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CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL

And the Winner Is...

Aired February 22, 2015 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Wow!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

LEMON: Look how beautiful, what a beautiful place! And I'm with some beautiful ladies. You'll get to meet them in just a moment.

What a show. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. We are live from the historic and beautiful Roosevelt Hotel. Are you happy to be here?

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

LEMON: This is the site of the very first Academy Awards all the way back in 1929. And no, I was not alive then. Pretty close, though.

I'm Don lemon. And the winner is -

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

LUPITA NYONG'O, ACTOR: And the actor goes to - the Oscar goes to --

(LAUGHTER)

NYONG'O: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash.

J.K. SIMMONS, ACTOR: If you are lucky enough to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call them. Don't text, don't e-mail. Call them on the phone. Tell them you love them.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood.

PATRICIA ARQUETTE, ACTOR: It is our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.

(SINGING)

JOHN LEGEND, SINGER: When people are marching with our song, we want to tell you we are with you, we see you, we love you and march on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Birdman.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU, DIRECTOR: Tonight I am wearing the real Michael Keaton tighty-whiteys.

(LAUGHTER)

INARRITU: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: I love you, Mom. I got to go. I'm on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aww! Mom.

LEMON: Congratulations to all the winners. Let's go through it.

Best supporting actor, J.K. Simmons. Best supporting actress, Patricia Arquette. Both of whom we spoke to on the red carpet tonight. Best director, Alejandro G. Inarritu. How did I do on that?

Best actor, Eddie Redmayne. I called that one as well. Best actress, Julianne Moore. That was kind of a given, we all thought. And best picture, Birdman. Yes!

So joining me now, an all-star cast. Miss Joanna Coles, Cosmo editor- in-chief, looking lovely this evening. And also entertainment reporter Katrina Szish. She is try. You got all wet up on the roof earlier.

KATRINA SZISH, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: I did! I was soaking wet. It was worth it. Absolutely.

LEMON: Oh my goodness. All right, so now she is dry and looking lovely.

And you've heard a lot about her, a whole lot about her. But it's only true when it comes from her lips. And what beautiful lips they are. Lisa Rinna joins me. Hi, gorgeous!

LISA RINNA, ACTRESS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Hi, beautiful ladies. Don't they look great? You guys look fantastic. Welcome, ladies.

We've got a lot of backstage action to come. And as the winners show off their gold statuettes and the losers pretend to be happy for them - because you know they're not all that happy -- it is all about parties, parties, parties, parties.

Our Stephanie Elam is at the Governor's Ball. Roxy Diaz - lucky one - is at Elton John's party. But we're going to start with Christina Smith at the "Vanity Fair" bash. And you're the only - Krista, I'm sorry, Krista, you're the only person I'm jealous of. What a gig you have. This is a great party. What was the highlight of the night for you?

KRISTA SMITH, VANITY FAIR: Well, it helps that I work at "Vanity Fair," Don. But it has been an amazing night. I have to say, I personally am still getting over Lady Gaga's performance and Common and John Legend. They brought down our room where we were all watching. And I can see they brought down the auditorium. Super moving.

I also loved all the speeches. I thought that they were really good. They were short, but they were very moving and to the point and very effective.

LEMON: Yeah. One of the highlights for me I thought was J.K. Simmons when he talked about call your parents and talk to them on the phone. Don't just text them. I think that is very important and good advice coming from someone who knows.

SMITH: I thought his speech was great. I thought Patricia Arquette, I thought was beautiful as well. I thought that Eddie Redmayne's speech was very cute. I loved Alejandro's. I just thought they all did really, really well.

LEMON: It is very surprising -- I'm going to go to my guests tonight. Joanna, we thought it was a bit of an upset, right? Did you think it was an upset when Birdman becuase everybody thought it was going to be Boyhood, correct?

JOANNA COLES, COSMOPOLITAN'S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Yeah. And it's been up until right the final moments, actually a fairly predictable year this year. Pretty much everybody called it. I think everyone thought Boyhood was still going to get it. And then Alejandro leapt in at the moment. So we have an exciting moment of drama.

Can I say one thing? I do think possibly the most moving speech was Graham Moore. When he got up there and said -- the guy who wrote The Imitation Game -- when he got up and said he thought of committing suicide. And this was for all kids at home who felt different and weird, hang on there because your moment will come. I felt a collective sob across America. I think that will go down as one of the best Oscar speeches. Short, to the point, but moving.

LEMON: There were a lot of tears tonight when we saw the performance of Selma. We saw David Oyelowo crying. I think Chris Pine was crying.

RINNA: So much emotion tonight.

LEMON: And Lisa, you said to me you thought Birdman -- you turned to me and said upset, upset, because I kept saying I thought it was going to be The Theory of Everything. I wanted it to be The Theory of Everything.

RINNA: They're all great films. But I think we all thought it would be Boyhood, really, because that's the kind of movie the Academy loves.

COLES: Or if it was an upset, we thought it might be American Sniper. SZISH: My vote from the beginning was Birdman. That is what I

predicted. I have an email somewhere, I have proof. But I really -- I was not surprised. To me, that was really what I thought was going to take it.

COLES: I did not predict it. I was way out on a limb on that one.

LEMON: Katrina -- I hate to do this because I really like him -- and I hope it's good. Neil Patrick harries, what did you think?

SZISH: He is a consummate entertainer. I think he is -

RINNA: Bravo!

SZISH: The song and dance man. I mean, honestly also, a childhood star.

RINNA: And let me say something. I don't want to interrupt you. But this is what my husband, Harry Hamlin said. He doesn't have a lot of words, but when he does -

(LAUGHTER)

RINNA: He's very quiet. But he said, "If Neil Patrick Harris were any more talented, he would explode." That is what he said.

LEMON: Well, he almost - nothing. And those underwear. I was like geez!

(LAUGHTER)

COLES: That took a lot of guts. Although not that many with that body - frankly, he could --

RINNA: He is so talented.

SZISH: He is.

COLES: My only caveat to that is I felt there were moments where he didn't look as if he were enjoying himself.

RINNA: Really?

SZISH: I think it is the hardest gig in show biz, though. I mean, trying to run a live show, you're trying to appeal to television audience at home. I think it's the hardest job in showbiz. And I think like Hugh Jackman in 2009, I think he nailed it. Again, he's a consummate performer across all disciplines.

LEMON: Everyone who has ever done that gig has said it is the hardest gig. Many don't want to come back because it is so hard.

COLES: Well, and he was following Ellen, who was so magnificent last year, and he had a really different sort of riff with the audience.

LEMON: I actually was not surprised by the underwear if you saw Hedwig on Broadway.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: In front of hundreds of people every single night on Broadway.

RINNA: Well, yeah. He's basically naked.

LEMON: How do you think it stacked up compared to other years, Lisa?

RINNA: I loved it.

LEMON: You did?

RINNA: I really did. I thought it was a home run. I really, really did. I mean, it is a hard thing to follow the greats like Johnny Carson, Bob Hope. I mean, all of them. I think it was brilliant. I loved it.

LEMON: Yeah.

RINNA: What did you think, Don Lemon?

LEMON: I thought it was fantastic. Listen, I'm not usually star struck but I was star struck tonight. There were so many stars --

RINNA: I agree with that. That is a great comment.

LEMON: Not usually -- I have seen people, because you know, when you live in New York City --

RINNA: Because you're jaded, Don, right?

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: The party -- when they try to get some of the big stars and some of the people representing, they don't bring them on the red carpet in front of us. They take them out behind - and when I yelled over at Oprah and I said, "Oprah," and she broke through the rope and said, all right, I am going to have to talk to my friends I was like Oprah is coming to talk to me.

RINNA: Did she make you the most nervous?

LEMON: Yes. And I turned to Entertainment Tonight, and I said "You're welcome, Entertainment Tonight."

SZISH: Well done, Don Lemon. Well done.

LEMON: What about you guys?

SZISH: I just think -- of course I know being fashion girls like Joanna and I both are seeing these women looking flawless is so exciting. That to me this is the real show is really the red carpet.

LEMON: What about you, Joanna? COLES: I ALSO think this is one of the years where everybody that won

was genuinely liked by everybody in the audience. Because sometimes you have those years where people win, and there is a kind of lack of energy in the room because you don't feel very supported. I thought everybody loves Eddie Redmayne and everybody loves Patricia Arquette. Everybody was rooting for Julianne more. And so you felt the collective support. And when John Legend and Common got up, you felt --

RINNA: Powerful. I felt like there was a collective, powerful energy around all of it tonight.

LEMON: There are some years where you wonder how did this movie - but if you are in any category tonight, any category, if someone else won, I mean, the other person had to say that was a powerful film because they were all amazing. They were all really amazing films.

SZISH: I agree.

LEMON: So my Oprah red carpet moment, as I understand, let's watch.

RINNA: Oh, let's.

SZISH: I love it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Oprah! Oprah, come over! Come over! Come on, Oprah! How are you doing?

All right. Thank you. Thank you, thank you! Come on! Oprah! Oprah, congratulations. How do you feel?

OPRAH: We feel great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SZISH: You look gorgeous.

LEMON: Well done, right?

RINNA: Well done, Don Lemon.

SZISH: That was fantastic.

LEMON: That's a Chicago thing. I lived in Chicago when Oprah lived in Chicago. And I knew her and Steadman. We weren't best friends, but I would see them around town.

RINNA: That was a big get!

SZISH: I like how you were kind of like hi, Jared Leto. Anyway, Oprah!

LEMON: No, Jared said he was going to come back. He was going to, you know, one of the other TV shows. RINNA: Isn't it funny, too, how you have to call them over? You have

to be like hello, come please talk to me.

LEMON: Because their handlers are trying to rush them off. If you yell at them and they turn around and they recognize you, often times they will come back and speak with you. And they want to. They want to come back.

COLES: Well, Oprah is one of the most powerful women in Hollywood still. We are always hearing about the dearth of powerful women. But there she was, coming across. And again, one of the people everybody loves.

LEMON: Julianne Moore is backstage speaking. We're going to listen. Let's.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JULIANNE MOORE, ACTRESS: I mean, I believe in hard work, actually. And I like stories. Mostly I like stories about people. I like stories about real people and real relationships and real families. And that is what I respond to. And this movie had all of those things in it. It was about a real issue and relationships and who we love and what we value.

So that's important to me, too. I think just at the end of the day, it's the work. It's being able to do work that I love that's been so rewarding. And this is just amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to 31 and then back to 110.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Julianne. I'm right here.

