Behind the scenes at the Oscars: What you didn’t see on camera

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There’s the Oscars you see on television and the one that takes place off camera. During commercial breaks, it can be a race to catch up with, congratulate and possibly console the peers around you. It can also be a time to run to the famed lobby bar and really be out of sight.

At Sunday's 98th Oscars, The Associated Press was inside the Dolby Theatre scoping out all the things that weren't broadcast to the world.

The stars like to cut things close when it comes to the Oscars. Many of the biggest names of the night didn’t make it to the red carpet until it was just 30 minutes to showtime. But unlike a premiere, live television doesn’t wait for the tardy A-lister to start.

And it can be a helpful excuse when, say, you’re Paul Mescal and you don’t want to do the “glambot.” “Sorry, I don’t have time,” he said politely. But as he made his way up the stairs to the Dolby Theatre with girlfriend Gracie Abrams by his side, she laughed and snarked “you sure you don’t want to do the glambot?”

Early in the show, after Conan O’Brien’s opening bit, Kate Hudson made her way to the lobby bar during a commercial break where she was soon joined by Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. She had a brief moment of panic that she might be needed in the auditorium and found a nearby staffer who eased her worries as they looked over the schedule on an iPad.

“I’m good!” she said as she made her way back to her mom and Russell and the three continued chatting.

They stayed close all evening. As they made their way out of the auditorium after the show, Hudson, who did not win the best actress prize, was still in good spirits and excitedly congratulated Michael B. Jordan on his win. Later, Kieran Culkin stopped Hawn and Russell and said “it was really cool watching you interact with your daughter.”

Part of the fun of the lobby bar experience is getting a little glimpse into what the stars like to drink. After the absent Sean Penn took the best supporting actor prize, Jacob Elordi made his way to the bar with his mom, keeping her close with an arm around her shoulder. He chose a nice tequila, Don Julio 1942, with a bit of ice and lime.

In another part of the room, Nicole Kidman laughed and socialized while sipping champagne. Nearby, Jessie Buckley was doing the same. Mescal chose a pink colored tequila drink, while Abrams opted for champagne.

Nick Jonas held two bottled waters and a mixed tequila drink in his hand, which he sipped slowly. But it seems he or someone else wanted a vodka drink, which a kind server checked on and informed him that there was none to be offered. He thanked her and made his way back to the bar to leave a cash tip.

Some stars weren’t drinking though. Domnhall Gleeson snacked on Hershey kisses with almonds, while “Heated Rivalry” star Hudson Williams ate a single sliced cucumber.

Ok, so this one wasn’t quite as dramatic, or public, as Emma Stone telling the Oscars audience and millions watching from home that her dress broke as she accepted her best actress Oscar for “Poor Things,” but Stone had another minor dress incident in the lobby. While chatting with “Bugonia” screenwriter Will Tracy and his date, she lost her diamond ring which had affixed itself to the back of her gown. The woman with Tracy performed a delicate operation to remove the ring, dress unscathed and get it back on Stone’s middle finger.

Much of the chatter outside of the show revolved around what people were doing after, and complaints about not being on the list for Vanity Fair, which culled its invites this year in an effort to make it more exclusive. Stone made a plan to jump on a big bus with her “Bugonia” peers and stop by the Universal Pictures party before heading to A24's bash. When asked about Vanity Fair, she said, “it’s so weird, even if you’re nominated it doesn’t mean you can go.”

Both Jordan and Buckley made special mention of their families in the audience during their acceptance speeches. Both Jordan’s father and Buckley’s family were seated in the same section — not bad seats by any stretch but a bit out of view of the person on stage. After the wins, many around the families were eager to congratulate them as well.

When the show ended and the “One Battle After Another” crew lingered on stage, hugging one another and watching, the “Sinners” group made their way out of the auditorium together. Jordan hugged costume designer Ruth E. Carter, while Joachim Trier found his way to Ryan Coogler to do the same. Ryan and Zinzi Coogler paused to look up at the screen which was already replaying Jordan’s acceptance speech.

Omar Benson Miller, who played Cornbread, was still processing the night. In the theater and at the bar, the “Sinners” wins were by far the most enthusiastically celebrated. Though he said he has a tendency to be a “sore loser,” he still felt the palpable love for their film. “Hey, we got a couple!” he said.

The first stop of the night for most is the Governors Ball, just a few escalator rides up from the Dolby. The happiest area was the Warner Bros. “One Battle After Another” tables where Leonardo DiCaprio, sipping red wine, and Benicio Del Toro, with champagne and not a few small beers, held court with studio executives, including Pamela Abdy. David Zaslav stopped by to chat with DiCaprio too, patting his star on the back. When DiCaprio saw co-star Chase Infiniti approaching the area, he made a gesture that was not entirely dissimilar to his famous cheers from “The Great Gatsby.”

