Oscars 2014: Moments from Academy Awards you didn't see on screen

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One section of the front row is packed with stars from the “Dallas Buyers Club,” including Jared Leto and his mother and Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A backstage shot of host Ellen DeGeneres. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Jared Leto is hugged by his brother after winning the Oscar for supporting actor. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Jared Leto accepts his supporting actor Oscar for “Dallas Buyers Club” at the 86th Academy Awards. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Jared Leto backstage with his Academy Award. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A behind-the-scenes shot of Pharrell Williams during his performance of “Happy.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A view of Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres from backstage. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Ellen DeGeneres poses for a selfie with actress Liza Minnelli. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Host Ellen DeGeneres takes a selfie with several A-list attendees. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey assists host Ellen DeGeneres in delivering pizza to hungry attendees. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“Rush” star Chris Hemsworth presents with actress Charlize Theron. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Tyler Perry presents the Oscar for best foreign-language film. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Previous Oscar winner, presenter and “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Lupita N’yongo reacts to her supporting actress win. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong’o. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Skip Lievsay and Chris Munro accept the Oscar for sound mixing for “Gravity.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Supporting actor nominee (and later winner) Jared Leto grabs a slice of pizza from a deliveryman as Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres hands out paper plates and napkins during the show. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Karen O and Ezra Koenig perform “The Moon Song” from “Her.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Singer Darlene Love belts out a tune with Janet Friesen and director Morgan Neville while accepting the feature documentary Oscar for “20 Feet From Stardom.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Presenters Kate Hudson and Jason Sudeikis. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Bono performs “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” with U2 during the telecast. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Host Ellen DeGeneres on stage during the telecast. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“The Great Gatsby’s” Catherine Martin, the costume design Oscar winner, gets her award from presenters Samuel L. Jackson and Naomi Watts. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Adruitha Lee, the makeup and hairstyling Oscar winner for “Dallas Buyers Club,” carries her newly won statuette backstage. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Oscar statuettes backstage. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Presenter Zac Efron backstage. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Presenters Kate Hudson and Jason Sudekis backstage (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Meryl Streep prepares to sink her teeth into some free pizza. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Presenters Bill Murray and Amy Adams. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bradley Cooper and his date, model Suki Waterhouse, are amused by his “American Hustle” costar Jennifer Lawrence as she feasts on pizza handed out by Ellen DeGeneres. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Pink gets a standing ovation following her performance of “Over the Rainbow” during “The Wizard of Oz” tribute. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Alfonso Cuaron, right, photographs his “Gravity” cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, as he approaches the stage to receive the cinematography Oscar. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Presenters Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emma Watson. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Amy Adams and Bill Murray on stage to present the Oscar for cinematography. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Short live-action film winners, director Anders Walter, right, and Kim Magnusson. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Whoopi Goldberg introduces Pink, and her tribue to “The Wizard of Oz,” during the telecast of the 86th Academy Awards. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Pink performs “Over the Rainbow” during a montage of scenes from “The Wizard of Oz.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Host Ellen DeGeneres appears onstage just after “The Wizard of Oz” tribute dressed at Glinda the Good Witch. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“12 Years a Slave” actor and producer Brad Pitt. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Lupita Nyong’o cradles her Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Ellen DeGeneres gathers members from the star-studded audience for a selfie that she hoped would be the most retweeted photo on Twitter. The micro-blogging site crashed shortly after the photo was taken, though it was unclear if the two events were related. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Paolo Sorrentino goes backstage after winning the Oscar for foreign-language film for “The Great Beauty.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Oscar statuettes backstage. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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“Dallas Buyers Club” star Matthew McConaughey kisses his wife, Camila Alves, upon hearing that he won the Oscar for lead actor. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Jennifer Lawrence, who won the lead actress Oscar last year for “Silver Linings Playbook” and infamously fell while walking up to accept her award, is pleased with herself for not falling while she presents during the show. Incidentally, the “American Hustle” actress took a tumble earlier on the red carpet. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Matthew McConaughey, right, is congratulated by fellow lead actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” when he wins the Oscar for “Dallas Buyers Club.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“Blue Jasmine” star Cate Blanchett makes her way to the stage to accept her lead actress Oscar. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Cate Blanchett accepts her lead actress Oscar for “Blue Jasmine.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Matthew McConaughey from backstge. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Jennifer Lawrence hugs lead actor winner Matthew McConaughey as the “Dallas Buyers Club” star accepts his Oscar. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Alexander McQueen, who directed the best picture “12 Years a Slave,” leans in to kiss the film’s supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong’o as they walk offstage. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“12 Years a Slave” producer Brad Pitt opens the acceptance speeches for the best picture winner. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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“12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen leaps for joy over the films best picture win. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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The cast and crew of “12 Years a Slave” celebrate their best picture win. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Angelina Jolie and other attendees surround “12 Years a Slave” actors Benedict Cumberbatch, left, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ejiofor hugs director Steve McQueen. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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An excited Will Smith presents producer Brad Pitt with the Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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“12 Years a Slave” star Chiwetel Ejiofor makes his way backstage with Ellen DeGeneres. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Jennifer Lawrence takes the stage as a presenter. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Legendary actor Sidney Poitier and Angelina Jolie backstage. Jolie was the recipient of this year’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