MOORE: Oh, hi!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations.

MOORE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has been obviously been a long road to get here today through the production, the filming. How has your husband supported you?

MOORE: My husband has been amazing. He's supported. He is also the person who walked me up the steps. I don't know if anyone saw that. But this is the first time I told anybody this, so I'll tell you guys in this. He was the first person to see the movie. The first time I saw the cut, he came with me. And I told the story about how I heard him crying. And I was like what's going on?

When we walked out of there, he said, you are going to win an Oscar. I was like come on! I swear to God, that is what he said to me. And I couldn't believe he said that. But anyway, that is how much he supported me from the very, very beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going back to 110 and then I'll do 275. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julianne? Right here in the back. Right here.

MOORE: I see you, hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) My question is, I was there in Cannes when you won. Now you're winning for another movie -

MOORE: It's been a lucky year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, right! So could you compare both?

MOORE: I mean, I can only compare them. They are both fantastic movies with great parts. I'm so lucky to get these great parts and so close together. I didn't really think much about it except that I was fortunate to get to kind of explore these really interesting characters. But I never imagined this. I certainly never imagined I would win Cannes in the spring and then kind of follow it up wan Oscar for another film.

I keep saying to Steve - that's my publicist, he's over there, is this happening? Could this be happening? It is pretty crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you get to keep them together?

MOORE: They are all in my office, the same really boring room. They are all together in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 275, and then we'll go to 58.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi there. Thank you -- over here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To your left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry. Congratulations.

Washington Post. Quick question. Quick. We're very eager to see more films that are adult dramas, serious films. And I'm wondering, films like yours, Birdman, do you think that will have some sort of impact on an industry driven by these huge special effects?

MOORE: I hope it does. I think there is an audience for movies like this. I go to movies because I like to see complicated, interesting stories about people and relationships. You know, so I think whenever there is success with films like this, then they kind of -- people think about them more.

I don't know. You never know. At the end of the day, Hollywood is also a business. So I think it depends on how many people buy tickets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am so sorry, but we need to wrap. They're asking for her for the four-shot. Thank you so much. Congratulations.

MOORE: Thank you so much, you guys! Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

LEMON: All right. That was Julianne Moore. Julianne Moore won for best actress.

COLES: So pleased. So pleased.

LEMON: For Still Alice. It was a great, great part. It is about Alzheimer's.

COLES: Right. It's about Alzheimer's. It sheds light on a horrible disease. It was very well done, small budget, shot quickly all on the Upper West Side. Moving film. And it is her fourth nomination. She could have won for any of the other ones. I'm so thrilled she eventually got an Oscar.

LEMON: We are going to hear from everybody. Because everybody comes out, they go to the podium and take questions, all the winners. So you will hear all of that on CNN Tonight. So stand by, lovely ladies.

And I have a surprise for you.

RINNA: You do?

LEMON: We are going to sip on some champagne, and I'm going to tell you how I got it, all right? How I came across this particular bottle of champagne.

We are your all-access pass to tonight's star-studded all over Hollywood. Make sure you stay with us for all the big, backstage interviews, the must-see moments. And you can join the conversation. Make sure you join it by using #CNNOscars.

We are back from the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

LEMON: We are back now. And The Winner Is! I'm back with Joanna Coles, Krista Szich, Lisa Rinna and Anthony Breznican is with us right now. Entertainment Weekly.

ANTHONY BREZNICAN, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: That's right. Entertainment Weekly.

LEMON: So how do you like the champagne?

RINNA: Really good.

LEMON: So you notice we have champagne. This champagne is courtesy of --

WOMEN: Oh! Oh!

SZICH: Well, the envelope says Kira. I would assume that's Kira Knightly. Hang on. What does it say?

RINNA: Here, let me hold this for you.

SZICH: Thank you, Lisa. Lovely of you.

"Kira. Congratulations on your nomination. We are so proud of your hard work and success. Harvey Bob."

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: That was Harvey Weinstein. So, last night I asked him, Kyra Knightly --

SZICH: Did you steal her champagne?!

LEMON: Yes, but I'm going to give her another bottle.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I was going to give her -

SZICH: She not drinking because she's pregnant.

LEMON: I was going to give her the envelope and the champagne on the red carpet, or at least her handler.

COLES: Well, we can toast the nomination.

LEMON: Cheers!

SZICH: Cheers!

RINNA: I love it. Thanks, Don!

LEMON: Also, toast of the town, Miles Teller as well. Stephanie Elam is over at the Governor's Ball. You have Miles with you?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do have Miles Teller here and his girlfriend, Keely Ferry (ph) here as well, looking dapper.

MILES TELLER, ACTOR: Hi.

ELAM: Your counterpart in Whiplash, J.K. Simmons walking away with an Oscar.

TELLER: Yeah.

ELAM: Did you think that was going to happen?

TELLER: Yeah, I did. Only because he has literally won, I think everything leading up to it. Usually it is a little more divided and people aren't sure. But I think if J.K. didn't win, it would've been pretty disappointing for everybody.

But I'm super happy for the guy. I mean, he's worked. He did theater until his 40s. He did his first film when he was like, 41. So it's a great moment for him and his family.

ELAM: So we've all known him, but a lot of people may not have known his name.

MILES TELLER: The voice of the yellow M&M.

ELAM: And he is the yellow M&M and the insurance guy.

TELLER: Hey.

ELAM: So you also got to get on stage tonight for a little bit.

TELLER: Yes.

ELAM: Were you at all nervous?

TELLER: Not really, I mean, they have a bar in the Green Room.

ELAM: Oh!

TELLER: So that's an easy way to just kind of -

ELAM: Break the ice?

TELLER: Yes.

ELAM: Smooth it out a little bit.

TELLER: Yes.

ELAM: So what's the plan? Are you guys now ready to just let the hair down, have a good time tonight? Go hard in the beak (ph)?

TELLER: Absolutely. I've had my hair up all night, so I'm ready to finally shake it off.

ELAM: Are you going to shake it out?

TELLER: Yes.

ELAM: OK, but how much are you going to shake it out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a long time.

ELAM: For a long time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ELAM: Can I show off your ring because I'm kind of obsessed with it? Can you see this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I -

ELAM: I'm obsessed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I found this at a random shop in Beverly Hills, like it was like for a different occasion and I just put it on. Don't even know who it's by.

ELAM: I'm all for it. It's like fireworks on your hand, I love it. I think I heard you say that you have to catch a flight in the morning?

TELLER: Yes, I'm flying to Bucharest in the morning and then I film - I get there Tuesday, I start filming Wednesday.

ELAM: Well based on what you just told me about what you're going to be doing in here, you might not remember the flight at all.

TELLER: Yes, I mean, that's - I think that's the key for long flights is to just find a way to Zen out a little bit.

ELAM: All right. Well we hope that you have a great time in there.

TELLER: Thank you.

ELAM: Congratulations on your film.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

ELAM: Enjoy the night.

ELAM: Isn't he dapper?

DON LEMON, CNN REPORTER: I know, he is.

ELAM: So cute!

LEMON: I saw him up on stage, and I was like, wow, he's very handsome. In the movie, you know, he plays this guy who's just trying as hard as he can - as hard as he can to be the best drummer in the world. He's disconnected from everybody, even his girlfriend. But it looks like he's pretty connected to that woman right there. Stephanie Elam.

ELAM: Seemed very much a unit - I would agree with that.

LEMON: By the way, Steph, you look amazing. Who are you wearing?

ELAM: Thank you. I am wearing Tadashi Shoji. Kind of like, I like him a lot. He makes dresses for curvy girls. Who knew?

LEMON: Fabulous. All right.

ELAM: Thank you.

LEMON: We'll talk to you in just a little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Mr. Bresistican. (INAUDIBLE).

ANTHONY BREZNICAN SENIOR WRITER, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Yes, Mr. Lymon.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: The champagne is kicking in already.

BREZNICAN: Breznican.

LEMON: You're with "Entertainment Weekly," -

BREZNICAN: Right.

LEMON: What did you think of J. K. Simmons? I spoke with him earlier and he said he absolutely loved playing this part.

BREZNICAN: Look, I saw this when it was a short film at "Sundance" two years ago. They made it as a proof of concept to prove - to try to get somebody to finance the whole movie. They took 20 minutes -- that scene where he throws the chair at him -

LEMON: Right.

LISA RINNA, ACTRESS: You're kidding?

BREZNICAN: 'Am I rushing, am I dragging?" -

LEMON: Right.

BREZNICAN: That was the shot - that was the sequence they used.

RINNA: Ah, I didn't know that.

BREZNICAN: They got the money, they made the movie. In one year they were back at Sundance with a finished film.

RINNA: Wow.

BREZNICAN: When I saw the finished film, the guy next to me who was a total stranger kept grabbing my arm because he was so freaked out by how tense it was. I had no doubt even then - that was more than a year ago - last January - previous January - that J. K. Simmons would get a nomination. I couldn't be happier for him. I love when a character actor gets to break through -

RINNA: Me too!

LEMON: I asked him earlier - I said is there anything you can't do? You're the yellow M&M, you're the guy on the insurance commercial.

BREZNICAN: He's J. Jonah Jameson in "Spiderman."

LEMON: He's in "The Closer" --

RINNA: Right.

LEMON: Here's his red carpet moment earlier - here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: J. K. Simmons, what an incredible performance. How are you?

J. K. SIMMONS, ACTOR: Thank you.

LEMON: Good to see you. Is this your lovely wife?

SIMMONS: It's my wife Michelle.

LEMON: Hi, Michelle.

MICHELLE SCHUMACHER: Hi.

LEMON: Who are you wearing?

SIMMONS: Who are you wearing?

SCHUMACHER: Zac Posen.

LEMON: Oh very beautiful.

SCHUMACHER: Thank you.

LEMON: I loved your performance. You know you were a jerk in this movie.

SIMMONS: Some people thought that. I didn't quite get it.

LEMON: Was this a tough performance? You're a nice guy - I've heard about working with you, you're like the nicest guy in the world. Was it tough to play such a taskmaster?

SIMMONS: You know it's not tough to play a character who's brilliantly written and very clear on the page. So it was really easy.

LEMON: Yes. The movie goes fast and it's intense. I kept - I watched it and I kept watching it. I watched it twice. Once in the theater, once at home and my heart kept pounding.

SIMMONS: Yes, man, I love that.

LEMON: You can't sleep after it.

SIMMONS: I love that. Yes, and people say they walked out of the theater exhilarated and/or beat up and sort of debating, you know, what the movie was saying to them.