Elsewhere Renate Reinsve ditched her shoes and walked barefoot through the party, which was carpeted. Steven Spielberg told “Train Dreams” director Clint Bentley about his plans to stop by Vanity Fair and how much he wanted to talk to Paul Thomas Anderson. Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons stayed close to Alicia Silverstone, while Kerry Condon sampled the prime rib.

And Mandy Patinkin sat alone sampling sushi and trying to make a phone call as the music blared. Patinkin said he was honored to be there to support his late friend Rob Reiner.

“Rob made a beautiful movie,” he said.

Elle Fanning, from left, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Nick Jonas in the audience during the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Robert Downey Jr., right, walks alongside Ryan Coogler after Coogler won the award for writing (original screenplay) for "Sinners" during the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Jessie Buckley, left, and Michael B. Jordan, winner of the award for actor in a leading role for "Sinners," pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Jessie Buckley, winner of the award for best actress in a leading role for "Hamnet," attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Danny Fujikawa, left, and Kate Hudson in the audience during the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Michael B. Jordan, winner of the award for best actor in a leading role for "Sinners," attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Emma Stone appears in the audience during the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to revive his struggling government but faced growing calls to resign after a disastrous set of local and regional elections for his Labour Party.

As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1,100 local council seats across England, lost control of several local authorities it had held for decades and was booted from power in Wales after 27 years. Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained over 1,300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.

It was a blunt verdict from voters in elections widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left party to power less than two years ago.

Here are five things we’ve learned from the elections.

Starmer insisted he would not walk away and "plunge the country into chaos,” and the dire election results did not produce an immediate challenge to his leadership.

"The right thing to do is rebuild and show the path forward,” Starmer said Saturday. “That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”

Starmer’s Cabinet colleagues expressed support, and none of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers has made a move. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are keeping quiet for now.

But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure this year. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.

“There has to be a timetable,” legislator Clive Betts told the BBC. Another lawmaker, Tony Vaughan, said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership.”

Starmer tried to demonstrate change on Saturday by bringing back two figures from past Labour governments. He made former Prime Minister Gordon Brown a special envoy on global finance, and appointed the party's ex-deputy leader Harriet Harman an adviser on women and girls.

Starmer is due to make a speech on Monday in an attempt to regain momentum, before the government sets out its legislative plans on Wednesday in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.

The elections were a breakthrough for Reform UK, the latest hard-right party led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage.

Running on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, the party won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades. It also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London, and increased its vote share in Wales and Scotland, new terrain for the party.

Farage said the results marked a “historic change in British politics.” He said he's confident that “voters who have come to us are not doing it as a short-term protest.”

Reform UK currently holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons and it’s unclear whether it could repeat its success in a national election.

The elections produced semiautonomous administrations in Scotland and Wales led by parties devoted to independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom — though neither has that policy on the front burner.

The Scottish National Party, which has governed in Edinburgh since 2007, won another term but fell short of a majority, meaning an independence referendum is unlikely. Labour and Reform tied in a distant second place.

Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) won the most seats in the Cardiff-based legislature, the Senedd. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government. Reform came second and Labour a distant third in one of its most historic heartlands, with outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat.

The economy lies at the heart of Labour’s troubles, as it does for many incumbent governments.

Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule roiled by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, Labour has struggled to ease the cost of living and jump-start a sluggish economy against the tough economic backdrop of war in Ukraine and, more recently, Iran. Starmer also has angered supporters with attempts to cut welfare spending, some of which were reversed after Labour revolts.

Some in Labour say the government's achievements, including protections for renters and a higher minimum wage, are going unnoticed. Many blame Starmer, an uninspiring leader distracted by scandals including his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

But Stephen Houghton, the outgoing leader of Barnsley council in northern England, where Labour lost to Reform, said the problem “goes deeper than the prime minister.”

“This has been coming for 30 years around the country, in post-industrial communities, coastal communities, that have been left behind,” he said. “You can change prime ministers all day long. If you don’t change policy, it’s not going to change.”

The results reflect a fragmentation of U.K. politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservative Party, which also suffered major losses on Thursday.

The elections offered voters a rainbow of choices, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

But the big winners were populist insurgents, Reform UK and the Green Party, whose focus has expanded from the environment to social justice and the Palestinian cause under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens won hundreds of council seats from Labour in urban centers and university towns and took control of several local authorities.

Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the results suggest the next national election, due by 2029, won’t produce a majority for any party.

“So then you’re in the world of, after the election, two or three big minority parties trying to work out how they would govern,” he said — something traditionally considered “very un-British.”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with some of the newly elected SNP MSPs in Edinburgh, Saturday May 9, 2026, following the 2026 Holyrood elections. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

Observers from the Scottish National Party (SNP) watch as votes are counted for the 2026 Holyrood elections, at Dewars Centre in Perth, Scotland, Friday May 8, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse, Friday May 8, 2026, in Essex, England, following the 2026 local election results. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)