By Amy Kaufman, Jeffrey Fleishman and Yvonne Villarreal

March 3, 2014 9:25 AM PT

The Academy Awards telecast might be best remembered as a collection of moments — Jared Leto’s acceptance speech, Lupita Nyong’o’s acceptance speech, host Ellen DeGeneres’ organizing A-listers for Twitter-crashing selfies. Yet on the red carpet, inside the Dolby Theatre and backstage in the press room Sunday night, there were other special moments as well.

For starters? You could have heard a pin drop in the Dolby when Nyong’o won for supporting actress for her turn in “12 Years a Slave.” The entire VIP enclave went up in screams and applause for the only time during the whole evening. There was a genuine sense of a new talent being anointed. Read on for more.

FULL COVERAGE: Oscars 2014 | Complete list of winners

Selfie with Oscar, anyone?

Shortly after winning an Oscar for his portrayal of a transgender AIDS victim in “Dallas Buyers Club,” Jared Leto addressed reporters backstage, asking whether anyone wanted to try his Oscar “out for size. If you want to take a selfie with it, go for it.”

Leto, 42, was as relaxed and carefree backstage as his much-talked about mane. “I’m going to be celebrating to the break of dawn,” he said, passing off his statuette to the other side of the room. “Trust me.”

No stranger to performing in front of an audience, the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman said it was still a surreal experience to take the stage Sunday. “It was really fun to look down and see Leo and Meryl Streep,” Leto said. “At one point, I found myself talking to [Robert] DeNiro — as if the room wasn’t intimidating enough!”

Then a beat.

“Anyone else want to take a fondle?” he asked, ready to pass around his Oscar again.

PHOTOS: Red carpet arrivals | Show highlights

Getting movie crowd going

On the same day “Frozen” crossed the $1-billion mark at the global box office, the film was crowned best animated feature and won in the original song category for the triumphant, soaring number “Let It Go.”

Before it had claimed either prize, though, Disney/Pixar animation chief John Lasseter took a moment on the red carpet to describe his recent trip to a Sonoma, Calif., movie theater with his wife, Nancy, for a singalong edition of the popular film, with snacks in tow.

“Not only did we sing, but I brought carrots to throw out like it was the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’” he said.

“I had mini-chocolates and a beach ball to throw around, too,” Nancy added.

Moments later, Broadway vet Menzel made her own red carpet confession — she was trembling in her heels. “Once I’m on the stage, it’ll all click,” she said. “But ... it’s a little overwhelming.”

The singer said she’s been starting each day with email about her “Frozen” performance. “I get a lot of videos of little kids singing the song,” she said with a laugh.

Backstage clutching his Oscar, Chris Buck, co-director of “Frozen,” said he had had no inkling the Nordic fairy tale of blizzards, magic and sisterly love would resonate across the world.

PHOTOS: Winners’ room | Behind the scenes | Quotes from the stars

Finally in the spotlight

“Twenty Feet From Stardom” follows a group of backup singers who make a living staying out of the spotlight. But after the documentary was named the year’s best, director Morgan Neville said he might have to retitle the movie.

“We’re gonna have to change the name of the movie to ‘Stardom,’” the filmmaker joked backstage. “It’s amazing to make a film about people who have so much talent but have been overlooked … and all of this is the best reward we all could have gotten.”

Neville recalled the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013, when all of the picture’s subjects traveled to Park City, Utah, for the movie’s unveiling. Initially, he said, they were hesitant to attend a festival they’d never heard of in a snowy mountain town.

“I said, ‘Trust me. It’ll be worth it.’ ... And it was a night that changed all of our lives.”

Second only to the pope

Philomena Lee, the 80-year-old whose life inspired Stephen Frears’ drama “Philomena,” strolled into the Dolby Theatre, propped up by her daughter Jane Libberton. Asked how she was taking in the spectacle, the retired psychiatric nurse was unreserved in her enthusiasm. “It’s overwhelming!” Lee said. “After meeting the pope, this is the most amazing thing that’s happened.”

Although the film didn’t win any prizes, attending the Oscars remained a memorable event for the Brit, who planned to have a gin and tonic after the ceremony.

“Going home is going to be a real anti-climax.”

Chris Lee contributed to this report.

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