LEMON: Do you have a musical background?

SIMMONS: I do, yes.

LEMON: You do? You studied - you studied music in college, right?

SIMMONS: (Inaudible).

LEMON: As it - you're in everything - you're every man. You're in this, you're in an insurance commercial, you're in - I loved you in "The Closer," --

SIMMONS: Thank you.

LEMON: You're the yellow M&M.

SIMMONS: Indeed.

LEMON: What can't you do?

SIMMONS: I haven't really played a chick yet. But, you know, I'm open.

LEMON: I bet it could happen. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. J. K. Simmons, thank you - it was good to see both of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERS)

LEMON: I said, "Is there anything you can't do?" Apparently he can't lose tonight, right?

SZISH: Apparently not.

LEMON: Because he ended up winning. He really is every man. We were talking about all the tears - there were lots of moments where people cried tonight including David Oyelowo - I mean, just crying during the performance and during the acceptance speech for Common and for John Legend. I want to get back now to the Governor's Ball and Stephanie Elam because she has David Oyelowo with her. Isn't he dressed seems like very dapper, isn't he?

ELAM: He is dapper. Hi. Hi, David Oyelowo. Stephanie with CNN.

DAVID OYELOWO, ACTOR: Hi, nice to see you.

ELAM: We are live on the air right now.

OYELOWO: Great.

ELAM: Our anchor, Don Lemon.

OYELOWO: Yes, lovely Don.

ELAM: Lovely Don would want to see your shoes, because your shoes right now are the biggest -

OYELOWO: Let me show you how flexible I am.

(LIFTS LEG)

ELAM: Whoo! Oh! Whoa, whoa! Look at that!

OYELOWO: (Inaudible) can you see?

ELAM: They are beautiful. OYELOWO: Thank you.

ELAM: They're very beautiful.

OYELOWO: Thank you very much.

ELAM: I like them very much.

OYELOWO: Thank you.

ELAM: So how was the show from your perspective?

OYELOWO: It was great. I thought Neil Patrick Harris did a great job, it was a great show, amazing actors, amazing directors. Great night.

ELAM: Did you know you were going to be in the show?

OYELOWO: Yes, I did, I did. That's why I came.

ELAM: No, I mean the part with Neil Patrick Harris - (inaudible) that?

OYELOWO: Oh no, I didn't. I didn't know that. That was sprung upon me.

ELAM: (LAUGHTER).

OYELOWO: And unfortunately I think I proved is that Englishmen can read.

ELAM: Perhaps, yes, that may not have been the strongest part of it, but overall the fact that "Glory" was nominated.

OYELOWO: Yes.

ELAM: And your performance as Dr. King was stellar.

OYELOWO: Thank you.

ELAM: I always wonder - is it hard portraying somebody who's not from the same country as you?

OYELOWO: Well, it's hard portraying anyone who's a historical figure, let alone someone with the magnitude of Dr. Martin Luther King. But for me, being a foreigner so to speak, it helps me because I didn't come with all the baggage of him being an historical icon. I just looked for the man and I think that that distinguishes the film

- it's the humanization of Dr. King rather than the accentuation of his legend. ELAM: And you also had those two gentlemen John Legend and Common

walking away with an Oscar. How's that?

OYELOWO: Fantastic, especially because, you know, those guys wrote that song in the spirit in which we made the film which is just out of humility and just a desire to do the best we can to tell this story in a beautiful way. And that song really crystalizes that.

ELAM: Yes, it's fantastic. I kind of realize right now that you and I could walk together down the fashion show walkway.

OYELOWO: Are we clashing a little bit though?

ELAM: Maybe like a touch, right?

OYELOWO: Maybe clashing just a little bit.

ELAM: Yes, you're right. (Inaudible) like this.

OYELOWO: Yes, yes, so now.

ELAM: David, so lovely to meet you.

OYELOWO: All right, nice to meet you too.

ELAM: Enjoy you're evening.

OYELOWO: Thank you, you too.

ELAM: Seriously, those shoes are everything.

LEMON: Hey, Stephanie --

ELAM: Yes?

LEMON: Stephanie, you look like you could be on the top of an Oscar wedding cake. But you don't - you met him two years ago - I don't know if you remember that. You met him at I think it was the Montage. We were at the Icon Man dinner -

ELAM: Yes.

LEMON: -- and you came to meet your husband afterwards. David Oyelowo was there. I think he met him then.

ELAM: Yes, I did. I love that you remember when I meet people. Thank you, Don, that's very nice of you.

LEMON: (LAUGHTER). And you know I love you. So we'll be back to you when you get someone else, I'll be back. OK?

ELAM: OK.

LEMON: Thank you, Steph Elam. OK, so let's talk about David Oyelowo. He fought to have this movie made for like six years he said.

JOANNA COLES, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "COSMOPOLITAN" MAGAZINE: And he wasn't the first choice of the first director Lee Daniels. And when Ava DuVernay came on, obviously she did like him for it. I find it unfathomable that he wasn't nominated. He was Dr. Martin Luther King in that role.

RINNA: I agree. COLES: He will be for a whole generation of kids who watched it. It

was a crazy omission.

BREZNICAN: It's going to be one of those moments - it's going to be one of those omissions that later when he's nominated for another role, they say, well he should have gotten nominated for the first.

RINNA: Yes, that's right.

LEMON: Do you think it was a snub? Oprah - when I spoke to Oprah earlier she said 'I don't think the movie was snubbed, I just think it was a really crowded field.' But do you think he was snubbed?

BREZNICAN: I don't know - it depends on what you mean by snubbed. He was definitely overlooked - he wasn't given the proper consideration, but is because the film got into the hands of Academy voters too late or was -

SZISH: Well it was late - it was released on Christmas day and it was a limited release, and therefore perhaps it didn't have the same --

COLES: But they were doing marketing for that movie in September.

BREZNICAN: But you know what? But it was a great film and it's one they should have sought out. But if that was also a very crowded field for best actor, it did a best picture nomination.

LEMON: I've got to -

COLES: But I would argue he was snubbed and I would argue that Ava was snubbed.

LEMON: All right.

COLES: I felt that they were snubbed.

LEMON: I like it when people say it like they mean it.

COLES: Well he deserved to be nominated.

LEMON: We're the only two who haven't put down our champagne.

COLES: I mean, what does that mean?

(CROSS TALK)

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Stand by everybody. When we come right back, the winningest women of the Oscars plus we're here at all the hot parties in town tonight - you won't miss a thing. Make sure you stay with us and you can follow us on social media -- #cnnoscars. Lisa, are you tipsy?

RINNA: Yes I am, Don. Help me!

(LAUGHTER) (CHEERS AND MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDIE REDMAYNE, BEST ACTOR, "THEORY OF EVERYTHING": -- fight for jobs and fought pretty hard for them, certainly for the "Theory of Everything." And so as far as where you go from here, I just - retaining employment will keep me very happy! So -- (LAUGHTER).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So that a 211 and 142.

Female 2: Hi, I'm over here.

REDMAYNE: Aha there, hey. Hey.

Female 2: Hi. Well, first a Golden Globe then a SAG Award, now this. You must have been very nervous. Can you talk a little bit about just like the moment leading up to this. What did you do last night, what did you do this morning and how nervous were you?

REDMAYNE: I - what did I do - you know what I was really not that nervous because three years ago I came to the Oscars for the first time with Lynn Zarob (ph) and I had to sing live on stage. And just before going on, someone with a headset said, "Yes, that's a billion people watching." And that's too much stress for your vocal cords to possibly consider. So that was such a terrifying prospect that actually today felt much more relaxing. I didn't have to, you know, either win or you lose - either way I was so thrilled to be invited to the party that --. So, what's been lovely is actually staying in a hotel in just down the road and (inaudible) -

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, that is Eddie Redmayne taking questions. Obviously he is a winner for best actor for a movie that I thought was just fantastic - "The Theory of Everything." So now I'm going go to Stephanie Elam at the Governor's Ball. Stephanie, you've got the big "O" with you.

ELAM: I have Oprah here --

RINNA: Oh, wow.

ELAM: -- with your Oscar.

OPRAH WINFREY, ACTRESS AND CEO OF OWN NETWORK: My Lego Oscar.

ELAM: I actually didn't know they were going to let you all keep it -

WINFREY: No, I didn't know they were going to let us keep it either. So I said to Steadman 'put it under the seat' so when they come back looking for it -

ELAM: (LAUGHTER). So you just stow it away. WINFREY: -- yes, yes, yes.

ELAM: All right, so did you have any words for John Legend and Common?

WINFREY: Oh, of course not. Because I knew that they were going to come in and rock it.

ELAM: But, you know, with Jamie Fox, you were like, "Give me that gum!"

WINFREY: No, and actually I was trying to get the attention of one of the kids - you know, one of the kids who they had brought out earlier - one of the team Oscar people?

ELAM: Right.

WINFREY: That first kid who came out was chewing gum on the stage.

ELAM: See!

WINFREY: And I was staring at him trying to get it - I was going to go, 'Come here, give me the gum.' I couldn't get him.

ELAM: You didn't get to him. All right, so what do you think about "Glory" that you're - was it do you think that "Glory" got snubbed? Is that the right term for it?

WINFREY: "Glory"?

ELAM: I'm sorry - "Selma,"

(CROSS TALK)

ELAM: I'm thinking about the song. Yes, sorry, "Selma"?

WINFREY: We are here nominated for Best Picture. Hello. And look at all the films that were made this past year where people worked as hard, they believed as strongly, they wanted it as much and they are not here. I've been saying that since day one. So anybody who gets nominated for Best Picture, it means that other people who do that job, who know what that job is - those people say that was a good job. And so, I don't know how in the world you say, "Well, that was a

snub," because we are here - we are here.

ELAM: Here and you also have some talent in this movie that is young and can have such great careers going on even past this!

WINFREY: I tell David, "Jesus, David, nobody even knew your name two months ago" - and Neil Patrick Harris still doesn't - but that's OK.

(LAUGHTER)

WINFREY: It's 'O-yellow-wo' - it's Oyelowo. And so, you know, it's a process just like everything in life is. And so, yes, would I have liked to have seen David nominated? Yes, I would have, but that - OK - who are you going to take out of that category of five men who have been in the business, working in the business for multiple years? Everybody in this community knows who they are, they deserve to be

nominated, so that's the way that happens.

ELAM: So now is the time to go party with everyone from "Selma"?

WINFREY: Now's the time to get these shoes off!

