Oscars shock shakes up 2017 Governors Ball
LOS ANGELES — The Governors Ball is the elegant, joyful (and generally controversy-free) bash where A-list stars kick back and enjoy the spoils of their wins.
But Sunday night’s epic Oscars flub changed much of that.
Though the glamorous affair was still rocking, with champagne flowing and Wolfgang Puck caviar and truffle-stuffed treats circling on trays, the chatter heard from corner to corner was of that jaw-dropping best picture flub, which saw Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announcing La La Land had won, when in fact, the prize belonged to Moonlight.
Here's how the worst flub in Oscar history went down
Weirdest night ever? "Wasn't it?" said Ezra Edelman, who was celebrating his best documentary feature win for O.J.: Made in America.
"I would not wish that situation on my worst enemy,” said David Oyelowo. “That was a tough way to find that you lost and a tough way to find out that you won. No one could really celebrate as fully as they would like but I'm elated for the Moonlight cast and I feel badly for the La La Land folks."
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Naomie Harris, who stars in Moonlight, agreed it was an odd night for the cast.
"It was such a weird moment and I think it's only now that we're really able to process it,” she said. “And it's absolutely extraordinary, given that we're a tiny indie movie, a movie that was made for $1.5 million and did not have the publicity budget that a movie like La La Land had and those other big budget movies. It's a testament to how this film touched people."
Now, there was still partying to do. Guests hit the dance floor to the tunes of Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough and Le Freak, and hungry stars took over small circular tables to grab a bite.
Dev Patel held court at a table with his mother while noshing on dessert, and nearby, Viola Davis sat with her husband, Julius Tennon, and friends, snacking on Puck’s famous mini-chicken pot pie.
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Around 10:45 p.m., La La Land director Damien Chazelle made his exit, his Oscar for best director in hand. Shortly after, at 11 p.m., Riz Ahmed and Andrew Garfield headed out, too. "See you later!" Garfield called out to a friend.
As the party wound down, the Moonlight crew gathered inside the roped off engraving station, where stars go to get their custom nameplates affixed to their Oscars.
After graciously taking selfies with several fans, Mahershala Ali was the last star to get his name engraved, and then he joined a texting Barry Jenkins on a couch nearby (the perfect time, it turns out, for Ali to sample a classic Governors Ball treat: Oscar-shaped smoked salmon bites).
With the Oscars drawing to a close, director Ava DuVernay put the evening's chaos in perspective.
"You know, one of the things that I hope doesn't get overshadowed is this was a $1.5 million indie film about a black, gay, poor man ... and that's a very significant thing. Usually for black films, it has to be a period piece to get recognized. This was a contemporary piece. It was an independent piece and I'm proud of them and I'm proud of the Academy for honoring that."