Romance blooms and heels break at the Oscars

We may not have even noticed, but Amanda Seyfried did when she briefly caught her heel in a stocking during that elaborate song-and-dance number she did with Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and other young stars at Sunday’s Oscars.

“I would feel a lot better if I hadn’t,” the disappointed “Mamma Mia!” co-star said as she came offstage. Efron, however, made light of the moment.

“We’ll never be invited back,” he joked.

Turns out the “High School Musical” star had a little wardrobe malfunction of his own. His microphone had gotten tangled in his bow tie, and Hudgens had to untangle him when they got offstage.

***

Overall, it was a “heelacious” night at the Oscars.

First Amanda Seyfried got a heel of her shoe caught in a stocking during a song-and-dance number. Then Alicia Keys broke a heel as she ran from the green room to the stage to make an Oscar presentation with Zac Efron.

Fortunately Keys was wearing a long dress and no one seemed to notice when she breezed onto the stage with one leg shorter than the other.

***

The Oscars aren’t all about winning.

They’re also about romance, as in Jennifer Aniston overheard backstage whispering into John Mayer’s ear, “I really love you, every part of you.”

The couple arrived at the backdoor entrance to the Kodak Theatre shortly before the show began. Perhaps indicating why they hadn’t gotten there earlier, Mayer joked that it took Aniston three hours longer to get ready than him.

As the couple stood hand-in-hand, pre-show chaos unfolded all around them. At one point Ben Stiller sprinted by. A moment later, two crates filled with Oscars for the night’s winners were carried toward the stage.

“Wow!” Aniston exclaimed. “Do we have to stand and salute?”

***

Fresh off her emotional acceptance speech, best actress Oscar winner Kate Winslet was still shaking when she came backstage.

“Oh my God. Oh my god. Did I make any sense?” she asked presenter Marion Cotillard.

“Totally. Don’t worry,” Cotillard, last year’s winner, told her.

“I’ve got to phone my kids,” Winslet, still shaking, said as she headed toward a hallway.

***

He pulled out a small scribbled piece of paper, put on his reading glasses and quickly thanked a few people as he accepted his best actor Oscar.

But Sean Penn wasn’t willing to repeat that performance, or elaborate on it, for Oscar’s “Thank You Cam” when he walked backstage after collecting his award.

“I think my voice is shaking,” he explained.

There was no mistaking the best actor winner’s joy, however, as he beamed and exchanged hugs with the actors who had presented him the trophy.

***

Didn’t Hugh Jackman look relaxed onstage, playing David Frost to Anne Hathaway’s Richard Nixon during his opening comedy bit as host of the 81st annual Academy Awards?

Don’t let him fool you.

With three minutes to showtime, Jackman was backstage trying to shake off pre-show jitters by high-fiving a backstage worker and wishing everyone a great show.

“You’re the best,” Oscar producer Laurence Mark reassured him.

“I want to be the underdog,” Jackman replied.

Then the curtain went up and it was showtime. (AP)