ELAM: It's real, that's real. Thank you, thank you so much.

LEMON: Stephanie, can you ask Oprah a question for me?

ELAM: She is gone, she's gone.

LEMON: I wanted to know where Oprah was going to keep that Lego statue - where was she going to put it?

ELAM: I don't know but she knew she was going to keep it.

LEMON: (LAUGHTER).

ELAM: She said she was not going to give it back to them when they handed them out in the show. It's actually pretty cool. It's like the exact same height as a real Oscar - it really is. And she answered that snub question once and for all from Queen Oprah.

LEMON: I know - listen - she had a very similar answer to me earlier. Thank you, Stephanie, we'll get back to you when you get someone. Stephanie's obviously - Stephanie's going to be talking to the folks there who are coming up to speak to her at the Governor's Ball. But you Oprah - she said the same thing, said the same thing to me earlier. It wasn't a snub - it was an overcrowded field -

KATRINA SZISH, ENTERTAINMENT PERSONALITY: She's so gracious. I mean, there's so much talent out there and that goes back to what we were talking about earlier about how there's such camaraderie and respect among all of the nominees and I think it's just such a feel good year and then Oprah's comments prove it.

LEMON: I want to talk about men. I want to talk about men. But let's go back and listen to Eddie Redmayne --

SZISH: Ah, you like to talk about men.

LEMON: -- and then we'll talk about the men who were nominated and their role in the movie industry later. Listen to Eddie Redmayne.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much, congratulations.

REDMAYNE: Thank you so much. Great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Boy, right on cue. Eddie Redmayne finishes as we go back to him.

RINNA: 'Bye-bye.

LEMON: So I want to talk about Bradley Cooper, right - "American Sniper." Basically -

COLES: Got shut out. Got shut out. I wonder if this is still payback to Clint Eastwood for that strange moment at the Republican Convention with the chair.

RINNA: With the chair, you think?

COLES: It's such a popular movie. Everybody's been to see it. Bradley Cooper was transformed --

RINNA: Brilliant.

COLES: -- as Chris Kyle in that role.

RINNA: Brilliant.

COLES: And very odd to me it didn't get more than (inaudible).

LEMON: This movie made more money than any movie -

COLES: I know.

LEMON: -- and probably some of them combined.

COLES: Probably of the others combined.

LEMON: Is that a disconnect between Hollywood and what the American public actually wanted to -

SZISH: You know, I think that's a great question, Don, because I mean what we see - a lot of criticisms we hear from moviegoers all the time is, 'I didn't even see that movie' - whatever movie might be - 'I never even heard of that movie - all these indie films with a limited release didn't come to my town in the middle of America,' but at the same time then there are films like "Avatar" and "Titanic" that do capture the cultural zygites (ph) but I do think that usually there is a disconnect and I don't think that -

(CROSS TALK)

BREZNICAN: The most popular restaurant is McDonald's - that's not the best - (LAUGHTER).

(CROSS TALK)

LEMON: Oh, wait a minute - I don't know. Tonight when I walked across the red carpet -

RINNA: -- the French fried are really good.

LEMON: When I walked up the red carpet I thought - I thought Madame Tousos (ph) was McDonald's and was like I would love some McDonald's right now. It would have been the best restaurant.

BREZNICAN: I'm going to stop on the way home.

RINNA: But why do you think -

SZISH: There was a reason it was shut out.

BREZNICAN: Why was it shut out?

(CROSS TALK)

LEMON: OK, one at a time.

BREZNICAN: -- was I don't think it was a movie that connected with these voters. Sometimes the movie that connects with the population is not the one that connects with the Academy. It's a very (inaudible) group of folks - I think 5,000 people.

COLES: But the reason they changed the voting two or three years ago and made it up to ten best films -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

COLES: -- was to accommodate actually the public's interest in going to the movie. An America - to lock out "American Sniper" like that seems to me it really -

BREZNICAN: It was locked out, it was nominated.

LEMON: Yes.

COLES: Yes, but it was nominated but I feel like it wasn't - they - Clint Eastwood didn't get best director.

BREZNICAN: No, he didn't.

COLES: Bradley Cooper didn't get anywhere near best actor as far as we know. I would love to see the breakdown of the voting.

BREZNICAN: Probably got none.

(CROSS TALK)

COLES: -- election. But they do proportional representation and none of it quite makes sense.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I still think it was a fantastic movie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know --

(CROSS TALK)

COLES: And the public agreed with you. They bought tickets, bums (ph) on seats and the box office (inaudible).

LEMON: I want to get to some of the backstage interviews. I think we have Alejandro Inarritu from "Birdman," the director.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (ASKING QUESTION IN SPANISH).

ALEJANDRO INARRITU, BEST DIRECTOR, "BIRDMAN": (RESPONDS IN SPANISH).

LEMON: We've got a little Spanish there. Does anybody have any idea what he said?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything but no comprende.

LEMON: I can barely hear -

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSS TALK)

COLES: He said he was very pleased. Very, very pleased.

LEMON: He's very pleased and very, very happy.

COLES: Yes, and he's humbled - humbled by it.

LEMON: OK, we talked a little bit about the men when I was talking about Bradley Cooper and other folks as well. We're going to talk about the women as well when we come back - what they meant to this year's Academy Awards. Coming up, parties, backstage check, parties check, interviews check -

we've got it all right here. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(CHEERS)

LEMON: Whoo! Yes, baby! We're here at the iconic Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood's hottest night. Live with all your backstage moments - the A-list parties. This is an A-list party where we are.

COLES: A-list party.

LEMON: Don't you think?

COLES: The A-list party.

LEMON: All of that rain falling outside that Katrina Szish was in.

SZISH: Oh my gosh -

LEMON: Not dampening anything.

SZISH: Absolutely.

LEMON: No? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you still look this gorgeous being in the

rain?

SZISH: We redid the hair, I did a costume change. I had a few hours.

LEMON: Yes. Joanna Coles sitting next to me, Christina (ph) Szish, Lisa Rinna and Anthony Brezishnesishnican (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

BREZNICAN: Lot tough to be here with you, Mr. Lemonhead.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Stephanie Elam is at the Governor's Ball - I know it's Breznican - we have a little thing going. At the Governor's Ball, Rocsi Diaz at the Elton John party. We're going to get to all of those folks. Let's - I want to play this. This is from Patricia Arquette earlier talking about women - the role of women in Hollywood and with the Academy Awards (inaudible).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA ARQUETTE, ACTOR: To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else's equal rights, it's our time to have wage equality once and for all and -

(AUDIENCE CHEERS)

ARQUETTE: -- equal rights for women in the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was so fantastic.

LEMON: Did you see Meryl? Look at Meryl - yes, go girl!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

LEMON: I mean she went far beyond Hollywood. When I spoke to her earlier I thought that was a sound bite for men. She talked about women in Hollywood. We also talked about Reese Witherspoon's production company funding the movie that Reese was in and all kinds of things like that talking. And she's talking about income equality for women.

COLES: Well, and I think she's referring to the recent e-mails that leaked from Sony indicating that J Law - Jennifer Lawrence - didn't get paid as much as her male counterparts. And what I would love someone to do is talk to the agents about this.

LEMON: Amy Pascal admitted that.

COLES: Right. Well she said, 'I'm a business woman, I'm not going to pay people more than I need to.' LEMON: Right.

COLES: Then you think, well the agents know what men and women are getting.

SZISH: See.

BREZNICAN: I thought that was shameful for her to say that.

LEMON: By the way, Amy Pascal is the Sony executive - she said she was fired -

BREZNICAN: Former.

LEMON: -- formally fired, yes, after the e-mails leaked - where she was talking about the president and certain movies and then admitting that women got paid less in Hollywood. Sorry, I cut you off - go ahead.

BREZNICAN: So no, but I think that's a shameful thing to admit that you knew that that was happening and then as a woman herself in a position of power that she didn't try to level that playing field.

RINNA: How could she? It's happening all over the world.

(CROSS TALK)

BREZNICAN: She was in a position of power to actually make that change and make Sony a better place to work for females.

RINNA: Well I like your point but I think it's a bigger battle.

SZISH: It's a bigger battle.

COLES: But it does come down to the agents because the agents are also arguing for the men, so they know about the discrepancy but they seem fine to be - you know - that there is a discrepancy. And in fact you would think they should argue more for women because they would get paid more themselves.

LEMON: But to me it sounded like she - the women - knew. But there were so few roles in Hollywood they believe - that it's such a limited field that they take the jobs anyway.

(CROSS TALK)

LEMON: But (inaudible) don't take the job and -

RINNA: You have to take the job.

LEMON: -- (inaudible). Is that realistic?

RINNA: You can't. I mean, it is the way it is until it isn't, right?

LEMON: Right. COLES: Well, when Meryl Streep gets up and applauds like that - you

think, goodness, Meryl Streep has had every role - she's been in that pool more than anybody else.

(CROSS TALK)

BREZNICAN: I think that's why it's really important that Patricia Arquette used this opportunity, --

RINNA: I think it was fantastic.

BREZNICAN: -- this platform to say something. She could've just gotten up and thanked those agents -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was really great.

BREZNICAN: -- you know like and put a punctuation mark at the end. But that she used that platform to say something important, she riled people up. And sometimes just speaking out -

LEMON: Right.

BREZNICAN: -- and making everybody say, 'Yes, why do we tolerate this?" is enough.

LEMON: She's no joke, she's no joke. And when I spoke to Laura Dern tonight who was nominated for - (inaudible) -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Wild."

LEMON: -- for "Wild," best supporting actress, she said - we talked about Reese Witherspoon again. Production company, funding her movie -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

COLES: Locating specifically the roles for women.

LEMON: -- for women, right. This is an important issue in Hollywood. Is this a moment whose time has come you think now considering what happened at Sony - what Patricia Arquette did?

RINNA: Well it's helping.

SZISH: I think, yes, talking about it is a way to get of course the conversation going and to get the reality out there and so people maybe who didn't even realize it was going on might think, 'Oh my gosh, I had no idea.' In Hollywood you just think all these celebrities get paid a zillion dollars and you don't realize that there is true gender (inaudible).

LEMON: All right, everybody standby, standby because it's the top of the hour - top of the hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh. LEMON: I want to say we are live here in Hollywood. I want to

welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Welcome to "And The Winner Is."

I'm Don Lemon. And tonight, we have every must see moment from the red carpet to backstage, to all the A-listers.

And the winner is -- well, the winner is us because we're going to keep going on there.

