Inside the Vanity Fair Oscar party

TWO Oscar winners were seen doing a Thriller-esque routine on the d-floor and James Corden chatted up a billionaire.

“HOLD tight everyone, Diddy’s in the house,” a member of Sean Combs’ entourage yelled as the mogul swept into the Vanity Fair Oscar party, with Naomi Campbell and French Montana in tow.

An energetic Combs bounded into the packed party around midnight, embracing Mary J. Blige, grabbing Kobe Bryant’s Oscar, joking around with Drake, and playfully wrestling with Quincy Jones.

Nearby, Best Supporting Actress winner Allison Janney was having the time of her life, sipping a martini and waving her golden statue as she was congratulated by James Corden, Lin-Manuel Miranda and a host of other A-listers at the starry party, hosted by new Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones.

Inside the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty

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Beaming Bryant, in between posing for selfies with Miranda and Lupita Nyong’o, told Page Six he’d never dreamt of winning an Academy Award. “I’ve won a lot of trophies in my life but I never thought I’d get an Oscar. I can’t believe it. I am stoked.”

Back down to earth, Star Wars icon Mark Hamill was sitting nearby cross-legged, and complained: “My feet are killing me. I don’t know how you women wear those high heels.”

Meanwhile, Jared Leto (who won an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club in 2014) made a beeline for Paris Jackson, who showed off her tattoos in an edgy, barely-there green gown, high-fiving her and asking her about her acting work. In an ensuing conversation we only dream we could have heard, Jackson was later seen schmoozing with Star Trek legend Sir Patrick Stewart.

Paris is pictured leaving the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty. Picture: BackGrid

In the fine tradition of Vanity Fair Oscar parties, there were numerous interactions between people whose paths otherwise might never cross. Kate Beckinsale was seen in deep conversation with Monica Lewinsky, Late Night host Corden cornered Jeff Bezos, and was heard asking the Amazon founder’s wife MacKenzie: “So you are the brains in the relationship then?” Corden later told us of his conversation with billionaire Bezos: “You wouldn’t believe it, but we have a lot in common.”

James Corden with wife, Julia Carey.

Olympic skater Adam Rippon, wearing a Jeremy Scott bondage-inspired outfit, looked stunned when Faye Dunaway approached him and asked him for a selfie. Then, Get Out director Jordan Peele (who made history as the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) temporarily swapped his statue for an Olympic medal with pairs skaters Alex and Maia Shibutani.

The party, held in a specially constructed space at the Wallis Annenberg Centre in Hollywood, was awash with vintage Dom Pérignon, which guests sipped between a steady stream of In-N-Out burgers.

In another corner, Lady Bird star Saoirse Ronan, still in her delicate pink Oscar gown with a big statement bow, chatted with white-suited wonder-boy Timothée Chalamet, Amanda Seyfried and Emma Roberts.

Not having quite as much fun was singer Hailee Steinfeld, who arrived in an ill-advised short dress with an enormous train, which ended up under practically every partygoer’s feet. At one point she seemed so frustrated with the frock that producer, DJ and musician Zedd gallantly offered to hold the treacherous train.

Hailee Steinfeld’s dress was not party-friendly.

Outside on the terrace, where the stars gathered to smoke, were Roberts, cloaked in feathers and clutching a bottle of champagne, Sienna Miller in sequins, and a dapper Jon Hamm (seemingly not drinking nor smoking) holding court with Sarah Silverman.

Upping the glamour stakes were models Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Shanina Shaik and Kendall Jenner — who was oddly reluctant to pose for photos with Caitlyn Jenner, who had arrived separately.

Girls Trip breakout star Tiffany Haddish nearly sparked a food fight around 1am when the supply of In-N-Out burgers briefly petered out. Waiting at the outdoor burger stand with a small crowd, Haddish could be heard yelling: “God, damn. My feet hurt and I really need a burger!”

But nobody was having a better time than Frances McDormand who took home the Oscar for Best Actress, and then won the entire Oscars by asking all of her fellow female nominees to stand up and share her victory.

McDormand playfully smooched Gal Gadot on the Vanity Fair red carpet, joked around with Bryant inside, then cosied up to Lindsey Vonn.

Frances McDormand was pretty excited to see Gal Gadot.

Having already lost her Oscar once at the Governors Ball earlier in the night, McDormand got so carried away in celebration again that later on the Vanity Fair terrace she was heard again asking: “Where’s the Oscar?” Thankfully one of her entourage had the statue safe.

Then McDormand, with a bucket of fried chicken under one arm, and her Oscar trailing behind her, set off to find 17-year-old Olympic snowboard sensation Chloe Kim, who she had mentioned in her acceptance speech, gliding past wellwishers including Willem Dafoe.

Once she reached the circular Apple Music dance room, complete with DJ but no sign of Kim, she was circled by partygoers on the dance floor, and McDormand showed off some spectacular moves including the robot. Then she was tackled by her Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri co-star — and fellow Oscar winner — Sam Rockwell for a partner dance number that could only be described as “tango meets Thriller”.

By 2am, there was a stream of statuettes at the limo line.

Ashley Graham took photos of her film director husband Justin Ervin with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, who had finally won an Oscar after 14 nominations. Meanwhile, Best Actor winner Gary Oldman gabbed with a still-jubilant Janney, who waited for her car with her Oscar in her left hand, and her high heels in her right.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as Inside the Vanity Fair Oscar party