BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – At award ceremonies, Emma Stone often appears more at ease mingling than sitting down.
During Sunday’s Golden Globes, the “Bugonia” actress was seen engaging with various friends, including Kirsten Dunst and Jennifer Lawrence, not in the main hall but in a cozy side room equipped with a bar, tea and coffee stations, and an endless array of tempting desserts, Nobu sushi, and caviar cups. Crucially, this area was free from the watchful eye of television cameras.
Here are a few behind-the-scenes moments that never made it to the Golden Globes telecast.
A “13 Going on 30” Moment
Before the ceremony kicked off, Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo reunited near the bar. Their conversation veered away from any impromptu “Thriller” dance plans to marveling at the fact that Jay Penske, owner of Hollywood trade outlets like “The Hollywood Reporter,” “Variety,” and “Deadline,” also co-owns the Golden Globes. “Isn’t that wild?” they mused. The chatter then shifted to Ruffalo’s near-miss of his category last year due to a security delay at the entrance. He barely made it, finding a seat in the aisle just in time.
Pre-show Buzz: Moms, Band-Aids, and Dancing
As the clock ticked down, Glen Powell escorted his mother into the ballroom, taking her arm to navigate the steps Alicia Silverstone just had to sidestep down. They spotted their table off to the side and Powell took a beat: “Want to hit the bar then?”
Silverstone was having her own issues though, and another mom soon came to the rescue: Mila Kunis was on a mission to deliver some Band-Aids to Silverstone, who thanked her profusely.
Elsewhere, Colman Domingo danced his way to his table. Teyana Taylor, flanked by security trying to rush her to her seat, snapped a selfie with a guest. Rose Byrne paused to hug Elle Fanning, while Universal chair Donna Langley spoke to Benicio Del Toro. And Kylie Jenner made her way in at the last minute, without Timothée Chalamet and with only minutes to showtime.
The awards get going, and some duck out of the room
Stone beelined to the side room after the first award, leading her “Bugonia” director Yorgos Lanthimos and costar Alicia Silverstone along with her. Stone and Lanthimos were deep in conversation, with brief interruptions requesting selfies.
Over at the coffee and tea station, Kirsten Dunst was halfway through pouring herself a cup of coffee when she paused and told husband Jesse Plemons “I don’t want this, do you?” Her order instead was cranberry and some sparkling, which Plemons dutifully delivered to her throughout the night. Both were also excited to greet Wagner Moura.
After Stellan Skarsgård’s win, Sean Penn made his way to the “Sentimental Value” table to give Renate Reinsve a big hug, while Megan Everett-Skarsgård, who had just gotten a very public boost from her husband, celebrated with Elle Fanning.
Seth Rogen, meanwhile, followed his first win of the evening with what looked like a very, very dirty martini.
The coolest bathroom crew
Ariana Grande led a glamorous train to the ladies’ room, telling Jessie Buckley and Reinsve to “hold on to me!” The three made a brief stop to say hi to Tessa Thompson, and pose for a photo, before reaching their destination. In the line for the toilets, Grande sighed “phew we made it,” holding up her voluminous gown as best she could. Still someone soon stepped on a part of it, apologizing profusely. Grande put her at ease immediately, though, insisting, “No, I’m the problem!”
Sushi, drinks and Emma Stone
Later in the show, Jennifer Lawrence made her way to the bar area where she hugged Jeremy Allen White before finding Stone, who put down her white wine and took her friend’s face in her hands. They fluffed their hair when a photographer asked for a photo before they decided to take their own selfie as well.
Dunst spotted Lawrence nearby too, telling “The Testament of Ann Lee” filmmaker Mona Fastvold and Zoë Kravjtz that she just wanted to say hi. Plemons soon arrived with three drinks to dole out. One was not for Lawrence, who joined the line to order her own drink.
In another part of the room, Gayle King, who snacked on a small bite of dessert, appeared to have procured a to-go box for the sushi and soon was next to the “KPop Demon Hunter” women picking some choice pieces.
Patrick Schwarzenegger took a good long look at the dessert table, before moving on, empty-handed to the sushi. No protein shakes here for the “White Lotus” star.
Small talk or dreaming up future collaborations?
Back inside the ballroom, the commercial breaks are a race to socialize. Everywhere you looked, there were interesting chats happening: Dwayne Johnson and Steven Spielberg, Macauly Culkin and Parker Posey, Maya Rudolph and Selena Gomez, Johnson and Timothée Chalamet and Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, to name a few.
Others stayed put in their seats as the night went on. Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Adam Sandler seemed content to hang at their very starry table. (Why get up when people can come to you instead?). Jessie Buckley let her “Hamnet” son, a tired-looking, Jacobi Jupe sit on her lap for a bit. And Eva Victor took a moment to reapply their lipstick before their category was up.
Burning questions for the after-parties
Were Marty Supreme (Chalamet) and The Smashing Machine (Johnson) talking about greatness? Was Sean Penn smoking inside the ballroom? What did Britt Lower whisper to Grande? And what did Grande then write on a napkin and pass to Lower? Why was Ethan Hawke’s wife Ryan Hawke carrying a tote bag that said “Snoop’s Survival Kit” and what was in it? And what did Stone say to the three Beverly Hills Police officers that made them laugh so much?
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