I'm here with Joanna Coles, Katrina Szish, Lisa Rinna, Anthony Breznican. CNN's Stephanie Elam is at the governor's ball.

ANTHONY BREZNICAN: Mr. Lemur.

LEMON: Rocky Diaz is at the Elton John party. We're going to get to all those players.

But we're continuing our conversation right now. We're talking about the role of women in Hollywood movies, and really around the -- Patricia Arquette talked about women around the world. It's really around the world.

KATRINA SZISH: Any woman that's ever given birth.

LISA RINNA: Exactly. And she brought attention to it, which is fantastic. We have a road way to go.

LEMON: Yes.

JOANNA COLES: And I think what Reese Witherspoon is doing, by setting up her own company, commissioning screenplays and creating her own roles is the right way for women to go. I mean, it's just a question of getting it done. She's a very good example of that.

LEMON: Let's listen to Patricia Arquette now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Given the comments you made tonight about someone like Amy Pascal, the former Sony Pictures head, who said effectively that women should be better negotiators, it's not up to her to pay women more when she has effectively have to pay women.

PATRICIA ARQUETTE, ACTRESS: Well, again, I think we need federal laws that are comprehensive. In different states, they've all together thrown out the fairness act. People think we have equal rights. We don't. Until we pass a constitutional amendment in the United States of America and women have equal rights we won't have anything changed.

This morning, there's this thing, the mani-cam and so on, and what are you wearing. I'm wearing a dress my best friend designed. We've been best friend since we were 7 and eight years old. I think she was the first person who asked me what I wanted to be when we grew up. We were standing next to her Barbie dream house. I made fun of her because she played with a Barbie and my mom wouldn't let us to have Barbies.

She said, what do you want to be? And I said, I want to be an actor, what do you want to be? She said, I wanted to be in fashion. And she became a great fashion designer. And she designed my gown. So, it's like wearing love and we started an organization, givelove.org.

And instead of getting a manicure, that I was supposed to do for the dreaded mani-cam, I started to pull pictures, because we started a sweepstakes this morning for our charity to do ecological sanitation in the world.

Now, when I saw Harry Belafonte's picture up there, I remembered my mom, she was an equal rights activist. She worked for civil rights.

And this is who I am. I love my business. I love acting, and I love being a human being on earth. I want to help.

I never saw this moment of me winning an Academy Award. I never even thought I'd be nominated, and I was OK with that. But you know what I did see? I saw many things have come true in my life. And one of them was helping thousands and thousands of people. And I have, and I will, and I will help millions of people. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I thought I loved Patricia Arquette, but I love her more now. The more I hear her speak.

RINNA: I'm with you, Don Lemon. Love her.

BREZNICAN: She stands for something.

LEMON: Yes, she does, and that's important, because you know we're going to talk about fashion, right? Sorry, Patricia.

But before we do that, which un-nominated actress would you have liked to seen nominated? Jennifer Aniston? I think she was Oscar-worthy or nomination worthy.

COLES: It would be nice to see her win an Oscar. I mean, she's our favorite actress just relentlessly out there. I would like to see Anna Kendrick nominated once in a time.

LEMON: Yes. What about you, Lisa?

RINNA: I liked who was nominated to be honest with you. I've seen everything. And I think that the actresses that should be nominated were nominated. That's my true glass ceiling.

BREZNICAN: Jessica Chastain in "A Most Violent Year".

RINNA: She was brilliant.

BREZNICAN: She was fantastic in that movie. Really transformative. She did an accent, she was playing a character that's very unlike herself, very Lady Macbeth. I love that movie and I think that would have been a great nomination for the film.

LEMON: Katrina, I think I called you Christina, but it's probably this.

SZISH: We'll blame the bubble, no problem.

LEMON: Who would you have liked to seen? Is there anyone?

SZISH: I agree what Lisa said.

RINNA: And I love Jennifer Aniston.

SZISH: I love Jennifer Aniston, I like seeing the younger girls, Emma Stone getting nominated and kind of coming up in the ranks. And I just -- I think seeing that is -- that makes me happy for what the next generation of Hollywood stars will be.

LEMON: Speaking of Jennifer Aniston, J. Lo, Julianne Moore, do they age?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Benjamin Button. Yes, are you on alleging banterism (ph) here on CNN?

It's just amazing. Every time I see them, I'm like they get younger. What happened?

RINNA: They're just happy. It just oozes from them, Don Lemon. They're happy.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I mean, we think --you're really happy, too, because you don't age.

RINNA: I am so F-ing happy, you've got no idea.

LEMON: Careful. I'm glad we took her champagne.

RINNA: We should.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe we should go back.

LEMON: Can we talk about fashion? Because I thought, I thought the guys pretty much this year were pretty classic, very old Hollywood. I notice with the ladies, there were some sequins, but they weren't like bright gold. It was like champagne color, very understated, very regal. What did make of the fashion?

COLES: I thought it was a really elegant year. My favorite, we've got a selection on the screen, a lot of white, which was very elegant, a lot of pale colors. I loved Rosamund Pike in red. I thought she looked gorgeous. I thought Lupita Nyong'o looked absolutely fabulous in Calvin Klein, 6,000 pearls. That dress must have been (a), hard to fit on, and, (b), a little bit heavy. I expect she's lost quite a lot of weight wearing it, which might be good advertisement for the dress.

LEMON: Yes.

COLES: I would like to wear clothes to help me lose weight.

SZISH: Like eating celery.

LEMON: I thought Rita Ora was beautiful.

(CROSSTALK)

SZISH: That was so cute.

I saw her from afar. I saw the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and I didn't know who it was, and it was Rita Ora, she talked to you. And that was one of my favorite moments of the night.

(CROSSTALK)

COLES: I love her. (INAUDIBLE) December, I saw her.

SZISH: Oh, wow.

COLES: She is so nice.

SZISH: OK.

COLES: That is a lovely girl.

SZISH: Who is she wearing?

COLES: Marchesa.

SZISH: Oh, that is gorgeous.

COLES: She is such a down to earth, nice girl.

SZISH: OK. Wow.

Do you have a best dressed? Was there someone who stood out?

COLES: To me, Rosamund Pike. I loved the red. I loved the shape of it. I thought she looked amazing. I thought Lupita looked amazing. I though Marian looked amazing.

(CROSSTALK)

SZISH: I agree. I always love Gwyneth Paltrow. And she looks spectacular. But also Margot Robbie looked flawless. Young, upcoming Hollywood stars. She took my breath away in that gown. It was spectacular.

LEMON: Eddie Redmayne, I loved his --

(CROSSTALK)

COLES: Alexander McQueen.

LEMON: Alexander McQueen, he had McQueen, beautiful.

COLES: And Felicity Jones from "Theory of Everything" and McQueen, British designer.

RINNA: Wasn't Margot Robbie wearing some special necklace from the duchess or --

COLES: It looked pretty good.

RINNA: I forget.

COLES: One of the duchess ever Windsor?

RINA: I think so. Actually, I do think so. We need to find out what it is, Don Lemon. Very special.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Anna, what's her -- Anna's, Anna Kendrick. I thought she, I thought she was beautiful.

COLES: The color was spectacular.

LEMON: She was wearing Tom Ford, which is classic and beautiful. And that's why a Tom Ford tuxedo is like $80 million, because you see it on, and you're like wow.

COLES: But on Reese Witherspoon, it was also Tom Ford.

RINNA: She was one.

(CROSSTALK)

RINNA: That ice blue color I thought was very unique. It almost looked white on camera.

SZISH: I thought it was white.

RINNA: It's icy blue. She looked great.

BALDWIN: I thought it was fantastic. Someone is trying to talk to me. Say again?

Oh, OK. The Alec Baldwin effect.

(CROSSTALK

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know what that is.

RINNA: You win an award, if you work with Alec, you win an Oscar. SZISH: If he plays your husband in a movie, Cate Blanchett.

(CROSSTALK)

SZISH: Last year.

LEMON: This is the new Kevin Bacon thing?

(CROSSTALK)

SZISH: Yes. Two wins with --

COLES: That's right. Because last year.

SZISH: And then Julianne Moore. Yes. "Still Alice."

LEMON: OK, we're going to get to Stephanie Elam now at the governor's ball. Guess who she has? NHP, Neil Patrick Harris.

(CHEERS)

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did you woosah?

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, ACTOR: What does woosah mean?

ELAM: Relax.

HARRIS: A little bit, yeah.

DAVID BURTKA: With all of his friends and important people in his life. We had some champagne.

HARRIS: I took a couple minutes by myself to just kind of reflect. It's a big night, you know, and there are so many things that can go wrong in a hurdle race with this many laps, and so I'm glad that most things went off in basically the right tone.

ELAM: What was your favorite joke?

HARRIS: My favorite joke?

ELAM: Mm-hm.

HARRIS: I liked the first joke the best and the whitest, brightest. That was fun. I like --

BURTKA: John Travolta was hilarious.

HARRIS: John Travolta did the Domenech Cumberbatch thing about John Travolta mispronounces Ben Affleck.

There are a few fun ones. The Snowden one was pretty good. It's fun because you're back stage and some of them are written. You know what I love is when J.K Simmons won. I got to say he won an Oscar, bum, barada-bum, bum, bum.

ELAM: That was great.

HARRIS: Those are the kinds of things that happen, and you say oh, I have an idea. The woman with the dress filled with --

ELAM: That was awesome. That was funny. I saw that one.

HARRIS: That was hilarious.

ELAM: So, you know, the funny thing is, in my mind, were you forever like, 12. And I looked at it. We're the same age. But in my mind, you were like, young Neil Patrick Harris.

HARRIS: You grew up early.

ELAM: I kind of grew up early.

HARRIS: You were wise beyond your years.

ELAM: I was not the savant that you were.

All right. What does Don want to know? Don Lemon want to have a question.

HARRIS: All right, Don.

LEMON: Hey, I want to know, if he lives in my neighborhood.

ELAM: He wants to know if you live in Harlem. And Don's neighborhood and he wants to know how you like it. Are you in Red Rooster a lot?

HARRIS: We go to Red Rooster a lot.

BURTKA: Menton (ph).

HARRIS: Menton is great. We're actually loving Harlem, and, Don, you should come over and hang out.

ELAM: He will take you on.

HARRIS: Marcus Samuelson who runs and owns Red Rooster used to be in part of our brown stone. That was our production offices.

ELAM: Oh, I interviewed him over there. I know what you're talking about.

HARRIS: We became his landlords and said you're done, get out. Slam the door.

