Olivia reigns as another Oscars bites the dust
AFTER months of speculation and build-up, the Oscars are over for another year – and I’ve only just about recovered from my mad moments on the red carpet. I was lucky enough to rub shoulders with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars as they came to celebrate – and commiserate – at the Vanity Fair Party.
Of course, the amazing Olivia Colman took home the best actress statue for her performance in The Favourite, mentioning in an emotional speech that she’d come a long way from her days as a cleaner. When I caught up with Scotland’s own James Mcavoy he told me he wasn’t at all surprised by her win, describing her performance as “brilliant”.
James is getting set for yet another X-men blockbuster, which seems crazy when you think that we both grew up in the same area of Glasgow. In fact, when I saw him on the red carpet I shouted out, “Scotstoun in the house!”
In the past James has been tipped to be the next Scot to play a certain spy with a licence to kill, and I also got the chance to catch up with a few other contenders. Henry Golding, star of Crazy Rich Asians, told me the rumours of him playing James Bond are just that – for the moment. And Outlander’s great Sam Heughan also denied he would soon be sipping on a shaken, not stirred, martini. Although acting is always the main focus for the Academy, let’s not forget what an important role music plays in the celebration. Queen opened the show with a fabulous performance. When I chatted with frontman Adam Lambert he told me how he was amazed at the audience’s reaction – and then he quietly added that he was too nervous to look at the crowd, as there were so many familiar faces.
Sitting right in the front row was the winner of the best song category, Lady Gaga. Her stunning duet with Bradley Cooper was one of the night’s highlights. But my favourite moment of the whole evening had to be my chat with the wonderful Richard E Grant, who lost out on the best supporting actor gong to Mahershala Ali.
Richard told me he has watched me cover this event for many years. Although he didn’t go home with an award for his role in Can You Ever Forgive Me? he didn’t need any consoling as, before speaking to me, he had just spent 15 minutes with Barbra Streisand, described as “the most wonderful 15 minutes” of his life.
Talk about singing from the same hymn sheet – I would feel exactly the same!