lupita Nyong’o, who broke out in a duet of the Isley Brothers classic “Shout,” gleefully cheering the “hey-hey-a-hey” lyrics.
The supporting actress winner turned to a friend and unloaded the hectic schedule she will be facing in the weeks ahead.
“And I still have to pack!” Nyong’o said.
“You just won an Oscar! You have minions who can do that for you!” her friend quipped back.
But there was one Oscar winner modestly walking through the party sans golden man in hand: best director Cuarón.
“It’s too heavy! I left it in the car,” he revealed to the dismay of a photographer who needed to get a shot of the director holding an Oscar -- even if that meant asking the producer of best documentary “20 Feet From Stardom” to borrow her statue for just a few seconds (she said yes).
“It’s not ethical! It’s not mine!” Cuarón contested as he looked to the camera with an uneasy face.
Before Cuarón called it a night, he was stopped by a fan and aspiring director who asked for one piece of advice from the first Mexican to ever win an Oscar in the director category.
“Follow your instinct. The very first one you have,” Cuarón said without a moment of hesitation.
ALSO:
Oscars 2014: Red carpet arrivals
Oscars 2014: Quotes from the stars
Oscars 2014: 14 completely awkward moments from past telecasts
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