ELAM: Slacker!

So, David, how proud are you of your husband tonight?

BURTKA: I am so proud, so thrilled. So happy. He always wanted this. He always wanted to do the Oscars, and I'm so happy he's getting his wish fulfilled. And it's so great to see that, and so great to see him succeed.

I'm so happy the audience was with him. The opening number went off without a hitch. Everything sort of just evolved, and it was really nice, that all the hard work he put into it, all the phone calls, the e-mails, being in a writers room, being in every single meeting. They won't let the host be a producer. But he was basically a producer. He was making sure that everything was run by him before he said it or did it or --

HARRIS: That's a lot of moving parts.

ELAM: A lot of moving parts, congratulations. I hope you get to enjoy some of your evening here. And forever Young Neil Patrick.

(SINGING)

ELAM: We're singing together now.

They're like make eye contact. They're like all in love and stuff. It's so awesome to be here.

LEMON: They're awesome and they're great parents as well. I was one of the producers with Hedwig. And he said, every day, Neil would make time to spend with his children. Great parents, great parents, great couple.

Thank you, Steph. We'll get back to you. We're going to get back to our panel as well.

We've got lots more excitement to come. It's just unstoppable here in Hollywood tonight. We're going to be right back with all the A- listers and our never-before-seen Oscar moments. Make sure you stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're having so much fun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren't we?

LEMON: Don't you just want to stay on television all night?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's do it, let's do it.

LEMON: Live in Hollywood at the fabulous Roosevelt Hotel.

Was it 1929, the first --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right there.

LEMON: Anthony Breznican was there. What was it like?

(LAUGHTER)

SZISH: It was just so good.

BREZNICAN: It seems like yesterday.

LEMON: The most exciting night of the year. Congratulations to all the winners.

Let's go through them so the audience at home knows. I'm sure most of them know, but just in case.

Best Supporting Actor, J.K. Simmons, the man who can do everything.

Best Supporting Actress and now activist, Patricia Arquette, right? A woman activist.

Best director, Alejandro Inarritu.

Best actor, Eddie Redmayne. I thought he was fantastic.

Best actress, Julianne Moore. Everyone thought that was going to happen.

Best picture, which is a surprise to a lot of people, "Birdman."

So, I want to introduce my panel here: Joanna Coles, Christina Szish, Lisa Renna, Katrina Szish.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Antony Breznican.

Stephanie Elam at the governor's ball. Rocky Diaz at the Elton John party.

Stephanie Elam, who does Stephanie -- can we go to Stephanie? Yes.

ELAM: Please come to me right now. I have Alejandro -- please say it.

ALEJANDRO INARRITU, DIRECTOR: Inarritu.

ELAM: Inarritu. How is that?

INARRITU: Perfect.

ELAM: Is that good? Because I don't want to disrespect the winner?

INARRITU: No, Inarritu is fine. It's difficult, you say (INAUDIBLE) Inarritu.

ELAM: OK. So, how is it feeling that you're double fisted here with these two gentlemen?

INARRITU: Very heavy. These guys are very heavy, but I'm super happy, super proud and excited and ready to have a drink.

(LAUGHTER)

ELAM: What did you call that guy, Ego? What did you call him up on stage?

INARRITU: Little brick?

ELAM: Yes.

INARRITU: Don't you think?

ELAM: But we're all obsessed with it, you said?

INARRITU: I think our society is obsessed with it. We are looking at our bellies, instead of empty ourselves and get full of the nice people we have around and all the nature and things like that.

ELAM: Did you actually like write out what you were going to say or did you get up there off the top of your head?

INARRITU: No, I honestly never expect to be there. And my wife said, do you have something? I said, no, why? Because I want to speak from the heart. Then, she said you should have something. I said no.

And then when they announce me, I said my wife was right. I should have something. I was so nervous. Anyway --

ELAM: You always listen to the spouse. You always listen to the spouse.

INARRITU: They're always right.

ELAM: So where are they going to go?

INARRITU: They're going to go to my house. I think in the office, I have a little office where I kind of write and I have my books, so I think they will be book holders.

ELAM: Book holders? You've got three though, so you're going to find another one --

INARRITU: I have a lot of books and CDs and vino and, you know, music. I will find a place.

ELAM: Very, very good. Well, congratulations.

INARRITU: Thank you very much.

ELAM: Very nice to meet you, Alejandro.

INARRITU: Than k you very much.

ELAM: I can say it so much faster, Inarritu.

INARRITU: Inarritu.

ELAM: Inarritu: Yes, there we go.

Inarritu.

LEMON: Inarritu.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Forget it. We can't say it.

BREZNICAN: Half a glass of champagne that Don Lemon has done.

LEMON: I'm not. What are you talking about?

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: So, he's talking about wearing Michael Keaton's underwear, right, in "Birdman". But there's another funny moment that I want you to look at from tonight. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IDINA MENZEL, ACTRESS: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, my very dear friend, Glom Gazingo.

JOHN TRAVOLTA, ACTOR: You, my darling, my beautiful, my wickedly talented, Idina Menzel.

MENZEL: You got it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I like Adele Dazeem better than Idina Menzel.

Neil Patrick Harris mentioned that, that was a lot of face touching. I was like --

BREZNICAN: They were practicing that. They were talking about how close to get and they were trying to show there were no hard feelings. You know, he called her Adele Dazeem, he had a little bit of a brain fart there on Oscar. This was a redemption. It was like a little comeback from last year.

RINNA: And I think she became more famous than ever just from that moment.

LEMON: Adele Dazeem, right.

RINNA: Of course. It was fabulous.

BREZNICAN: She has one of those names that Don Lemon would have a very hard time with.

LEMON: If I wasn't tethered to this chair, if I wasn't wired in, I'd get up.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: So, I'm going to preface this by saying I really like John Travolta, I think he's very talented. I grew up watching him on "Welcome Back, Kotter", "Saturday Night Fever".

RINNA: "Grease".

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: We're talking about the hair.

RINNA: Do you need to go there? Don, really.

LEMON: Love you, John Travolta.

RINNA: Do you need to go there?

LEMON: No, I don't need to go there.

But I thought his hair -- OK, I'm just being honest. I thought his hair looked really good. He looked really young, and he looked fit.

COLES: And (INAUDIBLE) about there.

LEMON: He doesn't usually have that much hair, that's what I'm saying.

COLES: What are you saying about that?

LEMON: Nothing, expose.

RINNA: Do you think you need to put that out, Don Lemon?

COLES: What are you saying? Has he had roots? Has he had extensions?

BREZNICAN: They're turning on you, man.

COLES: I'm unclear what's going on.

LEMON: I can't win for losing.

You can say his hair looked great and he looked great.

RINNA: You're saying the women all looked young and fresh. But yet we're talking about his hair.

LEMON: Does John Travolta age?

RINNA: No.

LEMON: All right. Well, there you go.

RINN: He's happy! (LAUGHTER)

LEMON: My goodness! Can you help me out?

(LAUGHTER)

RINNA: John Travolta wishes he has the hair.

LEMON: No, he doesn't. He does. He has that hair.

RINNA: He wishes he had this great hair.

LEMON: All right. When we come right back, I'm going to get beat up again.

RINNA: I love John Travolta.

LEMON: The stars let their hair down at the stars' most exclusive parties. Don't miss a minute, coming up.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(CROSSTALK)

COLES: He's so cute.

LEMON: Holly-weird. It's getting weird now.

Hollywood and it's the time of the time when the stars kick off their Manolo Blahnik (ph).

RINNA: You're so good. That was good.

LEMON: And their Jimmy Choos and let their hair down.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I'm here back with Joanna Coles, Katrina Szish, Lisa Rinna, Anthony Breznican.

BREZNICAN: Oh, my God. I love Don Lemon.

LEMON: I know your name, Breznican.

Stephanie Elam at the governor's ball. Rocky Diaz at the Elton John party.

So we were talking about Manolos. Who are you wearing?

COLES: Thank you very much for asking. I'm actually wearing Jimmy Choos. I have to say, I'm slightly obsessed by these shoes. I'm not someone that always looks at my own feet. But I've been looking at them tonight.

RINNA: I've been looking at them, too. They are gorgeous.

LEMON: And the outfit?

COLES: Christopher Kane pants, British designer, and Milli Vest (ph).

LEMON: And you?

SZISH: Wow. I like starting with the shoes. I think that Stuart Weitzman, actually worn on the red carpet by many celebrities tonight.

(CROSSTALK)

COLES: Comfortable.

SZISH: It is the shoe.

LEMON: And the dress?

SZISH: And the dress is Badgley Mischka and earrings are Carina Carina.

LEMON: All right. Rinna?

RINNA: I'm also wearing Jimmy Choo shoes, and my dress is Maria Lucia Hohan.

LEMON: OK.

RINNA: Oh, gosh, I forget the name of my earrings. Jennifer Ray is going to kill me. My stylist.

LEMON: Who are you wearing, Anthony?

BREZNICAN: I'm going to answer this, huh? I'm wearing Men's Wearhouse. I've owned this for a long time. I bought this tuxedo around the time "Boyhood" started filming 12 years ago. But I have little cuff links made from a map of Pittsburgh, my hometown, that my wife made them for me.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Very nice.

BREZNICAN: Otherwise. I'm a pretty ordinary person.

LEMON: These are D Square, patent leather. A little bit of an extra --

COLES: Are they comfortable?

LEMON: They're very comfortable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why the high heel?

LEMON: I don't know, I guess just to give you a lift in your tuxedo. It's the similar idea as a woman's shoe kind of gives you a little -- RINNA: Like a platform.

LEMON: And this is Armani, midnight blue. And these are from the special person in my life. Sterling Silver Eternity band.

COLES: Very nice look.

LEMON: Very nice.

COLES: Can I mention my jewelry?

LEMON: Quickly.

SZISH: I want those!

COLES: By Sidney Garber.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Awesome.

OK, emotional moments. We're all emotional about our clothing. Want to talk about Graham Moore, the writer from "The Imitation Game". This hit home for a lot of people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM MOORE, BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY, "THE IMITATION GAME": I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she's weird or different or she doesn't fit in anywhere. Yes, you do. I promise you do. You do.

Stay weird. Stay different. Then when it's your turn and you are standing on this stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along.

Thank you so much. I love you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Very powerful. Very powerful, very powerful moment. Think about Alan Touring, what he stands for, and now, it's coming to light decades later. Mathematician who really was ostracized, did something wonderful during the war.

