Q’S FOR HUGH

What are you going to do the day after the Oscars?

Go to the Urth Caffe for breakfast, do the Oprah show, and then go to Japan to open “Australia.” I love Oprah. She was the first person to ring me when I got the job. She called and said, “Gayle and I are so excited we’re jumping up and down.”

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What’s the best Oscar party you’ve ever been to?

One thrown by Patrick Whitesell and Scott Stuber. It’s the only real party I’ve been to in Hollywood. It didn’t start until 2:30 a.m. You think, “I didn’t think this kind of thing happened in Hollywood. I thought everyone was always working.” I have images and stories to ruin careers.

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Do you wish you had been in any of the nominated movies?

“Doubt.” I loved that play and it was something I really wanted to do, but I’ll never argue with any role that Philip Seymour Hoffman has gotten. I would have loved to have been in all the movies, except maybe “The Reader.” Playing the teenager would have been a struggle.

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Is there any movie you feel was overlooked this year?

“The Dark Knight.” I was sad about that.

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What’s the biggest drag about sitting through the Oscars?

You get very hungry. I’ll never forget Will Smith coming back from the Green Room during a commercial break loaded down with candy and water to hand out. It was like being in the playground, with people screaming, “Will! Will!”

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What will you miss the most about not being able to watch the show at home?

Our Aussie drinking games. You pick either lawyer, agent, mom, dad or God, and whenever one of those names are thanked you take a shot. You get most drunk with “agent,” followed by “God.”

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What are you going to ask for backstage?

Peppermint tea with lemon and room-temperature water for my voice. Three writers so we can bounce ideas around. And for my wife to come backstage when the show is done, so we can have a moment alone. She’s my touchstone. If I die out there, she’ll say, “Babe, I still love you,” and if I thought I was great, she’ll say, “Babe, you weren’t great, but I still love you.”

-- Rebecca Ascher-Walsh