Actor Jon Hamm from the Oscar nominated film, Richard Jewel, poses with the gold wrapped Mercedes AMG GT at the Mercedes-Benz Academy Awards Viewing Party (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)
Beverly Hills, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 2/14/2020 – What do Hollywood’s biggest stars do on Oscar Sunday when they are not nominated for an Academy Award, nor are they presenting?
They dust off their tuxedos, perhaps look in their closets for a gorgeous gown they have worn before – like Jane Fonda did at the actual 92nd Academy Awards ceremony as she presented Parasite with Best Picture – and set off for a viewing party. This year, there were numerous places to join other famous faces to watch Tinseltown’s top prizes be handed out at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, including the elegant Mercedes-Benz Annual Viewing Party held in the totally transformed ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.
From the moment of arrival, it was obvious that this was a really special event, for where else do you spot a solid gold Mercedes AMG GT C sports coupe on the red carpet in front of that legendary hotel? An interesting side fact about the Four Seasons is that every year at Oscar time, more Academy Award nominees choose to call it home for the weekend than any other hotel in town. Around 100 people are nominated every year in all categories; the Four Seasons often has 60 nominees staying at the hotel!
Of course, the nominees were all at the show (although later on in the evening, there’s always some very famous faces having nightcaps at the hotel bar), but plenty of Hollywood favorites made the Mercedes-Benz party scene. Richard Jewell star Jon Hamm arrived early and looked a lot like James Bond as he posed by that gorgeous car; later his Mad Men co-star Linda Cardellini joined the fun. She’s on a professional tear lately, as she starred in last year’s Best Picture winner Green Book as well as 2019’s highest grossing movie Avengers: Endgame.
Everyone was asked to vote for their Best Picture favorite before they entered the ballroom, which was transformed into a posh viewing room, with TV monitors everywhere and a roped-off VIP section. Champagne flowed, tasty appetizers help sate the appetites of the crowd, who were mostly in their seats by the 5 p.m. start of the show.
Black-ish co-stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, whose nose-to-ear jewelry caused quite a stir, held court in one corner, along with Rashida Jones and Black Eyed Peas’ musical genius Will.i.am. Metta World Peace (aka Ron Artest of NBA fame) towered over the crowd, and Jane Lynch was the tallest woman in the room. She and Martha Stewart shared a laugh when we asked Martha about her recent foray into video with Snoop Dogg. The 78-year-old domestic diva does her best version of the twerk in the video, and let out a giggle when we asked her about it. “That was so much fun!” Stewart said. “It’s cute, isn’t it?”
Martha Stewart attends the Mercedes-Benz Academy Awards Viewing Party at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)
All eyes on Tracee Ellis Ross at he Mercedes-Benz Academy Awards Viewing Party on February 09, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)
Guests like Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec and his wife Kym Johnson checked out the Orlane beauty bar, where touchups and product gifting made everyone a little prettier, just in time to jump into the photo booth and cut up for the cameras. There was even an astrologer on hand to help predict the future, but there was still a gasp of surprise in the still-packed ballroom as “Parasite” was named Best Picture.
As the show ended, the Mercedes-Benz party began clearing out pretty quickly, as guests moved on to the after parties that began rolling out their red carpets at 8:30 p.m. Many went on to the hottest ticket in town, the Vanity Fair party at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; and to the late-late party, Beyonce and Jay-Z’s ultra-private bash known as the Gold Party, held at Chateau Marmont.
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