And then --

COLES: Arguably saved Britain during the war, really led the fight against Nazi Germany. I mean, Churchill said he was the single most important man in the victory against Nazi Germany, and then, of course, he ended up committing suicide because --

LEMON: It is believed he committed suicide. Some people don't believe he did.

COLES: When you read the book that the film is based on, he committed suicide. There isn't much doubt in it.

But now, there is a huge movement in Britain to have him and the 49,000 other gay men who were arrested and prosecuted for homosexual acts to be pardoned. And that --

BREZNICAN: I believe he has been.

LEMON: He has been, he has been pardoned by the queen.

BREZNICAN: The tragedy of this story is here's a man who saved the world who was not welcoming him.

LEMON: He basically he was tried under the decency act for homosexual act --

COLES: He's not allowed to be gay. It was criminalized.

LEMON: And castrated, chemically castrated.

COLES: He was given the choice to be chemically castrated or go to jail.

BREZNICAN: Here's the thing with Graham Moore. I'm pals with this guy. I know him --

RINNA: You do?

BREZNICAN: -- apart from his work here. Yes, I know him social. Not great friends with him, but I know him well enough, I was shocked and surprised by what he said on stage.

There are things that we never reveal about our past and we hold inside. And sometimes they eat at us. Even though those are the things that people can grab onto as a life raft. He bravely took a moment that other people would be ashamed of and said this is who I am, from the biggest platform he could find. I don't know. You'll never be able to quantify this, but I'm sure there are people out there whose lives were saved.

LEMON: And that happened a lot. You had an openly gay host, you had him talking about the movie, Alan Touring was talking about being gay, and gay rights, and you have Patricia Arquette talking about women's rights, and "Selma" talking about civil rights for everyone. Common and John Legend's performance very emotional tonight. It made everyone emotional from Oprah to David Oyelowo. I think we have video of it.

David Oyelowo to Chris Pine really brought -- people were crying as they were looking at this performance, as they were experiencing this performance tonight.

I spoke to them earlier on the red carpet. Take a listen to John Legend and also Common.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You recognize this guy? Hey, Common. How are you?

COMMON: Great to see you. How are you?

LEMON: Good to see you. Good to see you again. I'm doing well. Are you excited?

COMMON: Oh, man, I'm overly excited. I'm super excited. If I could think of more adjectives, I would. I'm just like, this is one of the best days ever.

LEMON: We call it best song. But it's achievement in music. We like to say best song, right? Achievement in music.

That is a beautiful tux.

COMMON: Thank you.

LEMON: Not only were you nominated for music, but you are in. You played James Bevel in the movie.

COMMON: Yes, Don. It was -- that experience helped me create the song. It's an honor to be a part of "Selma", it's like being part of the movement that happened during these days and being able to be an extension of what Dr. King and those people created at that time. So, I mean, to be an actor is what generated me to be able to do a song for it.

LEMON: As I was watching it, I was thinking I can't believe there has been a feature film about Dr. King. It was the first one.

COMMON: It's something, because this film actually came at the right time. As much as we know it should have been a film about Dr. King, it happened in divine time, because what we saw what was going on in our country and see what is going on, it's like we need a Dr. King now. So maybe through this film a lot of people will become educated on non-violent protests, how to strategize to make changes in an organized way and intelligent way, so --

CHRISSY TEIGEN: Hello. How are you?

LEMON: Hi, Chrissy.

I don't need you.

Hi, Christi. How are you doing, baby?

TEIGEN: I'm great. I'm excited to win the Oscar tonight. Very excited.

LEMON: John Legend is here. How are you? You look fantastic.

I've got to ask you, I'm not going to be sexist. I'll ask you first. Who are you wearing?

JOHN LEGEND: I'm wearing Gucci.

TEIGEN: (INAUDIBLE)

(CROSSTALK)

TEIGEN: Zuhair Murad.

LEMON: I spoke with Common earlier and he said the collaboration, it just sort of -- once you guys got together, it just kind of poured out.

LEGEND: Well, we did it over the phone, actually. I was touring in London, and he was in L.A., and they were working on the edit of the film. And Ava said we need a song for the closing credits, and Common called me and said, John, I need help with a song. So, we did a song, I wrote a chorus and the bridge and sent it to him, and he wrote the rap and we had a song.

LEMON: Are you going to let a little rain stop you guys?

LEGEND: No, of course not. This tent is going to stop the rain.

LEMON: Are you nervous at all?

LEGEND: Not yet. I might get nervous when it's close to time to perform. But I'll be nervous then. And then they announce the award after that, so I'll be nervous then as well.

LEMON: You feel that a little bit. Thank you very much.

LEGEND: Thank you.

LEMON: Chrissy, you look fantastic.

TEIGEN: Thank you.

LEMON: You look all right.

LEGEND: Thank you guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: They were good sports. And this performance, John Stevens, and Lonnie Lynn. That's her real name.

What did you think of the performance?

COLES: So moving. Absolutely mesmerizing, really mesmerizing.

I had a long chat with John Legend on Friday night. And he was saying how nervous he was. He doesn't get nervous to his performance, but he was nervous of the rehearsal of this.

LEMON: That John Legend can sing, can't he?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's one of the greatest.

BREZNICAN: There was emotion in the theater, emotion where I was. People were crying. They were laughing at each other because they were crying so much. It was one of those things where you start getting so emotional. I think after that performance, if anything else had won, it would have been a really bad moment. Everything would not have been awesome.

LEMON: It was in Common's body language. He was so happy to win that award, and I was so happy for him. I cried when they won.

COLES: Well, John Legend has a great story about how when Ava said to him I want you to write a song and I want you to win us an Oscar. And he thought, oh my God, no pressure. But what he's done. And I feel like him and Common are great in the sum of their parts. This is a really historic song.

LEMON: Why do you say that?

COLES: Well, I think the combination of that talent has produced this amazing performance, and this great song that will go on, it will live on.

RINNA: And I think it's so interesting the fact that Common is in the film and plays the part, and then.

LEMON: James Bevel.

RINNA: It's a whole different level.

COLES: Yes, I agree.

BREZNICAN: You know, the more I think about it, "Birdman" winning best picture seems very appropriate to me, because that was about an artist trying to do something meaningful. And here, all throughout the awards, you have "Boyhood", and Patricia Arquette doing something meaningful for women's equality. And you have "Selma", which obviously connects to a lot things that are going on in our culture right now, in terms of race relations and how we treat people who look differently than us. All across the board tonight, I think there were films and stories, "Still Alice" with Julianne Moore, we're trying to say something meaningful. And they accomplished. And "Birdman" was kind of the summation of that.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: J.K. Simmons said the same thing with parents, he said, you know, cherish your parents.

Speaking of J.K., Stephanie Elam at the governor's ball.

J.K. Simmons -- tell him congratulations. Great performance, great win.

ELAM: Don Lemon, our anchor, says to tell you congratulations. Great performance.

J.K SIMMONS, ACTOR: Thank you.

ELAM: Going into this, everyone was like, J.K. Simmons is going to win. Did you believe it?

SIMMONS: Well, not 100 percent. There's human beings making decisions here, so it was a little nerve-wracking being the presumed guy they were going to name on the envelope.

ELAM: Until they actually said your name.

SIMMONS: Until they actually did and I had to check half a second , yes, I heard that correctly, you know? So I wouldn't do the Zoolander thing. Gave my wife a kiss and got my butt up there. Fortunately, it was a short trip this time. Yesterday, I had to run like a half a mile to get up to the stage.

ELAM: You had to get your workout.

Now that you have this, what is the plan for your man here? Let's lift him up so everyone can see that you're actually holding your statuette. What's the plan?

SIMMONS: I can't like. I have several awards on the mini fridge on the bathroom. We have a kind of modern house, so it doesn't have a mantle yet, so I have -- I don't know.

ELAM: And, you know, you're one of those actors that everyone saw your face, may not have known your name, but now you're going to be household name man. How does that feel?

SIMMONS: I know. Weird, yes, little weird, 60 year old, overnight success.

ELAM: Just break in.

SIMMONS: Yes, I'm a rookie.

ELAM: Well, congratulations.

SIMMONS: Thank you.

ELAM: Best of luck to you and enjoy your family. Take care.

Just genuine and nice.

LEMON: He's amazing. I asked him earlier, is there anything you can't do? And truly he can. He can do every single thing.

Steph, we'll get back to you.

He's just turned 60 years old. He's been in the business 40 years. He's one of the great character actors of our time.

SZISH: I would say the great, because you said it in the red carpet. This is a man who just won an Oscar and plays the yellow M&M. And we know the insurance company jingle that Neil Patrick Harris so beautifully delivered. And the range is mind-boggling.

RINNA: It proves that you can find and follow and get your dreams and achieve your dreams at any time in your life. Just hold on.

LEMON: Amen. He said the only thing he hasn't played is a woman. And I'm sure that's next.

(CROSSTALK)

BREZNICAN: I think a lot of people don't understand is that actors like him, they're working actors. This is a middle-class income. He may appear in a movie and play the dad to someone, but that's like a $20,000 job. So, now, he gets to be famous and be considered for bigger roles and those bigger pay -- and we get to see him more. That's a win for everybody.

LEMON: Even Mother Nature couldn't put a damper on the celebration here in Hollywood tonight.

We're going to be right back with more must-see moments at the 87th Annual Oscars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: They etch your name onto your statue.

How cool is that? You know what you're looking at? You're looking at Patricia Arquette. She's getting her Oscar engraved. And they do it right there.

SZISH: What a great, great insight.

LEMON: What a night for her. What a night. She's had quite an evening.

And not that she didn't have a voice, but she's really you can say, found her voice. I think she really has.

COLES: And I still wish that "Boyhood" would have pulled through at the end. And I worry that, to take up Anthony's point, the reflection of "Birdman" winning is really about the Academy's obsession with itself --

LEMON: Hold on, let's take a look at the moment when "Birdman" and then we'll talk about --

COLES: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who gave this son of a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) his green card -- "Birdman."

(CHEERS)

INURRITA: Maybe next year the government will inflect some rules on the Academy. Two Mexicans in a row, that's suspicious I guess.

MICHAEL KEATON, ACTOR: Just a tremendous honor for me to, look, it's great to be here. Who am I kidding? This is great time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Michael Keaton and Alejandro Inarritu.

So, he was happy at that one. You didn't -- you thought --

COLES: Well, I'm just wondering, is it a reflection of Hollywood's obsession with itself. It doesn't really reflect what was going on at the box office.

