A GLAM-SLAM EVENING
4:00 a.m. Sunday Wheels down at the airport for cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who arrived on a private plane to perform at the Oscars. "I flew in from Alabama," he says. "I had rehearsals at 9."
6:00 Thomas Haden Church wakes up and works out: "I went to bed early last night and didn't go to any parties."
7:30 Clive Owen gets up early to try to catch a soccer game. "I'm a big fan, and my team was playing in the finals back [in England]," he says. Ignorant Yanks: "It wasn't on TV."
8:00 Nominee Sophie Okonedo takes a swim in her hotel pool with daughter Aoife, 7. "I was a little hungover," she admits, "because I'd been out dancing last night."
9:00 Men and women with towels and lotions invade Virginia Madsen's home. "Estée Lauder turned my living room into a spa," she says. "It was this whole Zen morning."
9:30 The guy who overdosed on Big Macs—Best Documentary Feature nominee Morgan Spurlock—sets up a breakfast and lunch buffet for friends in his L.A. home. "Fruit plates, pork loin, pasta primavera—something for everybody," says the Super Size Me director. Not a McNugget in sight.
11:15 Taylor Hackford and wife Helen Mirren take a 45-minute walk through Palisades Park in Santa Monica—and not a power walk, either. "We made up our minds to enjoy the day, enjoy the evening," says Hackford, nominated for directing Ray. "We are not anxiety-ridden."
12:00 p.m. Kathy Griffin enjoys her last sip of liquid before putting on her ultratight Ali Rahimi for Mon Atelier gown. "Diet Coke—it's my heroin," says Griffin, who worked the red carpet for E! Julie Delpy ignores advice to eat light and scarfs down a salad, soup, bread and a cookie. "You know what? I am a human being, I need food. I don't want to pass out on the red carpet."
1:00 Sean "P. Diddy" Combs plays alarm clock for pal Jamie Foxx at Foxx's hotel. "I went and woke him up," says Combs. "Jumped on his bed like a little kid and tackled him." A little later Combs pampered himself: "I took a bubble bath and got myself delicious and beautiful."
1:05 Kirsten Dunst cracks open a bottle of champagne with friends. "It was a little too early," she admits. "But it was mellow."
1:15 Usher sweats. The R&B singer and his date, model Eishia Brightwell, hit their hotel's gym for a pre-Oscar workout. "We did some crunches," he says. "I didn't do the crunches; she did the crunches."
1:30 Oscar performer Josh Groban, fresh from 11 a.m. rehearsals, watches TV with girlfriend January Jones. "It was a National Geographic show about Navy Seals," says Jones. Adds Groban: "You think you're stressed out about doing [the Oscars], and you watch the training they have to go through, and you take a breath, and you're like, 'Things are okay.' "
3:15 Dean Cain finally gets his son Christopher, 4, out of the hotel pool. "I dragged him out and wrapped a towel around him, dried him off and then jumped in the shower," says Cain.
3:30 Fashion crisis for Paul Giamatti: no tie for the show. "I had to borrow my friend's," says the Sideways actor. "He was happy to lend it."
3:50 Hitting the red carpet, Chad Lowe shares a last-minute cuddle with wife Hilary Swank, then brushes off his shoulders. "She loaded me up with her makeup," he says, checking that it was all gone. Tim Robbins pulls up in a borrowed Prius hybrid. "It is a great car; I have one myself," he says. "It saves gas and gets about 60 miles to the gallon."
5:15 Oprah Winfrey surprises Halle Berry, who's so distracted by screaming fans she didn't notice her pal. "Look at you; you look amazing!" says Winfrey.
5:20 Drew Barrymore gives her do a last blast—with a purse-size can of hair-spray—in the ladies' room.
5:25 "Work it!" Jamie Foxx yells to his daughter Corinne, 11, as she spins around for photographers in a white dress and white gloves.
5:28 Almost showtime! Backstage, host Chris Rock gives himself an X-rated pep talk. "You talk to yourself," he
says. " 'Hey, let's do this ****, all right? You get up there and it's time to bring it, ********' "
5:47 Halle Berry cheers from the lobby as the winner of the Best Supporting Actor award is announced. "I was rooting for Morgan Freeman," she says.
6:45 The Best Metabolism Award goes to—Sandra Oh. "My breakfast was a cheese quesadilla with an egg and bacon on top of it," says Oh. "And then right before I left, I had a bowl of Chinese food. I ate a lot. I'm a big believer in eating."
7:20 Oprah Winfrey heads for the ladies' lounge--at a fast clip. "It is so funny—me, Quincy [Jones], and his girlfriend, Kimberly Hunter, we were all sitting there like 'Oh my God, have we got to go.' "
7:40 Drew Barrymore drops her borrowed cell phone—"I never bring one to these things," she says—and Clive Owen rescues it from the lobby floor.
8:15 During a break, Leonardo DiCaprio ushers girlfriend Gisele Bündchen into a bar-area men's room and stands guard outside. They rush back inside the theater just in time to see Jamie Foxx win the Best Actor Oscar.
9:00 Show's over! At the Governors Ball, Adam Sandler ducks under a black rope and leads his posse inside.
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