After Oscars: Time to Shine : All Was Well That Ended Happily

Even the losers were jubilant at the Academy Awards’ Board of Governors Ball following the Oscar marathon Monday night. Robin Williams said it was “worth the price of admission” to sing “Happy Birthday” to director Akira Kurosawa. Spike Lee had a friend take his picture with Danny Aiello, Denzel Washington and Martin Scorsese. Ron Kovic said being nominated “was more than an Oscar triumph: It was a human triumph.”

Elation was the prevailing emotion at the ball, the biggest schmooze-fest and table-hop in Hollywood. Easy access to the tented party on the Music Center Plaza and the promise of food within 100 feet of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion proved a good draw; most of the winners and nominees showed up to dine on terrine of smoked salmon, grilled veal chops and white chocolate mousse with strawberries, and to dance to the Bill Lohr Orchestra.

“I feel by giving us the Oscar (for best picture for ‘Driving Miss Daisy’) that they honored Bruce Beresford,” said co-producer Lili Fini Zanuck, mentioning the movie’s director, who was not nominated. “You don’t have a picture without a director. God only knows the reality of what happened.”

Spike Lee said he was “startled” when Kim Basinger ad-libbed during the awards ceremony her displeasure that “Do the Right Thing” wasn’t nominated for best picture. “I didn’t know what she was talking about at first. And I knew she wasn’t reading from the TelePrompTer,” Lee said.

Lee was interrupted by best supporting actor winner Denzel Washington, who grabbed the director and said, “Are we coming back next year? Are we coming back next year?” Washington is in Lee’s next film, “The Mo’ Better Blues,” and obviously anticipating another Oscar.

Winners like “Born on the Fourth of July” director Oliver Stone showed the proper way to clutch the Academy Award: by the legs, head down.

Those both clutching and admiring the statuettes included Jessica Lange (with brother George), Anjelica Huston (with Jerry Brown), Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, John Goodman and wife Annabeth, Jeff and Beau Bridges, Dianne Wiest, Martin Landau, Brenda Fricker, George Lucas, Kenneth Branagh, Daryl Hannah and sister Page Hannah, Morgan Freeman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jack Nicholson (clutching a bottle of Evian), Warren Beatty, Paula Abdul, Dan Aykroyd, John Williams, Dennis Hopper, Steve Soderbergh, Norman Jewison, awards show producer Gil Cates and Academy president Karl Malden.