And Lisa made a got point that all actors are narcissists. And they actually make up the biggest voting block in the Academy.

LEMON: So every actor is "Birdman."

RINNA: It's true. My husband's "Birdman." It's true, ever actor, and I think every human being is battling the ego. It's really all about that.

BREZNICAN: Wouldn't you rather do that and some commercial thing that everyone wants to see?

RINNA: Something that's meaningful and deep, yes.

BREZNICAN: But audiences sometimes want escapism.

LEMON: But I thought "Boyhood" would win. And even though, I'm sorry, I didn't --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it would too.

LEMON: I didn't think it was deserving of it. My pick was "Theory of Everything" or "Selma." But I thought it would be "Boyhood" because most of the people who vote is see themselves as that young boy growing -- young man growing up, and they go, oh, this is a great movie. Patricia Arquette was great, Ethan Hawke was great, but I thought it was really slow at times.

COLES: It was a movie about nothing in and of itself.

LEMON: A movie about nothing, right.

COLES: But there is something to be said for applauding the ambition of a director.

(CROSSTALK)

SZISH: And the concept of it was absolutely brilliant. I'm surprised it got shut out.

COLES: Amazing flaws in it for Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater, the director died during the making of it.

LEMON: Yes.

COLES: Ethan Hawke become the director.

LEMON: I asked in the interview, it was in jest.

(CROSSTALK)

RINNA: How long, 12 years?

LEMON: Twelve years.

RINNA: Imagine that, as just the undertaking of that alone is an amazing feat. I mean, it really is.

LEMON: But I thought it was great for --

COLES: Executives to support it at a time when it's very difficult to do that.

LEMON: I thought it was great for Patricia Arquette and this is going to total (INAUDIBLE), which is I love her even more now. You get to see -- it's hard, when I look back at video of myself, even from a year or two, my God, I've aged.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: But seriously, for one to look at herself over 12 years and, you know, having kids. She had her child while she was doing --

BREZNICAN: Nobody says that about Ethan Hawke, though.

LEMON: You're a little bit vain. Don't you look at yourself and go, wow.

BREZNICAN: Well, let me just take a selfie.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: But you're right. The concept was amazing.

COLES: And to applaud the ambition of that I think would have been good.

SZISH: And that he pulled it off and it was such an incredible task. It wasn't just a bunch of unknown actors who said, oh, sure I'll be in this movie for 12 years.

RINNA: But I will say, I love "Birdman" and I think it was such an intelligence film, and I'm glad that translated.

BREZNICAN: I love the critic in "Birdman." You guys remember this? The critic was like, I'm taking you down, I'm the gatekeeper, and I'm keeping you out.

RINNA: It's ego.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: And she wrote a great review, she ended up writing a great review.

RINNA: Her, that one, the woman.

BREZNICAN: The critics really hated it. I loved it. I thought it was a great parody of the profession.

LEMON: And if you're New Yorker and you go to Broadway, you see that.

RINNA: You see her, yes.

BREZNICAN: Everybody in "Birdman", it's about laughing at yourself, the desire to take yourself seriously, and maybe we shouldn't take ourselves so seriously.

RINNA: Well, absolutely.

LEMON: We're talking about people who were snubbed. I loved Ed Norton's performance.

RINNA: Brilliant.

LEMON: I thought he was brilliant. He was nominated, but I thought he was Oscar-worthy.

(CROSSTALK)

BREZNICAN: J.K. Simmons?

LEMON: Everybody can't win.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: To Oprah's point, it was a crowd appeal. And great performances, and to what we said earlier. Anybody in any category could have won. And you can't be upset because somebody else, they're all brilliant.

SZISH: I don't think you can say so-and-so was snubbed, because again --

(CROSSTALK)

SZISH: We all have opinions about who we would have loved to have seen get the honor, but everybody was deserving.

BREZNICAN: The thing to remember about the Academy Awards is they honor -- they usually honor a good film. They don't always honor a film that's on the cutting edge. Something that's ahead of its time.

RINNA: And "Birdman" is, I think.

BREZNICAN: This is a rarity, though, wonderful films, like "Citizen Kane" don't get the nomination because they're ahead of their time. It's only the test of time that makes them valuable to us culturally.

LEMON: Am I going to get sued if I say champagne wishes and caviar dreams? Was that trademarked by, you remember --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go for it. Robin Leach.

LEMON: Robin Leach. I'm Robin Leach.

BREZNICAN: The ghost of Robin Leach.

RINNA: I think Robin Leach would love it.

LEMON: We have champagne wishes. Come on, Jeffrey. Bring some of that in.

RINNA: I think Robin would be happy about it.

SZISH: Bring it.

LEMON: We're going to do it afterwards.

RINNA: We get more to drink?

BREZNICAN: Can I just have the bottle?

LEMON: Everybody's like, no more alcohol.

RINNA: I'm going to come do this all the time.

BREZNICAN: I want more.

LEMON: They're playing us off, you hear that? Our 45 seconds are up right now.

We've got much more to come from Hollywood, live from Hollywood, as a matter of fact. So make sure you stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my.

LEMON: Wow!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait a minute!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Woo!

LEMON: Hey, who's that guy? Move out of the way!

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: That was Rita Ora. Did you see her?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was her, that's her full body, are you kidding me?

BREZNICAN: It looks like she has a tail. RINNA: She does. It's a train.

LEMON: Now you see why I was speechless earlier?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she wasn't even wearing that.

LEMON: Welcome back to "And the Winner Is".

Joanna Coles, Katrina Szish --

RINNA: Lisa Rinna.

LEMON: Lisa Rinna --

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: And Anthony Breznican.

BREZNICAN: Adele Dazeem.

RINNA: No more for you, Don Lemon, you're done.

LEMON: People are talking to me. It's the voices in my head.

So, listen, we're at the end of the evening, right? We're going to raise, we're going to toast the evening.

BREZNICAN: Oh, yes.

LEMON: I want to know who you guys, quickly as I go around, who you think the star of this evening of stars was.

So, first, I'm going to start with you, Joanna.

COLES: For me, it was Patricia Arquette. I loved her speech about women getting the paid the same as men. I'm all for wage equality.

LEMON: All right. Cheers to that.

What do you think, Katrina?

SZISH: Well, you know what? I'm going for Eddie Redmayne, because I loved an intelligent, talented, young, 33-year-old guy who we're seeing is going to be the future of Hollywood. And I think it gets me excited for what's to come.

LEMON: And you totally have a crush on him.

SZISH: And he's so hot. Cheers to that.

(CROSSTALK)

SZISH: My husband's somewhere and he didn't hear that.

RINNA: I agree with all that. I'm going to go with Graham Moore, because I think that that was a very, very powerful moment on so many levels, and very brave and very courageous.

LEMON: Yes. So, Graham Moore --

BREZNICAN: I second what you say. You took mine. Graham Moore.

RINNA: Sorry, I had to.

BREZNICAN: But since you took -- I'll go with the non-serious one.

LEMON: Why Graham Moore? Why?

BREZNICAN: Well, because he gave a fantastic speech where he talked about despair as a young man and thinking he didn't even want to go on, and instead, here he is now collecting an Oscar for -- and following his dream of being a writer. I think that's a wonderful thing to share.

LEMON: Writer of "Imitation Game", he's talking about Alan Touring who was a gay man who was ostracized and basically took his life because he was prosecuted for being gay.

BREZNICAN: Since you already took Graham Moore, I'll go with Glom Gazingo, aka John Travolta.

RINNA: Glom Gazingo.

LEMON: And that would be?

BREZNICAN: For showing that it's OK to laugh at yourself --

(CROSSTALK)

BREZNICAN: We don't get to make them on the Oscars, but he did, and he came back. I thought it was nice closure.

LEMON: Shouldn't you be touching her face when you do that?

BREZNICAN: They practiced that, man, I don't know.

RINNA: I love that any -- when anyone owns something, I think it's really beautiful, right?

LEMON: Stephanie Elam at the governor's ball, who was your star of stars this evening?

ELAM: Oh, man, that's a tough one, because when you meet people in person it changes things a little bit. But I would say, David Oyelowo's shoes and his overall (INAUDIBLE), pretty darn awesome. But for the women, who I did not meet, Rita Ora's dress is amazing. A total crush on her, Don, but I'm with you. She looks fantastic.

LEMON: And I have to say Neil Patrick Harris and his husband. They were fantastic.

BREZNICAN: How about Lady Gaga?

SZISH: Lady Gaga rocked it.

LEMON: Some people thought she was lip synching.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What? No.

BREZNICAN: She came backstage, and she was bawling her eyes out, whole tears running down her face. She got tripped up on her gown. Almost stumbled into Eddie Murphy who was about to go present the screenplay award. She caught herself at the last minute, turned around. Everybody was looking at her.

There was a moment of very severe awkwardness, and she said, I'm going to get a drink.

RINNA: You know what? Lady gaga should be proud of herself. She has a beautiful voice. Spectacular.

LEMON: I thought all of the voices --

BREZNICAN: That's what I love, is the emotion of this night.

SZISH: It was an emotional night. Even Tim McGraw, though, I do want to say that.

LEMON: Tim McGraw was great.

RINNA: That was beautiful.

SZISH: A beautiful moment. And --

RINNA: I think it was a really great show.

LEMON: Jennifer Hudson, fantastic.

BREZNICAN: Performers get caught up in the moment, and they meet people who inspire them.

RINNA: Yes.

LEMON: Well, that leads perfectly into my star of stars tonight. I thought my star of stars were, well, two of them, actually, Common and John Legend. I thought their performances were amazing, and their performance together. And I thought them, their speeches. As, Common was like, did he memorize this? Is there a teleprompter? And he was so passionate about it and John Legend as well.

So congratulations to them and to all the stars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the winners, all the nominees.

BREZNICAN: How about the people who didn't win. They did great work anyway. They're some of the best of the year. They go home without a trophy. They did damn good work, and I think that's worth drinking too as well.

LEMON: it was an honor to be nominated and an honor to be here and to be with you guys.

RINNA: Thanks, Don, that was fun.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Cheers!

RINNA: Cheers!

LEMON: Lt's go to some parties.

COLES: Let's go to In-N-Out Burger.

LEMON: Oh, I love the idea, in and out burger, and then crash some parties.

RINNA: Let's go. Bye, everybody.

LEMON: That is it for us this evening. Thanks for watching. I'll see you in just (INAUDIBLE) hours on "CNN TONIGHT" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm going to be back in New York City anchoring my show tomorrow night.

Our live coverage continues right now with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Goodnight!